AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi
“You are a wunderkind, you are an amazing young entrepreneur,” said Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce CEO Liz League as she introduced MAD Soaps’ founder and owner Christian Buchleitner to the crowd as a ribbon cutting ceremony got underway. The ceremony was but one part of the January 16th Grand Opening for MAD SOAPS, Inc.’s new headquarters at 2830 Solomons Island Road in Edgewater.
We’d earlier interviewed Buchleitner as well as his Operations Supervisor Gavin Bryant (who is seen with him in the opening photo).
Having first met the young business owner and his then partner Travis Wray at the Chamber’s Small Business Awards on the patio at Garten Restaurant at the end of May in 2023, we were impressed. That was the first time Christian Buchleitner was chosen Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He would be chosen Young Entrepreneur of the Year for a second time in 2025 based on his outstanding level of success.
We kept an eye on Buchleitner and MAD SOAPS as the business grew. We’d actually bump into the MAD SOAPS crew at a number of the chamber events that they sponsored and/or participated in. Among other things, they entered floats in Severna Park’s 4th of July Parade including their patriotic 50th Anniversary float for 2025. Seeing the MAD Soaps gents decked out in powdered wigs and 1776 attire aboard their makeshift Revolutionary War era “ship” garnered cheers from spectators all along the parade route.
While his staff was setting up tables and chairs and making space for the caterer prior to the Grand Opening festivities, we chatted with Buchleitner about how the business began back in 2018 and evolved to the point of opening a great new facility.
“We just moved into our new building at Oak Grove Marina in Edgewater and are still settling in,” he said. “We were right next door at Gingerville Marina for three or four years prior to the move. Before that, we came from a 20 x 20-foot storage unit in Annapolis and, before that, I started the company out of my Acura MDX that I also had to sleep in for several months.”
Getting a business started was no easy matter for someone so young. Christian had graduated high school and completed almost a full year at Anne Arundel Community College when he dropped out.
“I’d been about to go into math class and cheat on a test,” he said. “I thought ‘What am I doing? I’m not really learning anything and I’m about to cheat on this test. Where is this going to get me if I cheat my way through college?”
“I decided, instead, that I was going to do something that might not pay off now, but would pay off later. That’s when I just started cleaning people’s cars at no money. Then my buddy Travis Wray joined me but, before long, he left to join the Navy. I just kept on washing cars, grinding it out. I’d walk to Starbuck’s in downtown Annapolis basically doing car washes and detailing every day for free because I knew I had to build a brand and it wasn’t going to be easy.”
That’s what Christian Buchleitner did for a long time as he established his company, originally calling it Mobile Auto Detailing. He worked on alone, offering $10 mobile car washes, figuring he wouldn’t make money for many more months. But he was certain it was vital to get his brand out there because there was a lot of competition for the detailing of boats and cars in this area.
MAD SOAPS remained a one-man operation until Buchleitner hired his first employee when he was 19 years old. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well and scared him away from hiring anyone else for about two years. Luckily, he began working on a lot of boats and the “auto” part of the name became irrelevant. That’s when a customer suggested shrinking the name to MAD SOAPS.
Finally, when Buchleitner was 21, he hired another employee and it worked out very well. MAD SOAPS grew to 5 employees, then to 10 and 15. Last year, his younger brother Jackson joined the staff.
“We’d had to start with no money, keeping our expenses at zero and just trying to prove ourselves for a long time,” he noted. “Thus, when we considered going to 25 employees this spring, we decided to scale back instead. For now, we’ll stay with 15 employees and optimize our systems thereby increasing revenue per employee versus taking on more.”
Building a name, achieving positive growth and the ability to raise prices for services was difficult but MAD SOAPS achieved those goals. The company has built its brand so well that they now draw clients from Ocean City, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
“Clients actually bring their stuff to us now,” the company’s proud young owner said. “We evolved from doing free jobs, mobile jobs and traveling out to jobs to having people come here to our facility. Now that we’re located at Oak Grove Marina, there are clients that come by water. Though we still do a lot of cars, we mostly cater to boats in the Annapolis area these days.”
As time drew near for the Grand Opening to begin, Christian had to head off to attend to a few details but his friend Gavin Bryant had a few more moments to spend. He said he truly enjoys his job and the fun things that come with it. Bryant started working summers at MAD SOAPS in 2022 while attending college and continued doing so through 2024 when he graduated. He came to work fulltime as Operations Supervisor in 2025 and is primarily responsible for quality on all jobs. His number one priority is making sure service for each and every client is above and beyond expectations. He also does a lot of in-person estimates and diagnostics.
