Testimonials from TopGun Paintless Dent Repair Training Schools

Marc Hunt

March 21, 2005

Dear Marty,

I want to write this letter to let you know how much I enjoyed coming out to Sacramento and doing some advanced dent repair training. Even after eight years of doing PDR I was truly amazed at the techniques and advanced metal working you presented in your training curriculum. I never thought there was a way to work severly damaged metal to an acceptable outcome without compromising the paint but you definitely proved me wrong. I also believe your teaching background helped out tremendously when I would get frustrated because you knew which buttons to push to get me back in a positive frame of mind. If you ever need a reference, or if a prospective student wants questions answered, please do not hesitate to have them call me.

Sincerely,

Marc Hunt

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Marc Hunt

I totally agree with your post. I've always tried to keep an open mind on certain teaching techniques because I feel most people have something to contribute whether they are a 1 year tech or 10 year tech or "newbie". I recently had the opportunity to see this technique first hand with Marty and must say I am truly impressed!!!!! In my opinion this new teaching methodology will not only drastically shorten the learning curve for new techs it will also greatly improve the skills of an open minded "experienced tech". I hope my post will help those experienced techs that might be on the fence about advanced training to go ahead and take the plunge. Just make sure you are ready to try and change some bad habits!!!!!

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Larry Harvey

I have trained with many teachers and technicians from across the nation over the years. Of them all, Marty Runik has displayed the broadest spectrum of technical, business, and innovative concepts of any one person. He possesses so much more than top notch PDR skills. His business mind and ways of thinking out of the box to improve one's overall probability of succeeding in the industry is second to none. His ability to instill knowledge in the mind of a student seems to come natural to him. Marty is a real pleasure to work with, and someone you can count on to be there for you when you need him. He goes the extra mile in so many ways. He cares not only about his students, but in the industry as a whole, and in people in general. When it comes to fixing dents, the man is a virtual Houdini. As much as I am willing to help the next guy out too, along the line, some of the skills Marty taught me I still consider top secret, and don't share with anyone. Every now and then I pull a rabbit out of my hat while working in my business, and one up the other guy , and say a silent, "Thank you Marty."

Wayne "Larry" Harvey
My DENT Guy
Weymouth , MA

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Rick Van luyk     Alberta Canada

Hi Marty

I just wanted to thank you again for the excellent training I received from you.

As you know, I have taken training twice before and it was an absolute joke and a waste of money. I picked up some bad habits and it was very hard to get rid of them. I was working for a franchise that was doing painting and PDR and knew there had to be a better way to repair dents without breaking the paint all the time.

I wanted to start my own business and specialize in mobile PDR. After two years of being in business it was time to sharpen my skills and learn new technology that had developed since I last trained.

In training with you I found you to be very professional and you were persistent and patient in making sure I knew what you were talking about. If I didn’t you would stop and take the time to make sure I did. The notes that you insisted I take during training have been invaluable to refer back to. For every repair I do I still recall the helpful instructions you gave with your teaching. Your continuing support following training is greatly appreciated.

I would highly recommend you to anyone looking for training in paintless dent repair.

Rick Van Luyk
Dentec Paintless Dent Repair
Lethbridge Alberta

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John Worne      Alberta Canada

My name is John Worne im from Alberta Canada and I had the opportunity to attend the two week PDR training offered by Marty in the month of May 2008.I am a Co-owner of Micro Paint And Dent Repair Ltd and the Training provided to me has greatly enhanced our service and Business.

Marty Provided me with a very strong based knowledge and understanding of PDR techniques and skills.He was Very paitent and went the extra mile to make me see and understand what I was doing.He certianly has a unique way of teaching that works very well.

If you are serious about becoming a PDR tech and you want to learn the proper way I would Highly recommend Marty Runik.

Thanks Again Marty.

On behalf of all of us here at Micro Paint And Dent Repair LTD.

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Doug Timme  taken with permission from doording.com

Every year I try to set aside time to advance my skills. This year I spent some time with Marty Runik. I am a man of few words, so WOW!
I am not sure where to start, it was an eye opening experience. He showed me things I had looked at but never SAW. If that makes any sense. No hype, no bull, Marty is the real deal. I am grateful to have him in our industry, most of us are so busy pushing we dont step back and ask questions like how or why? I think Marty has been doing that since day one, and it shows.

