Meet Scott Umbreit | Entrepreneur, grassroots drifter, husband and father

We had the good fortune of connecting with Scott Umbreit and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Scott, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I feel like I grew up with the entrepreneur spirit, even though no one in my family owned businesses. I started mowing lawns when I was 7 or 8, and then added snow removal etc. to the business. My brother and I used to go stores and buy discounted items and then list them on eBay when I was 11 or 12, and we made a decent amount of money. Then we progressed to buying and flipping lawn mowers, trailers, vehicles, etc. I then started business building websites for race teams, and started an online forum, and online racing league in 2003, which I ran until I sold it in 2010.

I always knew I wanted to own my own business, but wasn’t sure how I was going to go about it. Once I graduated college and got a “big corporate job”, I realized that it wasn’t the lifestyle for me, and that I had to find a way to start a business and go out on my own.

What should our readers know about your business?
My first “real business” was an automotive detail and reconditioning shop in Fort Collins that I started in 2014, right after leaving Ford Motor Company. I was tired of working for corporate America, and living in Detroit, so I decided to start a business with a fairly low barrier to entry in an industry I was quite familiar with. I was able to grow it off a $5k initial investment, and turn it into a business doing $250k a year in revenue within two years. I put almost every single dollar I had into the business, and kept pumping money into it until it was able to sustain itself.

It certainly wasn’t easy, but I relied on other business owners who had been down the same path, and my network of connections within the automotive industry as I had previously worked for dealerships, race teams, etc. and had a good reputation and lots of people that were willing to support and help me grow my business. As it continued to grow, I hired employees and kept the shop in operation until selling the majority ownership of it in 2024.

In 2017, I started my latest business, called Drift American, where we specialize in selling drift and performance parts for 1979-current Ford Mustangs. This business was started initially to get discounts on parts for my drift build, but soon grew dramatically as I realized there was a large void in the market. This allowed me to build my Mustang on a budget, and grow the business at the same time as improving my driving ability, which allowed me to win several events and a Championship in 2018.

I’ve continued to grow Drift American year-by-year, and thankfully it keeps continuing to grow with our sponsorships, events, and tradeshows that we’ve attended.

I’ve been able to stay busy with volunteering, announcing drift events, making youtube content for my channel and my PowerTubeTV show called “Drift America.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite spots to take someone from out of town are pretty simple: A quick trip to Old Town, to check out the sites, lunch or dinner at Los Tarascos, brewery tours, going up to Horsetooth Reservoir, and Rocky Mountain Park and Estes if we have the time. I also enjoy taking “out-of-staters” to our cabin west of Evergreen. There are so many fun and unique things to do in this area, it’s hard to pick what to do with the limited time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve been inspired by so many different people and organizations, it’s hard to say! I’ve met so many great business mentors, business owners, and friends that have helped and motivated me over the years; each one helping me pave my path forward.

Being involved in the community, and local organizations have helped me grow greatly over the years, and build off of a great foundation. Some of the people that have motivated me the most have been: Regan Mclaughlin, Ean Snider, Doug Paddock, Robb Pitts, and Greg Deitchler, amongst many, many others.

Website: https://www.driftamerican.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scott.umbreit/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-umbreit/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottUmbreitMotorsports/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/fivepointohpwr