In life, there are forks in the road, and you have to choose a path.

When he was 19, Nic Wilson had to choose between working for the family’s body shop or forging a different path in life. He spent some time working at factories before realizing the environment he had been around all of his life was where he was meant to be.

In 2018, he was shocked by the death of his father, Stephen Wilson Sr., and that could have marked the end of Wilson Auto Body, the business they had built together since 2008. Instead, he has kept the legacy going and now works alongside his wife, Amanda, and son, Vince, along with Ed Brennen. He also lives in his childhood home nearby, and a cross is placed by a pond in honor of his father.

No matter what has come his way in life, the 42-year-old Seymour native has battled through.

“I would do anything to keep this shop open,” Wilson said. “I would do anything to keep this property so it stays in the Wilson name. It will always be in a Wilson’s name. I just don’t want to get rid of it.”

The family operated a body shop in Crothersville, and after Stephen graduated from Seymour High School, he helped his dad, Lloyd Wilson, open Lloyd’s Body Shop on U.S. 31 south of Seymour.

Then in 2002, Stephen branched off and started his own shop on U.S. 31 north of Seymour. Nic joined him in 2008, and they became business partners.

Nic had worked at some factories and a couple of body shops until getting hired by T&T Body Shop between Seymour and Brownstown.

“Tom Gray kind of saved my life at that point. Tom Gray gave me a chance, him and Tony Cockerham. I’ll never forget it,” Wilson said.

He became one of their best auto body technicians and painters, enhancing the skills he had learned from his father and grandfather.

“My dad had already trained me. From probably 12 and on, I was working on cars,” Wilson said.

“Luckily, he had taught me enough through him buying and selling cars because I would help him paint them, taught me enough to go to T&T without him and know how to hold my own,” he said. “I honestly didn’t know a ton about body work when I started at T&T. I just knew that if they gave me a chance, I was going to watch how other people did it, and I was going to make sure I did it like they did it.”

After four years there, Wilson said his confidence was really, really high and he chose to resign from T&T to work with his dad.

“I took all of my tools and went out to my dad’s shop, got paid $200 a week for a very long time until we made enough money to pay me more, moved in with my dad to make it work,” he said. “I stuck with him for a reason because I knew that he was good. He was good for me. I wanted to be just like him, and I am just like him.”

On Aug. 20, 2011, work began to build their own shop behind their house on North County Road 1200E to get out of renting the building on U.S. 31.

After Stephen died Sept. 15, 2018, Nic chose to build onto the shop and keep the business going. His siblings also kept going with their careers despite the unexpected loss of their father.

“It’s kind of a testimony to my dad, just the way that he trained us,” Nic said. “We didn’t roll over and die or cry in the corner after that. We’re trying to actually do what he taught us to do, and hopefully, my children outdo me. That’s kind of what life’s all about.”

The business focuses on insurance collision repair. The shop is off the beaten path in the country, and Nic only advertises on Facebook, focuses on customer service and relies heavily on word of mouth.

“I want the customer to be so happy they tell 10 people,” he said, noting that has translated into a solid business plan and strong monthly numbers.

“That’s something I know for a fact my dad would be so proud of, just hitting numbers like that, because that’s what we dreamed of, just having a small mini pro shop, not big overhead where you get all stressed out, but taking care of people,” he said.

When a customer brings a wrecked vehicle to the shop, Nic said it’s usually an emotional thing for them, and he’s glad to be there to help them.

“Customer service is No. 1,” he said. “The way my dad would treat people, the way he made them feel … they liked it, and so I just try to duplicate that. The end result is they are satisfied with the work that you did, and I think that he did that really well, too, so I got to see the way he treated them in the beginning and the way he treated them in the end.”

A lot of times, Nic said his father did extra things for his customers, and they were blown away by him going the extra mile. He tries to do that, too, whether it’s auto body repair or a paint job.

“When you do a good service, I think that’s what makes people happy,” Nic said. “That’s what I want to do over and over, and that’s pretty much it, see how big we can make this thing. I want a high reputation.”

Nic also is grateful for his father getting him and his brother, Stephen Wilson Jr., into boxing at a young age because the skills they learned in the ring have carried on throughout their lives.

One skill is toughness.

“Dad was so tough with training me and my brother in the boxing ring,” Nic said. “When I’m working out, I still do a boxing workout, it’s still embedded in my brain. … Without that, I don’t think I would have made it. There’s no way. … It comes to the way he trained me to box. You’ve just got to attack. You’ve just got to go all out. Whatever happens, happens.”

Stephen used to go to Jamaica for a month and leave Nic in charge of the shop, and that was a good challenge to keep the business going.

“Each time he did that, I would get better at it,” Nic said. “It’s just one of those things where even leaving it all in my hands for a month every year, in a weird way, that was preparing me for whenever I was by myself. I was able to do it. I was extremly lucky to be around him long enough to where I knew how to handle problems when he was gone.”

Gratitude, going the extra mile, showing up early, all of these little things learned from his dad have made a really big difference for Nic.

“You can go apply these in any area and you’ll be massively successful,” he said. “It opens up so many doors that you probably don’t imagine that are going to be opened. You’ve got to find out what you’re good at. There are a lot of opportunities for that.”

Nic has passed those traits down to his eldest son, Vince, who recently graduated from Seymour High School and has been an asset with the body shop.

Nic said his wife and Brennen are assets, too.

“I feel like I’ve built the best team you can find,” Nic said. “I want to subconsciously program my image into people’s brains so much that you just feel like you’re coming home when you take your car there and the employees will take care of you. That’s the image that I want. That’s the feeling that I want.”

Outside of the business, Wilson has coached baseball for 13 years, starting when Vince was 6. He became interested in that after seeing the way Vince’s coach, Matt VonDielingen, coached.

“Kids were listening. All parents respected him. He just created this energy that it was a very fun thing to be a part of,” Nic said.

This year, he’s coaching his youngest son Victor’s Indiana Bulls 8U travel team.

Over the years, Wilson Auto Body also has sponsored local recreational youth baseball teams and men’s slowpitch softball teams. Nic and his dad coached together, too.

Recently, the shop had a unique opportunity to be part of a music video for Nic’s brother’s new single, “Father’s Son.” The song and video are a tribute to their dad.

Stephen Jr. considers Nic the star of the video, and they had an opportunity to get in the boxing ring together to spar. Vince and his cousin, Hunter Wilson, are in the music video, too.

“To be a part of that is just incredibly humbling,” Nic said. “If I’ve got grandchildren one day, they could look back at that video and say, ‘That’s my grandpa.’ (Stephen) captured something that will be there for a long time, and I’m very grateful for that. It’s nice to have light shed on Wilson Auto Body.”

Nic said it also was fascinating watching backstage as his brother sang and played guitar.

“He has really paid his dues for what he has gotten. Hopefully, more coming to him,” Nic said. “He has really stuck it out, and he has adjusted. Most people, they just keep writing the same kind of tunes. He’s getting better. … He has advanced each year instead of just the same old songs.”