Chaya Milchtein, of Machine Shop Femme, with her car in 2019 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

       Chaya Milchtein was 18, broke and aging out of foster care when hope came to her in the unexpected form of a used Buick Century.

       The car wasn’t sleek or trendy, but it was affordable, thanks to a credit union loan. With it, the Milwaukee teen could deliver fast food, work at a Sears Auto Center, and begin building the skills that would lead to national recognition.

       This week Milchtein, an automotive educator at the website Mechanic Shop Femme, was named to the prestigious Out100 list of the most influential and impactful LGBTQ people in media, the arts, sports, entertainment and advocacy.

       “It was a huge honor to be included,” said Milchtein, 26, of Milwaukee.

       Milchtein said that she “never intended to wind up anywhere in the remote vicinity of cars,” but while working her first auto center job, she realized she had a knack for translating what mechanics said into language that the average person could understand.

       “It felt extremely satisfying,” she said. “It felt like I was actually doing something that mattered in some way.”

       She went on to work in automotive repair centers for more than seven years, in jobs such as service adviser and service manager.

       Milchtein, who is queer, fashion-forward and plus-sized, said that repair shops and car dealerships have historically been hypermasculine, with a toxic culture that makes women and LGBTQ people uncomfortable. She wanted to help change that as an online automotive educator.

       She started Mechanic Shop Femme four years ago, and now has 500,000 followers on online platforms, more than 88% of them women.

       She kept her day job until she was laid off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, she’s focused on her own business full time, building a career as an influencer and car educator via posts on a heady mix of topics ranging from plus-size vintage fashion, to sex toys, to how to find an honest mechanic.

       “If you come for cars, you might stay for fashion, you might stay for empowerment,” said Milchtein.

       Asked about her fashion influences, she said that growing up a Hasidic Jew, she was expected to dress modestly. And to this day, she said, she favors dresses and wide-legged pants, although now in an expanded color palette.

       “I always really liked bright colors and red — which is sort of the polar opposite of what I was allowed to wear as a kid,” she said.

       Milchtein offers virtual classes on automotive topics for her online audience, as well as private classes for libraries, universities, nonprofits and corporations.

       She’s written a book proposal and is hoping to branch out in a variety of ways: with more classes for corporate audiences, a report on the best cars for bigger bodies and consulting jobs at car repair shops and dealerships, aimed at making those spaces more welcoming for LGBTQ people and women.

       “I’ve run Mechanic Shop Femme with a mission to help the average car owner to better understand their car, but also, to do it as my full self,” she said.

       “I’m not hiding behind a screen when I teach people. I show up. I take photos of myself to promote my work, and I bring my passion, my history, my story.”

       nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com

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