Harry Sleighel

By Alejandra Zilak

very now and then you come across a story that makes you nostalgic about a bygone era. Regardless of your generation, there is one common thread that always takes us back in time: music.

Henry Sleighel’s story includes over three decades in the self-storage industry, but it’s music that brings it all to life. And since this art form is one that we all can enjoy, go play your favorite vinyl before you read any further. (If you only listen to music on Spotify because you’re hip and modern, here’s a friendly reminder that vinyls aren’t interrupted every time a phone call comes through).

Harry Converse Wilder Sleighel was born in Syracuse, N.Y. He lived there until he was four or five years old, when his family moved to Albuquerque after a doctor told them that the weather would be better for his brother’s health. “My dad worked in radio, and when we moved to New Mexico, he bought KABQ radio station,” he remembers. “It was a Spanish station. We didn’t speak Spanish, but he knew how to run a station, so it was very successful.” This endearing story makes you wonder whether music is a genetic component in the Sleighel household.

A few years later, the family moved to El Paso, Texas. “When I was about 10 years old, I got a transistor radio,” he says. “I immediately fell in love with rock and roll. I used to play it all night, and the batteries would run out pretty frequently, so my dad came home with a giant bag of transistor batteries for me.”

Sleighel started hanging out with a handful of friends who were also into rock and roll, so they started a band. It would be the first of several he would play in. “That first band was called Pig Town Lords. This guy, Paul, and I would practice and practice, and pretty soon, more people came over. First, we got a bassist. We then got a guitarist. I played the drums.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be rock ‘n’ roll without some rebellious streak. “We’d ditch school and drink beer by the river,” Sleighel says. “We’d then practice our music.”

This unenthusiastic demeanor towards high school followed him into college. “My grades were crap in high school, but I got by. And I did very well on the SAT, so I got into the University of Texas, El Paso.” The elation his parents felt over this accomplishment was short lived. “Freshman year, I was partying and having a grand old time; and three days before finals, this girl I liked told me they were having a two-day party. Who could refuse a two-day party?” This end-of-the-year rendezvous resulted in disastrous grades and the dean telling his dad that Sleighel wasn’t cut out for college.

He went back to playing music; this time with a band called Sonny Farlow and the Resurrection. “We toured for six weeks all over California,” he reminisces. “We even got an invitation to play at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Back then, all of the greats played there, including Jimi Hendrix.”

After the tour, little by little, the bandmates went their separate ways, so Sleighel decided to go back to school and take it more seriously this time. “I managed to graduate. In 1974, I got my bachelor’s degree in mass communications.”

After college, Harry interviewed at a headhunting agency in Phoenix. “I got a couple of interviews,” he recalls. “One was with MiniCo. I interviewed with Hardy Good. I really wanted that job, but he never called me back.”

With his tail between his legs, he went to work at a Jack in the Box. “I had a retail background, and they told me that if I did a good job with them, they would bankroll me into franchising.”

Yet, that’s not what happened. “I worked there for a week,” Sleighel says. “I reeked of french fries. You can’t get a date like that.” Luckily for him, the headhunter called him back and told him that Hardy Good wanted to see him again.

“I went to see him on a Friday afternoon, and he hired me. I worked there for five years; first as a tenant insurance manager. Then I got promoted to vice president of marketing, and then to executive vice president.” Although he thoroughly enjoyed his time there, and Good became one of his best friends (and still is), he knew that he eventually wanted to start something on his own. So, he gave Good a one-year notice.

What he has built since then is nothing short of impressive. When he left MiniCo, he started American Ad Management Phoenix with his friend, Michael Zervas. Together, they would run ads in the Yellow Pages. At first, they did recruitment advertising, such as want ads and talent acquisition. The publishers at Yellow Pages Publishers Association eventually told them they needed to change their name, because there was already another business with that name, and they needed to do so within 24 hours. That’s how Michaels Wilder was born. The pair were in business together for 10 years before Sleighel bought him out. But Sleighel has a lot of interests, so Michaels Wilder became an umbrella company for several other ventures he ended up creating as well. In 1998, he started S2E (Strategy to Execution), a talent agency. In 2009, he started Tenant Property Protection (a name his wife Marlene came up with) to provide insurance to contents in self-storage units. It’s gone so well that they’ve been voted Best of Business by Inside Self-Storage seven years in a row.

In 2021, he started RV Park N Protect, which extends coverage for recreational vehicles. However, it’s not just your regular bread and butter protection. It also includes yet another unique value proposition from Michaels Wilder that he started in 2023: Safer4UTravel, an application that goes above and beyond to ensure you’re covered. It enables users to share their location with loved ones, send alerts in case of emergencies, roadside assistance, and RV towing, among others.

But wait, there’s more! Sleighel being Sleighel, he’s still involved in the music world. Go to Radio Wilder Live to listen to the music he streams upon request (or just go on about your day listening to other people’s requests. It’s a really cool station!). It turned seven years old this September, and it has been heard in over 90 countries and over 3,000 cities worldwide. That’s the power of playing over 75 years of rock and roll music!

September of 2024 was a milestone for Michael Wilders as well; it celebrated 35 years in business. Today, his daughter Shelly is the CEO of Michael Wilders, while his son-in-law, Terry Anderson, runs Tenant Property Protection. “You never think they’ll last this long,” he says. “I love the fact that my daughter runs it; and we’ve had some of the stars of self-storage work with us.”

This story wouldn’t be complete without describing his love story with his wife Marlene. “We met in high school,” he says. “She was a hall monitor, and I was always in detention.” But it wasn’t until 28 years later that they would get together. “She had eventually married one of the guys from my first band, but that didn’t work out. Years later, she traveled from El Paso to Phoenix for work, and we met up at a bar. We talked for five hours straight. We then went somewhere else to get dinner.” That turned into 29 years together and counting. “She’s perfect for me,” he gushes.

Thirty-five years in business, a lifetime of fulfilling ventures, and a close-knit family—that’s a lot to celebrate!