Jesse Stoddard: Welcome to another edition of the Ride and Style podcast. Today our guests — we have some special guests from Autoplex representing the Autoplex team — Nate Stanley and Tempy Bowman, and they are going to be talking all about this incredible new venture they’ve got going on as well as telling us about the history. So, hey guys, thanks for being here today.
Nate Stanley: Hey, thanks for having us.
Templeton Bowman: Yeah, nice to be on, guys. Uh, thanks for inviting us over.
Josh Poulson: Colorado in the house. We haven’t had—
Templeton Bowman: Yes, sir.
Josh Poulson: Colorado yet, Jesse. We’ve been working our way around the country and now we’re getting to the elite of the elite. Okay. Um, I mean, give us a little bit of Autoplex, what all you guys do. I mean, not only just a traditional restyler, but give us a little bit — maybe Tempy, start us off. Tell us how many stores you’ve got rolling and then we’ll make fun of Josh for working out of his garage or the back of his pickup truck about 20 years ago and what he’s grown into.

Josh Poulson: Go ahead.
Templeton Bowman: Yeah. Yeah. If you look at, you know, 1992 or 1993 when Josh Elliott was running around in his pickup doing pinstriping, we’ve come a little ways. I mean, it’s been awesome. So, currently we have four stores. Definitely in acquisition mode — we’d like to grow and enhance our footprint, especially in the south part of Denver. It’s just, I call it the fun part of automotive. I just love being part of a company where it’s not a grudge purchase. My background has been huge in collision — about 34 years — where something bad had to happen for us to do a good job. And even when you hit it out of the park, you’d still hear, “Man, you guys are great. Your staff’s awesome, but I hope and pray I never see you again.”
So it’s just so cool now — we have so many repeat customers.

Templeton Bowman: We do a lot of fun stuff to cars — kind of get to take their imagination and make it work. We currently have three revenue streams right now. We have dealer fleet — that’s how the company was built, hitting car dealerships, going around, making cars look unique so they fly off the lot faster. Then came retail — you know, COVID was a good friend for retail for us. We exploded in business. People started really living a lifestyle in Colorado and having their vehicle match that lifestyle, which was so incredibly cool. Whether it’s making a Subaru look unique for the Subaru guy or the Tacoma guy or the F-150 person — that’s a lot of fun. Retail is exciting for me.

And then recently, our fleet revenue stream — there’s a ton of oil and gas. Colorado is the eighth biggest state in exploration, and we have a lot of oil and gas companies. So being able to outfit those trucks — and now delving into HVAC, plumbing vans, and other things like that — that’s kind of in a nutshell what we do. It’s just fun to be part of a growing company that’s thriving with a great culture.

Josh Poulson: That’s awesome. Nate, I mean, you’re the marketing guru, the CMO of the company. You’ve been there a while now. What have you seen? How’s business changed since you’ve gotten there?

Nate Stanley: Yeah, that’s funny you mention change because this is my 10th year with Autoplex. I came on board in 2015. And just to go back a little bit before that — Josh had been running the company primarily out of one location before that, I think around up until about 2012. It was just Auto Trim of Denver, and he was specifically servicing car dealerships.

I think maybe getting a little bit into retail window tint and that side of the business, but primarily dealership work. That location didn’t even really have much of a showroom — it was more like a waiting room for customers to come in and drop off their vehicle.

And right around when Josh brought me in — actually a couple of years before that — he had acquired a division of a company called Autoplex by Van Works.

Josh Poulson: Yeah.

Nate Stanley: What that was — it was a retail truck accessory division of a very reputable company in Colorado called Van Works. They were a van outfitter for a long time. They’d been around forever. But they had a retail truck accessory division as a new venture of theirs. And Josh had an interest in transitioning into retail. So he acquired the Autoplex division of Van Works, and that came along with three locations.

That grew Autoplex from one location in the Denver area — north Denver — to now four locations throughout Denver and the northern Front Range, as we call it. So we had one location in North Fort Collins, one in South Fort Collins (a small satellite shop that just did window tint and paint protection film), one in Longmont, and then the North Glenn shop, which was Auto Trim of Denver.

