A drive to win: How John Duever built his career in wrapping

Entrepreneurs tend to be driven and results-focused people. But spend just a few minutes with John Duever, president of Vinyl Images, and you’ll realize he takes that to a different level.

From a modest upbringing in the Midwest, Duever has helped build Vinyl Images into one of the country’s premier designers and manufacturers of fleet wraps. He started the Wrap IQ podcast to share his hard-earned insights with other entrepreneurs. And having developed a close partnership with Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions, Duever is part of the team of talented vinyl wrappers that leads our commercial training classes.

Forging the mind of a competitor

Duever grew up in a small town near St. Louis, sharing a single-wide trailer with his family, including sister, Destiny, and brother, Joe. In school he competed as a wrestler, which helped incubate his drive to win. After high school, wrestling transitioned to mixed martial arts, where Duever fought at an elite level for the next decade. “I worked very hard and was good at it,” said Duever. “To me, it’s a sweet science. But if you lose focus, or you don’t have the fire inside, you get knocked down hard. So you learn very quickly.”

At age 19, when not training or fighting, Duever aspired to go to chiropractic school. To earn some money, he got a job at a local wrap shop where Destiny worked. There, he took out trash, washed vehicles, and did a lot of the unglamorous work that kept installers on task.

Opportunity knocked when the business went bankrupt and the owner sold it for pennies on the dollar to Destiny, John, and Joe. The siblings reopened the shop, changed its name to Vinyl Images and began a journey that’s lasted a quarter of a century.

“I was very naïve,” Duever said. “I thought that I was going to be a millionaire on day one. I didn’t realize just how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur. But I’ve learned over the last 23 years!”

An education in the sweet science of wrapping

Duever approached the sweet science of wrapping with the competitiveness that defined his combat-sports career. He would go to trade shows with vehicle wrapping competitions and watch closely for hours on end. “I might see 30 competitors wrap the same door panel in 30 different ways, using different tools and techniques,” he said. “I’d pull ‘little nuggets’ from each, adapting them into my own set of techniques.”

That learning paid off when Duever started winning those competitions. And once the winning began, he never looked back. “I won every wrap competition around the world that was worthwhile to win,” he said. “And those competitions are really what made me learn about the industry, expand my network, and meet lifelong friends.”

How wrap universe divine intervention led to a long partnership

It was while walking to dinner after a WRAPSCON event in 2017 that Duever was flagged down by Justin Pate. Pate had recently been “given the keys” by Avery Dennison to build out the company’s commercial vinyl wrap training program. Duever’s interest was piqued.

“We had met before,” said Duever. “But we hadn’t really gotten to know each other. We weren’t buddies, OK? This was Justin Pate, you know, the ‘Wrap God.’ I was just some nobody.”

The two had a long conversation over dinner. It was only after the fact that Duever realized it was a quasi-interview. The role: Become the first Avery Dennison trainer to work for Pate in North America. Duever was hired and has been a member of the training team to this day.

Vinyl Images today

Duever also continues to lead Vinyl Images’ operations. Destiny and Joe remain involved as well, as head of marketing and head of sales, respectively. The siblings have seen the business become one of the country’s go-to producers of custom vinyl wraps.

They recently purchased a 15,000-square-foot building in the St. Louis suburb of Pacific, Missouri. Equipment includes two HP 3000-series printers, each capable of producing around 50,000 square feet of print per week without overtime, plus an HP 570 for smaller jobs.

A staff of 24 keeps those printers humming, producing up to 4,500 wraps and graphic packages per year. Most of the wraps are for fleets, based all over the country. Duever said that about 75% of the business is print-and-ship, while a nationwide network of more than 350 independent contractors handle installations on Vinyl Images’ behalf.

“It’s organized chaos at times, but it’s a lot of fun.”

The shop typically relies on Avery Dennison MPI 1105 Easy Apply RS, and has since the early 2010s. They pair the film with either the DOL 1360Z or DOL 1360 Max overlaminate, depending on where in the country a wrap is headed.

“There’s nothing better,” said Duever. “The optical clarity of the DOL 1360 is unsurpassed. The self-healing properties are unsurpassed. The overall glossiness is unsurpassed. Then, pair that with the Easy Apply RS technology of the adhesive on the MPI 1105? It’s just an unbeatable combination.”

WrapIQ: Sharing hard-earned lessons with the next generation of vehicle wrappers

Duever has seen a lot in his two decades as an entrepreneur. And despite his competitive nature, he’s embraced the opportunity to share what he’s learned through WrapIQ. The podcast and website offer guidance and perspective to vinyl wrapping professionals at any stage of their careers.

“It’s taken me 23 years to get here,” said Duever. “But I think now, people could get here in just 10 years with all the technology and available classes. When I first started wrapping, there was one class per year. Now, there’s a class every day somewhere with some manufacturer.”

We’re not here to just participate

When asked what makes an entrepreneur successful, Duever’s response is that of someone who knows what it’s like to get up and keep going after being knocked down.

“I made every single mistake you can imagine,” he said. “But every time, I learned from it, took notes on it, and made sure that mistake was not made again. It was hard, really hard. I wanted to quit a lot, but I didn’t. I listened, got smarter, made some painful changes, and began to dominate my life and my industry.”

He continued, “Look, I’m not here to just participate, and I’m not here to ‘play.’ I’ve been poor, and I’m not going back. I’m here to create a wonderful company and make my clients look good. And at the end of the day, my job is that simple.”