About Kelly

Kelly Shelton, the owner of The Shop VA, got into cars accidentally. Kelly found a dark blue 95 BMW 3 series for sale at $6,000 with 200,000 miles on it. BMW blew him away. It was sporty, attractive, and had more features than his parents’ new Hondas. He started tinkering with it. He was 16 years old and a sophomore in high school. During his junior year, he enrolled in the automotive training in the Chesterfield Technical Center Auto Program — top of his class. During his senior year, he got an internship with a dealership, working with Dodge, Chryslers, and domestic vehicles. Kelly wanted to work for BMW so he spoke to the service manager at the BMW dealership so the dealership entered the program and hired him. He worked there through his junior and senior year. They hired him straight out of high school. Out of everyone who’s been through the tech program, he’s the only one to become a shop owner.

Kelly is a diehard BMW fan and says they are the best driving cars out there. When he decided to become a lifelong technician, his friend talked him into going to college so he did and earned a degree in business. After college, his dad talked him into working for a health insurance company. He started in sales, ended in management. By the time he left, he was COO. That’s where he learned managerial skills. His management philosophy is “ I’m not a boss.” He leads by example rather than commanding people to do things.

Kelly has 6 employees. All three of our technicians graduated Universal Technical Institute, and either attended the BMW STEP Program, or the Mercedes ELITE Program.

Kelly Shelton opened The Shop in 2014. His biggest passions are cars and music. Kelly plays the drums, the guitar, and he sings. He likes everything from jazz to classical, hip hop, and rock. The Shop VA has a room-to-room sound system so each tech can choose what they listen to.