Good Neighbor Podcast: Union
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Residents of Northern Kentucky! Based in Union, KY....The Good Neighbor Podcast helps the residents of Northern Kentucky get to know local business owners as people. We allow the business owners and influencers in NKY to tell the stories of how they started their business and why. We hear about their families, their personal interests and why they love living in and serving resident of Northern Kentucky!
Good Neighbor Podcast: Union
A Local Mechanic Survived A Brain Aneurysm And Now Fixes Your Gear On Your Driveway
A good mechanic saves weekends. A great one shows up in your driveway with a story that reminds you what grit really looks like. Meet Matt Thompson, the owner of Renew Mobile Small Engine and Equipment Repair, who turns dead mowers and stubborn snowblowers into reliable workhorses all across Northern Kentucky—no trailers, no shop drop-offs, no waiting weeks to be seen.
We dig into what “mobile repair” really means for homeowners and small property managers: on-site diagnostics, transparent fixes, and the seasonal realities of riding mowers, push mowers, trimmers, leaf blowers, and snowblowers. Matt breaks down common culprits like stale fuel, clogged carburetors, safety interlocks, worn belts, and low-oil shutdowns that mimic bigger failures. He shares how quick checks can save time and money, when to repair versus replace, and why simple maintenance habits pay off before the first snowfall or the first cut of spring.
Then the conversation turns personal. In 2021, Matt survived a ruptured brain aneurysm, months in a medical coma, multiple strokes, and a long rebuild through intensive rehab at the Shepherd Center. Doctors said disability was permanent and driving was off the table. He pushed back, retrained, retested, and returned to the wheel—and to work. Renew Mobile grew from that resolve: a locally rooted business built to serve neighbors, chip away at medical debt, and prove that skill and service can thrive after hardship. If you care about reliable equipment, practical advice, and the power of a second chance, this one’s for you. You can reach Matt Thompson at 859-991-9350. You can email him at renewmobilesmallengine@gmail.com
Subscribe for more local stories that spotlight the people behind essential services. Share this episode with someone who needs a trusted mobile small engine expert, and leave a review to help others in Northern Kentucky find us.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the point where local businesses and neighbor come together. Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, thank you, Charlie. That's I'm Mike Murphy, host of the Good Neighbor Podcast. We talk to local business owners in northern Kentucky so that you can know them as people and not just logos on a business card. And so I've got somebody with me today who I have recently met, and he has a pretty compelling story. So I asked him to come in and share it with um the residents of Northern Kentucky, many of which are currently his customers, and some of which are going to be future customers. So without further ado, uh Matt Thompson, you are the owner of is it uh Renew Small Engines? Renew Mobile, Small Engine and Equipment Repair. Okay. And so the mobile part of it is you go to the customer, correct?
SPEAKER_02:We bring the shop to you.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. So um having said that, go into a little deeper detail of what it is you do uh within the business.
SPEAKER_02:Do anything small engine equipment, uh log splitters, leaf blowers, uh snow blowers, anything small engine related, we do it.
SPEAKER_01:So within that category, what is the most common piece of equipment you work that you work on?
SPEAKER_02:Probably riding tractors.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02:Riding lime wars or leaf blowers, re weed eaters.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:I've had a huge string of uh snowblowers here lately because it's coming to season.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, people people don't want to be uh caught without them. Yeah, yeah, that's yes. Uh the the the day of the first big snowfall is no time to figure out that you are snowblowers.
SPEAKER_02:No, it's not.
SPEAKER_01:I guess I would assume that uh maybe the number one thing would be the old handheld lawnmower, uh the push mower, the push mower, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I I do a lot of those.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:But number one uh here lately has been the snowblower.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right. So uh if somebody calls you, typically they've got your business card say, or they're calling from a referral or whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Word of mouth.
SPEAKER_01:Word of mouth. If they call you and say, hey man, um, I'm dead in the water here, need help. Um, what's a typical turnaround time?
