Driven By Passion
Larry Dobbs put Lakeland on the automotive publishing map
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL AND PAUL BOSTROM
1976, Larry Dobbs was in the right place at the right time—and driving the right car—when he and wife Judy drove their recently-acquired and self-refurbished 1965 Mustang convertible from Lakeland to Stone Mountain, Georgia. By coincidence, and perhaps fate, their vacation trip delivered the couple smack in the middle of the newly-formed Mustang Club of America’s first car-show. The pony-car encounter sparked an idea in Dobbs’ entrepreneurial mind, one that would launch a successful business and put Lakeland on the map as the home for one of America’s top automotive publishing companies.
The son of a Georgia sharecropper, Dobbs was employed at a Sears store in Albany, Georgia in 1970 when he requested a transfer to Florida and landed at Lakeland’s Searstown, where he met Judy. By 1974, Dobbs was selling display advertising at The Ledger, an experience that would loom large in future endeavors. Another piece of the puzzle slipped into place when he purchased a co-worker’s well-used 1965 Mustang for $225. To make needed repairs, Larry scoured local junkyards for parts and, by the time he and Judy departed for their Stone Mountain trip, the convertible was reliable and attractive.
Although surrounded by Mustangs and like-minded owners at Stone Mountain, Dobbs was more intrigued by the vendors selling used Mustang parts.
“I had run across thousands of old Mustangs in Florida junkyards,” Larry says. “You could buy parts for a song, yet these guys were selling stuff for five or ten times that amount!”
Dobbs returned to Lakeland and started picking up Mustang parts at local salvage yards, then cleaning and refurbishing for resale and extra cash. Judy complained when she found old wheel-covers in her dishwasher. Within months, Dobbs’ home-based sideline business, named Mustang Supply Company, gained momentum as classic Mustangs grew in popularity. Through a client of The Ledger, Douglas Screen Printing, Dobbs began offering reproduction stripe kits and other decals for restorers.
Eleven years after producing his first magazine on his dining room table, Dobbs was featured on the cover of Successful Magazine Publishing.
Putting it All on the Line
Dobbs enjoyed the wheeling-and-dealing at automotive swap meets. But he also realized that Mustang Supply Company’s reach was limited to weekend road-trips in the southeast. His advertising and publishing experience at The Ledger sparked an idea—a nationwide newsletter focused on the buy, sale and swap market.
Chasing his entrepreneurial instincts, Dobbs put it all on the line in early 1978. A week after stapling together the first Mustang Exchange Letter on his dining room table for a mere 92 subscribers — and with Judy expecting the couple’s first child — Dobbs resigned from The Ledger and secured a second mortgage to fund future issues.
“The bank thought I wanted to publish a magazine about horses,” Dobbs laughs. “They really thought I was crazy when I told them it was about the car.”
By the third issue, the magazine had a new name, Mustang Monthly, a revision that opened up the new publication to editorial content, a move that proved quite profitable.
The fourth issue was mailed to 500 subscribers; a year later after purchasing a rival in California, the mailing list topped 5,000. Then Dobbs gambled on an expensive display ad in Hot Rod magazine; it netted another 5,000 subscribers. During the early 1980s, Dobbs hired a full-time editor (your author), expanded into book publishing with “How to Restore Your Mustang,” moved into a 1,000 square-foot office in south Lakeland, and began surrounding himself with staff for editorial, production and advertising. Suddenly, the son of Georgia sharecropper had merged two of his passions — cars and publishing — into a viable business. He sold Mustang Supply Company and put his heart, soul and mind into magazines.
Spurred by the success of Mustang Monthly, Dobbs pursued additional niche automotive magazines. Car Review (later Musclecar Review) launched in 1984, followed by the purchases of Super Ford and Corvette Fever along with start-up Mopar Muscle. In need of more office space, Larry built a 10,000 square-foot building on Industry Boulevard near Lakeland Linder International Airport. In 1989, just 11 years after mailing his first quick-print publication, Dobbs was featured on the cover of Successful Magazine Publishing magazine. By then, the newly named Dobbs Publishing Group boasted more than 40 employees and total magazine circulation of more than 250,000 via subscriptions and newsstand sales.
During the 1990s, DPG added more magazines, including non-automotive Down Memory Lane and Toy Collector, both appealing to Larry’s interest in nostalgia. At its high point in the mid 1990s, DPG’s stable included nine magazines with a staff of 75. As a pioneer of niche automotive publishing, Larry’s Lakeland-based company competed with Los Angeles-based automotive publishers for readers and advertisers. The world’s largest automotive publisher, Petersen Publishing, publisher of Hot Rod and Motor Trend, even launched its own niche titles as direct competition.
Moving on up. Larry Dobbs (seated) in 1982 with his company’s growing staff. Standing L-R: Del Sellers, Branda Summerlin, Donald Farr, Lynn Summerlin, Bob Parker, Glenn Romberger, Howard Buck, Rhonda Norton, and Barbara Kent.
In Search of Passion
Of the hundreds of people employed by DPG over the years, the majority rate the experience as the best of their careers. A devout Christian, Dobbs guided his company with kindness, compassion, generosity and humor.
“To be successful, I needed to surround myself with people smarter than me,” he explained recently from his home in the Grasslands neighborhood in South Lakeland. “I also tried to create a place where people enjoyed working and being rewarded.”
Most DPG employees came from outside the publishing field — feed store clerk, Pepsi truck driver, TV repairman, and car-wash manager, for example. For editorial in particular, Dobbs hired car enthusiasts, then provided training to teach them how to write and edit.
“I tried to hire employees with three traits: passion, integrity, and savvy,” Dobbs says.
A strong believer in delegation, his philosophy was, “Give them the training and resources to succeed, then get out of their way.” It worked, with many promoted to manager positions.
In late 1980, Dobbs’ utilized his Mustang restoration skills to publish his first book, How to Restore Your Mustang, which reached the top of Motorbooks’ best-seller list and helped fund growth for the young company. Here, Larry and technical advisor Butch Hennecy discuss the finer points of painting.
Post-Publishing
After 20 years of building and overseeing his successful company, Dobbs sold DPG for a sizable sum to Petersen in 1998. Always supportive of his staff, it’s no surprise that he shared a percentage of the proceeds with employees. Also part of the deal was a clause stating that Petersen would maintain the Lakeland offices for five years. Although Petersen did not retain all DPG employees, they brought in others when they shifted several of their Los Angeles titles to Lakeland.
A new owner, Primedia, eventually closed the Lakeland office and moved operations to Tampa in 2006. However, the Dobbs automotive publishing legacy continued. Inspired by Larry, former employees would launch their own publishing ventures, including several Mustang titles. In fact, the last remaining Mustang print magazine, Mustang Times from the Mustang Club of America, is based in Lakeland, coincidentally adjacent to the building that Dobbs built.
Over the nearly 25 years since selling DPG, Dobbs has settled into retirement. His wife Judy passed away from cancer in 2006, and he is now happily remarried. Both sons are nearby, Jason in Lakeland and Josh in St. Pete. For several years, Dobbs continued teaching Life Skills and Leadership Skills classes at Victory Church, seminars that drew up to 300 attendees and expanded Larry’s life-changing influence throughout the community.
Legacy is a difficult word to live up to. Larry Dobbs’ legacy is still recognized, not only by the people who worked for him or attended his church classes, but also by automotive enthusiasts around the world who remember reading the car magazines produced by Dobbs’ publishing company in Lakeland, Florida.
