Fresh Off the Lot is Back — And They Brought the Next Generation 🔥

Chris and Frankie (Don Tintz) pull up to the Born to Tint Podcast and nothing is off limits — film tech, competition beef, business moves, and a 17-year-old calling his shot at the belt.

🎓 The Heat Rejection Lie Nobody's Talking About

🔥 93% infrared ≠ 93% heat rejection — and your customers think it does
🔥 How to flip that conversation into a sale instead of a complaint
🔥 The pie chart breakdown that actually makes sense to homeowners and car owners alike

🏆 Tint Battles LA Is Coming — and It's Personal

⚡ Frankie's calling his shot at the belt. At 17. In front of everyone.
⚡ Ricky on what it took to win after 4 years of getting humbled on the competition floor
⚡ Why your shop skills don't automatically translate — and how to prep for the real thing

📈 Fresh Off the Lot Is Leveling Up

💰 Chris went from hustle-mode solo op to thinking like a CEO — here's the shift
💰 Stacking reviews fast, pricing above market, and customers not even blinking
💰 Why the Palmdale market might not be big enough anymore

💼 Business Tactics That Actually Move the Needle

📊 Track your close rate — if it's above 60%, you're leaving money on the table right now
📊 Get the deposit on the spot or stay open to losing the job
📊 Fix one bottleneck at a time — this is how Green Valley went from plateau to scaling

🛡️ The Little Things That Win (or Lose) the Job

👟 Shoes off. Don't ask. Just do it.
👟 One AI phone answering complaint too many — here's what they switched to
👟 Why the customer who called you second is still giving YOU the $5,000 job

⚡ The Next Gen Has Arrived

🥋 Started at 13. Wrestling background. Martial arts mindset. Already installing daily.
🥋 He's not just along for the ride — he's competing at Tint Battles and gunning for the title


👉 Follow the guests:

📲 @freshoffthelot_ | @don_tintz
👉 Follow us on Instagram:

📲 @greenvalleywindowtint
🔔 Subscribe, drop a like, and let us know in the comments — are you tracking your close rate?





1:00 — Breaking Down Heat Rejection Numbers the Right Way for Customers
3:00 — TSER vs. Infrared: What Numbers Actually Matter & Why the 93% Pitch Is Misleading
5:00 — Exterior Film Applications, Low-E Coatings & Getting Maximum Heat Rejection
8:30 — When to Use Exterior Film on Commercial Jobs (Warranties & Performance)
10:45 — Business Update: Chris on His Growth Since the First Podcast
12:15 — How Frankie Started in the Industry at 13 (Neighbor, Garage, and No Experience)
16:45 — Competition Mindset: Ricky on 4 Years Before Making the Podium
21:00 — Tint Battles LA Breakdown — Who's Competing & What's at Stake
31:15 — Why People Hate on Competitions — Then Show Up Anyway
37:25 — Should Fresh Off the Lot Relocate? Market Expansion & Flat Glass Strategy
43:00 — Social Media, Reviews & Charging Above Market Without Losing Customers
45:30 — Tracking Close Rates & How to Know When to Raise Your Prices
57:00 — Business Scaling: Fixing Bottlenecks One at a Time & Working with a Mentor
1:05:50 — Frankie on His Goals, Wrestling Background & Calling His Shot at the Belt

The Born to Tint Podcast — Solo Episode with Ricky & Josh MillerThis week the Miller Brothers go one-on-one, no guest, just two installers who built and scaled a shop breaking down everything happening in the tint world right now — from competition season to the AI tools that are quietly changing how you close jobs. If you're a tinter, shop owner, or entrepreneur trying to level up, this one's packed.

🏆 Inside Film Fest — Ricky breaks down his run at the competition: overcoming a 23-point deficit to beat Fernando, finishing 3 points shy of the podium, and the game-planning "gray area" tricks that separate winners from the pack.

🤖 AI Mockups That Close Deals — How Ricky used Perplexity Computer to generate a photo-perfect exterior tint mockup for a customer in 2 minutes for about $2 in compute — and landed the job. This is the future of the consultation.

