Tom Gattuso is the Vice President of Events for SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association. With more than three decades of experience in the automotive events industry, Tom has overseen the growth of the SEMA Show into one of the largest and most influential trade shows in the world, drawing more than 160,000 attendees from 145 countries. His career began in auto shows and consumer events before joining SEMA in 2011, where he has continued to build a global marketplace that connects manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and enthusiasts under one roof.

In this episode…

The SEMA Show has long been a bucket-list event in the automotive world… But what makes it so important for tire dealers today? With so many industry events competing for attention, why should dealers prioritize SEMA 2025?

According to Tom Gattuso, the answer lies in more than just product displays. He explains that SEMA is about conversations, connections, and opportunities that can transform a business. Tire dealers will find everything from tier 2 and tier 3 brands offering high-quality products, to the latest tools, equipment, and ADAS technologies that are driving revenue growth for shops across the country. Beyond that, SEMA provides education, training, and access to innovations that help shops stay competitive in an evolving market.

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge sits down with Tom Gattuso for a conversation about why tire dealers should attend SEMA 2025. They explore the value of networking at an event that draws attendees from around the globe, the ways SEMA is expanding beyond wheels and tires into service innovations and restyling opportunities, and how the show continues to evolve while staying true to its mission. Tom also shares his personal mantra about kindness, the role of art and design in shaping the event’s identity, and a book recommendation that emphasizes authentic fan experiences.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

[01:02] Tom Gattuso’s background and how he entered the automotive event industry

[04:18] The career path that led him to join SEMA in 2011

[06:42] Why the tire industry’s engagement at SEMA has shifted in recent years

[09:09] What tire dealers can discover beyond wheels and tires at the show

[12:27] Opportunities in tools, equipment, and ADAS technology for shop owners

[15:15] Restyling, service innovations, and new revenue streams showcased at SEMA

[17:48] How registration works and who can attend the show in 2025

[20:24] Tom’s guiding mantra: being kind to yourself, others, and the process

[23:02] How artists like Chip Foose and Larry Chen shape SEMA’s creative identity

[25:20] A favorite book recommendation and lessons from the Savannah Bananas story

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tom Gattuso LinkedIn
• SEMA Registration and Event Details
• SEMA Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “As long as we can get people to connect and talk, we win.”
• “If you focus only on business, you’re focused on the wrong thing. The conversations are where it starts.”
• “Be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and be kind to the process.”
• “SEMA reflects the industry back onto itself; it’s about innovation, education, and connection.”

Action Steps:

1. Reconsider SEMA as more than just a trade show. It’s a global marketplace and education hub.
2. Explore revenue opportunities outside of tires, such as tools, ADAS, and restyling.
3. Focus on conversations first: authentic connections drive long-term business growth.
4. Register early for SEMA 2025 to secure access to the full range of events, demos, and learning sessions.
5. Take inspiration from Tom’s mantra and remember that how you make people feel is what drives lasting impact.

• Gain Traction Podcast
• Mike Edge
• SEMA
• Tire Dealers
• Tom Gattuso
• Tread Partners

Transcript

00:00
I bought a 66 Impala convertible. Convertible being the operating word there, if it didn’t fit in the trunk, it didn’t go with me. So it was very liberating because I was into sales at the time and kind of felt like this was my chance to have my living in an apartment on my last dollar moment. So I sold everything I had and just completely started over. And part of that process was finding a job and doing it. 

00:25
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the official podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge, your host and I have the privilege of interviewing the t dealers, shop owners, counter sales reps, technicians, industry executives and other thought leaders of our industry. This episode is brought to you by Tread Partners. Tread Partners is the leading digital marketing agency that specializes in digital marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. Tread Partners works with clients that have hundreds of locations down to five locations. Get a professional, unbiased opinion and let Tread Partners review what you’re doing. It starts with a simple conversation. To contact tread partners, visit treadpartners.com so let’s get started. Hey folks, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the official podcast for tire business. Tom Gattuso, VP of events for SEMA is my guest today. Tom, welcome to Gain Traction. 

01:17
Thanks Mike. Happy to be here. 

01:19
Yeah, glad to have you here. So you’re in the final sprint here towards sema and I can’t believe I got your time. I really appreciate that and the folks that helped set it up at Con, but tell us a little bit about yourself and because I think your story is really cool. You’ve been, you’ve been on automotive but you’ve always been on the event side which is really a lot of fun I think. 

