Mike’s Story
I grew up in Baton Rouge, LA, as the middle of three boys. My younger brother, Brian, who was involved in creating Bclip our video business, is an amazing software developer. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and has three boys of his own. My older brother and business partner, Bubba, got his start in the car wash business in Asheville, NC. with his wife Melanie. We all grew up in the plumbing wholesale distribution business; my father worked for a company called Coburn Supply for 50 years, and my grandparents were also in the plumbing industry.
During my first year of college, I attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette on a drum scholarship. I drank too much, failed out, and my dad got me a job on a plumbing truck, likely as a way to show me why I needed a college education. The plan backfired for a while, as I was making good money as a plumber in 1994, working on apartment complexes. Eventually, I figured out my path, attended MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN, and studied music business, marketing, and video production. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and landed an internship at Walt Disney World, working at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, and the Polynesian Resort. I learned a lot about customer service and the art of putting on a show.
While I was in college near Nashville, my brother Bubba decided that he could no longer work the sales counter at Coburn Supply and wanted to open a car wash. Living in Baton Rouge, he had been studying Benny’s Car Wash, even hiring me and Brian to sit in Benny’s parking lot and count cars from time to time. Bubba spent time in Asheville, NC, visiting his in-laws and decided to build Chammies car wash at the age of 24. He had been speaking with Benny and Justin Alford from Benny’s Car Wash, who introduced him to the Fazio family. Mr. Sonny and the Alfords took Bubba under their wing. Between the mentorship from Sonny, Paul, and Benny, Bubba, alongside his wife Melanie, built a full-service car wash and oil change in Asheville before he was even old enough to rent a car.
If you’ve ever met Bubba Berlin, you know he’s never met a stranger. He’s a natural extrovert, full of energy, curiosity, and drive. By the time an elevator reaches the desired floor, Bubba has already made a friend, discussed LSU football, and probably planned a beer outing. That’s the kind of guy he is.
I was in college, four hours west of him in Murfreesboro, often driving to Asheville on weekends to help fix things at the car wash. The deal was that if we managed to fix whatever was broken, we’d get to ride jet skis and drink beer. I was always the mechanically inclined one in the family, the “nerdy clone” of my father, as they joked.
Bubba and Melanie ran Chammies Car Wash and Oil Change and were masters of creating a strong company culture. Bubba could inspire the team, make them believe in the mission, and encourage everyone to bring their best. Melanie, equally energetic, ran the lobby and knew every customer by name. This young couple in Asheville was a force: Melanie, the welcoming and friendly cute blonde who never met a stranger, and Bubba, leading the crew like a football team. Their location straddled the Shiloh neighborhood, an urban blue-collar community, and the affluent Biltmore Forest Country Club area. On one side of their business were the crew members' homes, and on the other, their customer base. It was a beautiful blend, and looking back, I can see why they were so successful. They ran Chammies for years until Jiffy Lube approached them with an offer. As any car wash owner knows, the right offer on the right day can seal the deal, and that’s what happened.
After selling the car wash, Bubba and Melanie were on the lookout for their next venture. Around that time, I was just coming out of school and talking to Bubba about video production and multimedia. While I was working at Disney, he received a CD-ROM from a PODS portable building franchise. Although he wasn’t interested in the franchise, he was blown away by the multimedia CD-ROM and its power to explain details clearly to a banker, making it easy to secure financing. He saw the potential in video as a powerful communication tool for business.
I convinced Bubba to buy a camera and a Macintosh computer, and in 2002, we started Bclip Productions: Video for Business. Naturally, some of our first clients were his friends in the car wash industry. We became vendors for Simoniz, Transmate, Blue Coral, Ecolab, and Sonny’s. We also did real estate tours, training videos, and various projects, but car washing was always part of our DNA.
Around 2005, we began creating mini-documentaries for Sonny’s. I traveled with Anthony Analetto, visiting three to four car washes a year, documenting the stories of operators and the birth of the express car wash. We told the stories of the all star operators that pioneered the industry. Meeting these incredible entrepreneurs and witnessing their willingness to share knowledge and support each other fascinated me. The Fazio family was central to this culture of collaboration and innovation. Telling the stories of these operators who bet everything on this new business model and seeing their passion was inspiring. I have always admired Paul Fazio’s enthusiasm for transforming the industry and creating opportunities people.
For years, I toured car washes, filmed videos, and learned from the best. Riding with Anthony and absorbing his insights was like getting a masterclass in the car wash industry. As the industry evolved from the traditional full-service model to something faster, more efficient, and glamorous, I was thrilled to witness it firsthand as it attracted Wall Street’s attention.
By 2018, Bclip was thriving, producing marketing content for diverse industries, from tourism and manufacturing to medical and car washing. Bubba and I saw a gap in the market: car wash investors needed comprehensive branding and marketing services. This realization led to SLAM—a marketing agency to help new car wash investors with branding, website development, social media, and more. Bubba continued running Bclip, while I focused on SLAM.
In 2019, we took SLAM to the ICA Show with a simple 10x10 booth and drew significant interest. Sonny’s approached us, recognizing the need for a marketing partner to help their clients. Paul Fazio’s vision to create a unified support system for car wash operators aligned perfectly with ours, so we joined the Sonny’s family, becoming Sonny’s Marketing by SLAM.
Joining Sonny’s has been one of the greatest honors and learning experiences of my life. Watching Paul’s vision unfold—bringing in specialists to support car wash operators under one roof—has been inspiring. Sonny’s genuine commitment to operator success has remained steadfast, even as the company has grown.
When Bob Fox of Car Wash College invited me to teach a marketing class, I was terrified. Public speaking was not my forte, and my first day at Car Wash College was nerve-wracking, especially knowing I had to follow Ashton Hines, an electric and hilarious educator with a magnetic presence. I white-knuckled the podium, flipping through slides like a robot. Over time, however, I fell in love with teaching, thanks to Bob Fox’s encouragement. Helping car wash managers improve their sales techniques and owners boost their marketing became my new source of joy. I often talk about dopamine hits in the car wash industry, and for me, my dopamine hit is helping and teaching others.
My brother suggested I create a video series called the "SLAM SIX," which I put on YouTube to share marketing ideas and inspire operators. While it serves as a lead magnet for the agency, I love making these videos because they educate and energize people. This video series, combined with my teaching experiences, inspired me to write this book.
This book is a collection of lessons, tips, and stories from my work with hundreds of car wash operators—new investors starting from scratch, established owners looking to rebrand, and those whose businesses needed a fresh push to compete. It’s also shaped by insights from industry pioneers like the Fazio family, Anthony Analetto, Zeev Josman, Bob Fox, Clay Wilson, Scott Blackstock, Benny and Justin Alford, Mike Black, Paul Bradley, Bill Gora, Charlie Zimmerman, Art Riddle, Clayton Clark, Jimmy Williams, Bryan Hage, Brian Nixon, Robert Morris, Megan Bradley, Jim and Regina McClimond, and John and Kati Pierce. I hope this book provides value, sparks new ideas, and inspires readers to think differently, try new approaches, and embrace the immense potential within the car wash industry. This is a amazing industry and I hope you find this book helpful and interesting.