📊 The Market Truth Nobody's Talking About — Home sale transactions in the Valley are down ~35% year over year, yet the shop is thriving. Why high-end residential work is recession-resistant, and what it means for your pricing.

💰 The #1 Pricing Lever — "If capacity is your problem, price is the lever to pull." Why being maxed out means you're not charging enough.

⭐ The Real Review Hack — How Green Valley built 2,000+ reviews. Spoiler: it starts with taking care of the customer first.

🔥 Turf Burn & Standing Behind Your Work — A real customer story on perf screens, the Zen55 switch, and why eating a $1,000+ replacement to keep one customer happy is just good business.

🥊 Tinter Battles Prep & The 17-Year-Old Prodigy — Trash talk, training the next generation, and why veterans need to stop sleeping on the young social-media tinters.

🎓 TintLab — Next class runs in September, first come first serve. If you've got a couple years of experience and you've been following along, reach out.Plus Solar Gard backing flat glass competition, decorative UV printing plans, running, golf, and a whole lot more.

📲 Follow us on Instagram @greenvalleywindowtint👍

If you got value out of this, smash that LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and drop your questions in the comments — the brothers are reading them and answering on the show.

Got a topic you want covered next? Let us know below.

#WindowTint #BornToTint #TintLife #TintShop #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #WindowTinting #TintLab #FilmFest #TinderBattles

00:00 — Intro: Ricky & Josh go solo

00:54 — The Dick Stick: pushing vs. cleaning squeegee

02:22 — Film Fest recap & meeting the community in person

03:48 — Beating a 23-point deficit & falling 3 points shy of podium

06:00 — Fixing competition scoring: accumulative rounds & timing

09:08 — Game-planning the "gray area" & straight-edge tricks

16:00 — Using Perplexity Computer for decorative & AI work

19:30 — The Dragon Ridge AI mockup that landed the job

23:37 — Building before/after templates & training an AI agent

32:14 — Running, training & the high school distance prodigy

37:08 — Tinter Battles prep & don't sleep on young tinters

45:50 — Frosted glass problems & exterior film solutions

53:16 — The review hack: 2,000+ reviews start with the customer

54:51 — Turf burn, the zen55 switch & standing behind your work

1:01:38 — Market down 35%, pricing as your capacity lever & TintLab in September

Sarah Bauder is BACK! 🎬 The WFCT Event Coordinator returns to the Born to Tint Podcast with Ricky and Josh Miller for a packed round two — competition updates, flat glass pricing, TintLab, industry mindset, and men's mental health all on the table.

🏆 WFCT 2025 — What's New

🔹 Competitors can now enter up to 3 divisions

🔹 Overlapping finals? You pick — bubble competitors get bumped in

🔹 Flat glass capped at 64 with a waitlist already building

🔹 Pre-show education sessions August 26 | Main event August 27–29, San Antonio

🔹 Register before July 15th — spots filling fast
🎟️ June Promo — Buy 2 Get 1 Free

🔹 Applies to Deluxe, Full, and Partial registrations (~$540 early bird for Full)

🔹 Does NOT apply to competition tickets


🔧 TintLab — Flat Glass Sales & Installation Academy

🔹 Built for shops adding flat glass as a revenue stream

🔹 Installation training + full sales process + 90-day mentorship with Ricky & Josh

🔹 Community chat built for subcontracting connections


💰 Pricing & Selling With Confidence

🔹 If you're closing 10/10 — your price is too low

🔹 Higher price signals quality and wins better customers

🔹 Right film + right glass = referrals. Wrong film = industry reputation damage


🧠 Men's Mental Health in the Trades

🔹 Ricky opens up about therapy, cold plunge, and building your inner circle

🔹 The industry has shifted — community over competition

📲 Follow us on Instagram @greenvalleywindowtint

📲 Follow WFCT @wfctevent
🔔 Subscribe, like, and drop a comment — what hit hardest for you?