For anyone interested in learning, or advancing their skills in paintless dent repair. I would highly reccomend Marty Runik. Marty not only has the PDR skills to pass on, he also has the ability to communicate those skills to the student, in a way the student can relate to.
Marty really gets in the students head, to make sure they understand the process

Thanks again for everything Marty!

Doug Timme
P.S. I think I found my ego!

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Tim Vannostran

The Dent Gent Akron Ohio

Taken with permission from from www.doording.com

I posted a question here on Doording asking why I was having trouble. I received many responses which I greatly appreciated but the MOST helpful of all came from Marty Runik.
I didn't even tell him about all of my symptoms when he started asking if my head hurt, if i was sick to my stomach, dizzy ect. ect. I quickly replied yes yes and yes. He gave me tips to make it stop and even took the time to talk to me for almost an hour over the phone.
I stopped practicing on my own immediately after finding out that everything I had "learned" was wrong and quite possibly could damage my eyes.

I asked Marty what he thought i should do at which point he didn't try to shamelessly push his training program but rather was more interested in IF i could actually learn the trade. He also warned me to check out my market area and not to jump blindly into this business without really knowing all there is to know about the pitfalls.

Marty didn't even say anything about his own ability to train, only remarking to do my research and pick the right trainer for me.

I was sincerely impressed by his level of honesty but still skidish because of the shady companies i encountered time after time after time. I asked questions about Marty's company from many different people right here on Doording.com and also asked, "well, who else is good".

I received several different answers and I have no doubt there are great trainers other than Marty but I was so impressed by his honesty and no B.S. attitude that after i checked his story out and spoke with prior students I decided to go train with Top Gun PDR training.
I wrote down things that i figured i would have to drill him on to get my questions answered before i got there. I arrived at 8am on Monday and was walked into Marty's den, sat down and had a casual conversation. Right there i figured OH BOY i'm going to have to push this guy the whole time. My wife has told me to be nicer to people and not immediately become an A** *ole just because i think something is going a certain way.

I took a deep breath and relaxed as we went into the garage to start.
I was kind of surprised because his gentle demeanor made it seem like he would move slowly in the teaching process, BOY WAS I WRONG!

Marty was on me like white on rice. It wasn't that he was aggressive or barking orders because his laid back demeanor never changed, he just was very driven about doing what needed to be done.

We joked and laughed all the while he never let up once when it came to the training.
I was surprised by what i was seeing but on the first day i got a little ahead of myself and stealthily jotted notes i was going to grill him on the next day.

I came in fresh the next morning just itching to grill him on the points i wanted addressed.
Before i could even get the words out of my mouth he was addressing things without the question being asked. I felt like i got kicked in the chops by my own hastiness .

Every time i had a question it wasn't half a day before Marty was addressing it without the question being asked. I'm thinking, "DAMN HOW IS HE DOING THAT!" I was getting frustrated with the lack of conflict, I so desperately wanted to bust his chops on at least one or two things.

As the days progressed still nothing. Every question I had was being answered without it being asked and then some.

As a person who is rarely pleasantly surprised and very cynical I have to say Marty was impressing the Hell out of me!

I got frustrated with myself as im sure everyone does and there were times i had to just grunt at my own inability to instantly pick something up. Marty would just laugh and say, "DUDE! your doing just fine don't be so hard on yourself"

By the end of my training I really felt as if i could go home with the knowledge i learned and begin diligently practicing.

Marty really shocked me not just in his teaching ability but with his character which is extremely rare these days. He is a family man who's morality and ethics are rarely seen these days. His business skills are very sharp which is what you need as a business owner, and lets face it you could be the absoulute best tech in the entire country but without business skills how are you to make a living. Marty teaches "outside of the box thinking" that will put trainees miles ahead of the competition.

I can happily say now that i'm home and have had the chance to practice on my own I don't feel as if i'm clumbsily reaching out in the dark while practicing. I look at what im doing and when i have a problem i know exactly what im doing wrong thanks to my notes.
I was really stressed when i got home with things that had piled up in my absense.
I called Marty for support which i really didn't need and could tell he was extremely busy but he took the time to talk to me anyway.

