Meet Lane Kersting | Owner RMD Powersports

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

Hi Lane, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I started RMD (Rocky Mountain Dyno) I, Like many had worked a several different shops with differing operational and management strategies, some good some bad. None of them forced me to start my own business, that came more as a necessity than anything else. My wife and I also run a small cow calf ranching operation and because of that we have agreed to be basically stuck where we are, that being said Gunnison is a beautiful place that most can only dream of living so it wasn’t a hard decision. Once we came to that conclusion I started the shop in the hopes of helping the community first, and then making a living after. My father always told me, ” do the right thing and be honest, the money will follow”. Both of my parents are and have been self employed as long as i can remember so i always took what they said to heart. I to this day still use that everyday. In the past i had worked for bigger and smaller shops and i learned piles and piles from experience and the people i worked with, but Being honest and doing the right thing weren’t always top on the priority list. So i made it a priority and so far it was worked very well for me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a young kid i was always fascinated by snowmobiles, don’t know why but i was and i still am, the power and freedom was addicting! Because of that i always worked on and build them as i could whenever i could. the largest problem i had was that snowmobile parts are expensive and i couldn’t afford them, so i started building turbocharged snowmobiles from scratch with a few crafty friends and some ingenuity and junkyard turbos. This skill actually helped me pay my way through college when i had gained enough of a reputation that i rented a garage space from a couple friends and i was off and running in the self emplyeed world but that wasn’t the end or even hardly the beginning. Shortly after i finished my Business Degree at Western State i moved out of Colorado for the first time in my life to Houston Texas, well Sealy Texas rather but no one really knows Sealy. I moved down in August of 2016 and enrolled in the Fall Tunerschool class of 2016. Tunerschool is a shorter trade school focused on teaching about the inner working of a High performance Automotive shop and all of the skills required in that market. Skills that include engine building, Fabrication, suspension tuning and Engine Calibrations. I was instantly hooked on Engine Calibrations, the need for a deep understanding of how engines and transmissions work paired with making the Computer controlled modules to make it all work together. This side of the work fascinated me, it always did but the more i learned the more i wanted to know. i had originally gone to Tunerschool to learn more about this and hopefully be able to apply it to the snowmobiles i was building at home.
After finishing Tunerschool in December I packed up and headed back for Colorado, but not for long. I had gotten a job in northern Colorado building and tuning street cars and really enjoyed it until a seemingly random Tuesday night i received a Phone call from John Hennessey of Hennessey Performance Engineering and Tunerschool to ask if i wanted a job,. Of course i did! so i moved back to Houston and Started work. This is where i really learned a pile about engines and Calibrations, Performance packages and shop/ people management as my job was an instructor at Tunerschool. The southern heat finally got to me and i moved a little closer to home taking a job in the texas panhandle working for a large Powersports shop building all of their engine and transmissions and developing performance packages and Calibrations for all things Powersports. In 2018 i Moved back to the great state of Colorado, shortly there after Hannah and I started dating and we started RMD. Powersports as we know it today

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In a town of just over 6,000 people there are not a lot of hangout spots in town. Thats the best part! But if your going to eat i always love Back Country Cafe and The Dive. and for the occasional Concert the I Bar Ranch is always a great time

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My success as a business owner and as a person stems from several people, My wife being number one. Starting a business from scratch with almost zero money isnt easy, Hannah has always supported and worked to help with the shop, sometimes she does paperwork, sometimes she will do pickup and deliveries and she even helps me clean, all while working a full time job of her own. The next group that has had a huge impact on my success would be my parents and In-laws. Both of my parents have a long history of being self employed and they understand and know the struggles that it brings, they have always supported and given me little tips and tricks along the way to help me. My in-laws have supported and pushed me to keep growing and expanding, even when i started then Rocky Mountain Dyno that is RMD Powersports it was out of a log building on the ranch at home, Walt ( my father in law) helped move and install the Chassis Dyno twice and they ( my In-laws) never complained about the driveway full of Side by Sides and ATVs or the people coming and going at all hours of the day and night to pickup and drop off vehicles

Lastly but definitely not last are my employees, Garet Johnson, My shop manager has never once complained when i over promise and we have to work late or weekends. He always keeps spirits high in the shop with all the other guys and he is a walking library of knowledge and expertise in our field.

Between these six people and all of their help RMD has grown extremely fast and beyond what i could have imagined in the first 3 years. Thank You

Website: https://rmdpowersports.com/

Instagram: @rmdpowersports

Facebook: RMD Powersports

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