By Ashley Reyes
Quincy Freeman is the SEMA Future Leaders Network’s (FLN) newest spotlight member. Freeman is the owner of Cue Anthony Racing, an online resource that identifies, sources and delivers automotive aftermarket and high-performance parts. Get to know what keeps him in the industry in his interview with SEMA below.
SEMA: What is the best advice you have ever received?
Quincy Freeman: Although this was not said to me directly, the sentiment is clear. I quote Denzel Washington’s portrayal of Frank Lucas in the movie ‘American Gangster’: “The most important thing in business is honesty, integrity, hard work...family...never forgetting where we came from…” I believe honesty, integrity and hardwork are the arrows in my quiver that will guide and plant me dead center on my bullseye to success in the automotive aftermarket.
SEMA: What keeps you in the industry?
QF: The desire to win and be a leader keeps me in the industry. Being able to actually say, confidently, that I came up with a goal on my own and executed it to a success or to a failure keeps me going. The desire to inspire a young black man or woman to pursue his or her dreams despite all keeps me forward-focused. I want to be successful in retail e-commerce so that I can stand firmly and speak loudly that a young black person can do anything they set their mind to. I live by the words of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Daring Greatly:” It is not the critic who counts; nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
SEMA: Where can you be found on a Saturday?
QF: On any given Saturday you can likely find me at a local but new restaurant chowing down. I have a deep passion for food and culinary expression, so I try to spend as much time indulging as I can. Alongside technology and the automotive aftermarket, food may very well be my next biggest passion.
SEMA: How do you prepare for an important meeting?
QF: I’m usually a very confident person, so when I prepare to go into a meeting, I wear that confidence as a badge of honor. I ensure that I am prepared for the questions that may be asked, I have solutions for the problems that may need solving, and most importantly I aim to keep both as simple as possible. I do not want to convolute a situation with broad ideas and grand gestures, straightforward and simple are the keys to proper preparation.
SEMA: If you could go to lunch with one industry leader, living or dead, who it would be?
QF: The industry leader I would love to have lunch with is Sage Thomas, also known as Donkmaster. Despite being from Los Angeles, I have always admired and loved what box Chevys on big tires have done for drag racing. It is not something that you see very much here on the west coast. I have watched Donkmaster and donk races on Youtube for many years, and this year Donkmaster’s achievements really spoke to me. I was very proud and excited to see a fellow black man excel in the industry and that has encouraged me to keep striving.
If you are a current FLN member, fill out an FLN member spotlight form. Selected candidates may be featured on FLN’s social media, SEMA News and FLN member updates.