I got off the phone with him and took the time to calm down and think. Later that evening I totally forgot about sending Marty pictures of my light. He called my and patiently and genuinely wanted to know how i was doing and to figure out my problem. There was no real problem other than family issues from being gone for several weeks and once i calmed down i was surprised at what stuck with me from the training.

If your lost in trying to make a decision about training or if this trade is right for you, go back to the basics. Don't settle for having smoke blown up your rear and beware of companies who tell you what you want to hear.

If you're where i was several years ago and finding this post i hope it helped shed some light on training mills and where to look for proper training.

Oh yeah, for anyone who is a skeptic or who doesn't know anything about the Brain Gym method - I'm a believer, it works!

If you're brand new to Doording stick around a while you'll never find a group of nicer guys and gals. If you read something you don't agree with then challenge it in your own mind and don't settle for taking it at face value. Be an independent thinker and learn as much as you can from anyone who is willing to share and when the time comes when you know something someone else doesn't remember where you started and lend a helping hand.

So in closing I just want to say from a guy who hates everyone, is always disappointed, and never has a good time.....

Marty Runik/ Topgun PDR is a damn fine Trainer and is a wonderful human being.

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From David Medsker owner of Recon Partners     Las Vegas Nevada

Hello again Marty. Well it’s been a month since Nathan Perry returned to us from your training. Even though he had two years experience at the auction pushing dents, his improvement was immediate upon his return. Your training and tool recommendations, teaching him the fog method and the exercises you gave him to do were way worth the investment we made with you. His target is $300 per hour billing and he’s already hitting over $100, and he’s improving every week. He did a $200 bedside over the weekend with multiple body lines and contours and it’s beautiful.

Thank you.
Best wishes,
David

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Shane Mayfield Crescent City California - Taken with permission from doording.com

Hey everyone,

I was just sitting here typing up my notes from the PDR course(because i cant read my own writing) I recently took with Marty Runik of Topgun. I just wanted to give marty some more kudos for the training i recieved. Marty was a great teacher and an even better listener, when i would describe to him what i was seeing he would not move on until he understood exactly what I meant. He also was very meticulous with my every movement, if it wasn’t right he would point it right out to me and show me the right way. the notes and information he gave me are invaluable in learning this trade. Marty himself I’m sure is invaluable to this trade he is a true craftsman of paintless dent repair and believes in doing proper repairs not just speeding through them as fast ad he can. I would recommend Marty Runik to anyone looking for training. Í’m glad i did my homework. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice!!!!

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Fred Lucci

In May 2005 I received Training from Top Gun PDR Training™.  Previous to this
training I spent many thousands of dollars at a "Training Mill" and over
$1800 on Tools which were Chinese Knock Offs.

The first few days of Training with Marty Runik was spent unteaching me bad
habits I picked up at my previous trainers. Let me just say, there were many
"Aha's, and Oh boys" said that week.  The balance of the week was set
preparing me for a life of learning PDR techniques.  A big portion of the
week was writing down tips and tricks and techniques that I would need to be
reminded of down the road.  I've referred to my notebook many times in the
last year and still smile thinking about Marty trying to cram his vast
knowledge into my pitiful little brain.

Speaking of knowledge.  Marty is absolutely incredible when it comes to
metal and it's principle with respect to PDR.  His many years of
experimenting and practicing are evident in his theory class he provides.

I also like Marty's honesty. He can teach you, but you must be willing to
practice. Then and only then the lessons provided will  pay off big time.
He tells you this before you come to his shop or exchange any monies.  Other
schools are less than truthful and tell you, one week will cut and you'll be
earning six figures.  Marty was honest with me and said, if you listen,
practice and persevere you can earn a decent living doing PDR.

Frederick Lucci
Prime Automotives Reconditioning
Salem , CT

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David Kasten

October 5 2003

Dear Mr.Runik,

I want to extend my thanks to you for the opportunity to train with you. After doing ­PDR for a year without any advanced guidance I found your training refresher coarse to be instrumental in taking both my confidence and my skill level to where it needed to be. Your ability to correct bad habits is amazing to me. Also the way you do it is both fast and painless.

Being a family business I strive to treat every customer as my first customer. I know that with the training I received from you I can deliver the best PDR service in my area of the country. My customers get the best because they expect top­notch service with a near perfect outcome. With your training under my belt I can deliver just that.