When I came on board, we were kind of dealing with several different identities and business models. My goal was to bring more awareness to the retail side but also merge the brands together and eliminate the confusion we were facing. That was a fun project — a whole new website, redoing some of the showrooms, revamping our logo, merging brands and websites together. It was a really exciting time, and it was right up my alley — all the stuff I love doing.

So, that’s kind of a brief history. And the thing I love about Autoplex and Josh Elliott, the owner, is that he’s a risk-taker — most of the time a calculated risk-taker — but he’s willing to try new things. It’s been really exciting to watch.

Josh Poulson: So just to get everybody caught up to speed — you had the four shops, and then recently, what, like about a year ago was it? When did you purchase the other one in Colorado Springs?

Nate Stanley: Yeah, that was — maybe two years ago? April of 2020, maybe?

Josh Poulson: Oh wow, it’s been that long.

Nate Stanley: I can’t remember if it was that much in the midst of COVID or not. It didn’t seem like it was, but I think it was April of 2020 that we acquired Timberline Toppers down in Colorado Springs.

Nate Stanley: So that grew our reach from just what we call the northern Front Range to now pretty much all along the Colorado Front Range. That was also a unique acquisition because the company we acquired, Timberline, was a small mom-and-pop topper shop. They did a little bit of truck accessories, but it was primarily toppers.

It was a very small location — and when we talk small, most of our locations have anywhere from four to eight service bays, and this one had maybe one and a half. So that was a challenge: how were we going to offer our full product lineup out of that shop?

That evolved — we slowly added services and eventually added a big add-on to the building. It’s actually a standalone building, but we added around six shop bays, which allowed us to offer window tint, build a spray-in bed liner bay, and install lifts for truck accessories. Now we’re doing the full product offering there.

Josh Poulson: Wow. And then give us the big announcement. What’s the big announcement?

Nate Stanley: Tempy, are you ready for the big announcement?

Templeton Bowman: Yeah, I can take this one, Nate, if you want. It’s kind of exciting — we’ve been working with A&A Topper, which has two locations in Denver, Colorado. They’re usually in the top five or top ten in LEER sales around the country. They have an absolutely unblemished reputation in the industry.

They do some other bolt-on accessories too, which aligns well with us. They also do a bit of fleet work — mostly on the van side. So we’re very complementary businesses. Josh Elliott has been working with the owners, Greg and Darren, over the last six months, and we are happy to announce that on June 30th we’ll close on that transaction and grow from four stores to six stores.

Jesse Stoddard: Congratulations!

Templeton Bowman: Super exciting. It’s kind of cool — if you combine their customer list and ours, it’s almost like a Venn diagram. We cover some of the same people, but we’re really not going blow-to-blow with them on a daily basis. So the synergistic opportunities are just off the chart.

We have services they don’t provide, and they are so deep into the truck cap market that that’s going to really benefit our other four stores. We’re excited — they’re great people. We’ve met both of their crews this past week, and we’re super happy with the quality of individuals and shops we’ve acquired.

Josh Poulson: That’s great. You know, I’m gonna ask one more question — then I’ll let Jesse jump in. When you guys acquire a company, you’re talking about people who’ve never worked for you before — new products, new teams, new processes. Do you have a checklist of stuff you go down like, “Okay, we’ve got to do this, this, this”? Or does everyone just split it up? How do you make it all one brand?

Templeton Bowman: Yeah, we’ve got a great leadership team. I was blessed in my former career to do a lot of mergers and acquisitions, so that was very helpful throughout this transaction.

But I think what you look for is opportunity — where geography, product line, or customer base can extend your reach. You also want something that gives your employees a chance to grow. Someone doesn’t have to die, quit, or move on for others to move up.

It really comes from that growth mindset Josh has — that if you’re not moving forward, you’re probably slipping back a little. It’s just fun to be part of that.

Templeton Bowman: As far as the checklist, yeah — we definitely have a checklist of what needs to be done. Nate’s been hugely integral on our technology and SEO side. Jesse, you and your company have been very helpful in preparing us for that — making sure we can plug in these new locations and be seamless so people can actually find us.

