Hakeem Muhammad is a wanna-be brake “mechanic” working out of a recently foreclosed home in Detroit. With no heat and no electricity flowing through this tattered and tampered house, one may label the “shop” as extremely sketchy. Adding to the sketch factor, it is unclear whether this guy is even ASE certified let alone allowed to operate a shop under Michigan law.

At first, neighbors of Muhammad were perplexed by the sight of a rag-tag former drug house being used as a back-alley brake shop. And for the measly price of $35, Muhammed will do any job, no matter how difficult so to sane neighbors, it just didn’t add up. But after investigating this mystery mechanic, they found out who Muhammad really is and what he’s doing running a shop in an abandoned house.

Muhammad had lost everything: his job, his money, his wife, his home, each for different reasons. He moved into this house on Detroit’s east side with nothing much, besides a knack for fixing cars, and decided to make lemons out of lemonade.

“This is all I do, and I love it,” he said. “The people named me Brakeman. I kind of like that. It’s like I’m on the map. In a sense, I’m somebody. Even if it’s down real low, I’m something down there and it feels good. It gives me purpose.”

Muhammad is still running his shop doing what he loves. Even though it may be a sketchy shop, he provides a great lesson for us all: do what you love and happiness will follow.

Full Story at the Detroit Free Press