Best regards,

David R. Kasten
Metal-Tech Paintless Dent Removal 4515 88th Ave. NW .
Gig Harbor , Washington 98335 www.metaltechpdr.com

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Dave Kasten

June 3, 2005

I want to thank you for fitting me into your schedule and doing some intensive advanced training. Doing regular door dings and creases is great, however I had to pass on too many other dents due to size. Your ability to explain and put into practical use the techniques of repairing monster dents is nothing short of amazing. Adding this service level to my business will save potential customers a lot of money compared to conventional body shop repairs.

Once again Marty Runik out does himself and brings technical refinements to thefield of Paintless Dent Repair.

Best regards,
David Kasten
Metal-Tech Paintless Dent Removal
4515 88 th Ave. NW .
Gig Harbor , Washington 98335
www.metaltechpdr.com

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Bret Pinkerton  taken with permission from doording.com

If anyone deserves a stellar testimonial, it's Marty, and it's the least I can do for all that he has done for me and my career.  Marty teaches you the right techniques to be a success in this industry.  The mill schools--which I have also attended--teach you the bare minimum, and the likelihood that you will succeed is slim to none.  I have a great respect for Marty as a person, and as a straight shooting-business man.  He will go out of his way to help you in any way that he can.  If you need phone support, help with tools, help with access questions, he will always answer his phone and will get you through any emergency situtation.  After training with Marty, I was able to go full time into PDR and I haven't looked back.  One on one training was a difficult financial commitment to make--especially after spending money on the mill schools--but it's a commitment I am glad I made.  The key to success in this industry is proper training...Top Gun...nuff said.

Bret Pinkerton
Arroyo Grande Calif

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Jason Cheung     Melbourne Australia
taken with permission from doording.com



G'day fellas
Last Friday marked the end of my training journey with Marty Runik - Owner & Instructor of TopGun PDR training.

In Short, Marty is a fantastic guy - he knows his sh*t back to front and probably sideways. He's patient, generous and definately willing to go the extra mile.

Now for the long story... for those who care
I arrived at Marty's after 2 years of researching, planning, working part time & had minimal to no PDR experience/instruction. My expectations were high and the anticipation was killin' me. Marty quickly discovered I had virtually no bad habbits and began to work his Magic. We spent very little time with tool tip location & jumped into shallow dents not long after. We hit slightly deeper [but still small] dents by the second day and some light creases by the third.

Now I don't mean I'm anywhere near close to proficient, but I managed to bring them up to more than acceptable for wholesale. And just being able to do that, was bloody amazing. When Marty made those creases that morning, I thought $*#@ crap. I'm going to be here at 4.30 still trying to get that out. 20 minutes later, I slowed down,moved my head, listend to Marty's guidance+encouragement and it just clicked. Thats how it was with everything he taught me.

One thing Marty will not do. He won't waste your time. When a task or excercise is no longer teaching you anything, he will move on, or try a different approach until you grasp it wholely. He won't make you practice what you can in your own time.

Marty's a natural teacher, makes learning a heap of fun. And what amazes me the most equally to his knowledge is his Honesty, integrity and generosity. One thing that sucks though, since I had no prior 'mill training' or bad habbits, I had nothing to compare with, thus I really couldn't appreciate Marty's knowledge and techniques to the full extent.

Now I guess its up to me. Marty has sure done his part. It's been a very enjoyable 2 weeks of learning and I'm so glad I took the plunge.
THANKS MARTY!

If anyone has any Q's, feel free to pm me.

James Briskoe

Hi Marty. I wanted to send you this note to thank you again for the wonderful advanced training you gave me. The difference it is making is noticed even by my competitors already. It is a wonderful feeling to know I am not afraid to take on dents that would have been impossible before my training with you. Thank you again for your hospitality during my stay with you Marty. If you ever need a reference in this part of the world please let me know. Just don’t train anyone else in my area though! Except me if I come back for more. Foolin with you mate! Blessings to you and yours.

James Briskoe
Dents & Chips
Brisbane Australia

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Eddie Robinson

    If anyone is serious about making a career in paintless dent repair and wants to save themselves a lot of time and frustration on learning this process do yourself a favor and give Marty a call and get properly trained the first time! His training is second to none, and he is without a doubt the finest teacher I have ever come across. I only wish I had gone to him years ago!

