Ep 63 – Aniz Lavji | THIS Shop Owner Trades Tires for Legos
Published: Dec 16, 2025
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Aniz Lavji owns a shop in Canada, and met Mike Allen at ASTA 2025. It was in Raleigh where Aniz thought his life was in danger because of Mike and his ESO Miata. They relive that story on today’s episode. Turns out, Aniz might be turning into an ESO himself. The guys also talk tires, and why many shops miss opportunities by not doing tires right.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Tire Hustles & Leveraging Trades: How Aniz Lavji turned tires into rare Lego sets
05:34 – Earning the “evil shop owner badge” – disposing tires, creative deals, and industry banter
07:16 – Embarrassing moments: Shop meetings gone awry and podcast stories spilled to the family
11:35 – Why tire storage is big business in Canada (and how Aniz Lavji manages hundreds of sets)
16:31 – Shop equipment talk: Hunter vs. Coats vs. Corgi, and keeping employees happy with cool machines
25:31 – Family business backstory: Dial Attire, Waterloo, and how Aniz Lavji gets mom & dad on vacation
31:09 – Big conferences, industry networking, and why ASTA Expo matters
41:12 – ADHD, podcast behind-the-scenes, and dealing with “wasted time”
53:03 – Used tires vs. new tires: How the tire business evolved
56:01 – Offshore tire brands, hilarious mascots, and challenges selling “Triangle” tires
1:02:38 – Why Teslas flood Aniz Lavji’s shop — EV referrals, repairs, and donut diplomacy
1:07:15 – Saturday madness: Shop emergencies, wild tire stories, and customer demands
1:13:32 – Building relationships with vendors and parts suppliers
1:22:01 – Wrapping up with the worst American cars ever made and naming mishaps
