INUVIK - His polishing rag in one hand and cordless phone in the other, Walter Rogers casts a discerning gaze over the shiny red pickup truck he's just finished cleaning.

It's Friday afternoon and his shop phone has been ringing steadily.

Walter Rogers opened AWRS Detailing, Inuvik's only car detailing shop, with his wife Rosie July 19 on Navy Road. - Katie May/NNSL photo

"I was planning to go to Midway Lake, but I have too much business coming to me this weekend," he tells the caller. "You betcha. Bring 'er on in tomorrow."

Two weeks ago the 37-year-old realized a childhood dream when he opened Inuvik's only automotive detailing shop, AWRS Detailing, beside Mackenzie Valley Construction on Navy Road.

"The idea of owning a shop has always been in the back of my head since I was 14 years old," he said. "It took me 23 years, but I accomplished what I set out to do."

It's a family business, co-owned by Rogers' wife Rosie Kayotuk. The name of the shop also incorporates the first initials of the couple's four-year-old daughter Shinita and their almost-two-year-old son Avery. Without all of them, Rogers said, he wouldn't be where he is today.

Rogers was born in Inuvik but grew up as a foster child on an Alberta farm, always wondering about his relatives. He was tinkering with cars and trucks by the age of seven. He moved back in 2003 to find he had a big family, including 10 siblings and countless aunts and uncles.

"I came back to Inuvik originally because I was lost. I was still drinking heavily back then," Rogers said. "I felt lost in the world, so I came back to find out who I was."

He's been sober for three years and hasn't looked back.

"It seems like everything has fit into place now. I'm no longer that derelict child that wonders who his mom and dad are and if they ever did care about me, because I do know they do care about me," he said.

With family support behind him and the title of shop co-owner under his belt, Rogers is now pursuing his ultimate goal of becoming a licensed mechanic. After years of fixing cars as a shop hand for various local construction and contracting companies, Rogers tried, unsuccessfully, to find a licensed mechanic who would take him on as an apprentice. So he's decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Unfortunately, there's not enough licensed mechanics," he said. "My solution to my predicament was to open my own shop, then (eventually) hire my own mechanic and train under him."

He admits it's an unorthodox approach to securing an apprenticeship, akin to hiring a tutor. But he's prepared to do whatever it takes to get that licence, frame it, and show it to his kids someday.

"I've always wanted to have that certification that says, 'yes, Walter, you are qualified to work on vehicles," he explained. "All I have is the knowledge and the experience. Thirty years ago, knowledge was everything - you didn't need a certificate. Times have changed now."

For the time being, he and Rosie are enjoying being their own bosses, even if it means washing, waxing, polishing and sweeping floors.

"When I was a shop hand, it was something I didn't like doing. Now that we own our own business, I actually take pride in sweeping that floor and making sure there's a clean shop for the next customer to come in," Rogers said. "It's quite an invigorating feeling."

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