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GROVES — People may be surprised to see Jesse Campos get out of his car after winning a race in Evadale and slide back into his wheelchair.

Don’t doubt him; this man knows cars.

He also knows how to run a successful business.

Campos, who along with wife Amy, owns All in One Auto & Differential Repair in Groves. He is a determined man who doesn’t let physical limitations dictate what he does.

“The one thing that always gets me where I want to be, you’ve got to be mentally strong,” Campos said from inside the full service auto shop at 2807 Main Avenue.

Born with a congenital condition that led doctors to tell his parents he would not be able to walk, Campos pushed himself physically and used braces at one time. Due to recent ailments and surgeries, he prefers to use the wheelchair but can drive a car and do most things by himself.

His strength, he said, came from his parents, who are now both deceased. His dad worked in the garden every day and died at the age of 93. His mom died at the age of 91 and was always cleaning and moving around.

They never gave up on him and knew the importance of education.

Campos is a 1986 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and was a previous student at Hughen School. He spent some time in college, then hit the workforce.

His business acumen and ease at sales helped through different careers. In May 2022, he became the owner of the auto shop in Groves.

He said most businesses don’t turn a profit in the first year; Campos said his shop profited the first week.

“I made my money back in the first week to pay every investment that I had and that I put in the first week,” he said.

He credits that success to being the type of person who likes to watch and learn.

“And then if I want to do it, then we’ll start doing it,” he said.

When a differential shop in the area shut down, Campos bought out the inventory and is one of maybe the only such shops between Houston and Lake Charles.

Recent challenges

Campos said he walked until 2016, when one day at his mother’s home, his leg gave out and went against a wall.

“And then I knew something was wrong,” he said.

At one point he went to get into his car, lost his balance, missed the door and went head first into the concrete and ended up with a fracture in his C2.

He started losing hand and leg strength while waiting on his insurance to give approval for imaging. He ended up waiting 14 days and was not given a neck brace to use in the meantime.

He eventually had a neck surgery, but it wasn’t successful. A second neck surgery was later performed and a steal plate placed in the back of his skull, going down to the C6 vertebrae with two rods on each side.

While successful, it limits his range of motion in his neck.

“And between all of this I’m running a business with her (wife) over the phone,” he said.

He also credits his wife of 33 years with being by his side, literally, taking care of him in those down times, sleeping with him at the hospital and helping him with physical therapy.

The shop

Through it all he didn’t give up. Though there were rough spots, he preserved.

His shop has certified technicians who specialize in differential repair. Financing is available, no credit needed.

All in One Auto & Differential Repair is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Call 409-553-0759 for more information.