SPEAKER_02:Uh it depends on my schedule. But I had a guy who call me this morning. He said he lives down in uh Corinth, and I'm like, that's a little bit out of my service area, but I I do have customers down in Corinth area. I told him I I could be down there uh Friday tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. But well, I mean, that's that's pretty reasonable. Oh, yeah. You know, one thing people don't like to hear in that situation is I'll try to get to you in two to three weeks.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you know. Um next day or a couple of days later. Okay, depending on schedule. I mean, I'm not gonna put somebody off to make somebody else happy. I want to make everybody happy.
SPEAKER_01:So we'll we'll continue our business conversation here in a bit, but one of the things that I thought was uh interesting about you, kind of compelling, um a chapter of your life um with a medical issue that you've had to work hard to overcome. And um so knowing knowing what you've been through and then uh actually you know seeing you this morning, shaking your hand and and meeting you in person for the first time. Oh yeah, I was thinking, wow, he's he's really he's doing well. He's come along.
SPEAKER_02:It's been a long road, I'll tell you that.
SPEAKER_01:So tell us what what happened to you and and and when what's what's the story you tell?
SPEAKER_02:January 21st of 21. I was I was living in Tampa, Florida at this time.
SPEAKER_01:Fucking the camera.
SPEAKER_02:And uh I I uh I left work on a Thursday. I I took work, I took the day off on Friday because I was planning on flying up here to uh meet one of my good friends for his birthday on Friday. And uh I remember going to getting off of work and going to the airport and buying air a plane ticket. And uh when I I paid for I paid for the ticket with cash and I put this change in my pocket. When I put the change in my pocket, the hit keys that I pulled I'd use to pull a truck up to the bay door that day. And uh, I was like, man, I gotta take these keys back to work. So I take the keys back to work, and I remember disarming the alarm, and I remember going in, putting my keys up, and I remember coming back out the door and putting my or setting an alarm, and then I put my truck in reverse and I woke up a couple months later.
SPEAKER_01:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:So it happened while you were in the truck, yeah, and I hemorrhaged in in the truck for an hour, and I think it was like an hour and 35 minutes before anybody found me. And then they took me down to Tampa General where they done a uh a tox screen or whatever. They thought I was a drug overdose case and let me sit for another hour and a half or so hemorrhaging. Uh, and then there this miracle lady walked in through the through the uh the ER there and said he's not a drug overdose case, he needs a head CT stat. And that's when they found that uh I had aneurysm rupture in your brain, and they give me a three percent chance of survival, and I do have two more active aneurysms in my head. Okay, how often do they um I I I scan every six months?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, all right. Well, I mean, I know you'll have a lot of people praying for you that um you know they don't rupture on you, but yeah, do they when when they know something like that exists in you, it uh can they do anything about it?
SPEAKER_02:It I have the two in my head that are coiled, they put coils around them to keep them from expanding more.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_02:But I do have uh I do have the one clipped and two coiled.
unknown:All right.
SPEAKER_01:So you're backing the truck out and then you know, out go the lights, and then I I don't remember any of that. It was two months later you said you woke up in the hospital?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, uh that that I remember.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, all right, all right.
SPEAKER_02:So even though that's your first memory, how long were you actually unconscious or uh I think I was in they putting me in a medical coma for like a month or two? Okay, just so I could heal.
SPEAKER_01:So when you came out of it and you were finally aware, um I know an aneurysm like that can be very dangerous in terms of all the things that will disrupt within your body. Yeah, so what kind of condition were you in at that moment?
SPEAKER_02:Uh I got some pretty nasty pictures that that I couldn't walk, I could talk, I couldn't talk, I was wheelchair bound. I was actually bed bound for forever. And uh I went through I went to a place in Atlanta, Georgia called the Shepherd Center. All right, and I I that's where I done all my my rehab and therapy and things like that. That's like uh Disney in Atlanta. So I'll tell you, it's it's that's an amazing place.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So where were you actually living when all this was happening? Were you in Tampa?