As attendees began to drift in, Christian greeted them personally. Among the first to arrive was BD Provisions’ owner and Severna Park & Arnold Chamber member Debra Saltz who brought a beautiful gift bag for the event’s Silent Auction that featured a handsome insulated coffee mug and a few of her shop’s excellent coffee blends.
Soon to arrive, and warmly greeted by her son, was Christian’s mother Carolyn who broke into a smile as she spied the rapidly growing Grand Opening gathering of friends, clients, business associates, chamber of commerce members and employees.
We met a wide range of attendees, from Severna Park & Arnold Chamber and Southern Anne Arundel County Chamber members to local politicians, employees and folks from the Edgewater community. Early on, we spied Liz League chatting with Maryland House of Delegates member Seth Howard who represents District 30B. The two were comparing notes about the high cost of energy for heating our homes.
A foursome of GSPACC members was at a table behind them that included Jay Wenhold from Green Home Solutions, Dave Compere from Primerica, Tommy Sommers from LogoZone and Laura McElwain Colquhoun from Macaroni Kid Pasadena & Annapolis.
While mingling with the crowd, we also bumped into Jackson Buchleitner and his girlfriend Mary. Jackson was happy to chat with us about his role in the company. He currently acts as general manager overseeing operations, working with the company’s secretary and helping with sales. Asked what he did before coming to MAD SOAPS last year, he kind of charmed us with his reply.
“Before coming to MAD SOAPS, I wanted to come to MAD SOAPS,” he said. “Christian is eight years older than I am and I was in middle school when he graduated high school and started his company. As soon as I graduated from high school, my parents gave me the option of going into the trades, the military or college. I chose the trades though they didn’t really want me to, but I wanted to. I tried out other trades for a little while but then I gravitated to MAD SOAPS. And I’ll tell you, there’s nothing better than working with family.”
With the Grand Opening well underway, GSPACC’s Liz League stepped forward with microphone in hand to conduct one of the most sincere and heartfelt ribbon cutting ceremonies we’ve observed with an assist from Julia Howes who heads the Southern Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce.
League began by noting how generous Christian Buchleitner and MAD SOAPS have been to the Severna Park & Arnold Chamber since having joined the organization almost from the beginnings. She noted that MAD SOAPS has sponsored and participated in many Chamber events. They’ve also supported a host of other local charities. (They’ll next be entering a float in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Annapolis in March.)
League then asked Christian to step forward, to great applause, and began her impromptu interview by asking him how he became a young entrepreneur.
“It was not just one thing that did it,” he said. “It was a lot of different things, a lot of sacrifices I made over many years. I was motivated by things around me, by things I’d see on social media, and by following the right people. Don’t listen to everybody about everything but listen to the right people, people you want to become.”
In answer to League’s question, “How did you choose what you’re doing?”, he related much of what he’d told us but emphasized that it was hard, taking many years of breaking even or losing money to be able to advance his company to where it is now.
Responding to a question about services provided, Buchleitner noted that MAD SOAPS offers marine protection film servicing, bottom paint, gelcoat repair, ceramic coating, and mobile and shock services. More lighthearted questions like what’s the largest boat you’ve worked on and what’s the most famous car you’ve worked on elicited equally lighthearted answers – a hundred-footer at the Annapolis Yacht Club and Larry King’s Superbird Plymouth Road Runner.
Asked who he’d like to recognize, he immediately pointed to a nearby gaggle of employees, family and friends, with the simple words “All of them.”
Once again, Southern Anne Arundel Chamber’s Julia Howes stepped forward to announce those who would present citations to MAD Soaps. They included Southern Anne Arundel Chamber board member Darryl Hagner, State Delegate Seth Howard from the Maryland General Assembly, Steve Adams from the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation and Olivia Cook from the Southern Anne Arundel Chamber.
At last, the magic moment for the ribbon cutting arrived and most of the people in attendance crowded into a space along the far wall behind Jackson and Christian Buchleitner who wielded an enormous pair of scissors.
We imagined that the ensuing snip must have been very satisfying. The ribbon-cutting gang could soon be spotted in line at the buffet or at a table with plates full of food. Soon enough Buchleitner and MAD SOAPS would get back to business, making boats from the County and further afield sparkling and “ship shape”.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!
and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
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