“How are you doing?” is the common question. “I’m living the dream,” I say. I always wanted a hardwood floor company. So I’m living the dream—technically, right?
I sanded my first floor with Jody Breeze in 2003 with a split drum Clarke 504. I had no clue what I was doing. George, the owner of Advanced Hardwood Flooring in Ocala, Fla., walked behind me, his hand on mine and telling me to make sure I didn’t leave the feathering handle down while stopping. One pass down and back ... then he walked away and said, “Show me you can do it. I’ll see you later.”
I was hooked for life. Over the years I worked for a few companies, then ended up at All American Athletic Floors, with Andy Halabrin showing me how to run the riders and do the game lines.
After a time driving a taxi, I finally decided to open my own company in 2017 after Jody convinced me to sand a floor with him. We used rental equipment! Looking back, before then, we were living under a rock—restricted by what bosses were telling us to do. I joined Facebook for marketing reasons, but it made me realize there were thousands of people all over the world in groups such as the Real Masters of Hardwood, Dust Life and a few others. I saw floors that were unfathomable to me—I had no clue such badass wood floors even existed.
Instantly I felt the need to go to classes. At my first one, a Pallmann class, I met my brother from another mother, Angel Olalde, and then he came to Florida to help on a job and brought his Pallmann Spider—that was when I knew he was a real friend and straight-up wood floor ninja. After that class I had way more of an itch for knowledge.
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I had been following Dave Marzalek and saw he did these wild schools. During his class in June Lake, Calif., I was stalking the process. I texted Jorge Perez and asked him if he thought Dave would let me come. The next day, Dave called me and I was on a plane. My life changed forever. Dave has become a great friend and mentor. I’ll do anything for him because he was willing to give me a chance.
I signed up for his next class at American Sanders, where I finally got to meet Daniel Boone, an icon in the industry. And I met Pat Hodges—another dust brother for life. He told me about a class in West Palm Beach, Fla., with the International Wood Flooring Association. At that school I got to meet another great group of people: Mac Davis, Aaron Goodman, Troy Abbot, Jessica Peterson, Jenny Riddle, Kim Wahlgren and many more. Avedis Duvenjian and Vartan Arutyunian of LED Coating Solutions were the instructors, along with Howard Brickman and Daniel Boone. Since then I’ve learned so much from them.
Right after that class COVID hit, and this left us with a gap in the schedule. I put a post on Facebook looking for work, and Joe Dawson called me. He said, “Come do this 3,000-square-foot ballroom dance floor,” even though he did not know anything about me. We headed that way the following day. He greeted us with his daughter, Hannah, the “Wood Floor Queen.” Joe and Hannah sanded with us for a day, and I couldn’t believe how the Wood Floor Queen was putting in the work just like us. They were a true inspiration for me to get my kids involved. I can never express how grateful I was for that job in such a crazy time.
Now I talk to people from all over the world more than I do with friends I’ve known for decades in my own city. Even though Troy Abbott is in Australia, we talk almost daily. I talked to Tim Mitchell for four to five years before I met him, and when I did meet him in person, I felt like I had known him my whole life.
I look up to so many people in the industry. Lenny Hall reached out to me when I was in one of the worst situations I’d ever been in—I thought that was it for me. He shared some horrific stories that happened to him. Then he said, “This, too, shall pass,” and guess what? It did. Did it cost me money and stress me out? Hell, yeah, but it passed. The job got fixed and the customer was happy in the end!
When I sanded my first gym floor for my company, I met Bradley Kidder. I reached out to him to see if he could help me with the game lines. He helped me, no problem. We became great friends and, once again, another dust brother. We traveled across the country to one of Dave’s classes. Another cool thing that happened with Brad was one day I went to help him on a sand job, and it turned out to be at the first house I ever sanded. What an amazing day: I was blessed enough to bring my youngest daughter and my oldest son to the job and let them run equipment. I got to sand the house I started on—but this time I had the knowledge needed.
The industry means so much to me in so many ways. It’s my source of income, my way to feed and keep a roof over my family, and also a support system I never had before. So many people reach out to me, and it’s tough to get used to so many people wanting to help because my whole life I’ve been the guy to help people. It’s a different and humble feeling when people you don’t even know in person want to help you.
So what does the hardwood floor industry mean to me? It means everything! It’s camaraderie, brotherhood, friendships and friends like family. I feel proud to tell people I’m a hardwood floor man. I’d like to think we are like no other industry. The dust life creates a bond that’s amazing. I can’t believe all the places wood floors have taken me, and I can’t wait for more!
Thanks for reading! If I missed your name or how we met, I’m sorry, but know that if you’re in my life and have helped me in any way, I’ll be there for you when you need me. I’m that 2 a.m. guy—I’ll answer the phone.