Eddie Robinson,
Got Dings? L.L.C.
Oklahoma City

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Michael Dimegglio

Oct 3 2005

Marty you are amazing!! Brandon has been working with me now for three weeks since he got back from you and the difference in his work is incredible. You have done what myself and two other trainers could not do, you made my son a quality tech! I must admit when you told me part of his problems was that he was using the wrong board, I almost told him to come home because I thought you were another dead end. But Brandon said you were really helping him so I decided to wait and see. I still find it hard to believe that my sons eyes could be so different from mine, but those boards you made have worked wonders for him. His speed is improving daily and may even exceed mine shortly on some work.

I’m also very pleased with Brandons over all knowledge of PDR since he got back. He sounds like a PDR encyclopedia now. He has taught me a few things as well. Thursday he tackled an aluminum hood crease on a bodyline that would have been a challenge for anyone, and he almost glassed it. Your methods of working bodylines are different than what I learned in that master class I told you about, but they certainly work, as Brandon proved to me with that job. I have always been very proud of my son. But to see the struggle ended for him, and the excitement he now has for the business brings great joy to this dads heart.

Marty I would like to see you for a week of training also. I think this old dog needs to learn a few new tricks. Please let me know when you have an opening. I am free the first week of November if that works for you. It may be better after the first of the year sometime between the middle or end of January. My schedule is wide open then, and business should slow down some. I’m looking forward to learning from you and maybe sharing a few things with you as well. Thank you again Marty for all you did for Brandon.

Michael Dimegglio
Dent Solutions
Pleasant Hill Oregon

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John Bentley   taken with permission from doording.com

I recently received two weeks of pdr training from marty, the training was excellent, he taught me and my business partner everything we needed to know to go home and practice all the skills we learned from him, anyone looking for pdr training i would definately recommend marty, he knows his stuff, i would also like to thank keith and everyone else that talked us out of going to a training mill, this was definately money well spent, i cant wait till we are up and going, thanks marty i really appreciate everything, we had an excellent time, we'll probably be back for some advanced training before vale.

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James Miller   taken with permission from doording.com

I'm Bentleys business partner and I wanted to thank Marty for the great training and Keith for the talk when I started having major eye strain. I also want to thank the other people that said find a tech when we were looking for training. Thanks again.

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Dave Coit   taken with permission from doording.com

I have to comment again on this subject. I myself was trained in the type of school you guys are talking about. You have no idea how frustrating it is to see guys doing all these big and wanting to do a good job myself. I do mostly windshield repair and do a fantastic job but when it comes to dents I don't have the confidence to do it right, that is until I met Marty and spent a day with him. Now I am still nowhere near where I want to be but now I understand a lot of the problems I was having. For one I found out that the tools I use make a very big difference in how I do the dents. Most of my tools were made from very week metal and very very long at the ends so I was pushing way to hard from what I was supposed to be pushing. I realize I still need a lot more training, and sure wish this forum had been around when I got started otherwise I wouldn't of waisted $14,000 dollars. Oh well one of the lessions in life that you learn.

I will say this since finding this forum I have learned 10 times the amount of dent theory then I learned from a supposedly skilled teacher. If you are reading this forum and havn't learned the trade yet, please do yourself a favor and don't go to one of the schools. Find yourself a teacher who really cares about how their students preform and will teach you the right way. Of course I am partial to Marty myself. I think he is the best and can't tell you all how much I appriciate the advice he shared with me.

Well I want to comment on this. I personaly was trained at XXXX XXXX and spent 6 weeks there. I was extreamly dissapointed and felt very riped off. I was in a class of like 7 people. The instructor didn't really care about our training. I just set a hood up and told us to start pushing. We spent the next week working on that while the teacher sat at his conferance table reading the newspaper for the week. Our schedule was supposed to be pushing dents from 8 AM to 5 PM , however he pushed us out of the class by 2 PM every day.
The owner of the company XXXX decided to come out and learn to push dents too, he spent about 1 day trying to learn and gave up. When I got out of the school and tryed to go around and get on a hail team no one would let me work for them. When I was asked who my instructor was and I told them I was told that he wasn't a very good tech himself and that I should ask for my money back. 95% of people that go to those schools quit inside of a year. I have learned 10 times more reading this site then I ever learned in that school. I was given lots of bad habits and was taught nothing about crown work or how to push dents right.

