Autobahn, a leading supplier of premium automotive window tint, paint protection film (PPF), and ceramic coatings, is expanding its North American presence through strategic partnerships with new dealers in exclusive territories.
Top Notch Tint now offers Autobahn’s full suite of solutions to drivers in Yulee, Florida.
Co-owners and business partners Joshua Blake and Dirk Zunker sat down with Chris Collier, Director of Communications at Autobahn, to talk about their career paths, partnership, and passions as they chart a new course with Top Notch Tint.
Chris: What has your Autobahn experience been like so far?
Joshua: It’s been great. They’re huge on reaching out with support. Dealer Success Manager Heide Mcgee came down to check on us, which I thought was super cool, and Dave Dellinger visited and checked in on us too. Everything so far has been great.
Chris: What inspired you to start your business?
Joshua: I started Top Notch Tint back in 2021. I was sick of working for corporations and said, “Hey, I can do it better.” My focus has always been on quality and customer service. Creating customers for life was the goal. Pretty quickly, I got overwhelmingly busy. Too much walk-in traffic, too many calls, while still trying to tint cars. The only person I thought to bring in was Dirk. He didn’t have tinting experience, but he had a lot of sales experience, which I felt was more valuable. I could teach the tinting.
I pushed him like crazy to join me. Flew him down twice. He ended up making the decision to come on board. Ever since, we’ve been the dynamic duo. We make sure every customer leaves happy. We’ve got 650-plus five-star Google reviews. If anything pops up, we have a no-hassle policy: bring it back and we’ll fix it. We offer automotive window tint, commercial and residential window tint, and PPF.
Chris: What were your careers before tinting?
Joshua: I was with AT&T. Dirk was with Sprint. Both of us in wireless sales.
Chris: No way, that’s wild. And you two go way back, right?
Joshua: We met at a gas station in Sylvester, Georgia, when I was 16. Both car nerds, and we’ve been friends ever since.
Chris: Do you feel like your sales experience carried over into this business?
Joshua: Absolutely. Discovery questions, finding out exactly what a customer needs, setting expectations, delivering on them. It makes all the difference.
Chris: Dirk, how did he convince you to switch careers?
Dirk: Honestly, he’s lucky my wife wanted to move from Wisconsin to somewhere warm. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have happened. I was a district manager in wireless sales for years. Josh kept calling me every day, and I kept saying, “I’m good.” I had a cushy job. When I came down to visit, I saw that we could use our corporate experience, but run our own business with policies that actually made sense. That’s what really drew me in. Being able to make our own decisions, policies, and create our own company. That’s been the best part.
Chris: And you two split responsibilities evenly?
Joshua: We share the company at a 50/50 split. I don’t see a partnership working when things aren’t even. Dirk primarily handles customers, quoting, answering phones. He loves that. I’m in the back slinging film. I’m the production manager, he’s the sales manager. But Dirk still slings a bunch of tint.
Chris: Do you have other team members now?
Joshua: We have one employee, Hannah Proctor. She showed up looking for a job about a year and a half ago. I handed her tools and had her tint a window on the spot. She did it well enough that we knew we could train her. She’s been with us ever since and she’s awesome.
Favorite Movie
Joshua: Pineapple Express
Dirk: Grandma’s Boy
Favorite Album
Joshua: Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park
Dirk: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit
Go-To Comfort Food
Joshua: Macaroni and cheese
Dirk: Thanksgiving food
First Cars
Joshua: 1993 Honda Civic (“It had one rim that didn’t match the rest of ‘em, but I drove the wheels off it.”)
Dirk: 1994 Plymouth Laser
Favorite Video Game Series
Joshua: God of War
Dirk: Dota
Connect with Top Notch Tint (850700 US Highway 17, Yulee, Florida 32097)