SPEAKER_02:I lived in uh oh goodness, it was uh near Tampa. It was on the outside of Tampa. I can't remember the name of it now. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01:But uh Tampa was kind of like the the nearest I worked in Tampa.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so and that was the nearest major medical school that could be and Tampa General is a uh they are a I guess a a world uh world renowned yeah, they're like the brain aneurysm specialists, okay, from what I was told.
SPEAKER_01:I don't I don't know for sure, but a lot of great places around the country where something like that could have happened to you if it had to happen at all, but it's gotta be there.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's gotta be there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, okay. So the road back from then to where you are now, what's that struggle been like for you?
SPEAKER_02:It's been I I still struggle daily. Well, I had four strokes or three strokes right back, all back to back behind that aneurysm, too. But um, I my whole entire right side is all numb. I have no feeling on my right side, on my arm, my leg, nothing. But uh, I mean, it's been a very long road learning how to walk and talk and um just learning how to be me again, right? Yeah, something that nobody uh nobody ever wants to have to experience and no, it's none of us can really imagine. And uh it's been pretty tough, honestly.
SPEAKER_01:How old are you, man?
SPEAKER_02:I'll be actually 44 tomorrow or uh November 1st. I'm gonna two days.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I'll be 44.
SPEAKER_01:All right. Well, happy early birthday. Thank you. Appreciate it. It's nice that you're able to be here celebrating birthdays.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, there was times that I thought I wasn't gonna be here.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And even though uh, you know, physically you obviously put in the work and got better and all that stuff, yeah. There had to be days when just mentally you were you were still good when we're done.
SPEAKER_02:I still go through it every single day. Like, man, I should have just gave up and just stayed on disability. That they told me I was gonna be on disability pretty much for the rest of my life, and they told me I was never allowed to drive again. And uh I was down in Tennessee, we'll move down to Tennessee there for a little while. I've done some more therapy and I said, I can't handle this, I have got to drive. She's like, You're not getting your license unless you go get a uh uh do a driving test. So I called this uh a driving company down there. I said, I need to do a driving test. I said, My my wife at the time, I said she won't let me drive until I get my driving test. And I did that and I left there there with a job and a job offer.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's quite an interesting story. Um you know, you mentioned uh you can drive now, and oh yeah, you know, and uh kind of struck me when I saw you drive up in that uh truck, you know, your work truck. I'm like, um, well, obviously he's driving just fine.
SPEAKER_02:One John Dooley. Yeah. And uh having to pull that trailer around to bring the shop to them.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's a nice truck. Um so yeah, um I guess you know, there's uh there's part of the story where you're you're employed at one place full time, yes, and then there's this business that we're kind of here to talk about today.
SPEAKER_02:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Um, your small engine repair business. And I think you shared with me that uh one of the reasons for that is it uh kind of help to uh get rid of the medical debt that you'd use.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly, yeah. Trying to get rid of some of that medical debt.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Medical debt is a pretty insidious thing. It can ruin people's lives.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, it can.
SPEAKER_01:It's a blessing and a curse. Okay, you uh went through all of that, you you you know, uh owe the medical community a you know good debt of gratitude.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yes, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But you know, then you've got this curse that comes with it. And I recomm I mean I I I commend you, I um I applaud your efforts in um doing what you can to um take care of that debt.
SPEAKER_02:But I do wonder, like, with all the stuff you've been through, so major, if you don't mind sharing, well, like what what did the total end up being on that uh I there was one point in a time I checked in and I was like three million dollars or something like that in debt with uh medical bills. And what I've had to do with that. I mean, I've had uh I've had three open brain surgeries, and I'm I'm gonna have to have another one here uh shortly, I believe, uh to take care of the other two in there in there.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So when when you have those surgeries, are you having them here locally or do you fly somewhere?