Let me add one more thing. I was fortunate enought to get to Drive to Sacramento and work with Marty from our forum here and get some basic dent advice from him. Marty spent a day with me helping me out. As we worked through the day, Marty didn't take any time off to go do anything else. He sat looking over my shoulder the whole day making sure what he was teaching I was learning. When he was done showing me something, he would ask me if I understood or if I felt comfertable doing it. Sometimes I would say kinda, and he would stop me cold and say "lets work on that thing until you do". I must say this was a 180 degree turn around from what I was used too. This was absolutly the best thing that could of happened to me for training. I am amazed because I think Marty had the patience for a saint. It seams that I had developed many bad habbits over the last few years. He helped me break some of them and I am still working on others.

In closing I would like to just say that if you are trying to chose between going to an official school or learning from an indavidual I would highly recommend learning from an indavidual. Especial one like Marty. Marty didn't have to spend a day with me, he could of told me to go climb a tree or take a long walk off a short pier but he didn't. He saw a person struggling and reached out his hand to help me. I highly recommend that if you are looking to get training to go to a person. Those schools are very horrible, and all they care about is lining their pocket books and they don't care at all about what you do after they get your money.

Anyway thats my two cents.
David Coit

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Steven Cochran

Marty when I heard you were making a web site for training I wanted to send you a thank you letter. I know I have thanked you many times but never in public I'm a little uncomfortable about writing this in public but I will any way. I was at first trained at a very major dent company where after a couple weeks I was washed out. I gave up on the dent business for a while. I started lurking on some of the dent forums and liked the way Marty explained things. I talked to him a couple times on the phone with questions and he helped me understand why I might have the problems I did. My father loaned me the money to go to him for a week. I have to say I learned more the first day with Marty than all the time at the other place put together. Marty found out soon why I was having trouble and before the day was out I was seeing things I never knew were there!! To make a long story short I talked my father into paying for another week and by the time the 2 weeks were over I KNEW! I was going to be a dent guy! I practiced exactly the things he gave me for over three months and quit my job and NEVER LOOKED BACK!! I even payed my father back the money in just a few months.

I want to say that if you want training in PDR or if you were told you just didn't have what it takes don't give up until you give Marty Runik a try. He has patience like nobody I've ever met. Many in my family are teachers and I know a good teacher when I see one. Marty is a GREAT teacher! He crawled around inside my head until he made me understand what I had to see. Did I mention he is patient? You can tell I'm pretty pumped on Marty. But if it was not for him I would still be working at a dead end job. I would recommend Marty to ANY BODY that wants training. He's an amazing tech and an even better teacher. Did I forget to say he is really patient? Well he is! Thanks again this time in public Marty!

PS. one thing Marty did do wrong was trying to talk me into retail PDR. Wholesale is still good in my area and I'm not very good with people. I just wanted to add that so nobody thinks I'm just close minded in favor about him.

Steven Cochran
Dent Medix

Area withheld by request

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Jerry Taylor

I should have wrote this sooner, but I first wanted to say thanks for the GREAT training you gave me in June 04. I don't fear any dent anymore!! It is hard to believe I have pushed for over 8 years and didn't really see what I was doing. I would like to say that Marty Runik is not only a GREAT tech but the BEST and PATIENT teacher I have run across. I had some bad habits that were slowing me down that I never saw, but Marty saw them right away. He had me do some exersises and other things that got rid of my habits and improved my speed and quality thru the roof! I was trained with a light box and I thought that was the best way to see the dent. WAS I WRONG!!!! Marty made me a custom fog light and some boards on my 2nd day and what a difference it made. He made them to fit my eyes that had some sun damage that my eye exam saw. Then he showed me how to use them the right way and I saw things I never knew I was missing. My speed and quality amazes me now and I'm making more money than before with less strain. I am doing major dents I would never have done before to. I still do route work but I'm making the switch to retail slow at first for 2 days a week. Marty helped me with my sale approach which needed work also. I see why you made me write all those thing down now, there was so much material you gave me it is impossible to remember it all. That week of training was the best money making week I ever spent in my life, no doubts about that! I would recomend Marty to anyone no matter how long you have been doing dents. You don't know what your missing until you train with him. Thanks Marty!

Jerry Taylor
Mr. Dent
Monroe, Washington