Panther Performance Provides (Horse)Power and Protection for Queer People

There is always a fair bit of politics involved when it comes to cars. Whenever queer folks, women, people of color, immigrants, or those who don’t quite fit in with the status quo have to purchase a car or get one fixed, there’s more to consider than when a straight, white man does the same. Many auto shops think they can take advantage of lesbian couples, femme gay men, or non-native English speakers.

At Panther Performance Auto Group, none of that applies. A queer and ally-run shop, Panther is all about helping out those who normally might struggle when it comes to auto repair.

“My initial discount format was for metalheads, allies, illegals, and LGBTQ people, explained Sam Panthers, store owner. “That was just kind of our target market from the getgo in terms of whom we wanted to work with.”

Customers at Panther are greeted by a bright yellow building with a red mural on the side, the smell of fried chicken wafting over from the Church’s Chicken nearby, and the playful barking of the two dogs who hang out at the garage all day.

Once inside, they’ll meet Panthers himself, a friendly-looking, slight, and slim metalhead who normally looks like he’s been working on cars all day, or Adalyn Hayes, the shop’s receptionist, whose aesthetic consists of boots, jeans, and a stylish blouse.

“Adalyn came in as a customer, not really a victim of my marketing,” Sam says of his office manager Hayes, who is a trans woman. “She just came in randomly and we did some work for her, and eventually when she came on it was kind of a natural reinforcement of what I had intended the store to be.”

Providing Community Resources

Panthers and his employees understand that car repair can be frustrating and costly, even more so for those who may not know exactly what to ask or how to gauge if they are being told the truth.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for dealerships to take advantage of anyone, but with the queer customer, there’s an added layer of psychology over the entire experience that’s covered by whatever individual human experiences have taken place,” Panthers said. “Sometimes people react to having to deal with something that makes them uncomfortable, and in this industry, as it is in other places, that’s an ugly reality that exists. So if we can provide an environment that is free from all of that for ourselves, then we can do what we set out to do, which is to help everyone with their auto needs, no matter what.”

“I’ve heard and seen some pretty gruesome things come through here when it comes to how people have been treated,” Hayes added. “I think they [queer people] definitely get taken advantage of. For instance my friend that came in here and had grease leaking from his rack and pinion; he had already paid someone else like $3,000 in repairs and only needed to pay $600.”

Realizing that some kind of service was needed for those who get taken advantage of, Panthers decided that offering fair and reasonable prices wasn’t enough. He also wanted to provide a resource so that people could be knowledgeable about their cars, and even make basic repairs themselves.

“We had a customer friend in the community sort of throw our name in the hat as a host at a skillshare event; it was called QT Skillshare, hosted by Blankhouse,” Panthers explained. “We volunteered to host it for a couple reasons. One was just that we were asked to, so if there’s a need and it’s in our ability to respond to it, we will. Beyond that, it’s just about building up a community and anything that we can do in support of that is something that’s gonna be received positively, and that event really didn’t cost us anything, just a little bit of time.”

He added that even beyond the money-saving aspect of the classes, it’s important for people, especially those who are marginalized, to have knowledge.

“It’s about knowing a little bit about something, and the more you know about whatever it is, the less susceptible you are as a target for any interactions regarding that,” he said. “It’s just about building awareness overall.”

A Queer Angle

Panthers also realizes that he has cornered a unique market with the folks he is helping. While he is just an ally himself, having a queer employee greeting and interacting with customers, and generally espousing a friendly vibe for those who are different, started attracting even more LGBTQ customers to the shop, so he made it a point to market that aspect. As a straight metalhead, he hadn’t had much exposure to the queer community, but the more he learned about LGBTQ people, the more he saw parallels between that community and his own subculture as a metal fan.

“It’s just interesting that both of those segments, metalheads and LGBTQ people, how much commonality and how much overlap there is there,” he stated. “It doesn’t look like those demographics would look much alike to an observer, but in terms of the people and legitimacy of interaction, intent, I’d say it’s a lot closer than it looks. Over the past year really we learned how much metal and the LGBTQ community have in common. When we flew that flag [gestures to a flag with a rainbow and a satanic pentagram], it really opened my eyes to how well we were being received.”

Headbangers’ Helpers

In fact, Panther Performance itself is a bit of an homage to both the metal and queer communities. The office is adorned with two Pride flags, one with a pentagram, and another rainbow American flag covered in upside-down crosses. It’s also covered in flags, banners, and shirts of the various metal bands that have passed through the shop. Much like the LGBTQ involvement of the store, the metal connection happened somewhat by accident. Although he has always been a metal fan, Panthers didn’t set out to hook up bands with cheap repairs, he but saw a need and made himself available to help.

“There was a need that was presented back in August of 2015 by the band Unearthly from Brazil,” he explained. “They had come up from their tour only to find that their van, trailer, rehearsal space, backline drums, hotel, were not available courtesy of the promoter, as promised, so the tour was basically over before it started. So I and their labelmates, Bloodstrike, put our resources together to take care of all those problems, and they were my first customer, because I didn’t have a shop yet.”

After that, word got around that Panthers was an ally to the metal community, and would fix tour vehicles for cheap, come through in a pinch, and provide great atmosphere.

“Another band, Stock Smile, ended up stopping by to say hi, and then when they got up to Grand Junction their motor went out, so they ended up coming back down and buying a bus off of us,” Hayes remembers.

“We also worked with the band Ghoul and their bus, which we had gone up to Rock Springs, Wyoming to rescue,” Panthers recalls. “We went all the way up there because it had died on them and they would have lost it for sure, so I went up there and worked on it.”

What it comes down to is, while Panthers may be a metalhead and Hayes may be LGBTQ, the ethos their business is built on doesn’t have anything to do with loud, abrasive music or being queer. They are simply about being decent to other human beings and making an honest profit. As long as Panther Performance sticks to these basic tenants, they’ll have the business of the communities they give back to.