I’ve been obsessed with cars for as long as I can remember — not just driving them, but the feeling of a ride that looks as good as it drives. That obsession is what led me, years ago, to walk into one of the top detailing shops in Trinidad to enquire about a paint correction package. I left stunned by the price — and after watching the technicians work on my visits, I realized something more important: the passion just wasn’t there. I knew if I paid that price, I still wouldn’t get the results I was after.

So I decided to do it myself. I invested in the proper equipment and taught myself to polish and correct my own car’s paint. Then I did a friend’s car. Then another. Word spread, and before long I was running a full mobile detailing operation on weekends, squeezing in jobs around a full-time job of my own — a true “weekend warrior.” The turning point came in a van club I was part of, where I’d post before-and-after photos of every paint correction job. The transformations were so dramatic that the guys started calling me “Magic Mike” — and the name stuck.