MILWAUKEE — Many people wouldn’t think that an automotive expert would dress in sequined dresses and have long painted nails. But Chaya Milchtein defies expectations.
“I don’t look like somebody that’s supposed to be writing about cars," she said.
Milchtein is an automotive educator and journalist with tens of millions of views across social media. She has large followings on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Her TikTok page has more than 600,000 followers. She also posts to her blog Mechanic Shop Femme.
She uses her platform to focus on helping women and the LGBTQ+ community.
“Certainly not a whole lot of resources that are intentionally curated in the way that I do so that queer people feel comfortable watching and feel comfortable engaging," Milchtein said.
Her goal is to help people master the basics when it comes to all things car. That means she helps people with buying the right car, negotiating a price, repairs, and maintenance. She's not teaching technical skills but how to navigate conversations with your mechanic and the dealer.
Milchtein said that women and the LGBTQ community aren't taught about the automotive industry as much as their male counterparts. She wants to be the one to bring this knowledge their way.
"Women aren’t taught about cars because it's manly. And men are not frequently taught about cars because their fathers didn’t know as much as they were supposed to under general society rules," she said.
That's why she wants to make the automotive industry more approachable. After all, cars are one of the most common and expensive purchases everyone has to deal with.
"If you own a car, if you live in a city where there’s not good public transportation, you need your car to get to work. You need your car to get your kids to school. You need your car for the most basic simple things," she said.
Milchtein got her start when she was 18 years old looking for a job. After a long search, she finally landed at Sears Auto Center in Glendale. That would be the beginning of the career she had no idea she would embark on.
"Why did I pick cars specifically? It kind of fell into my lap," she said.
She embraced her first job and turned it into her career. It has provided her with experiences she never thought imaginable, and in 2024 she's adding a new one.
In April, her first book will come out 'Mechanic Shop Femmes Guide to Car Ownership'. It's a step-by-step resource to help drivers understand their car from purchasing a vehicle to yearly maintenance.
"Education is empowerment. And if you learn about your car, you’ll feel less scared when you walk into the mechanic shop. If you learn about your car, you will feel more confident when it comes to buying a car," she said.
Whether it's a teenager or a 60-year-old, Milchtein said this book can teach you a few new tricks and tips.
"This book doesn’t teach how to fix your car. This book teaches you how to own a car. How to deal with all the different elements of the automotive industry."
It’s available for pre-order wherever you buy books. It’s all part of her mission to educate and empower as many people as possible about the auto industry while wearing a sequin dress.
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