Wander through the sprawling facility of SLT Collection in Fort Lauderdale — the acronym stands for “sea, land, time” — and you’ll spy massive sporting boats, sleek exotic cars, tricked-out custom trucks and rare, often elusive timepieces sure to impress even the most discerning watch aficionado. Scot Conrad, whose background is in boat and propeller manufacturing and offshore racing, co-founded SLT in 2020 with Paul Burgess, a marine sales specialist with expertise in marketing and high-level management. The company began as an empty facility for sales, but client demand saw it rapidly escalate into a wonderland for the affluent. “It’s all of your addictions in one house,” says Conrad. “A hub of all of these things [Pete and I] are both so passionate about.”
While Miami often grabs the spotlight for global luxury, the pair says that momentum has made its way north. “Fort Lauderdale is not only the epicenter of marine trade, but it has become one of the most important areas in the world for high-net worth individuals who live, vacation or do business here,” Burgess says. “These individuals enjoy boating, a hobby of vehicles, and luxury items like watches and private jets — things that can turn their wealth into a showpiece of interests. It was only natural that SLT have the best showroom on the East Coast, if not in the U.S.”
The partners strategically chose a facility that would not only house high-performance boats, trailers and cars but it also boasts a prime location on a main thoroughfare. “We wanted to be on the east side of I-95, so that clients getting off the highway to reach their homes on the water could see that we’re an easy run from their house,” Conrad says of their Sunrise address.
At the 29,000-square-foot facility, there’s plenty of parking in the back for trailers, and once inside, you’ll discover a striking watch boutique and a front showroom flaunting custom trucks and new and pre-owned boats for sale. At the rear, a drive-in elevator gently lifts clients’ luxury vehicles to the second level for storage. “We’re the only facility that can guarantee your prized car is not just in an air-conditioned, secure facility; it’s 20 feet above ground level, so there’s no risk of flooding,” Burgess says, adding, “If you want your car looked after like a baby at Memorial Hospital, you come to SLT.”
While the two decline to name drop, their clientele encompasses a wide range of athletes, politicians, business owners and CEOs, along with equestrian, rodeo and racing enthusiasts. “We have to be very chameleon-like in our day-to-day because of the breadth of clients from all different walks of life,” Burgess points out.
Not only can one buy or sell a high-performance boat that falls into the sweet spot of between 25 and 50 feet, SLT represents unique lines such as Goldfish boats from Norway and Canados yachts from Italy and is now the official Cigarette boat dealer for South Florida, the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. If you’re hauling high-worth items, from boats to horse trailers and racing equipment, they’ll create a custom truck that’s utilitarian in pulling power but with all the creature comforts.
The newly minted SLT Tailor Made division offers custom, high-end upholstery for yachts, trucks, cars and private jets. In a flex move for exotic car owners, authentic materials are sourced from certified suppliers; craftsmen from Italy perform the work at the SLT showroom. “We are the first facility of its kind in the U.S. with the staff and the machinery to give you the finish quality of a brand-new custom Ferrari interior,” Burgess says.
For collectors on the hunt for rare timepieces, Conrad taps into the connections he formed as the owner of a watch boutique in Newport Beach, California, to source covetable watches from titans like Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Rolex. And if Conrad or Burgess lacks expertise in a particular area, clients can tap one of their multilingual staff who does have that specialized knowledge. “We handpick our staff to support in different areas where we don’t have strengths to make it as fluid and easy as possible to source what a client is trying to find,” Conrad says.
Since opening five years ago, Conrad and Burgess claim 100 percent repeat business from their hundreds of clients who now dabble in all aspects of SLT. “That’s the whole measure of this business,” says Burgess. “You come here to store your car, but then you buy or sell a boat, and then buy something else from another division.”
