In 2019, Alex Protassieff moved back home to Northern California after a stint in Texas, unsure of his next move. He took a job with an insurance carrier, but it wasn’t the right fit. He saw a job ad for the service writer trainee program at G&C Auto Body, a fast-growing regional MSO, and gave it a shot.
“I didn't really seek out auto body,” Protassieff said. “The timing was perfect and then it just kind of clicked from there.”
“Clicked” might be an understatement. In a matter of months, Protassieff’s work ethic and potential had been noticed by his supervisors, and he was offered the chance to manage a store. Recently, he was promoted to regional manager of G&C’s Central Valley market, overseeing six stores between Modesto and Elk Grove.
Pat Crozat, who owns G&C Auto Body with his brothers, Shawn and Josh, said Protassieff’s “positive, high energy, lead-from-the-front, follow-me-team, can-do attitude” is a major asset to the stores he oversees and the company as a whole.
“He is always fast on the move, willing to roll up his sleeves and help do anything, from washing a car, polishing a panel, putting parts on a car, helping a guest, writing an estimate or sweeping a floor. No task is below him,” Crozat said. “In short, he emulates what he expects, and his team love him for it.”
Crozat added that Protassieff also approaches issues with a focus on reaching a positive outcome, by being respectful of whomever he is talking to: “He always treats everyone as an equal human being.”
Protassieff’s fast rise in the collision repair industry is an example of how shops of all sizes can address the technician shortage by training the right people, regardless of work or educational background, and promoting from within.
Getting Started
Before joining G&C Auto Body, Protassieff said his only repair-related experience was in his early 20s, working on Suzuki Samurais and Toyota Land Cruisers as a side business. Before insurance, he worked in tech sales.
After being accepted in G&C’s service writer trainee program, Protassieff completed three weeks of classroom training. He then continued training at the Petaluma store, where he was assigned a mentor: Steven Peterson, the store’s general manager.
Protassieff received a Rolex upon his promotion to regional manager. Image via LinkedIn.
Protassieff said he was “very lucky” to land with Peterson, who is now also a regional manager with the company.
“He taught me everything about the job from the ground up, and I know I wouldn't be where I'm at today without working for him,” Protassieff said.
Also important: Protassieff found the work appealing.
“I can't really pinpoint why, but it clicked almost immediately, and I just love doing the job,” he said. “I love writing estimates. I love learning about the repair procedures. It's just something I bought into, because I loved it so much.”
Leadership wasn’t on his mind when he first joined G&C Auto Body, but 11 months later, Pat and Shawn Crozat offered him an opportunity to manage their Sonoma store.
“I was floored,” Protassieff said. “I was very grateful that they hand-picked me to do that.”
Moving into a management role for the first time was nerve-wracking, but Protassieff has “always believed that if you don't try something, you'll never know if you're gonna be good at it. The easiest way to grow is to put yourself in uncomfortable positions, and that was a very uncomfortable position.”
It helped knowing the Crozats and Peterson were all confident that he was ready. “That gave me a boost and just made it easier for me to dive right into it,” he said.
Moving Up
Protassieff stepped up to manage the Sonoma store in 2020, during the pandemic, when staffing was leaner than usual. He wasn’t just the manager; he also wrote estimates and detailed vehicles.
Running the store was his “crash course” in shop management. “I just poured everything I had into it,” he said. “I took every I-CAR class I possibly could. I would dive into reading whatever I could. I would spend extra time at the shop watching technicians, how they repaired cars. They gave every bit of effort.” He gave credit to the store’s technicians and painter for also helping him learn.
Protassieff was usually the first person to arrive at the shop and the last to leave. “I knew it was an opportunity that could change my life,” he said.
Over the next few years, Protassieff managed stores in Larkfield; Hayward, where he increased revenue from about $225,000 to $500,000 a month; Marysville, where he helped train a new store manager; and Stockton.
This year, Protassieff was asked to move up to regional manager of the Central Valley, which currently has six stores, and three more in the works.
Employer Loyalty
Over the six years Protassieff has worked for G&C Auto Body, it has grown its footprint from 16 to 50 stores.
Despite the aggressive expansion, it’s still a family-owned business that “really cares about us, and you can feel it,” Protassieff said. “You work hard harder for a company that's willing to recognize you and actually cares about their people.”
Protassieff said when he transferred to Marysville, he worked as a “floating manager” — a role that is now permanent in the company, but was created for him at the time because he and his wife, Chelsea, wanted to move closer to family in the Sacramento area before starting a family of their own. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Amelia, in 2024.
“They created a role for me to manage that Marysville shop, to keep me employed with the company and help me facilitate the move for my family,” Protassieff said. “They have taken care of me every step of the way, and I'm just I'm so grateful for it.
“I don't envision ever working anywhere else. I don't even think about it,” he added. “I love working for G&C.”
Protassieff said about the same time he joined G&C, he met his wife, who also worked for the company for a while. “We had $100 to our name” at the beginning, he said. In the six years since, “the collision repair industry has allowed us to build a family and buy a house.”
G&C Auto Body taught Protassieff — who had a high school diploma but no post-secondary education or formal training — and then promoted him when he was ready.
“I have a personal philosophy that I have to prove myself every day, whatever role that I'm in,” he said. “I'll do whatever I can to make sure that I'm worth the opportunity.”
Attracting Young People to a Career in Collision Repair
Not many young people think about collision repair as a career path unless they grow up in a business owned by their family, Protassieff said. He hopes his story inspires someone else to give it a try.
“It has just completely changed my life, all for the better,” he said. “This industry gives opportunities to anybody if they’re willing to take it.”
He said body shop owners and insurance companies should offer apprenticeships to students in training programs to promote the industry.
“Our industry is future-proof,” he said. “It will always be needed, always growing with the trends.”
Once those young people are in the shop in an entry-level position, it’s up to management to identify the ones who have potential and offer training and promotions.
“I have an apprentice technician in Stockton who started with the company as a detailer,” Protassieff said. “I saw his work ethic. Later this year, he will become a journeyman technician, in less than two years [with the company.]”
Abby Andrews