CREATIVITY CRAFTSMANSHIP AND COURAGE

INSIDE THE MINDS OF CANADA’S TOP COLLISION TECHS

What does it take to stand among Canada’s top collision industry technicians? It is a question that led Bodyworx Professional staff to seek out three remarkable individuals—each a winner of Collision Repair magazine’s 2025 30 Under 40 competition—whose work exemplifies the precision, dedication and perseverance required to stand out and thrive in their fields.

According to Colin Bailey, an autobody appraiser with Action Appraisers and a longtime technician at Excellence Auto Collision in Toronto, success begins with passion and a teacher who believes in you. For Bailey, that moment came early. “I clearly remember walking into the shop and seeing all the different vehicles in different states of repair,” he said, recalling a school tour in eighth grade. “The shop was small with all the tools and equipment utilizing as much space as possible. It was like a mad scientist’s lab gone Mad Max.”

That first impression lit a spark that never faded. Bailey enrolled at Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute, where he excelled in car painting, winning a gold medal at Skills Canada and taking home an award for the highest overall mark. More importantly, he met his lifelong mentor, Bill Speed. “Bill instilled a sense of accomplishment and confidence in me, taught me valuable and transferable skills and went out of his way to help me multiple times throughout my life,” said Bailey.

Years later, Bailey still passes that sense of purpose forward. “A little over a year ago I helped to train a co-op student in our shop and got him going in his apprenticeship when he was done with school,” he said. “That young man is now about to go to Shanghai for the WorldSkills competition representing Canada! I like to think I played a role in helping him with the foundation he’s built upon. That’s what I’m most proud of—igniting a fire and passing the torch.”

That idea—knowledge as a flame carried through mentorship— connects the next generation of collision professionals. It’s a principle that defines Maddie Cunningham, an auto body technician at Fix Auto Sherwood Park in Alberta.

For Cunningham, success lies in precision and progress. “Repairing and reversing vehicle damage to pre-accident condition is what keeps me excited about coming to work,” she said. “Each job is a new challenge.”

After completing her apprenticeship, she returned to teach in Fix Auto Sherwood Park’s in-house program, training more than five technicians—including two women—and coaching experienced journeymen on how best to mentor apprentices.

“The collision repair industry is undergoing rapid transformation driven by changes in vehicle technology, consumer expectations, sustainability and longevity goals,” she said. “By learning about new technologies, I’m able to teach the younger generation more as well.”

Her colleague Scott Koughan said Cunningham leads by example. “Maddie shows how powerful it is to lead with authenticity and passion,” he said. “She’s a reminder that talent thrives when it’s supported by drive, mentorship and a commitment to excellence.”

For Cunningham, every repair is personal and every apprentice a chance to strengthen the trade. In a field defined by precision, she finds her greatest reward in watching others gain confidence in their own skill.

That same sense of purpose drives Daven Lin, manager at CSN Elite Bodyshop in North Vancouver. Lin began his career detailing cars and worked his way up to lead one of the country’s most respected repair facilities. “I was super into cars, so I thought I would take this opportunity by detailing at CSN Elite Bodyshop,” he said. “I was able to learn so much over a few years.”

His rise has been steady and self-made. Today, Lin manages CSN Elite’s 142 Fell Avenue location, a shop with more than 760 Google reviews and a 4.9-star average rating—an achievement that reflects his standards. “A day after delivering the car back to the customer, he came by, personally shook my hand and thanked the shop for a job well done,” Lin said. “I will never forget that moment and I strive for every customer to feel that way.”

His colleague Jenna Bartok calls him the calm at the centre of any storm. “He doesn’t panic when something unexpected happens,” she said. “Instead, he says, ‘Let me try something.’”

Lin’s leadership blends technical discipline with curiosity. “To stay ahead of the curve in this industry, you have to be fully immersed in it,” he said. “We constantly take courses to keep our knowledge up to date.”

He has also become a quiet reformer, pushing for fairness and accuracy in repair estimating. “Insurance companies usually have their own rules about what can and cannot be billed, but those rules don’t always follow the proper procedures set by the OEM,” Lin said. “I call that phone call a mutual learning experience because they go over their rules and we go over the OEM procedures.”

Across Canada, these three technicians share the same conviction: collision repair is more than a trade. It is a discipline that demands intellect and integrity, where mentorship matters as much as machinery and pride in one’s work carries the same weight as innovation. Bailey, Cunningham and Lin represent a generation proving that the bodyshop floor can be a place of purpose, learning and dignity. Their journeys are threaded with quiet defiance—the refusal to let the trades be misunderstood or undervalued.

As Bailey puts it: “A misconception about most trades is we’re all low-IQ troublemakers who couldn’t sit still in school and learn! There are some incredibly talented people in the trades. The trades can earn you a very competitive salary and afford you the life you want—as long as you’re willing to work for it.”

Across the bays and booths of Canada’s bodyshops, that spirit endures. From the measured rhythm of the paint sprayer to the glow of a freshly calibrated sensor, a new generation is rising—steady-handed, sharpminded and proud. They are redefining what it means to work with one’s hands and lead with one’s heart.

And as these craftsmen and craftswomen pass their knowledge to those who follow, the industry itself seems to whisper the same truth: the work endures because the people do.