But yeah, everything from t-shirt sizes — finding out what the production guys wear so we can make a great first impression on day one with all new gear — all the way to figuring out if we need new servers, routers, and everything else to make sure our stores communicate.

So yeah, it’s not easy, but we’re well-equipped. Jessica Anderson, our controller, has been a huge part of that. Josh, at that 10,000-foot level, has helped us out a lot. Nate has been wonderful, and he brought a guy named Randy Gonzalez on — who also has merger and acquisition experience — to head up our sales and marketing divisions. That way we can have all our lanes, all our horses, pulling in the same direction.

Nate Stanley: Yeah.

Josh Poulson: Nate, what would you add to that?

Nate Stanley: One of the other things that I think is really important — and I know it’s a big part of Josh’s focus — is the team. The team of the company we’re acquiring. Teamwork is one of our big core values, so we need to make sure that the team we’re bringing into the Autoplex family aligns with those values.

And I know Josh has a close relationship with the owners of A&A Toppers. He’s also developed relationships with other business owners well before acquisitions in the past — really getting to know the business, the owners, and their employees.

We’ll have to twist Josh’s arm a little bit more for the next podcast because I think he’d have some great input. He’s a great networker and really well-received in the industry. He’s created a lot of great relationships — that helps a lot.

Jesse Stoddard: You guys touched on the history of the company already, but I also want to hear a bit more about how you individually got started in the aftermarket automotive industry. How did you each get started — what brought you here to where you’re at today?

Templeton Bowman: Wow. That’s a good one. I guess mine started on September 9th, 1991 — when I started in the collision industry, selling to body shops. We had a bumper remanufacturing company — we’d take wrecked chrome bumpers, straighten them out, rechrome them, and sell them back to body shops.

We were one of the pioneers in plastic, too. When cars came out with plastic bumper faces, we developed a lot of the early welding techniques — urethane welding, nitrogen welding — to weld them back together, refinish them, and resell them.

Along the way, in crash parts, there was a huge opportunity. Insurance companies always want to save money, so we sold a lot of aftermarket parts. We were a big distributor for Fay, which became Westin — and everyone knows Westin now. Fay isn’t even around anymore, but we used to sell pallets of step bumpers, grille guards, and accessories to dealerships because trucks came from the factory without rear bumpers back then.

Templeton Bowman: They came from the factory without rear bumpers, which is wild. I might be the oldest guy on the call who remembers those days. So that was my foray into aftermarket. Then we got into aftermarket lighting, hoods, bumpers, fenders — one of my partners in that business was on the board of CAPA to certify that those parts would actually fit the car.

So the whole evolution of OE knockoff and OE-lookalike parts — importing containers, distributing — that’s how I kind of got my start. That business eventually ran into issues when OEMs started patenting bumpers and our raw material dried up.

So I switched to the body shop region. We didn’t do customization in the body shops, but we definitely fixed cars. Eventually, we were bought by a big multinational company, and I ran a bunch of stores for them. That’s where I got my merger and acquisition experience.

Then one day I get this random text — I thought somebody stole my number. I almost deleted it. Then later I realized, “Wait, I know Josh Elliott! I like that guy.” So I called his recruiter back. We talked for a couple months — Josh is really slow to hire — ran through personality tests and all kinds of assessments, and we finally made a deal.

I came on board, and man, it’s been a breath of fresh air. After 33 years of doing one thing, what a joy this has been. I got to meet Josh Poulson out in Minneapolis — holy cow, who is this guy? He’s like the mayor of everywhere — everybody knows him.

Josh Poulson: I was thinking “breath of fresh air” literally too, right?

Templeton Bowman: Yeah, exactly.

Josh Poulson: When you’re not smelling body shop stuff.

Templeton Bowman: Exactly.

Josh Poulson: Oh my goodness. What about you, Nate?

Nate Stanley: Yeah, he was like a kid in a candy store when he joined. He always uses the analogy of someone wanting to be here versus needing to be here — it’s a game changer. I can only imagine the difference and the opportunity that brings. That’s kind of what brought me to it too.

