Marty Padgett

Marty Padgett

Before he rose to fame and glory, and fell to a haggard slouch in his desk chair, High Gear Media executive editor Marty Padgett did other things. He spent the '70s toddling, the '80s regretting his wardrobe, the '90s learning the auto industry as an enthusiast and as a journalist, and the '00s reaping what he sowed. Padgett earned his Bachelor of Arts (cum laude, with special honors in interwar European history, try to live on that) from Duke University in 1991, then joined the staff of Car and Driver magazine as the editor of UpFront, the news and information corner of the million-selling monthly. After five years of road tests, comparos, video and online work, he joined Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Tuscaloosa, Ala., as a media relations specialist. In 1996, he returned to journalism as a freelance reporter, with articles in Details, Men's Health, AutoWeek, Outside and Stuff magazines. He also wrote three books. These days, Padgett leads High Gear Media's global editorial team from not one, but two desks perched over his garage in the middle of Atlanta. He's a newly minted juror for the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, and a Delta million miler, for whatever that's worth. He's toying with the idea of a new book completely unrelated to cars, is finishing up some major house projects ("cleaning"), and basically whenever you're reading this, he's logged into a computer or his iPhone to keep track of what's going on in the car world. Padgett lives with his partner, chiropractor Jack Brink, and five cats who couldn't be less concerned with his work, except when it's dinnertime.

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