July 29, 2020
Welcome to the very first episode of Femcanic Garage. In this episode I will share the vision for the podcast and tell you more about me, your host Jayme Blasiman. You will hear about my journey from cleaning car parts at six years old to owning and restoring my first very own muscle car, a 1967 Pontiac GTO. Plus, I share what to expect each week on the show and give you a sneak peak at our first guest in the driver's seat.
Are you a Femcanic?
November 30, 2020
Amy Bogner is in the driver seat. She is a single mother and refinish technician veteran. She was invited to an all female build that was featured at SEMA and she has taught BOCES auto body classes to high school age kids. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
December 29, 2020
Molly Gursky is in the driver seat today. She is the co-owner of Driven Restorations LLC, a classic car and truck restoration shop. In the shop Molly specializes in metal repair, welding and body refinishing also acting as the shop Business Manager. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
January 11, 2021
Megan Meyer is in the driver seat. Megan is a NHRA Top Alcohol Drag Race driver. Megan holds the record for the fastest Pro-Sportsman female in 1/4 mile: 5.11 seconds at 285 MPH, and is the Winningest Pro-Sportsman female driver in the NHRA. At the end of the 2019 season, Megan became the first women in the history of the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster class to win the World Championship. Not only is she a record-breaking driver, she is a graphic designer and entrepreneur.
January 11, 2021
Kristen Hope Migues is a Monster Truck Driver. She’s driven under five different truck identities including Monster Mutt Dalmatian, Razin Kane, Megalodon, Ice Cream Man, and Wolf's Head. Her love for cars, trucks, and racing began when she was a little girl helping her dad work on cars. As she and her family attended Monster Jam racing tours throughout the years, Kristen’s passion grew stronger and at age 16, she decided she was going to be a driver. Kristen has had several successful years with Monster Jam, but with a nudge from the COVID pandemic, she and her husband jumped on the opportunity of realizing another one of her dreams. Join us on this episode as Kristen shares how she made her dreams come true through hard work, perseverance, and dedication.
January 11, 2021
EP 68: Renee Brinkerhoff, the Valkyrie Racer—“A Brave, Courageous Woman with a Compassionate Heart!”
Renee is a rally race driver, but not just any rally race driver--with no prior racing experience, no family background in racing, and barely any knowledge of cars, Renee started rally racing at age 56. Why? Because she wanted to! It was on her bucket list and she just knew she had to do it. Renee has been rally racing for 8 years now. She’s competed in almost all continents of the world including North America, Australia, South America, Asia & Europe, and Africa. Antarctica, the only continent left, is just a matter of time! As if racing around the world wasn’t enough, Renee founded her own racing company, Valkyrie Racing, which has led to a non-profit organization focused on ending child sex trafficking in at-risk women and children around the world. Valkyrie Gives contributes 100% of their gifts to carefully selected projects that positively impact the lives of women and children at risk of sexual trafficking. If you’ve ever said, “I’m too old for….”, this is the episode for you!
January 23, 2021
Elana Scherr is an automotive journalist with an expansive career! She was a staff editor at Hot Rod Magazine and the former editor in chief at Roadkill Magazine. Currently, she is a columnist at Car and Driver, she does new car reviews for Edmunds, and writes features and short stories for Sports Car Market, Road & Track, and other automotive online publications. Join us in this episode for an insightful talk about the importance of diversity in any field (not just automotive); the subtle ways women are treated differently in the workplace; and what it means to be a “car person”. Oh--and let’s not forget her impressive car collection!
January 23, 2021
Heather Holler is a freelance rally cross technician. After discovering her love for mechanical work in her early 20’s and attending tech school, she worked for a few local Subaru dealerships, but that wasn’t enough for her—she wanted more! She decided to apply at Vermont Sportscar for a rally cross mechanic position; with some persistence and a 3000-mile move to Vermont, she became the first female mechanic for the team. Shortly after, Heather decided to go freelance and started working with DirtFish Rally School where she has worked for the last 3 seasons.
January 23, 2021
Toni Avery is in the driver seat. She is the owner of girlsdrivefasttoo.com, which covers new and vintage car reviews, racing schools, track days and other industry events. She has reviewed nearly 70 press cars to date, is a high performance and teen safety driving instructor and has spent her entire career on race tracks in everything from Miatas to open-wheel formula cars. Tune in, sit back and enjoy the ride!
February 4, 2021
Madison is an experienced car painter who owns her own shop in Nashville, Tennessee. Her passion for cars started as a child while she watched her father and grandfather paint and work on cars “under a shaded tree”. Madison also raced cars as a preteen and then pursued her passion further in high school by enrolling in automotive tech classes. Supported by her teacher and her family, Madison joined several national competitions and became the first female to win the SkillsUSA Automotive and Refinish Technology Division in the state of Tennessee. As her work experience grew, so did her accomplishments—in 2018, Madison’s work on a ’36 Pontiac landed her a place in the Great 8 category at the Detroit Autorama. She also painted the Chevy Montage for the All Females Build displayed at SEMA in 2019. Don’t miss this episode so you can hear all about Madison’s journey and how she kept an open mind and “soaked everything up like a sponge” so she could follow her passion!