I’ll go way back, just briefly. I’ve always had a passion for graphic design, and that evolved into marketing before I even really knew what marketing was. Actually, this is kind of embarrassing, but when I was a teen playing video games, the game company needed graphics. This was back when games ran in your browser — before consoles went online — and I somehow got a bootleg copy of Adobe Photoshop and started designing graphics for that game.

It just evolved into something I loved doing. I went to school for it, got an internship in graphic design and marketing communications at an electrical distributor. I’m creative, but it’s really hard to make electrical components exciting.

I worked there for about three or four years, then transferred to their sister company up in Minneapolis — which put me closer to what actually led me to my first job in automotive. I’ve always been a car guy — always had my own projects, a couple of restorations going.

Long story short, the owner of the electrical distributor I worked for referred me to his friend in a Vistage group named John Crosser — who you guys know well, and I think he was even a guest on your podcast.

Jesse Stoddard: Yeah.

Nate Stanley: He set me up with him and the rest was history. I was in my sweet spot — I’d go into work every day grinning, just watching the work being done on the cars, photographing, designing, doing creative work. It’s something I’ve always loved.

Nate Stanley: So I worked for John and his team at Automotive Concepts for about four and a half years. I learned a ton from him — especially about business, culture, and leadership. Then life took me back to Colorado, which was kind of full circle because I’m originally from here.

It was good timing, and Josh Elliott happened to be looking for someone in marketing. So that’s how I ended up with Autoplex, and here we are 10 years later.

Josh Poulson: I love that story. And it’s wild how many connections come from the aftermarket circle — it’s like we all know somebody who knows somebody.

Nate Stanley: Totally. It’s a small world, but it’s a good one.

Templeton Bowman: I think it’s just crazy how the industry’s evolved — even in the last 10 years. When you look at what customers are wanting, it’s so much more about matching their lifestyle to their vehicle. People used to buy a vehicle just to drive it; now they buy a vehicle to express themselves.

Nate Stanley: Yeah, absolutely. You see that especially in Colorado. People want their vehicles to fit their hobbies — skiing, mountain biking, camping. And now EVs are entering that space too, which adds another twist.

Templeton Bowman: Right. It’s like, “Hey, I want a Rivian, but I also want it to look rugged and feel like me.” That’s where our industry keeps thriving — that personal touch.

Josh Poulson: So true. I was just thinking — we’re all car people here, but when I see what you guys are doing, it’s more than just selling products. You’re helping people build something that’s part of their identity. That’s special.

Nate Stanley: Yeah, that’s one of the things I love most about this industry. The connection between people and their vehicles is deep — emotional even. When you see someone light up because their truck finally looks the way they envisioned it, it’s incredibly rewarding.

Templeton Bowman: It really is. We’re helping people create something they’re proud of.

Jesse Stoddard: You both sound like you genuinely enjoy what you do — and it shows.

Nate Stanley: We really do. It’s fun.

Templeton Bowman: Yeah, I agree. I always say, “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong.”

Josh Poulson: Love that.

Jesse Stoddard: I want to ask each of you — what excites you most about the future of this industry?

Templeton Bowman: For me, it’s the technology and the people. The technology keeps evolving so quickly — it keeps you on your toes. But at the same time, it’s the people that make it worth it. We get to work with customers who are genuinely excited about what we do, and with teammates who love what they do. It’s contagious.

It’s also really cool to see how far the aftermarket has come in being accepted by dealerships and manufacturers. Ten years ago, you might have had to convince a dealer why accessories mattered. Now, they’re calling us asking what’s new and how they can sell more. That’s a big shift.

Nate Stanley: Yeah, I completely agree. For me, what excites me is how products continue to evolve. Everything is becoming more integrated — from safety tech to lifestyle accessories — and that gives us more opportunities to meet customers where they are.

For example, products like power steps and bed covers aren’t just about looks anymore; they’re about convenience and usability. The aftermarket is blending form and function better than ever.

And I love seeing how social media has changed everything. Customers are way more aware now. They do their research, they know what they want, and that challenges us to stay sharp and keep innovating.