01:41
Yeah, it again it’s a weird diversion into working in the car industry. I decided when I was in college that I wanted to work in the automobile industry and I just thought it was a way where the thing that I was just obsessed with which really was cars and I’m not mechanical for some reason so I couldn’t figure out exactly why, but I just knew I wanted to work around automotive. So I ended up trying to find a job working for like a vehicle manufacturer. And in the time frame of the late 80s, there was some hiring freezes going on and know I transitioned from staying where I was on the east coast or moving to where automotive was. And at that time really it was headquartered either Michigan or Southern California. 

02:31
Yeah, and I thought about it for a couple minutes and I said, you know Southern California. Sounds fun. And at that time there were a lot of vehicle manufacturers headquartered there. So. So I went and sort of started all over. I bought a 66 Impala convertible. Convertible being the operating word there. If it didn’t fit in the trunk, it didn’t go with me. So it was very liberating because I was into sales at the time and kind of felt like this was my chance to have my living in an apartment on my last dollar moment. So I sold everything I had and just completely started over. And part of that process was finding a job. Yeah. And. 

03:15
And doing it from an ad that I saw in the Los Angeles Times where it was selling space at auto shows and I had no idea what that entailed. But I went and I interviewed and it just was this right place, right time situation where I was selling everything from a 10 by 10 booth to somebody that did car wax to selling 15000 square feet in an auto show to General Motors or Ford or Toyota. So it opened my world to this place where you could support the automotive industry. But then there was this whole new vertical path of career in events. And I did the auto show thing for 10 years and then I, I parlayed that into doing consumer and trade events at a company called Advanced Star specifically for their off road group. 

04:09
And I worked with some great brands in that. And then in 2011 there was an opportunity to come work at SEMA and it was this perfect time of my consumer show background. The, the auto shows that I did, I, I evolved my career where I was doing operations and marketing and in the business side, the accounting side, the sponsorship and media side. So I really had a pretty good background of how events ran. Yeah. And I took that to Advanced Star and shared my consumer background and I learned about B2B shows and they’re not that much different, but you do have an advantage on knowing both. 

04:50
And then I came to SEMA in 2011 and again it was this entrepreneurial background that I had and this evolution that was going on with their event where I came here 14 years ago and really the rest is history. We’ve been lucky to have the show do really well. I was able to build a whole team here and we’re sort of in this mode of just producing phenomenal automotive events and just trying to be the best event that anyone in our industry has ever been to. 

05:22
Well, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have you on here. I want my industry, the tire industry, to somewhat re. Engage in SEMA I think there’s been less engagement and I, I, we have a, you know, we have a phenomenal time out there in regards to meeting people and it’s almost like it’s that old cliche. It’s almost the opportunity you guys provide us is shooting fish in a barrel. You know, I don’t have to travel all over the country in a year’s time to see the same amount of people I could see within one week’s time. And I mean, I’m talking about a lineup of just ton of people in a real short period of time. And it’s intense. 

06:01
You know, I, I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this to people on the show, but I’m actually, I like to gamble and when I go to sema, I never gamble. My wife is like shocked. I might, I might squeeze in like one hour, but that’s almost like it’s rushed. You don’t play well. You’re just trying to, you know, you’re just trying to, I don’t tease yourself in a sense, but it never works out really. And, but I, I, I, I feel like the intensity of SEMA is so awesome. We get a lot done at SEMA and it’s a benefit to a lot of people in our industry. 

06:34
But when I know that they’re going to be out there, you know, we’re all emailing each other in July going, hey, you’re going to be at sema, you know, hey, right, Can I get you on the show, et cetera. And it’s, it just starts snowballing and like you said, Labor Day hits and everything, just, you know, but so I mean, my schedule is almost completely full and what are we out six weeks? You know, I got, I still have some flexibility, et cetera. But yeah, it is amazing. So I can’t imagine it from your side, putting everything together and the amount of people that show up there because I think for the last, what, several years running, it’s the largest show in Vegas right now. 

07:10
Yeah. So we came out of the pandemic and in 2021 were the largest attended trade show in the country. And then repeated that in 22 and 23 because you guys always went head. 

07:20
To head with CAS show, right? 