February 7, 2021
Joanie Butler is a Distributor Sales Manager at Arc Zone, Inc.—a top welding supply company in California. She has been with the company for 9 years, but her journey in the skilled trades industry didn’t start there. This small-town girl from northern California started dabbling in the trades as a teenager while 4-wheeling and off roading “with the guys”. Her free spirit and curiosity about how things work continued leading her to a world of adventure and exploration beginning with amateur surfing in the early 90’s. Seeking “more” Joanie taught herself how to weld, got certified as a small engines mechanic, became a top sales person and fabricator for a company that made catalytic converters, and then got recruited by Arc Zone where she is today. Join us on this episode as we pull back the curtain and explore Joanie’s adventurous journey!
February 9, 2021
Theresa Contreras is a machinist, graphic designer, and renowned custom painter. Her work has been repeatedly displayed on the cover of top industry magazines and in multiple SEMA shows throughout the years. She has worked alongside top names in the industry like Chip Foose and Jimmy Shine and completed builds for Jay Leno and Ford Motor Company. As if that wasn’t enough, Theresa is also the co-founder of Real Deal Revolution—an organization that strives to motivate others in a way that breeds self-confidence and breaks stereotypes through healthy decision-making, hands-on training, creative development, and community involvement. Join us on this episode as this self-taught painter takes us through her journey and talks to us about her dreams, her deepest friendships, nature, and even COVID!
February 9, 2021
Kate is a professional artist, illustrator, and pinstriper based in Central Texas. Kate’s link to the industry stems from her focus on vintage pinups, hot rods, and war airplane “nose art”. Inspired by early family experiences, Kate began her artistic career as a teenager when she was hired to illustrate a children’s story book. In college, Kate entered her work into an art show, which became her first commissioned job. Today Kate owns Asphalt Canvas Custom Art where she continues creating artwork inspired by her customer’s ideas. Join us in this episode as this visionary artist talks about restoring her first car—a 1966 Jeepster Commando—and how through her journey, she has never let her failures hold her back. Buckle up Femcanics!
February 11, 2021
Dez Ferrell is in the driver seat today. She owns and manages her own shop, Nessy’s Kustoms, focused on custom paint and restoration in Mesa, Arizona. She was recently a featured contestant on Motor Trend’s Bitchen Bootcamp. She did not grow up in a shop, nor did she have an interest in cars for most of her life. It wasn’t until she owned a Honda Accord that introduced her to the import scene that was going on about 14 years ago. For Dez it was never a question of why would she ever want to be in a male-dominated industry and fight to constantly prove her skills to the non-believers, it was why wouldn’t she? In those moments when she wanted to give up and quit, she found a way to push forward. For each struggle it made her wiser and for each failure brought her another step towards success.
February 18, 2021
Lara, That Porsche Girl, is a fit model in California. Formerly, she was a Hollywood precision driver where she doubled for famous actresses in various films, but her love for cars started when she was only 12 after watching an independent, successful woman purchase a Porsche on her own. This symbol of women empowerment was burned into Lara’s memory and has guided her throughout life. After finding success in her modeling career, Lara recently decided she’d “flow with the river” and start pursuing her passion—Porsche cars! Join us on this episode as Lara talks about coming full circle in her life to create a strong following of women on Instagram based on her passion for Porsche. For Lara, this is just the beginning!
February 18, 2021
Amanda Beyers is the owner of Manda Marie Upholstery. She has over 14 years experience doing upholstery for Gulfstream Aerospace, a Ferrari restoration ship and concourse level restorations. Amanda leads us through her journey as a mentee to entrepreneurship as a custom automotive upholstery shop.
February 18, 2021
This Caribbean Queen hails from Antigua & Barbuda! She is a multi-talented, dynamic woman who has done it all from piloting airplanes to drag racing to modeling. Her brand encompasses three different entities—InRealLyfe, LHF Motorsports, and Lady Mex. InRealLyfe involves her motivational speaking, modeling, and entrepreneurship entity; LHF Motorsports is her racing and media/culture entity; and Lady Mex involves automotive workshops teaching women basic auto maintenance skills. Join us this week for a fun episode where Renee shares her charismatic personality and tells us all about how she strives to help others be the best versions of themselves.
February 18, 2021
Emily Reeves is a professional YouTuber. She and her husband, Aaron, host the channel, Flying Sparks Garage, where they vlog their personal experiences with wrenching and car restoration. Their vlogs include restorations on Emily’s GTO (“Roxy”), their Datsun 280Z, and other wrenching adventures. Emily’s passion for cars began when she and Aaron met in her mid-teens. Ever since, Emily has learned as much as she could about wrenching and cars while also working on her modeling and acting career. Join us on this episode as Emily shares how she leveraged her skills in modeling and marketing and through perseverance and hard work, turned her passion for cars into a top watched YouTube channel with almost 90,000 subscribers!
February 18, 2021
Amanda Brisebois is a custom painter who specializes in airbrushing motorcycles and helmets. She is the owner and founder of Black Widow Custom Paint in Ontario, Canada. Amanda did not set out to be a motorcycle painter, but you couldn’t tell by looking at her work. Amanda has won several trophies with her unique paint jobs and she’s become a recognized brand in the industry. Join us in this episode to learn more about how Amanda became not just a motorcycle painter, but also a savvy business woman.
March 3, 2021
You have seen her art but have you heard her story? Barbie is an author, teacher of welding via her YouTube channel, influencer with over 62,000 Instagram followers, but most impressive is how she has become a world-renowned metal sculptor. Creating sculptures for Miller Welders, Carolina Shoe Company, Harley Davidson and other major companies. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain and shares her struggles with mental health and drug use throughout her life that have made her into the extraordinary artist she is today. If you want to be inspired, this is an episode you don't want to miss!