SPEAKER_02:Probably you see.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right, so they're able to handle that uh sensitive surgery up here as well. All right. Well, you know, now that I you know have met you and know your story and you're sharing it with us today, of course, I'll be wanting to um stay in contact with you and and you know make sure that all of that is tracking the way we all hope it will. But in the meantime, uh this small engine repair business, the mobile business. Yeah, now that people understand the purpose behind it, yeah. Uh it's not something you just decided to do because you're good at it.
SPEAKER_02:I I love doing small engines, I really do.
SPEAKER_01:That's I would think that would be kind of therapeutic for you too, right?
SPEAKER_02:It is, it it is, it really is. Uh, like when I was in the hospital, my friends would call me and they wanted to see if I could remember things uh as far as I'm I'm a huge mechanic as well. I've been mechanic my entire life. But uh they would always call me and say, Hey, my car is doing this, my truck is doing this. What do you think the issue could be? And I pretty much nailed it down every single time. So I've been mechanical all my all my life.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think if if that's where your talent lies, yeah, deep in that part of your brain, it's probably um ironclad on lockdown. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you're you're you're gonna hopefully have that with you for the rest of your life. But I want people out there to know that um you know that the whole small engine thing is kind of a pain in the butt for like especially like the weekend warriors who are doing their own landscaping or or whatever.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And the first thing we do is we start um putting around with it and checking filters and checking do we have fuel and all that. There's a little bit of stuff that we can all kind of maybe figure out a little bit. Yeah, but um many times, and I know I've been this way in the past, I get to a point where I'm like at an impression.
SPEAKER_02:I'm like, just throw it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's like you know, either you uh kick it, cuss at it, yeah, uh, you know, whatever. But at the end of the day, you still come right back to all right, I gotta get this done.
SPEAKER_02:You gotta get it done.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, and I've never really known in those moments who to call because we all have auto mechanics that we can call, or oh yeah, we pass by them all the time on the road. Oh yeah. But when it comes to the small engine repair, especially somebody that can come to you.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, that's that's the big thing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's that's really good. I mean, that's you know, when somebody finds you, then you're such a godsend to them in that moment. Yeah, they will not lose your card.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You know, they put you in the phone and they uh they make sure never to lose your number.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you can always reach me, 859-991-9350.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, and again, it's Matt Thompson.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, Matt Thompson. Renewed mobile, small engine and equipment repair.
SPEAKER_01:Perfect. Okay. So when people now that people know kind of like the purpose behind that business, yeah, I think people will probably just naturally want to um support you and the business.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that'd be awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I think you know that's one of the reasons not just hearing your story, yeah, but thinking, all right, uh, this guy needs uh just a forum to be able to talk to the community and say, Yeah, here's my story, here's why I'm doing this business. All right, and I would love to serve you in whatever capacity. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:So again, there's nothing I haven't been able to figure out, figure out yet. So that's that's a good thing.
SPEAKER_01:All right. Uh have you ever uh arrived at somebody's place and and the old the old classic uh you're out of gas? Does that ever happen?
SPEAKER_02:That has happened many times. Or they have a low oil shutdown on them and they're low on a oil, throw a little bit of oil in. Normally I don't charge them to to do that. I mean that that's just yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you know, although in those moments we might be embarrassed, um, you know, you're the expert, not us. We're the ones calling for the help. We don't care how how we get the help, right?
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:As long as uh when you're leaving, uh everything's up and running again.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:So that's got to make you feel good to do it. It does.
SPEAKER_02:It it'd be a hero. There's a there's a lot of gratitude that comes with it, a lot of happiness that somebody calls me, they can't get their stuff running. I I love getting I love helping people. I mean, that's that's just I've been that way my entire life.
SPEAKER_01:Do you have any story uh where you know one one or two in particular that were kind of like your favorite calls you've ever gone out on, or anyone you've uh helped uh in a kind of a special way?
