This queer fat woman helps women and LGBTQ people know about cars

Hi there,

Have you ever taken your car to the mechanic and left feeling unheard and
frustrated with a seriously big hole in your wallet? How about the last
time you bought a car? Did you feel respected during the process?

As cliche as it sounds, you’re definitely not alone. Chaya Milchtein, the
founder of Mechanic Shop Femme, is an internationally published automotive
educator, influencer, and journalist with over half a million (700,000)
followers on social media that feel the same way.

Mechanic Shop Femme reaches a market that is grossly underserved but eager
for recognition and education. Women and queer people often feel alienated
in male-dominated car spaces, and her platform works to serve them by
providing easy-to-understand automotive knowledge without the icky feeling
that often follows a visit to the mechanic. In fact, over 90% of her
followers across platforms are women.

Chaya’s story is inspiring. Born into a Chassidic Jewish home and the
eldest of 15 children, she started her automotive career at 18 after aging
out of the foster care system. She went on to manage and work in repair and
collision shops in three states while starting Mechanic Shop Femme in 2017.
After being laid off at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, she took her
business full time and hasn’t looked back.


Car Talk <https://www.cartalk.com/cars-content/mechanic-shop-femme> (yes,
that Car Talk) wrote, "By asserting herself - her identity - in a space
commonly hostile to such identities, Chaya is helping to make the
automotive world a safer and more pleasant one for everyone involved."

Thousands of people (reviews here
<https://www.google.com/search?q=Mechanic+Shop+Femme%2C+Inc.&oq=mechani&aqs=chrome.2.69i60j69i57j69i59l2j69i60j69i61l2j69i60.3040j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x88051f99784481b3:0xd0f515a38ffbe31c,1,,,>)
have taken one - or more - of the eight different virtual automotive classes
<https://mechanicshopfemme.com/workshops/> she offers, which have been
featured in AARP, PBS, and Shondaland, among others.

Chaya has been featured in NPR, PBS, Shondaland, Oprah, Al Jazeera, Chicago
Tribune, and more. She’s also had her wedding featured in a large article
in the New York Times. She writes a column for Salon.com called ``A Fatty's
Guide to Eating and Traveling the World.�??

Do you want to help get the word out about Chaya’s powerful work making the
world of cars accessible to everyone? I’m happy to connect you with Chaya.

Chaya’s Social Media handles: Tiktok <http://tiktok.com/mechanicshopfemme>
(595.7K), Instagram <http://instagram.com/mechanicshopfemme> (89K), Twitter
<http://twitter.com/mechanicfemme>(4K).

Best,

Dara