Heather Storm is going to force us to say something that is politically incorrectly sexist.
Forgive us, Thought Police; here it comes:
“But you’re a girl.”
Yet that doesn’t seem to stop her, or stop us from watching her co-host Garage Squad, now in its second season on Velocity.
She, an aforementioned girl of the female persuasion, fancies herself as a fixer of antique cars. Wait, what?
“The fun of the show is that girls can work on cars as well,” she says. She never, however, claims to be an expert.
“I’m learning things in every single episode,” she says. “Every time I work on a car, there are different things going on. So it’s not just knowing about cars, but it’s about learning about cars. It’s about problem solving. And being patient. I have to work through all the issues that come up.”
That, of course, is part of the fun of the series, and also only one aspect to Heather’s life as a Renaissance Woman. The challenge comes in the facing of the fear, of owning it.
“My father was adamant about making sure that I was not a wussy girl,” says the Philly native who now lives in L.A. “I was able to stand on my own among the guys, and it paid off.”
That philosophy carries over to her other passions, like extreme sports.
“I feel really alive when I’m doing something extreme,”she says. “It is dangerous, but everything is dangerous. Walking across the street is dangerous, but it doesn’t feel nearly as exhilarating. I’ve done skydiving five times. There is nothing really like it. Surfing – with the waves come the exhilaration of nature. It’s a force beyond ourselves. I think it’s really fun to face that.”
Once again, we have dear old dad to thank.
“My father’s influence was strong on me,” she says. “He didn’t want me to be fearful. He really wanted me to face my fears. So cliff jumping was something that I did as a kid a lot. It’s a feeling of ‘yes, I can do anything.’ It may seem scary, but jump and you’re fine. Moving on. Next! It instills confidence.”
Of course, this can-do ‘tude is what floored Garage Squad into a second season.
“It’s just like how I see the show right now,” she says. “I get up there and I say, ‘Sure I can do it. No worries. And that’s why I am on the show. Anyone can get in there and fix cars and have fun doing it.”
It’s the old-school cars that school her (she’s currently digging through a ’34 Ford Coup, and has a soft spot for the ’59 Corvette convertible).
“The challenge is actually not knowing what we are going to find,” she says. “We really don’t know until we tear the car apart how much work there is to do. We can’t really tell everything that is going to happen. Sometimes there are dead rodents in there and spiders and all kinds of stuff. Sometimes the stench is just unbearable.”
Try doing that on TV, Kim Kardashian.
“From the ’30s to the ’60s, [the car manufacturers] really went all out,” she says. “They had so much personality. That’s what makes them really fun.”
The new cars? Not so much.
“I really wouldn’t know how to fix a car today,” she admits. “These days, you’re basically driving an iPad.”
She put another one of her passions on wheels by opening a mixology consulting business called Black LAB, making sure your next LA event is as eco-friendly (and deliciously satisfying) as possible.
The idea came as a result of a desire to put her environmental engineering degree to work, and in answer to a question she always asked herself: “Why do all the event bars always suck? Why do I go to a wedding and all I can get is a Jack and Coke?”
Fresh organic juices, with less sugar, are a large part of the answer. Other than “cheers,” what would you say to a basil lemonade with vodka, or a lavender green tea with bourbon (and that’s fresh lavender)?
“I think it’s more fun to have a healthy alcohol drink with some fresh juice in it than it is to have a soda in there,” she says.
Rounding out the passionate life is world travel and SCUBA rescue, for which she is certified.
She says, “I want to make sure that I’m always in line with the things that I enjoy doing and not get sidetracked.”
Impossible to get sidetracked if you know how to fix, mix, and get your kicks.
Find out more about Heather here.
Check out Garage Squad.
Here’s more info on Black LAB
