Meet the “unofficial mayor of Dripping Springs.” Owner of Whitlock Automotive and THOR Off Road, Jamey Whitlock’s Drip roots run deep and his branches reach wide. From Division I football player to business owner, coach, father, and philanthropist, Jamey has learned—and demonstrates—the value of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and leading by example.
Jamey grew up in his father’s automotive repair shop in Buda, the family business since 1979. Jamey remembers, “When I was a little kid, I grew up running around brake shops.”
From there, Jamey turned to running around the track and the football field, earning a scholarship to play football for Rice University. After college graduation, he returned to the auto shop and worked alongside his father for 16 years.
Although Jamey grew up in Buda, his entire family hails from Dripping Springs, stretching back four generations. In fact, his great aunt and uncle once owned Hamilton Pool, and his grandfather graduated from Dripping Springs High School in the 1950s. “All my family is from here, from Hamilton Pool to Oak Hill,” he says. So in 2006 when Jamey and his wife Heidi wanted their children, Sky and Jake, to attend top-notch schools, it was natural for them to head to Dripping Springs. “When we moved to Drip, we felt like we had moved home,” he shares.
Settled in town, Jamey took ownership of his dad’s Dripping Springs shop in 2015. Whitlock Automotive serves as a go-to shop for all vehicle needs, from check engine lights to transmission repairs, and its experienced service experts use the best, most advanced diagnostic equipment.
But when Jamey put his name on the door, he strived to take an innovative approach to what can be an antiquated industry. “We wanted something cool, something fresh,” he says. “And we want our customers to feel it. We want our technicians to feel it.”
Speaking of cool, in 2018 Jamey built upon his passion for off-road vehicles and branched out with THOR Off Road, a premier truck and off-road vehicle outfitter that creates customized trucks and adventure vehicles. Jamey puts his personality into each design to create a dream vehicle that will express his customers’ style and individuality. “I take all the things that they want to do and I try to put all the pieces together,” he says. “It’s purpose-built and purpose-driven, which makes it fun.”
In both businesses, Jamey aims for an authentic, customer-centered experience for those who walk through his door. “I always focused on the customer experience because I always wanted my shop to feel experience driven, not transactionally driven,” he shares.
“My customers are my friends, not just my customers, and I want to treat them that way.”
This congenial attitude is evident. (And it may have prompted the “unofficial mayor” moniker.) Loyal patrons stop by the shop daily just to spend time with the man they consider a friend. “People see my truck parked here and they just come in,” he says. Jamey is happy to share a soda and chat with anyone who steps into his location. “I never met a stranger in my life,” he says. “I got that from my grandfather.”
Outside the shop, Jamey builds relationships as he wholly engages in the community through sponsoring schools, athletic teams, Patriots’ Hall, and various foundations. In particular, he is a strong supporter of Hill Country Rally for Kids, whose mission is to raise awareness and funds for local children’s non-profit organizations through events such as clay shooting tournaments and car shows.
He reflects on a unique experience when several of the Dripping Springs auto shop owners joined forces to help with a car for Rally for Kids. “I seriously doubt that there’s any other community where all the automotive shop owners got together to do something for a foundation like Rally for Kids—and did it all together even though, on a day-to-day basis, we are business competitors,” he says. “It was super cool that we put our heads together and made a collective effort for something that was bigger than ourselves.”
Another of Jamey’s most treasured experiences serving the community was born of a father-son hobby. When his son Jake joined the Dripping Springs High School shooting team, Jamey was recruited to be the coach. During his two years in this position, Jamey was able to take students who had barely touched a gun to shooting in competitions … and then winning competitions. More importantly, Jamey taught students the value of character and hard work. “I wanted to create a positive environment to make better kids,” he says. Some of his shooting students still stop to say hello and share their lives with him when they happen to meet in town; according to Jamey, being their coach was “one of the most rewarding things I’ve done.”
Whether serving as a father, coach, community member, employer, or friend, Jamey makes a point of leading through character and by example. “I’ve done a lot of things right in my life, but I’ve done a lot of things wrong too,” he says. “I would hope that I consistently fail forward, and take all the things that were tough … and all the things that didn’t work out the way that I wanted them to … and use them to move forward. And I hope that humility is motivational to the people around me.”
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