Matt Fanslow
268 episodes listed below
Shop talk with a longer memory.
Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z treats the automotive aftermarket as both a technical trade and a human workplace. Episodes move from diagnostic thinking to shop politics, family time, resilience, counseling, and the odd movie-reference detour.
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Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z is an automotive aftermarket show with grease under the fingernails and a lot on its mind. It starts from repair work. It rarely stays only there. Recent episodes move through diagnostics, training culture, Vision 2026, technician jobs, family obligations, communication problems, resilience, and the way shop language can get sloppy over time. The technical side matters. PicoScope waveforms, drivability concerns, TPMS service, ADAS procedures, OEM repair standards, and diagnostic-tool confidence all sit close to the center of the show. But the bigger pattern is about how working people think, talk, learn, and sometimes get in their own way. A discussion about shop communication can borrow from marriage counseling. A recap of an industry event can become a check-in about feedback, friendships, and what people say in the lobby between classes. A Mount Rushmore prompt can turn into a reflection on trainers, legends, and the uneasy habit of ranking people in public. The show lets those turns happen. It is measured, casual, and sometimes blunt, with enough patience for half-formed thoughts to become useful by the end. The humor is part of the machinery too: movie lines, Chuck Norris jokes, and self-aware threats to spend a whole episode on a topic soften material that can otherwise feel heavy. There is frustration here, especially around bad communication, workplace politics, and shallow uses of professional language. There is also respect for the trade. The series treats automotive repair as skilled work that depends on tools, training, judgment, humility, and people who can ask for help before everything breaks. That is the useful tension. It is not a polished training catalog. It is closer to a long conversation after class, when the formal lesson is over and the real one finally starts. For listeners inside the industry, the appeal is recognition. For outsiders, it offers a grounded look at how much human behavior lives inside a technical business.
Made for: Built for automotive technicians, trainers, shop owners, and industry people who want more than tool talk. It also suits listeners interested in how skilled trades handle communication, stress, family, and professional growth.
What sets it apart: The show connects technical diagnostic culture with the human systems around it: counseling language, workplace friction, event recaps, trainer respect, and family tradeoffs. It sounds less like a seminar and more like an industry conversation about what the job actually costs and teaches.
Matt Fanslow's Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z Podcast is a wide-open perspective on all aspects of the automotive aftermarket from a working diagnosticians' point of view. All topics and issues will be on the table.
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Matt Fonslow connects automotive training and shop performance with the human pressures that influence technicians, educators, and workplace culture.
Matt Fonslow treats automotive repair as both technical work and a human enterprise. Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z moves between shop-floor education, professional standards, mental health, and personal resilience, using interviews and solo reflection to connect technician…
Between trainer gripes and a therapist's advice, your shop brain gets permission to be human.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Toughness starts as a joke, then gives way to the idea that what seems fixed now can still shift later.
The episode opens with Matt Fonzel turning toughness into a punchline, then eases into a looser stretch that feels more interested in mood than momentum. From there, the conversation lands on a simple point: what looks settled in the moment may not hold up later.
A loose, practical case for treating communication like a shop skill, not a soft extra.
This episode keeps coming back to communication, even as it moves from automotive repair into marriage counseling, needs, desires, and the idea that people can learn better ways to relate.
A plainspoken reflection on pride, gratitude, and staying direct through uncertainty.
Matt Fonzo spends this episode wrestling with a hard subject: his own difficulty feeling proud of himself, even as he makes clear how grateful he is for the people around him and for the mix of friends who keep showing up in his life.
A candid look at how training earns trust in real time.
The piece keeps its focus on the work behind being a trainer: showing up prepared, keeping up with study, and holding up in front of people who can spot bluffing fast. Matt Fonslow, Brandon Steckler, and Bob Leonard let the talk stay loose and candid, which suits the subject.
A practical, grounded conversation about responding to delusion without making a hard moment worse.
