Midwest Automotive was started in the summer of 2015. The initial idea came from the desire to create a centralized location for Milwaukee area automotive photographers to share their work. I wanted to help expose individuals to a larger audience than what they were achieving on their own. The plan was car enthusiasts would come to the website, view the work of their favorite photographers or their favorite cars, and then discover other photographers in the area. By helping to spread the work of others, my goal was to bring the Milwaukee community together and create a sense of pride in the automotive photographic content and car quality being produced. That early team consisted of three people; Brandon Duester, Daniel “Diggy” Allen, and myself. And with that, Midwest Automotive was started and we began working towards our vision.

As the name started to become known around the community, people began asking to support what we were doing by purchasing stickers and shirts. While not the initial plan, this was a great way to try to help offset some of the cost of website hosting and marketing materials. It was at that time that something amazing happened. While we did sell a decent amount of stickers and t-shirts, nothing was a bigger success than our hoodie offering. While working with our local clothing provider Andrew Marv, he came up with an amazing option for us; a grey sweatshirt with black sleeves and hood. Couple that with a black vinyl of our Cars | Culture | Coverage logo and we instantly we knew this would be a great design. I doubt many places can say this, but our hoodie was the best-selling item that we had. Every single time I went to a car show or weekend event, I saw someone wearing a Midwest Automotive hoodie. The feeling was incredible, and I still remember the first person who bought a hoodie who did not personally know any of the founding members of Midwest Automotive. The rush this gave was amazing, and encouraged us to keep pumping out content. But even the highest of highs only last so long.

Over the next 2 years life happened. I purchased a home, got married, and started to settle into a corporate career. As often happens, I began to prioritize other needs over Midwest Automotive. Towards the end of 2017 the group started to put out less and less content. It wasn’t all bad news however. During that time we were able to post six “Guest Contributor” articles for people, get coverage of multiple Gridlife and Tuner Evolution events out of state, cover SEMA, and brought in a new member of the team, Jonathan Salmi. Bringing in Jon was a huge step for Midwest, as Jon is from Chicago. This was the first time that we had a regularly contributing member from outside of the Milwaukee area.

Early 2018 brought a struggle for me personally. I was trying to find the path that Midwest Automotive was going to take. While the quality of our content was as high as ever, the volume reduced drastically. As life took over, I began contemplating the decision to shut down Midwest Automotive. I could have left it sit as it was, lifeless, with barely a pulse. But I decided to end it mercifully.

On September 5, 2018, I posted to Facebook that I was shutting down the website. I was at a point in my life where I didn’t think that I could devote the time necessary to get it to where I envisioned. Some of my goals had not been met, and I felt like it was failing. It was the most difficult post I have ever had to make. While I knew some would be disappointed, I never knew the response I would get. Everyone was supportive and wished encouragement, but one thing was very clear; nobody wanted to see it go. I didn’t know it at the time, but that same seed from back in 2015 was planted. And it was about to blossom.

Fast forward to August 12^th, the year 2019. Today. I sit here finishing up this “About Midwest” page right before I send the new The Midwest Automotive website out into the world. When I started this page of the website, I wasn’t sure where I was going to take it, how personal I was going to get, what exactly I was going to say. I could have created a very brief 2 paragraph history and finished this up. But as I sit here and think if I should delete all this and start over, I realize that this is an exact summation of the time I have spent trying to make the “perfect” decision in regards to Midwest Automotive. A sort of microcosm if you will. Just start. Trust in your gut. Use your experience and go for it.

And that’s what I am here to do. Get ready for the best damned automotive photography blog on the internet. Because that’s what I am going to do.

– Andrew Smith