About Shift Atlanta
ShiftAtlanta Vision
ShiftAtlanta vision is to provide a community of knowledge, events and people that break down the barriers that prevent car enthusiasts from doing more with their passion, particularly the those with a passion for driving.
ShiftAtlanta Mission
ShiftAtlanta’s mission is to provide knowledge and opportunities to create a measurable reduction in real and perceived barriers that often prevent car enthusiasts from doing more with their passion. ShiftAtlanta achieves this by providing access to events, community, reporting and articles on the Atlanta car scene.
The whole Shift Atlanta team is aligned in our goal to address the gap that we believe exists in the automotive scene, create authentic experiences, share knowledge and build a community with unique perspectives.
We aim to reduce barriers to these passions by removing gate keeping, reaching underrepresented groups, helping with cost management and by providing options to reduce or manage to perceived risks. Each of these may be internal to the individual, collective in the car culture or existential within the larger community.
ShiftAtlanta focuses heavily on driving car enthusiasts, however, we seek a community that respects and encourages people to explore their hobby, which can include car shows, lowriders, off-roading and much more.
Shift Atlanta Contributing Team
Paul
Paul has a similar story to so many car lovers. In the 1980s, he dreamed of one day of owning a Porsche or Lamborghini Countach. In the meantime 9 years old Paul had to settle for a poster on his wall. In high school he worked side jobs to buy his first car – a Toyota Corolla, which he proceeded to put wheels, air intake and exhaust on. He was hooked.
Paul has been an enthusiast now for over 2 decades. In that time he has owned and modified cars ranging from that early Corolla to an Eclipse AWD Turbo (DSM), Lancer Evolution 9, Audis, and most recently that dream Porsche Turbo. He was a founding force and President of Import Showdown for a decade. Paul founded and served as CEO of an Atlanta based auto parts retailer that sold replacement and aftermarket parts. He’s also served as president of the Georgia and Southeast Regional DSM clubs.
In addition to his car expertise Paul was a senior partner in a digital agency. He will be contributing expertise in this area to Shift Atlanta by helping guide website operations, digital marketing and video production.
Holly
Holly has always marched to a different beat. She’s followed her interests, ambition and intuition to jump on opportunities presented to her and that’s gotten her some some phenomenal experiences. She helped build and operate Import Showdown (the largest and longest running sportman drag racing events in Georgia), run body shops, worked in dealerships and was a partner in a retail and wholesale aftermarket and performance parts company. Apart from automotive businesses she’s also owned bakery concept that produced a variety of baked goods that were all produced with craft beer and alcohol. Currently, she’s CEO of a firm that advises for and invests in other businesses.
In addition to her business experience she’s always been a car person. The first car that ever caught her eye was the original British Mini Cooper. By the time she was ready to get her drivers license she wanted a Mercury Cougar- no, not the cool muscle cars from the 70’s, the cringy unreliable bubble butts from the late 90’s. But hey, that’s what it’s like when you’re 16. Since then she’s owned a modified AWD Eclipse Turbo and an EVO. She may have been spotted jackassing in the Evo a time or two earned a bit of a reputation as “the EVO drift queen” for doing a few AWD drifts. Should go without saying that shes saves it for the track now.
Her current enthusiast car is an F83 BMW M4 hardtop convertible with a 6 speed manual.
Dean
Dean was one of those people that has been into cars since he could barely walk. He’s been able to tell you make and model of a car by sight since he was about three and his passion has never waned. He bought his first car at 12 years old- a Nissan 240sx- and has owned everything from aircooled 911’s to semi trucks.
He’s under 30 years old but has titled over 200 personal cars in his name, buying, fixing and selling so that he can move to the next thing that catches his eye. The passion for his hobby is also his profession. He was a technician for a decade and now is a business owner doing sales, transportation as well as vehicle consignment and rentals. Dean is a man of strong ethics and builds relationships easily.
He is Shift Atlanta’s go to guy for finding experts in everything car related- motorsports, driving fabrication, modifications and repair. Dean is also hosting Shift Atlanta’s YouTube series on the Atlanta car scene.
Jonathan
Jonathan’s love for cars began in the early 90s between a mix of playing Need for Speed and fanboying about BMWs. As a kid he was emphatic to his grandmother that he’d one day drive a BMW. The love of cars became even more real when his dad got a Porsche 944. That first ride where he got to feel the engine and how the car shook sealed the deal. Jonathan’s first car was an IS300 6 speed that he burnt out the clutch in learning to drive it.
Professionally, Jonathan is a Technology Director leading software development teams.
He currently drives a F80 BMW M3 with a 6 speed manual and an Audi S5. He loves driving experiences and events and shares his experiences with the Shift Atlanta team. Jonathan is also a regular contributor to Shift Atlanta’s YouTube series on the Atlanta car scene.
Megan
Megan brings a lot of fun to our team. Although she was brought up in the Motor City, she’s reformed to become a true ATLien. She’s always been a car fan and sought to be around them. One of her favorite things she’s ever done was go to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. She’s constantly seeking out experiences and trying new things.
When she’s not traveling and socializing with other car geeks, she’s a marketing guru. She’s super creative and uses every bit of her informatics degree from the University of Michigan.
She daily drives a Mazda Miata. Megan is contributing her marketing expertise and her unique perspectives as a female enthusiast to Shift Atlanta.
Legal Disclaimers
ShiftAtlanta posts, articles and content are intended for education purposes. Nothing is intended to imply legal or financial advice. Works submitted are the property of ShiftAtlanta. All other owned or retained copyrights are retained by their respective owners.
Compensation Disclosure
Shift Social, LLC which operates ShiftAtlanta may earn compensation in form of, but not limited to: advertising, commissions, affiliate commissions, sponsored content, direct product sales and events. Compensation may be in the form a percentage of sales, complete sales, or marketing dollars.