MICHAEL LOUDER

Interstate Towing and Recovery

story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER                        photos by SUSAN DELOACH

Celebrating 20 years this year, Interstate Towing and Recovery has proven themselves time and time again to be the kind of towing company you want to be able to call if the need arises. Owner Michael Louder is doing what he can to give back to the Lowcountry through his business.

Michael Louder was born into a military family in Georgia. They moved to Beaufort, SC, in 1984, where his dad worked as a drill instructor. Michael spent most of his childhood in Beaufort from 1984 until high school, when he moved to North Carolina. He moved back to Beaufort in 1998 and has been here ever since.

“I’ve always loved it here. When I was younger, I underestimated Beaufort. I felt like there was nothing to do. But now, the beach, the water…yeah, we live in paradise.”

When Mike moved here after high school, he worked for Stokes for a few years, working in the parts department at two different dealerships. “I’ve always been a hands-on person, and I’ve always loved to work on things. I was the kid who would take apart the TV and then not be able to put it back together.” Mike loved learning how things worked, even if he accidentally broke them in the process.

After working at Stokes, he started working at a body shop, doing paint and body work. “I realized that I did not want to sand cars for the rest of my life.”

Tow trucks were coming to the shop where he worked to pick up cars or drop them off, and a friend of his owned a tow truck. “I was kind of interested in that, for the simple fact that they had air conditioning in the cab,” Mike laughs. “I wouldn’t have to sweat for the rest of my life.”

Mike started Interstate Towing and Recovery in 2005. He sold a car that he had been driving, saved up some money, and went to the bank to try and borrow some money. “They wouldn’t loan to me because I was a brand-new small-business owner. I had quit my job. They didn’t trust me,” Mike laughs. “I thought that maybe I had made a bad decision, but I just kept saving up more money and bought the tow truck.”

Now that he has a family with three kids, he looks back and admits that he doesn’t know if he could do it all over again. The first few years were scary for Mike as he worked to build his business. He lived as simply as he could. “I did my fair share of eating Ramen noodles, and I stopped going downtown and spending money. I stayed at home and focused on working. And when I look back, I’m glad I did what I did when I did it. I had a young man’s energy and mentality.” Mike also attributes some of his ability to focus so much on work and the ability to make these sacrifices to the fact that there was no social media in the early 2000s. “I wasn’t seeing posts of everything my friends were doing without me.” This made it easier for Mike to keep his head down and focus on the business.

“I always knew that I would only grow as much as the town would allow me to grow. That has played a huge factor in my experience. I have worked hard and been dedicated to the work. I have the drive and ambition to keep going, getting up early in the morning even if I was up until 2 a.m. towing a car.” Mike has always tried to accommodate his customers as much as he is able. The reason Mike first invested in a heavy-duty wrecker was that people in the community were reaching out to him about towing equipment. He bought a tractor and trailer, as well as a lowboy trailer, so that he can haul things like bulldozers and excavators. “I listen to my customers and what they are looking for.”

Interstate Towing tows tractor trailers, garbage trucks, concrete trucks, and more. Mike and his employees — Ashley, Tony, Eric (Mudfish), Cliff, Thalese (Bear), Tony (Cowboy), Scott, and Heather — are dedicated to their work and to making sure that the job is done as smoothly as possible. “The people that work with me are like family.”

Mike is contracted with the police department, even to tow their personal cop cars. “I was just in Ravenel to get an ambulance that was coming back from Charleston, which was at two in the morning.” Along with this, he works with the fire department each year, providing them with cars to use for their Prom Promise at high schools. “I bring them cars to use at the high schools, where they stage accidents and cut dummies out of the cars. I do the same thing for training purposes at the fire station.” These are all wrecked cars that Mike now has ownership of, and when the fire department is done using them, he comes and tows them away again.

Some of the work that Mike does in the community, like towing cars out of the marsh, is unpaid. “I do it because I love what I do. It comes with the playbook — you take the good with the bad.”

When asked about his future goals, Mike reflects on his 20 years in the business. “My work has never been a 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday kind of job. I’m up crazy hours of the night, making sure things get taken care of even if I’m not the guy to go out and do it.” Mike is basically on call 24/7. “My wife and I have been talking about retirement. Realistically, I have another 5 to 10 years in me. I don’t want to wait until I’m too old. I want to travel and see things I’ve never seen. I’d love to see Mount Rushmore or go to the Hoover Dam. Hey, I’ve never even been to Las Vegas,” Mike laughs. Mike is hopeful that the business will stay in the family. One of his sons is very interested in trucks. “He plays video games where he drives lowboys around and moves equipment.” Mike’s other son is great with people, and “maybe he’ll enjoy the office work aspect of things.” Mike doesn’t want to burden or pressure the kids into anything, but it is something he hopes to offer them if they’re interested. “If they want to be doctors or lawyers, I will be applauding them.”

The person Mike is applauding most of all is his wife. “I owe it all to my wife. She puts up with a lot.” Amanda stays at home full-time, handling all the things that come with that, including making sure that Chase and Fisher get to Riverview for school, and that Carter gets to school at Mossy Oaks Elementary. Carter has autism and this led to Amanda staying at home. “She can take care of him better than anyone else, and she has taught him so much. The reason I can do what I do is because of all the work she does. My beautiful wife deserves a huge shout-out, that’s for sure.”

When he is not working all hours of the day and night, you can find Mike on his boat, spending time with his family.
Mike hopes that the people in Beaufort know that he is working for the people of Beaufort, not just to make money, but to provide them with a service that they need. “I know that tow truck drivers can get a bad rap, but we’re just working like any other company or business. We’re providing a service that you only need if you meet some kind of misfortune, and we’re going to do our best to make it as easy as possible for you.”