SPEAKER_02:Just uh a lot of out-of-fuel or out-of-oil calls. I mean, there's been quite a few uh out-of-oil calls that uh just show up and throw a cap full of oil in there and it fires right up. Okay, so yeah, a lot of people don't realize they have uh low oil shutdowns on these things. And if if the if if if it's not touching that sensor, it will not start.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So you're talking about oil in the crankcase itself, not not not like uh not like a two-cycle mixture sort of just or in the engine itself. Okay, all right. Well, I guess that makes sense, and it's good that there's that shutoff, so yes, it keeps you from uh dancing things.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, sir, there is.
SPEAKER_01:I know a lot of people that need that for their car because there's a lot of people out there who don't realize uh you need to be changing your oil every so often and all body fluids.
SPEAKER_02:You gotta check it too.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And the first time you check it can't be when your car's being towed away.
SPEAKER_02:Nope, nope.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So uh do you mind uh sharing where you're working full time?
SPEAKER_02:I work full-time TLG Peterbelt in northern Kentucky. Okay, we're actually getting ready to move uh next Friday over to uh by the airport, Earhart Court.
SPEAKER_01:All right, yeah, a lot of stuff going out there at the airport. Yes, there is. Yeah, a lot of a lot of jobs out there, a lot of people, a lot of uh building, oh yeah. Okay, all right. Well, um, is there anything that we haven't talked about or anything you want to say um before we sign off? This has been a good conversation, but uh it's coming to a close.
SPEAKER_02:So nothing that I can think of.
SPEAKER_01:We've covered everything. Yeah, I've covered all the things that I wanted to cover with you, yeah. Um, your story in particular, because I think it's it's um uh you know kind of miraculous, really to think about what happened to you when it happened, and that you had to that you were left so long without being found. And when they found you, they still left you. Still left me.
SPEAKER_02:They thought you were thought I was a drug or overdose case.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, and and did that mean to them like you weren't worth it?
SPEAKER_02:I I guess, but uh my wife at the time she actually beat me to the hospital. Okay, and um they said, Man, what kind of drugs is your husband husband on? She said, He doesn't he doesn't drink, he doesn't do any drugs at all. He there's he doesn't do anything, and they say, Well, we'll like the top screen uh tell us the answer that.
SPEAKER_01:So, yeah, well, that's it's a shame that that's the first thing that they think of. Yeah, but I think that just speaks to how um common that is and how often they say that.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah, I'm sure. And that was in Hills, Hillsborough County where they found me too. So, I mean, that's a pretty rough area anyway.
SPEAKER_01:So okay. Well, all that aside, thank God you're still here with us, and you're rocking and rolling and you're finding a way forward.
SPEAKER_02:Um daily struggles. I mean, still, I mean, I just like I said, my whole side is numb and I just no feeling, but anyway, um, yeah, it's just a daily struggle for me still.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, well, you'll you're gonna have a lot of people who listen to this, so they're gonna pray pray for you. I'll be one of them. So good deal. I'm happy to know you and I hope we get to stay in contact. And in the meantime, we want people to um make note of you know your contact information.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:If if they need help with their small engine repair, you'll go to them.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:One more time. I want you to say your number.
SPEAKER_02:It's uh 859-991-9350. Renew mobile small engine and equipment repair. We do everything.
SPEAKER_01:Matt Thompson, thank you for uh visiting with us today.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:And um, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your journey. A lot of other people are oh yeah going to be curious about that too. So um, on occasion, I'll just sort of uh you know post little updates and let people know how you're doing.
SPEAKER_02:That's perfect.
SPEAKER_01:All right, brother. Well, um again, thanks for thanks for coming by today. Thanks for sharing your story, and we wish you all the best. Uh, we will all do our best to uh think of you when we need small repair, and sooner or later all of us do. So uh having said that, that wraps up this latest episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Until we see each other again, everyone out there, please be good to your neighbor. So long. Bye, everybody.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Union to nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show. Go to DNPunion.com. That's gnpunion.com or call at 859 4651 820.