Meet Mike Levinson | M&R Automotive Making Your Off Roading Adventures Brighter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Levinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I email, talk, text my customers with anything that they need. That human touch makes my business more personable versus an automated machine with number options. If you’re under a truck installing a product, the last thing you want to do is be placed on hold. To your surprise I’ll answer your call and will walk you through your install. In return, I have been blessed with makin long time friends that help me bring my crazy development ideas to real life by installing new products on their trucks. I follow their off roading adventures on social media and get ideas of how to better my business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I immigrated from Ukraine at 9 years old with my family. The early road to attending elementary school was challenging due to not knowing English and being lost in a new country. I watched my parents accept any job possible to make sure there is food on the table. I really admire my parents for living a very simple life, working hard and staying optimistic. There was no way I wasn’t going to make something out of myself after watching my parents bring us to this country and struggle. I attended University of California Riverside and California State University Northridge, and studied for a master degree in Occupational Safety. To one’s surprise, I still have a full time job as a environmental safety consultant for a large corporation, ADP. Everyday I’m juggling seeing clients and designing light kits. With a combination of everything, I keep true to M&R motto for others to enjoy an off roading adventure without breaking the bank. While my competitors are big brands that have been around for many years, I don’t feel the need to come up to their level. I’m very content in life owning a business, creating unique designs that a regular person can install on their truck. I want M&R to be known for off roading light kits that everyone can install. M&R encourages you to go on an adventure with friends and enjoy the simplicity of living and fun exploring life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is easy, I’ll take them to an off roading adventure. My favorite places are Big Bear, Gorman and a new spot in San Diego that I recently visited. We would leave around 6am, grab coffee and a protein bar and enjoy the drive. Spend the day climbing rocks, getting dirty driving through mud, and just miles for miles into the unknown. When the day ends and the truck isn’t broken, we would grab some fast food from a local vendor and head home. With a broken truck, we would ride in a tow truck and laugh about this experience when we are old. Besides off roading, there is a really delicious all you can eat sushi in Chatsworth that is always worth the drive and follow it up with a hookah lounge. I’ll definitely throw in an evening at the Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. However, no trip is complete without sitting in a lounge chair at a local park in Burbank watching my three kids enjoy the simple things.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m most grateful to my dad who taught me how to be good with my hands. What started as introducing me to power tools at an early age, fixing things around the house, transitioned to the basics of oil and brake changes. I have learned from him to “figure it out.” As the years went on after college and I was submerged into my career, my boys took me to an off roading adventure crawling big rocks and riding in the mud. I’m pretty sure I bought my first truck the next day. I’m forever thankful to them for introducing me to a much dirtier hobby. I hope they realize that the beginning of the M&R journey is that first adventure with them when I fell in love with off roading, breaking down and learning how to fix and upgrade my orange Jeep.
In addition, the person who probably doesn’t even know how much he has influenced me is my brother-in-law Dany. He taught me “behind-the-scenes” of owning a business, the part that is most important but yet not really spoken about. The logistics of international trading, dealing with different vendors for product development, and how to be a business owner versus an employee.
Lastly, my wife who makes time for M&R between three kids and 12 hour nursing shifts. She edits videos, updates website, manages social media and constantly organizes the workshop. May she always give me that supporting smile when I run by her a new crazy idea.

Website: https://mandronline.com/

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