Wrapping My Way to a Lifelong Passion MetroWrapz

By Carlos Alverio

My introduction to this industry started as a teenager. I worked for my older brother at a small sign shop in Chicago. It was a summer job to earn a little money before returning to school. He showed me the basics of how to squeegee and how to not cut myself with an X-acto knife. I learned about weeding and taping vinyl, painting MDO plywood, installing signage, screen printing, and handpainting banners. Lettering cars, box trucks and trailers were the next step. A few years in, I was given my first van to wrap. This was new to me as I dealt with mostly signage. I didn’t know how to wrap but, I was up for the challenge. It was, after all, just another job to complete. I realized from early on that I operated without fear of failure. I mean, how difficult can it be? It’s just a big sticker, right?

Turns out, not as easy as I thought. The project was for a local rap artist, which is how they promoted their CDs at the time. My brother gave me the film, layout, and a very simple set of instructions: "Make it look like the picture". I still use those instructions to this day. I was given two days and took the full two days to complete it.

After high school, part-time became full-time. Summer work became a path to earning a living doing something I had a knack for. Didn’t have any plans, just working, until I figured out my “real “career. This wasn’t supposed to be long-term. I viewed this as just a job with no opportunity for growth, not @ metrowrapz

I had no concept of technique or what it would take to wrap a vehicle. I just knew I had to put this film on this vehicle before the deadline. I don't remember every detail of this project as it was so long ago. I do remember the customer was happy, so I must’ve done something right.

After high school, part-time became full-time. Summer work became a path to earning a living doing something I had a knack for. Didn’t have any plans, just working, until I figured out my “real “career. This wasn’t supposed to be long-term. I viewed this as just a job with no opportunity for growth, not @ metrowrapz realizing how wrong that view would be. I met my wife in 1997 and we married in 2000. Before our one-year anniversary, we packed our bags, loaded the truck and moved to a warmer climate… Miami. I started working at a small sign shop, again. About a year later, I received a call and soon after would interview at another sign company in Hollywood. It was there that I met Bruno Dede and began my tenure at Metro Group Miami (“Metro”). After working in the sign industry for over a decade, I decided to return to college. Never really viewed this as my path. I thought I would eventually make a career change to education or criminal law. This was my new goal. In the meantime, I would continue to work at Metro as a Graphic Designer. Knowing that my skill set extended into production and installation, I would get pulled from time to time to help in those areas. This is happening more and more. We did need help in production and installation. I began to

plug myself in areas of need. I had the experience to jump right in and help. Wherever the company had a need, I tried to help. All these moves within the company had me thinking I might’ve been in the right industry all along. I’m good at what I do and have a strong work ethic to match. I ended up moving to the Production/ Installation side as that was our biggest area of need. The more I made, the more I ended up wanting to understand how the business side works. How do I make sure our team works together as best they can? My responsibilities were increasing and I needed to learn to manage people. I figured since I had already been in the business well over a decade and I enjoyed what I do, making it a career made sense. Would you look at that, I figured out my “real” career. I switched majors to earn my degree in Business Management. This was going to be my path to growth.

Though I had no formal training in wraps, that didn’t stop my progression. I learned

not the case going into year 33. I’m on Team “I Need Sleep”. I learned that everyone needs a healthy work/life balance. Most wrappers I know were consistently burning the candle at both ends before eventually realizing that our bodies don’t recover as fast as we age.

My advice to installers just getting started is don’t be afraid to invest in yourself. Get trained in multiple classes offered by different manufacturers. This will help you understand the differences between the films. Each brand of film installs differently from placement to technique. This will make for better all-around installers. I believe that one of the most common mistakes installers make is thinking each film installs the same as the others. There are quirks to every film. Understanding the differences will make the installer more successful. Another piece of advice is to try new tools. Find the ones that work for you. There are so many options out there, you a bound to find something that will work for you.

Finally, you must put in the work. You will not make it far moving at half speed. You will get out of this industry what you put in.

I’ve had an interesting ride since my introduction to this industry. I moved across the country, have gone through extensive training, earned multiple certifications, and met some wonderful people. I have climbed the ranks from graphic designer to becoming a Lead installer and G.M. in a

world-respected company. I’ve had the opportunity to work on some incredibly interesting projects with all the pro sports teams in South Florida as well as big events like F1, Miami Open, and the Super Bowl. I became a trainer and have been able to contribute to an industry that provided me with an opportunity to turn my "summer job" into a longstanding and rewarding career.