SPORT UTILITY

Being your own boss can, at times, be a recipe for admin-fuelled grief, but it’s a position with a long list of perks when you get it right. It’s a route to making the would-be nine-to-five fit around you; setting your own hours, deciding what you want to work on and calling the shots on how you want to do it. Perhaps most importantly, it’s also an opportunity for some of us to sidestep the run-of-the-mill company cars and vans and factor in the biggest perk of all; the shop truck.

There’s certainly nothing run-of-the-mill about Dave Goodwin’s choice of workshop wheels, but then the same applies to his working life. An automotive trimmer with over 22 years of experience under his belt, including stitching hide at the Aston Martin factory in Newport Pagnell, redundancy ten years ago offered the opportunity to set up on his own. Dave the trimmer became Dave The Trimmer, and he’s never looked back.

Step into his converted barn in rural Bedfordshire, and you quickly realise why. Dave’s talent has made him a go-to destination for some of the UK’s best show cars, and you’ll find everything from concours-standard classic restorations to customised modern supercars occupying a spot between the sewing machines and rolls of material. You’ll also find one of the