We all know the feeling, walking up to your car in the shopping center, arms full of bags, aching feet, and then you see it — a fresh dent on the door of your beloved car. After the adrenaline has subsided and the mourning period settles in, you think, “Well, now what?” Clint Mather of Pacific Dent Removal feels your pain. “When a customer loves their car and we fix the one eyesore on it, they’re just so grateful,” he says. He and his partner have seen it all, fixing dents as large as a basketball or hundreds of dings on a single car caused by hail. And with a business that is mobile, removal of that eyesore is not only convenient, but quick as well, so owners don’t have to mourn for so very long.
Residence neighborhood/city: Orchards.
Business name: Pacific Dent Removal, 360-907-4955 and on Facebook.
Age: 42.
Educational-professional background: I grew up in Vancouver and attended paintless dent removal (PDR) tech school in St. Louis, Mo.
How — and when — you got started in your business: My business partner, John Cooper, was introduced to this occupation by a friend. I had been working four years for a company contracted to locate underground utility lines. But I was intrigued by watching John. It was amazing to me, and I thought I would love to get a job doing that. After two to three years of watching him succeed, I decided to apply for dent removal tech school. I’ve been doing it ever since. He started in 1998 and I started in 2001.
Personal/business philosophy: PDR — it’s not just what we do, it’s who we are.
Most rewarding part of job: The excitement people have when we make their car beautiful and dent-free again. Also, being able to wake up every morning and do a job that I love every day is very rewarding.
Most challenging part of job: In the beginning it was challenging just slowly building clientele. Now that we have been established for six years, we have very loyal customers who will use only Pacific Dent Removal’s services.
Something surprising about your work: How affordable our dent removal is and how great our skill level is to be able to repair larger-sized damage. We do anything from dime-sized dents to ones the size of a basketball, and afterward you can’t see it was there. A lot of people think we can’t do fine lines or creases, but we fix them every day. We’re completely mobile, so we can bring our tools to wherever our customers are.
Best feature of my Clark County community: I love to watch the growth in our county. There are so many new local businesses and restaurants now. Downtown Vancouver is a perfect example. There is so much more to do there. I like to think of it as a mini-Portland and only growing larger.
What would make your community a better place: I think strengthening our local police departments, making sure our city and streets are safe. We are huge supporters of our men and women in blue and would like to see the force has all the tools they need to perform their duties.
Your favorite travel destination and type: I love the coast. Ocean waters and beaches, whether it’s local, Long Beach, or Tulum, Mexico.
Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop/store: My favorite restaurant is Mexican Villa, a hidden gem in Vancouver. Ben’s Bottle Shop is my favorite pub.
Hobbies: I play guitar and like riding my motorcycle. I love our home vegetable garden, and my wife and I cook together almost every night.
Most enjoyable book/play/movie/arts event in past 12 months: I’m excited to be attending DuneFest (a motor sports event in Oregon) in just a couple of weeks. My wife and I always enjoy watching all of the Marvel movies.
On your playlist: Classic rock.
Something you’d like to do this year/within five years: My wife and I have always wanted to visit Ireland, and I think in the next five years we will make that happen!
One word to describe yourself: Integrity.
Person you’d most like to meet: I think Jack Black would be a fun person to meet, or just anyone who can make me laugh. But ultimately, I would rather spend one more day with my grandma and grandpa.
