Every so often, our editorial staff selects one aftermarket industry professional to get to know a little better. Participants are asked to respond to a series of questions that can be answered in about the same amount of time you might spend chatting at the office coffee pot or waiting for an elevator. In today’s installment of “Five Minutes With,” we want to introduce you to our colleague, Josh Cable, editor of our sister publication Counterman magazine.
Now that you can put a face with the name, when you see him out at AAPEX be sure to say hello!
What was your first job in the industry?
My first job in journalism was at a family owned newspaper on the west side of Cleveland. I was doing a bit of everything – news, sports, local politics, feature stories, editorials, taking my own photos, even doing a bit of layout.
If you’re asking for my first job in the automotive aftermarket, that would be when I was an editor at BodyShop Business, covering the collision repair industry.
What do you like best about your current position?
What I enjoy most is getting to know our readers in our monthly “Guess the Car” spotlight, and getting to know our readers in general. I also enjoy “reimagining” what Counterman could be, and how we can serve our readers better. I’m open to ideas and contributions from our audience.
Did you initially intend to pursue a career in the aftermarket? If not, what drew you to the industry and what keeps you here?
I didn’t set out to have a career in the automotive aftermarket, but now that I’m covering it for Counterman, I look back and I’m not surprised. My dad worked for an auto parts manufacturer for most of his career. Growing up two hours from Detroit, we talked a lot about what was happening in the auto industry. I’m not a “car guy,” per say, but I love cars, and I’ve been following the auto industry for a long time.
What was your first car?
My first car was a Chevy Cavalier Z24. It had a V-6 and a four-speed manual transmission, and it was pretty fun to drive – when it wasn’t in the repair shop.
Do you have a hidden talent?
Sometimes I think I’m really good at doing impressions. But a lot of them are really random voices and they have to be saying specific words or phrases to sound like the actual person.
Who was your childhood hero?
They changed from year to year, but for a while one of them was Lee Iacocca.
Know someone who would love to be featured in Five Minutes With? Email editor Amy Antenora at [email protected].
