E
rnie Peña knows a thing or two about tires. The Fort
Worth native has been working with tires since he
finished high school at Trimble Tech. His first job in the
tire industry was 28 years ago, working at a Four Day Tire
Store after school doing grunt work sorting through the
adjustment or defective tires. It was here that he learned
how a tire fails, and where his dream to own his own tire
store and his career as Ernie “Tire Man” Peña was born.
Peña was born the fourth out of seven children with
three girls and four boys. His father was a welder and his
mother was a homemaker. His hard work ethic began as
an 11-year-old child with his first job as a sweeper at a
dry cleaners.
“I’ve always been a hard worker, even when I would
sweep the floors,” Peña said. “Whenever we would do
fundraisers, I was always running around trying to get as
many sales and donations for the school.“
Fast-forwarding to his first tire job after high school,
Peña went from doing grunt work to running the store.
He decided to move on and left the tire store, going to
work for a tire distributor that sold wholesale tires. He
then took a job with a tire retailer. It was at these jobs that
he learned more about tires, and how he didn’t like the
concept of pressure-selling to his customers.
“My theory is to treat people like I want to be treated,”
Peña explained. “I worked the chain store way of thinking
where they pushed and pushed sales, and I worked at a
place where it was OK to work and not push sales. I didn’t
want to push sales on customers and make them feel like
they have to buy.”
DECEMBER 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
59