07:22
Yeah. And it really didn’t matter who because there’s some great shows in Las Vegas. There’s another one, Conagra Con Expo, that can be citywide and draw huge attendance as well. So that’s where we’re lucky. Where Our board really never had us compete against any other event other than ourselves and really just trying to be the best event in our industry. So when you look at some of our mission statements, in the early days, we wanted to be the automotive’s leading trade event. And really it didn’t talk about big or profitable or any of that. Luckily it just said be the best in leading. So. So we’ve kind of locked into that. But you know, Mike, you said something earlier about the tire industry, and the tire industry is an interesting place because obviously we’ve been studying it and it’s part of the event culture. 

08:15
But we’ve got these two things happening in the marketplace specific to tire, where our SEMA shows this incredible industry gathering. As you said, we’ll have 160,000 people gather in Las Vegas and it’s this homecoming of, you know, the minds and personalities of our industry. Yeah, but at the same time, when you look at tires and you’ve got tier one and tier two and three and four, there seems to be sort of a shift in how they’re doing their education and demonstrations and that type of thing. And they have found some value doing their own branded type of vats and really having focused education. So we know that’s happening and we’re looking at how that impacts the show and how we can work together with that. 

09:03
So that’s awesome. 

09:04
So as we start to go through, we’re looking at it and we’re saying, okay, the majority of what’s sold in a tire shop may not necessarily be tier one. You know, it could be tier two or three. And you know, what is showing at the SEMA show between Tier 1 through 4 and what are some of the events that are happening on the calendar? So, so our hope this year, and again, we’re looking at the tire industry specifically. Our, our hope is that you can come to the show and you can get the round stuff covered. Right. Because that’s kind of the easy part. Yeah, you know, you’ve got wheels and tires and they’re all in the same place and you have this innovation that’s constantly happening. So you learn what’s new and, and you could be part of those conversations. 

09:46
But then we also know that a typical tire shop, you know, probably somewhere between 30 and 40% of their business is coming from non round things, you know, suspension or other parts of our industry. And you can certainly learn a lot. 

09:59
There as well in some cases. I mean, Tom, it’s higher than that, I mean a good tire shop, it might only do 40% in tires, but they’ll do 60 in service, you. 

10:07
Know, and yeah, so it comes down to service and learning your business and we can help there for sure. 

10:13
Well, and that’s why I wanted to have you on because I think it’s important for the audience to know what else is at the SEMA show. You’ve got tires and I think you’ve got opportunities to make really good deals with some of these tier threes that you know are high quality tires. They just don’t spend the enormous amount of money on marketing. But you know, it, I, I had a tier three guy that told me just a year ago, maybe it was two years ago at sema, he spent a long career at Michelin. He’s working for a tier three now. And he said one of the things that he discovered in the industry over this amount of time, talking about 25, 30 years, he said, 30 years ago I only put Michelins on my wife’s car. 

10:52
But the quality in tier 3 is so high today. He said, I, I, we use tier three. He said I, and I save money, he said, but it, we’re just not, we’re not in the business of spending an enormous amount of money marketing. We just do it through networking and trying to engage tire guys like the dealers to help push their tires and they give them incentives to do that. And, and I think that’s where the opportunity for the dealers to show up and make those kind of deals. But then also the equipment side, you might want touch on that some. 

11:20
Yeah, so again, our whole role as a show is it’s this pop up global marketplace. Right. So we represent 145 countries around the world and every state in the US and all these people come together and they are just sharing ideas. So again, if we can mirror that marketplace, what’s happening truly in the world at the show, it gives you this little vertical snip of, you know, really where you may fit and where you can grow and what the opportunities are. So whether it’s tier one through four or, you know, some of the other stuff, we’re well represented there. So when you look at things like tools and equipment, we have a whole section on tools and equipment or our collision repair area. 

12:07
You know, there may be some shops that may be doing some of that from a service standpoint, but we’re jumping even further into just having the tools there and being able to talk to the subject matter experts for that, we’ll have a. An ADAS section. So for the advanced driver assist systems. And really what’s going on there from both a modified perspective and a repair perspective, and that’s really where our association hat gets put on, is there’s a lot of talk about repair, but at the same time, we’re performance oriented and what do you got to do to modify a vehicle but still keep all those SAFety standards in check? So, you know, from an education standpoint, somebody that’s working in a shop can certainly learn about that part as well. 

