Tom Gattuso, SEMA’s Vice President of Events, joins Big Rich Klein for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey through automotive events, off-road culture, and the evolution of the SEMA Show.
Gattuso shares stories from growing up near Washington, D.C., touring Europe as a jazz musician, playing varsity football, and developing the improvisational skills that shaped his career. He explains how a bold cross-country move in a ’66 Impala convertible led him from automotive sales into event production.
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The discussion explores his years producing auto shows and Off-Road Expo, including the importance of becoming immersed in the off-road community and embracing unconventional ideas. Gattuso also describes his transition to SEMA and the growth of signature experiences such as the SEMA Cruise, SEMA Fest, outdoor demonstrations, and expanded powersports programming.
Additional topics include:
- How SEMA is organizing truck, off-road, powersports, and related industries
- The importance of protecting trails and supporting advocacy through ORBA
- Designing events around the needs of exhibitors, buyers, and enthusiasts
- The future of product innovation and automotive customization
- SEMA Fest’s mix of music, drifting, stunt performances, and community
Gattuso offers a behind-the-scenes look at the planning, risks, teamwork, and passion required to bring the automotive industry together.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:13.390] – Big Rich Klein
My guest this week went from playing with Hot Wheels as a kid to running the largest automotive aftermarket show in the world, with stops in life that included varsity high school football, playing brass instruments in the band, and majoring in marketing during college. My guest is the Vice President of Events at SEMA, Tom Gattuso. Hello, Tom Gattuso. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you, but it’s great to talk to you.
[00:01:45.820] – Tom Gattuso
No, it’s good to talk to you too, Rich. And I think I still have dirt in my shoes from the last time we got together 20 years ago. So it’s always good to reconnect.
[00:01:54.620] – Big Rich Klein
Right. And for those that are wondering, We go back to their— to the mid-2000s and, uh, Off-Road Expo, and, um, you were like the showrunner or organizer. I don’t know what you guys call yourselves there, but, uh, we, uh, we were a vendor outside with, uh, We Rock, and we, uh, had some fun with, uh, some rock crawling and some, some UTV drifting. But, uh, let’s get into You, and the first question I ask everybody is, where were you born and raised?
[00:02:30.110] – Tom Gattuso
Born in Maryland, but then I kind of bounced back and forth between New York and Virginia. So I’m going to say I was born in Maryland but raised in Virginia.
[00:02:40.020] – Big Rich Klein
Okay.
[00:02:41.230] – Tom Gattuso
And, and pretty much, you know, was just a typical, a typical kid in metropolitan Washington, D.C., and all that that had to offer.
[00:02:55.360] – Big Rich Klein
And what was it like growing up in D.C.? I mean, you know, there’s so much history there. Did you become involved in that? You know, did you study that?
[00:03:09.660] – Tom Gattuso
No, it’s interesting you say that because you do start to take it for granted. I think it’s like people that live at the beach where you’re excited the first time you, you’re looking at a property or an apartment you’re going to rent. And then after a while, you’re like, yeah, I live at the beach. I see it every day. And we were kind of like that with some of the monuments. So I was exposed to, you know, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and the White House and doing tours and stuff of those at a very early age. But I think where I really started to appreciate what D.C. could offer was, was things when they were building memorials. So I can remember when they built the Vietnam Memorial and how I had friends that I’d gone to high school with who had lost their parent, and it was so powerful. And then I remember the Korean War Monument and World War II as I went back later and You know, you’ve got the Martin Luther King Museum. Like, there’s so many things that DC has done since I left 35 years ago or so.
[00:04:18.390] – Tom Gattuso
And it’s really cool. It’s really cool that we have this, this push in our, in our nation to, to recognize things like that. And they do it in such a way where They just can, can pull up emotion and they can pull up— they can make a history buff out of, out of anybody. And, you know, you go to those things, you immerse yourself in them. And I was lucky to be on the, on the front end of a lot of the stuff that was, that was being built. So I feel fortunate in that respect. READ MORE
