John is the “old school” guy in the bunch: he is all about the drag roots from the 1960’s and the early days of big block power. He loves the rewarding feeling of finishing every build and getting each customer closer to their performance dreams. Known for his incredible attention-to-detail, work quality, and fabrication abilities, John loves to put his creativity and expertise into every build to make each project unique to the customer. As Senior Performance Technician, John is a continued mentor and trainer for our Performance Technicians, teaching them the advanced methods and skills to ensure our customers receive the best quality possible. In his spare time, John likes to take his family to the dirt track for ATV and two-wheel racing, as well as restoring his Ford Fairlane.
Category: Our-People
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Dylan Livingston: Performance Technician
With a passion for cars from a young age, Dylan began his career as a technician working in his uncle’s automotive shop just after high school. He learned the trade and honed his skills while working on all makes of vehicles. With about nine years in independent repair shops, he became familiar with repairing a wide variety of vehicles, from 90’s Hondas to late model Domestics, a vast array of European models, even air-cooled VW’s – every car had something to be enjoyed. Just before joining National Speed, Dylan worked for just over a year in a much different environment at the Mercedes-Benz production plant in Alabama. There he gained a completely new perspective on the industry and learned about cutting edge vehicle technologies which made his already diverse skill set that much stronger. The culmination of his experience, paired with his love for cars, makes Dylan a perfect fit at National Speed. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, woodworking, everything outdoors, and wrenching on his ‘98 Subaru Forester
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Pascual Valdes: Customer Service Associate &
Parts Solution SpecialistPascual started 10 years ago sweeping floors in a speed shop, was bit by the HP bug, and never looked back. He is a car nerd, a Toyota/2JZ enthusiast, prefers to use vacation time going racing than to the beach, and believes Q16 is the best smelling race fuel. Speaking of race fuel and racing, TX2K (Supra Nationals) and World Cup (Imports VS Domestics) are the car events you will find him at every year. Previous cars he has owned include an 850WHP TH400 MK4 Supra and a 600WHP 2J R154 MX83 Toyota Cressida. His current project is a 1995 2J Toyota Crown Majesta.
His daily driver is an all-original, stock 5-speed, 1995 Accord Wagon. Hobbies include going to the gym, racing, Xbox, watching various combat sports…..but who needs hobbies when you work at his equivalent of Disney Land.
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Will Martin: Chief Executive Officer
After receiving his B.S. in Business Administration and a minor in Spanish from North Carolina State University in 2007, Will set his mind to achieving a life goal of his: serve his country at a high level as a Navy SEAL. Throughout Will’s 9.5 year career as an officer in the SEAL Teams, he held a variety of cross-functional leadership positions across multiple East Coast Naval Special Warfare commands. Over the course of 4 international assignments, ranging from Counter-Terrorism operations in Africa to the training and development of multi-national security forces in South America, Will has demonstrated a proven ability to build, lead, and manage highly efficient teams, developing tailored solutions to achieve complex strategic objectives. As Deputy Regional Commander of US Special Operations during his most recent deployment, Will orchestrated and supervised operations for 148 Special Operations personnel across 4 South American countries in support of US national security objectives. After honorably discharging from the Navy in October, 2019, Will joined the National Speed Team as Vice President of Operations to apply his skills of building & managing highly effective teams to the private sector, in an innovative, fast-growing business.
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Jordan Watson: Founder & Chief Revenue Officer
Jordan Watson is Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of National Speed. Since day one Jordan has been dedicated to National Speed’s vision. Through his lifelong passion for everything performance automotive and having experience in every area of the company’s operation, Jordan is known as a walking encyclopedia of both the technical and business sides of National Speed. This deep experience gives him a unique perspective for shaping the company’s culture, offering, and customer experience. Jordan has recruited an A+ team, created processes and systems that ensure repeatable operations and has led National Speed to where it is today – a proven concept that is ready to grow! He is driven by a strong personal desire to have a huge and lasting impact on the automotive performance industry. Practically every minute of Jordan’s time is dedicated to National Speed, but in his off time, he enjoys spirited drives in one of his heavily modified cars (ranging from a tire-slaying Cadillac CTS-V, an apex-attacking Integra Type-R track car, a dirt-slinging Bugeye WRX Wagon, to an R35 GT-R NISMO), attending racing events and meets, photography, hiking, or relaxing with art and music.
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Jory Anderson: VP of Sales
Jory joins the National Speed team as VP of Sales with a diverse background both professionally and personally with high-performance street & track cars. A lifelong gearhead, Jory belongs to the BMW CCA, participates in the Chump Car series as both crew member and driver, is a certified stunt driver in the motion picture industry, and is a huge Formula 1 fan (and an even bigger Ayrton Senna fan). Over the years, his personal cars include Bugeye WRX, E36, C7 A6, M235i, up to his current weapon-of-choice, his F80 M3 – every single one equipped with various performance modifications, of course. Professionally, Jory’s background includes both service & sales experience with various automotive dealerships, working in the boating & marine industry in yacht sales, SaaS sales for a fast-growing tech startup, up to his most recent experience prior to National Speed, leading a 50+ salesperson team as Director of Sales for an Inc. 500 company. When Jory learned of the opportunity to combine all his passions into one with National Speed, he jumped at the chance, and has been leading our Performance Consultants since. In short, Jory loves working with people and is driven to help solve whatever problems they may have through innovative services – something he is able to do every single day!
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Charlie Carmichael: Systems Manager
A lifelong performance enthusiast with a heavy background in systems administration, computer networking, & technical support, Charlie joins the National Speed Wilmington HQ team as Systems Manager with the perfect combination of skills for the role!
In his personal time, Charlie enjoys going off-the-grid in the great outdoors – both off-pavement & on-pavement alike. An avid outdoors enthusiast, Charlie enjoys spending time with his son Legend, mountain biking, kayaking, and hiking. But for his on-pavement fun, Charlie has quite a tool at his disposal: his fully built Urban Grey 2007 Subaru WRX with a ripping 503awhp/532lbft on tap. Charlie also sports a VF37 factory twin-scroll swapped, Platinum Silver 2004 Forester XT as his daily driver. As an active member of North Carolina and Virginia automotive communities, Charlie also served as admin for one of the largest/most active Subaru enthusiast groups in the central Virginia area, RVA Subies.
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Austen Sadanaga: Video Production Manager
An avid filmmaker, Austen pursued his love for film through the Film Studies department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he received his BA in 2018. Upon graduating, he worked as the Assistant Rental Coordinator at Screen Gems Studios Lighting & Grip. While there, Austen gained hands-on experience with professional lighting equipment, met famous actors and actresses, and enjoyed being a part of Wilmington’s thriving film industry.
Austen currently drives a fully stock 2016 Subaru WRX, and is eager to get it into the shop. Outside of work, Austen enjoys driving on his racing simulator, rollerblading, and playing ice hockey.