12:49
But then also little things like our restyling area as an example, or a truck section. You know, restyling could be window tinting or, you know, installing, you know, sunroofs in the old days was really how it was born. But it may be an area of your shop where you can increase the revenue potential and, you know, maybe have a little bit more of a customer service play with a broader range of what you can offer your. Your customers. So, so we really look at the show as everything automotive. It’s 12 different sections and again, everything from racing to performance to hot rod, tools and equipment, to wheels and tires. And. And I think when you look at, again, the wheel and the tire section, our tire section is the Global Tire Expo, presented by the Tire Industry association. Tia. 

13:43
So, you know, they’re definitely a seat at the table and they’re in the conversations with everybody about how we can make the entire industry evolve and stay up with the times. And really that’s our goal. You know, for me, when I get through the show, a measure of success that I’m really paying attention to is the connections and conversations that happen on the show floor. As long as we can get people to connect and talk, we win. And it’s not necessarily about business because that comes from the conversations. And if you focus on business, you’re focused on the wrong thing. We’re really just trying to get groups together to talk and let that whole thing evolve. 

14:23
I love that. And I think it’s more. It’s more authentic. It just kind of organically happens. And when people go there to be curious, learn, just to give. Everybody that has not attended, say I’m talking to these tire dealers that may be listening that haven’t attended or haven’t been back in a while, you know, you can attend and not, you know, have a booth. You can also attend and attend certain seminars to learn. And what’s the easiest place for them to say if they Wanted to consider signing up. Where do they go? 

14:59
Yeah. So on our website, semashow.com, so easy to remember there, really, we’re answering most questions and you can’t miss where you could register. So again, whether or not you’re a manufacturer, product or a shop, you know, somebody that works in the shop or shop owner, and even now an enthusiast is able to come to the show. And I think it’s a, it’s unique, think, Mike, that we have where you don’t necessarily see it very often with events, but our event has got an element of three sectors of our industry. There’s manufacturing. 

15:39
Yes. 

15:39
There’s distribution and there’s end user. So when people say like, oh, the SEMA show’s open on Friday to consumers, it takes this whole marketplace and puts it all in one place at the same time in four days. And while that’s Friday only, the conversations again sort of permeate from the end of the week back to conversation that were happening in the middle of the week on a B2B perspective. So we’re really happy to watch this grouping of manufacturing, distribution and end user all come to place. And if you’re at a tire shop, you’re heavy in distribution, right. You’re the customer service aspect, but you’ll be able to talk to some end users, you’ll be able to talk to some manufacturer and you’ll be able to see how the whole picture works. 

16:24
And then our education and what we present from a new products perspective really makes the whole thing come together where you can learn about how to market your business and just some of the business fundamentals that you can do as you’re running a shop, all the way to learning about the most recent safety, innovation or different propulsion methods, whether it’s electric vehicles or hydrogen fuels or synthetics and that type of thing, we really try to again, reflect the industry onto itself and not necessarily be everything to everyone, but that’s what the industry is showcasing, is a solution for pretty much every concern you may have with your business. 

17:09
And if you are a dealer, a tire dealer, and you’re going there to learn, man, there are some cool kind of show and tells that the manufacturers do with their latest equipment right there on the floor. And they, and they engage the audience as well, real well too. So it’s a, it is a lot of fun for those that haven’t attended and especially those that have thought about coming back, come on back and then look us up. We’re going to be at the tire business Booth doing podcasts. Please come by and, you know, and. And introduce yourself. Tell me you like our show or something, or that you listen to it or watch it. We. We’d love to hear from you, the. The dealer as well. But to give everybody a little bit idea, Tom, who you are. 

17:51
You know, if you list my show, and I think I’ve told you this before, but I always like to ask people what’s kind of a. A mantra, a quote that you live by or you practice or maybe a mentor gave you or anything like that. 

18:05
Yeah. So for me, it really just boils down to how do you make someone feel when you’re. When you’re done with an interaction with them, you know, whatever that may be, and. And just being kind in general. You know, there’s a saying I like to end a lot of meetings with recently where it’s, be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and be kind to the process of what you’re doing with work. But, you know, that sounds. That sounds, you know, kind of pie in the sky, I’ll admit that. But from an authenticity perspective, it really comes down to how do you make someone feel? And when we’re looking at our show, that’s probably the main thing that drives me in what we’re building, you know, and there’s things that happen like you would never notice and let. 

