client overview
Repair Revolution is an auto repair shop based in Seattle, Washington, owned and operated by LGBTQIA+ people and allies.
The brief, in brief
Find a voice artist to represent Repair Revolution’s diverse team.
The background
Cars are essential for a great many Americans, who need them to get to work, school, stores – everywhere. Auto mechanics therefore wield a great deal of power.
Mechanic Eli Allison founded Repair Revolution in 2012 in response to their experience in the traditionally male-dominated industry that did not welcome their community. Repair Revolution is a space where all people, especially women, queer folks and BIPOC community feel safe, celebrated and cared for. They focus on educating their customers so they can feel empowered and informed when making decisions about their cars instead of fearing they are being taken advantage of.
‘Gender ambiguous’
When we spoke to the team at Repair Revolution about creating audio branding for their phone system, it quickly became apparent that their position as a safe space for marginalised communities needed to be made clear.
Our scriptwriting team would have a big hand in making that happen, but Repair Revolution decided to set our Voice team a challenge: identifying a voice that was ‘like Lavern Cox – confident, friendly, gender ambiguous but feminine of centre, and clearly queer’.
Knowing that we didn’t have anyone on our roster who matched this description, we set off in search of a suitable artist.
A voice with heritage
We were thrilled to find the perfect voice in Zia Amador, who identifies as a transgender man; Zia was raised in a bilingual household of professional voiceover artists in Massachusetts, and speaks with a neutral accent in both American English and American Spanish – an unexpected bonus!
Pleasingly, our client shared our enthusiasm for Zia’s voice, which you can listen to below. Our Voice Talent Coordinator, Suzanne Henshaw, said: “Part of my remit is ensuring that our voice roster is as diverse as our clients are. Clearly a gender-ambiguous voice might not be suitable for many businesses, but it evidently suits some – so it’s important we offer it.”
Get a free demo
Interested in how our audio productions could unlock the potential in your telephone system? Follow the link and we’ll put together a demo that’s tailored to your business ― don’t worry, it’s totally free.