Matt Fonslow and Margaret Light keep the discussion practical. When someone is saying, doing, or believing something that is not true, the answer is not to push harder. Slow the moment down, listen, and validate the fear without validating the delusion.
Range trade talk for firearm instructors.
Clinical CE for busy veterinary teams.
Matt starts with a riff.
Carm Capriato and Matt Fonslow open at Vision 2026 in Kansas City.
This episode discusses creating a 'Mount Rushmore' list of legendary automotive trainers in the aftermarket industry, exploring their impact and the challenges of selecting them.
This episode discusses the challenges of balancing family life with the demands of running an auto repair business, sparked by a conversation overheard about shop owners.
This automotive repair podcast episode humorously references Chuck Norris jokes while promoting diagnostic tools and job opportunities for technicians.
A podcast about automotive aftermarket diagnostics, featuring tool sponsors and technician insights.
Matt Fanslow recaps his trip to Vision Kansas City and discusses automotive diagnostics.
The host introduces the podcast about automotive aftermarket diagnostics, mentions sponsors, and teases a discussion about his personal 'Rushmores' of various topics.
A diagnostic technician discusses automotive repair tools and techniques, starting with sponsor messages and a personal story.
Host Matt Fanslow introduces the podcast about the automotive aftermarket, thanks sponsors, and welcomes a marriage therapist guest.
Matt Fanslow discusses oscilloscope aliasing in automotive diagnostics, answering listener questions about whether all oscilloscopes alias and how manufacturers specify bandwidth.
Matt Fanslow discusses the automotive aftermarket industry, emphasizing continuous learning and business evolution, with a sponsor message from Pico Technology.
Matt Fanslow introduces his podcast about the automotive aftermarket, sharing a Michael Jordan quote on failure and success before sponsor messages.
Matt Fanslow interviews Margaret Light at Apex 2025 about boundaries in the automotive repair industry.
Matt Fonzo opens with a line about owning your story and loving yourself through that process.
Matt opens the room live from pre-ASTA with Brandon Steckler and Bob Leonard.
This episode features Mike Maleski discussing automotive aftermarket topics, starting with a humorous exploration of podcast voices and male vocal pitch.
This episode clarifies the confusion among auto technicians about pressure measurement scales, specifically PSI and inches of mercury, in the American automotive aftermarket.
This episode explores the definition of success through personal reflections and conversations in the automotive aftermarket industry and beyond.
This episode features diagnostic technicians Matt Fanslow and Shaun O'Neill discussing how to develop diagnostic skills in the automotive industry and the path to mastery.
Host Matt Fanslow celebrates the 200th episode by reflecting on the journey and reading listener messages.
Matt Fonslow brings on Margaret Light, a licensed marriage and family therapist and owner of Equilibrium Therapy Services, to talk about psychosis and how to respond when someone is saying, doing, or believing something that is not true.
Matt Fanslow discusses anger types and parenting challenges while promoting automotive aftermarket sponsors.
Matt Fanslow discusses automotive diagnostics and training, using Jurassic Park as a metaphor for the industry.
Host Matt Fanslow introduces his podcast about automotive aftermarket diagnostics, shares a metal music quote, and invites listener questions.
Matt Fanslow discusses the Titan submersible tragedy and draws parallels to ignoring warning signs in the automotive aftermarket business.
The host rants about misinformation in the automotive industry and hints at discussing catalytic converters.
Matt Fanslow shares his experience at a quick lube shop, critiquing their service and discussing industry practices.
Matt Fanslow discusses the Wrenchway Voice of the Technician survey report for 2025, encouraging technicians to participate in future surveys.
Matt Fanslow introduces his podcast about the automotive aftermarket industry, sharing a personal anecdote and promoting NAPA Auto Tech Training.
Host Matt Fanslow answers listener questions about the automotive aftermarket, including technical diagnostics and business management, while promoting NAPA Auto Tech training.
The host discusses his son's ADHD diagnosis and critiques the term 'disorder' in the context of neurodivergence.