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Sebastian Oveysi has had quite an interesting journey to finding the RV community. In his adolescence, Sebastian was a political refugee who grew up in his family’s restaurant. From that, his love for cooking grew, and as an adult became a chef. He spent years learning the culinary arts before opening his own restaurant and then a food truck. His life-changing RV stories are some you won’t want to miss. So how did this all lead to becoming an RV Technician and inspector?
Let’s start from the beginning…
Originally from Iran, his family moved to Turkey and then the US when he was 9. But let’s rewind for a second. Sebastian’s father was a deputy lieutenant for the Iranian air force. Overnight, an Islamic revolution swept the Western region, and Iranian armed forces were arrested and even executed causing an almost complete breakdown of the chain of command. Sebastian’s father was one of the individuals scheduled for execution but was able to escape to Turkey with his family, leaving everything else behind. The US embassy and Turkey took their family’s case, and they were able to get visas to live in the US with a sponsorship from a church in Virginia.
During this time, his brother was working at a butcher shop and his dad was delivering donuts for Dunkin Donuts doing graveyard shifts. After working at Dunkin, Sebastian’s father and brother both got jobs at a local Persian restaurant in town. Years later, his father ended up buying the restaurant.
Road To Culinary Excellence
At the time (early 90s), they were one of the first Middle Eastern restaurants in town and they were the first Persian restaurant. For 15 years, he grew up in this restaurant, finding a booth to do homework in and even learning the business. He quickly fell in love with it and knew that’s what he wanted to pursue as a career. Sebastian sought out cuisine that was edgy and trendy and when he turned 18, moving to Manhattan and finding a job at an upscale Italian restaurant. He worked his way up to head chef and then executive chef before making the decision to move to Miami for a change of scenery and to grow his skill.
By the early 2000s, Sebastian knew it was time to move back home back to start his own restaurant that was modern, trendy, and Persian based. At this point, he had a food truck, a catering business, and now a restaurant.
RV Community
During the pandemic, Sebastian had to shut the restaurant dining room down and go to carry out only. This took his work week down significantly from 90+ hours a week. So, what did he do? Well, he bought a 20ft. travel trailer! He turned to podcasts and YouTube for assistance on the basics and inner workings of RVing. Soon after he made this purchase, he wanted to avoid the hassle of taking it to a dealership to get serviced, so he again went to YouTube to learn all he could about his trailer. After doing a few technician-style jobs on his own, he found that he really enjoyed the process in addition to the RVing community.
RV Technician
As a spontaneous person, he found NRVTA and knew he wanted to become a certified technician and inspector. This gave him the opportunity to travel with his wife and explore different parts of the country. In 2021 he went through the schooling process with NRVTA and immediately knew this was an adventure he wanted to pursue further. The more he camped, the more he knew he was making the right decision. So, he sold his food truck, got a job as an RV technician, and started his own RV service company. As he received more exposure in the industry, he left the dealership and focused on building his solo RV career.
Be Brave, Be Curious, & Just Go For It!
He now has 2 locations with a full staff and plans to branch out even more in the future. We can’t wait to see what other life-changing RV stories Sebastian will have for us in the future. To follow along his journey, check out our “helpful links” below!