18:55
We’ll call them Easter eggs in the. In the event, nerd part of my brain. But as an example, we started using an industry artist for all of the signage and. And really the graphics that we’ve got in and around the show. And we started with Max Grundy, and we evolved into Ed Tilrock and then Alex Carmona. It’s just these industry artists. Last year, we had Chip Foose, who doesn’t do a ton of illustrating other than drawing cars, you know, and getting cars ready for projects. But Chip drew a lot of different things for our industry. And now we’re using a photographer, Larry Chen, who’s dynamic and really does some. Some cool stuff. But to draw back to how you make someone feel. We’ll take Chip as an example. Chip had drawn some things, and one of them was a welder. 

19:47
And it was really specifically, what does the tool and equipment section mean to you in a piece of art? And for him, it was a guy in a welding mask dropping spot welds down. But the first couple that you could see really well were literally coins stacked up, and then the rest were sort of a bead. And that for a welder, they’re going to come in and they’re going to go, oh yes. Stacking coins. Like that’s what we’re told to do from 101. And here’s a person that walks in and he sees this drawing of a welder. Doesn’t know that chip did it, but they get it. They’re like, oh yeah, the stacking coins, like these, this place gets me. 

20:25
And then they start to notice some of the other graphics or not, and they just come out of there going like, yeah, that was cool. Like, the graphics were cool. I don’t know who did it. I don’t know why they were there. But, you know, this whole place is like, you know the industry. And I think that’s how you get bucket list status, is you don’t let the how you make someone feel part be secondary. It’s got to be the first thing that you do. 

20:51
I like that. 

20:51
I think that charts your success. 

20:53
Yeah, no, that’s cool. It’s kind of like it’s just making sure that you connect. 

20:58
Yeah, exactly. 

20:59
That’s really cool. With the artist. And then also, what do you. Is there a favorite book or something that you like that you would recommend the audience to dive into right now that you’ve maybe a recent one or maybe an all time favorite? 

21:12
Yeah. So for me, again, I tend to be a little bit focused on really what things are going from a work perspective. My work life balance is probably higher work oriented than others. So mine really is just how you affect change. And you know, some of the. And there’s a slew of books out there, but really this constant on how to evolve and it can be every. Everything from. You know, one of the most recent books that I’m reading is from the Gentleman that Started the Savannah Bananas. And again, it resonated with me because his story is one where he was in that apartment on his last paycheck, you know, bet the house or, you know, he’s got his whole story. But he really hinges on that user experience. So again, it’s one of my most recent favorites. 

22:11
Just in terms of everything they did revolved around what a fan of baseball would want. And you can make an easy cliche, you know, statement and say it’s like Harlem Globetrotters for baseball. But that wasn’t his goal at the time. His goal really was how do you make this incredible fan experience and really don’t apologize for it. So, you know, he started that and it’s really been this authentic, organic growth that he’s had. And I think when you look at how the industry and multiple industries operate, authenticity and organic and evolution are all part of it. And you can talk with somebody and say, well, that sounds kind of contrived. And you can talk to another person doing the exact same thing and be like, yeah, this person lives and breathes this. Like this. 

23:08
This is, this is exactly, you know, what I want to do. And I think that’s where we try to, you know, focus. And I try to live my life in that authentic, organic way. You know, I’m an introvert by nature, but you get me in a group and you never wonder what I’m thinking because it’s usually coming out of my mouth. So I’m either quiet listening or telling you what I’m thinking. 

23:33
Well, I gotta tell you, Tom, I’m really glad that you came on the show today. I really appreciate it. And to all our listeners out there, you just heard from the guy that’s putting this all together with sema. And if you have a great experience out there, let us know and then obviously, look us up at the tire business booth in the south hall. We’d love to see you there. Come see me, introduce yourself. But Tom, thank you very much for being part of the show. 

23:57
No, thanks, Mike. It’s a pleasure. And again, it’s always great to share with our industry what’s going on. And the SEMA show is really open to everyone. So if you check us [email protected], you should be able to find everything we’re working on. And we’re welcome to see everybody in November. 

24:13
Awesome. I hope to see you out there, Tom. 

24:15
All right, thanks, Mike. 

24:16
Thank you to all our listeners. Thank you for being part of the Gain Traction podcast. We are grateful for you. If you’d like to find more podcasts like this, please visit gaintractionpodcast.com if you’d like to make a guest recommendation, please email [email protected] this episode has been powered by Tread Partners, the leader in digital marketing for multi location tire auto repair shops. To learn more about tread partners, visit treadpartners.com.