Our Story

SOUTHERN OVERLAND COMPANY STARTED IN SUNNY LAKELAND, FL (CIRCA 2010 as ‘rover rescue shop’) with A SIMPLE IDEA AND SIDE PROJECT of founder Joshua Barnett:

WOULDN’T IT BE COOL TO HAVE A Classic rover?. DAMN RIGHT IT WOULD BE.

With help from an old friend who BEGAN IMPORTING ROW (REST OF WORLD) DEFENDERS FROM EUROPE we started simultaneously BUILDING and fixing THEM FOR our friends. AFTER A HANDFUL OF YEARS THE PROJECT GOT PUT ON HOLD AS OTHER TIME OBLIGATIONS TOOK OVER; I.E. RESPONSIBLE, engineering firm EMPLOYEE ADULTHOOD. LAME; I KNOW, but that’s life and the Forensic engineering world was a lot of fun and pretty rad.

FAST-FORWARD TO THE END OF 2018 AND WE MOVED TO THE CAMEL CITY…WINSTON-SALEM, to take on a marketing Director position for a client of the engineering firm. With a full-time commitment in the corporate world still, soco remained on the back burner. MESMERIZED BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, adjacent topography, AND zest for adventure we KNEW IT WAS A PERFECT PLACE FOR SOUTHERN OVERLAND COMPANY but not quite sure how to make it a full-time reality yet. after establishing a travel photography business as a way to escape corporate life in 2019, we were one step closer to making it happen. With the newfound freedom in schedule, I was able to dedicate a little time to revive the brand. enter in the global shake-up of 2020 with travel work non-existent for months…seemed like as good a time as any to take the plunge. By the end of 2020 soco was ready to leave “hobby status” and running wide open in 2021.

NOW WITH AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES from the addition of a stellar team, IT’S ON! SOUTHERN OVERLAND COMPANY IS continuing to shake UP THE LAND ROVER restoration and repair WORLD. With a diverse background in critical-thinking-centric fields, there’s not much soco cant do.

FULL FABRICATION, RESTORATIONS, AND SOURCING. LS + Diesel Conversion REstomods. Also offering general repairs and maintenance on all classic Series, Defender, Discovery 1 +2, and Range rover classics.