Local Man Lands Gig On New Discovery Channel Series, 'Garage Rehab'

SOUTHOLD, NY — A local North Fork man is poised to become a household name — he's set to star in a new show on The Discovery Channel, "Garage Rehab."

Russell J. Holmes, 43, said he's had a lifelong love affair with cars — and the new series, set to debut in August on an as yet undisclosed time and date, will center on helping people breathe new life into their auto repair businesses.

According to a promo run by the Discovery Channel and Pilgrim Media Group, owners of commercial auto or motorcycle garages or repair shops that are troubled or failing can have Richard Rawlings of Discovery’s hit series “Fast N Loud” and his expert team "come to your garage, solve your problems and upgrade your space on Discovery’s brand new TV show, 'Garage Rehab.'''

"Maybe your tools, lifts, and fans are old and broken or your space is falling apart. Maybe you have no idea how to successfully market your business. Maybe your management is bad or your staff doesn’t get along. If any of these problems sound familiar, we want to hear from you," the promo read. "It doesn’t matter if you do repairs, restorations, custom builds or upgrades. If you own or work for an auto or motorcycle shop that has major problems, then Richard’s team could invest their time and money to help make it a success!"

Holmes, whose two sons Dylan and Zachary graduated in 2016 from Mattituck High School, said he's loved tinkering with cars since he had a job in a garage as a teenager — and so, working on the show is a seamless fit.

In a story straight out of Hollywood, Holmes answered a Facebook ad looking for talent and landed a TV role with Rawlings on "Garage Rehab."

Cars have long been in his blood, Holmes said. Holmes, who works in construction, said his father was "handy. There was nothing he couldn't fix. He loved wood and building furniture — and he was a machinist."

And so, he learned at an early age how to fix almost anything, including cars, Holmes said. As a young man, money was tight, he said. "It wasn't like I could bring my car to an auto repair shop. I had to do it myself."

Holmes has spent a career in construction, building homes and involved in land surveying. "I'm like a sponge," he said. "The minute I stop learning, I might as well be dead. When it's something I love, I love to learn everything about it. I've always made sure I've been doing something that I've loved."

On giving back

Locally, Holmes has served as an EMT with the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps. "I've always enjoyed helping," he said. "Even from a young age, I was the guy people would call if they needed a hand, moving or fixing something."

And now, he'll be helping people on a larger canvas, alongside Rawlings, of whom he's long been a fan, Holmes said, adding that he's always enjoyed that particular genre of reality television, which teaches viewers handyman solutions in their own homes.

On "Garage Rehab," Holmes and other "experts" from around the country will team up with Rawlings to travel the United States and lend their talents to shaping up failing auto repair shops.

Holmes, who still works in construction in New York, said his experience in all aspects of the field, including auto repair and running a business, lends itself perfectly to the show.

Of meeting Rawlings, he said, "He and I hit it off like gang busters," he said. Both share "a hunger and thirst to succeed," Holmes said, adding that it's rewarding to take that fuel for success and use it to help others.

Rawlings, he said, "has a wealth of knowledge with business sense. From the time we walk in there, we take those garages and turn them around. We gut them from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, and rebuild them with new equipment — and we seriously do it in a week," he said.

Although he's always considered himself a "people person," Holmes said he's never done television, save as an extra in a McDonald's commercial when he was a teenager. While he's acted in school plays, performing wasn't something he'd considered before the opportunity arose for "Garage Rehab."

"I'm not the type of person that wants to do TV for the sake of doing television," Holmes said. "For me, the project is not only challenging — but the change we're affecting on people's lives is unbelievable. Nothing feels better than giving back to people like that."

From his own experience, when his father was a machinist and had his own company, there was no one there to guide him or point him in the right direction, Holmes said. "You're doing the best you can but it doesn't mean something can't be tweaked or improved," he said.

And the changes can mean the difference between a garage's failure or success, he said. "It's great to know that we're only going to be there for a finite amount of time, but we're going to be able to influence such a great amount of change." While some are afraid to ask for assistance, the garage owners they've worked with, Holmes said, "reached out for help — and they got it."

So far, doing the show has given Holmes a greater appreciation for what he has in life, he said.

The show is reminiscent in some ways of his work on the ambulance, Holmes said: "You're seeing someone at the worst time in their lives. Some of these shops will close in a week without help — that's what dire straits they're in. We're saving livelihoods. That's invaluable — it's something that warms the heart."

Of his newfound stint in the spotlight, Holmes said, "I'm a guy from Long Island who's swung a hammer most of his life and now I'm able to meet producers, and learn to put a microphone on. It's surreal — and amazing. I'm truly blessed."

Patch photos of Russell J. Holmes courtesy of the Discovery Channel.