Chad and I used to close shifts together at Via, end up at house parties on Vernon Hill, and somehow make it back in for the next day's lunch service. That was Worcester, circa 2007. Then life happened.

Now he's in Connecticut building custom built-ins, knocking out Barnes & Noble locations with a crew that shows up at 4AM to unload tractor trailers, going viral with 2.5 million views on a carpentry reel, almost landing an HGTV segment (they made him and his boss sit on milk crates to get the lighting right), and just got pre-approved for a mortgage on a three-family while four months into cutting out the stuff that was slowing him down.

Oh — and I showed him a 45-minute house party video from 2007 that Cheryl accidentally recorded on my iMac. It is in sepia. He is on it.

We talked about all of it — six Virgin Voyages cruises with his fiancé Rich, the
old-growth wood hidden inside Worcester triple-deckers, losing his best friend to a gastric bypass complication, what it's actually like being gay in a veteran-owned trades company (spoiler: the guys have his back), DJ nights behind the Palladium,
and why Connecticut is basically a creative desert that's forcing him to build
his own backyard scene from scratch.

⏱ CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction and Backgrounds
02:29 Travel Adventures and Experiences
05:33 Carpentry Journey and Career
11:24 Memories from the Past
19:28 Reflections on Work and Life
25:03 Nostalgic Memories and Connections
27:37 Content Creation and Podcasting Journey
31:23 Social Media Strategies and Engagement
35:43 Reflections on Aging and Social Life
39:09 Adventures in Hawaii
43:13 Craftsmanship and the Value of Woodwork
45:00 Personal Growth and Lifestyle Changes
53:07 The Changing Social Landscape for Youth
58:19 Hobbies and Personal Projects
01:00:33 Navigating Loss and Personal Growth
01:02:37 Travel Aspirations
01:08:54 Workplace Dynamics in a Male-Dominated Field
01:13:39 Future Aspirations in Content Creation

🎙️ 20-Year Timeout — reconnecting with people from the past, unscripted and unfiltered.

📲 Website: https://www.20yeartimeout.com

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20 Year Timeout is a podcast where I reconnect with people I have not spoken to in over twenty years to see what time has done to our stories.

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