About APEX Tech Nation

I'm Anthony Calhoun, an ASE Master Technician with 25 years in the automotive industry. I've spent my career as a technician and service manager, training young techs, and building a deep understanding of what this trade demands of the people in it.

This industry gave me a lot.

I grew up sometimes homeless. Trailer parks. Motels. The back of a station wagon. School wasn't a guarantee. Neither was a place to sleep sometimes. When I applied for vocational school, they made you pick two trades in case you didn't get your first choice. I picked carpentry and automotive. Didn't know anything about either. Didn't care. Got automotive. I thought this was not bad.

12th grade I took placement and started at my first dealership where I stayed for 19 years. I'd just turned 18. Just got my driver's license back after suspension.

I went flat rate almost immediately when I learned the harder you worked, the more money you could make. Started GM ASAP in 2001 right out of Vocational School. Six weeks at the dealership during the program plus every weekend on flat rate — that's how I paid for college and kept my own place. Graduated in 2003.

25 years later — career, family, life — all from a skill set I stumbled into and an industry that paid me what I was worth as long as I kept showing up.

This trade allowed me to hustle, earn my keep, and build a really good life. Over 25 years in the industry, I grew attached to it and the people in it. I became passionate about doing all I can to help others who started out like me — or with even less opportunity.

That's why I started A.W.C. Consulting. That's why I wrote Why Techs Leave and How to Keep Them. That's why I'm building APEX Tech Nation.