Templeton Bowman: Yeah, and I think customers having access to so much information actually helps elevate the whole industry. They know quality when they see it — and they’re willing to pay for it when it’s done right.

Josh Poulson: That’s true. The more educated the customer, the easier the conversation sometimes.

Nate Stanley: Totally. It’s no longer about just price — it’s about experience and trust.

Templeton Bowman: Absolutely. I always tell our team, “We’re not in the car business — we’re in the people business.”

Jesse Stoddard: That’s a great quote.

Templeton Bowman: It’s true, though. The cars are just the medium that brings people to us. It’s about relationships — with customers, with vendors, with your team. That’s what makes it sustainable.

Josh Poulson: I love that perspective. So, Nate — what’s one piece of advice you’d give to a younger person who wants to get into this business today?

Nate Stanley: Hmm, that’s a good one. I’d say — don’t underestimate the value of learning everything you can. Even if you start out sweeping floors or shadowing an installer, take it seriously. Every bit of knowledge you pick up will serve you later.

The other piece would be: stay creative. This is an industry where creativity matters. Whether you’re designing a showroom, building a brand, or helping a customer customize their dream vehicle — creativity is what keeps it fresh.

Templeton Bowman: That’s solid advice. I’d add — work hard and be humble. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s true. There’s no shortcut for time and experience. Be patient enough to learn, but hungry enough to keep growing.

And don’t burn bridges. This industry is smaller than you think. You’ll be amazed how often paths cross again years down the road.

Josh Poulson: Amen to that. We’ve all seen it — it’s like one big family in this industry.

Jesse Stoddard: Yeah, and that’s what makes it so special. You can build lifelong relationships through this work.

Templeton Bowman: Exactly. And it’s fun, man — we get to make cool stuff. At the end of the day, when someone drives away with a smile because their truck or car looks perfect, that’s instant gratification.

Nate Stanley: Couldn’t agree more.

Josh Poulson: Alright, before we wrap up, I have one more thing. We’ve got to do the “Know Your Owner” segment. Nate, you’re in the hot seat. Let’s see how well you know Josh Elliott.

Nate Stanley: Oh no, I didn’t study for this!

Josh Poulson: Too bad! Alright, first question: What’s Josh’s favorite vehicle brand?

Nate Stanley: Oh man… I’m going to go with Ford — but that’s a tough one.

Josh Poulson: Not bad! We’ll let him confirm that later.

Jesse Stoddard: You survived round one.

Templeton Bowman: Barely!

Nate Stanley: (laughs) Yeah, I think I need to phone a friend next time.

Josh Poulson: Alright, next question: What’s Josh Elliott’s go-to drink of choice after a long day?

Nate Stanley: Oh, that’s easy — Coors Light.

Templeton Bowman: Yep, nailed it.

Josh Poulson: Correct. You get a point for that one. Alright, final question — if Josh wasn’t in the automotive business, what do you think he’d be doing?

Nate Stanley: Oh, man. That’s tough… Probably something outdoors. Maybe guiding hunting or fishing trips. The guy loves being outside.

Josh Poulson: That’s a good answer. I think you passed.

Jesse Stoddard: Yeah, we’ll give him an A for that round.

Templeton Bowman: Nicely done, Nate.

Nate Stanley: Whew, that was stressful. (laughs)

Jesse Stoddard: Alright guys, this has been such an awesome conversation. Before we go, where can people learn more about Autoplex?

Nate Stanley: Yeah, absolutely. The best way is our website — autoplexco.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram under @AutoplexCustoms.

Jesse Stoddard: Perfect. And we’ll include those links in the description.

Templeton Bowman: Thanks for having us on, guys. This was a blast.

Josh Poulson: Yeah, it was great talking to you both. Congrats again on all the growth and success — can’t wait to see what you do next.

Nate Stanley: Thanks, Josh. Thanks, Jesse. Appreciate it.

Templeton Bowman: Thanks, guys.

Jesse Stoddard: Alright everyone, that’s it for today’s episode of the Ride-In-Style Podcast. Thanks for tuning in — and as always, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.