Although still in his early thirties, Chicago wood floor pro Matthew Szyszka of Floor Master Company has made a name for himself and won awards for his intricate custom wood floors. In this episode, he discusses the details on some of his award-winning jobs, how he promotes custom work to his clients, thoughts about getting more young people into the trades and more.  

John Stern’s experience in the industry goes back to before Brazilian species were imported into the U.S. and when the Oval Office still had a wood-look vinyl floor. As the founder of industry stalwart Kentucky Wood Floors, he worked for multiple presidents, traveled to foreign wood flooring mills, sold his flooring to be used in prestigious locales around the world and partnered with famous people to market his products. Today he’s still involved in the industry with his company Louisville Wood Floors; hear his insights about the industry’s past and where it’s at today.

Tom Ourada combines wood flooring craftsmanship with sheer artistry to do wood floors like no one else does wood floors. His months-long projects can result in intricate hand-cut wildlife scenes or out-of-the-box modern designs, but they all stem from a passion for looking at a tree and imagining the possibilities. Hear Tom explain his inspiration and his process. 

Wood floor Matt Garcia is a third-generation pro who started from scratch after moving from his native California to Texas. Matt talks with host Stephen Diggins about how, even though he’s far from a major population center, he’s built a high-end business and also opened a thriving showroom. They also discuss how Matt has focused on creating the right company culture that attracts employees and on networking in the wood flooring industry to build his skills both as a craftsman and a business person. 

Courtney Lee carved out a unique business in Georgia when he branched out from carpet cleaning to doing wood floor cleaning and recoats many pros wouldn’t tackle. Lee talks with host Stephen Diggins about how his business developed, what life is like as a Black man in an industry where Black people are typically under-represented, how YouTube has had a huge impact on his business, the philosophies that make his company a leading example of customer service, and much more. 

Married couple Beth and Steve Stalker have been in the sports flooring business together since high school. In this episode, they discuss topics including how they keep their loyal employees, unique sports floor subfloor systems, health hazards particular to the sports flooring business (and why they can shut down a school), why they prefer to install 1 ½-inch flooring, and how they keep GCs honest, among many other interesting aspects of the sports flooring world.

Bob Goldstein grew up in the wood flooring industry in Florida, from hand-nailing a floor with his dad to working at all levels of the industry, including his own contracting business. Along the way he saw his sons enter the industry and, more recently, had to come with grips with the physical toll his career has taken on his body. Hear some fascinating wood flooring history, as well as Bob’s thought-provoking perspective on the safe way to do this trade today.

When David Williams and Steve Garner took over struggling fledgling distributor Horizon Forest Products, they had a formidable challenge, but they persevered and expanded the company to cover a large swath of the U.S. Hear the business philosophies that guided them, how they remained profitable even through the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic, and what makes them most proud in their thriving company today.

Clinton Duff—the Wood Floor Business 2022 Ultimate Wood Floor Guy—is someone who brings positive energy to every job site and every customer. Hear his conversation with host Stephen Diggins about how he got into the business (and why he wanted to leave on his first day), everyday life as a wood flooring pro, favorite jobs and not-favorite jobs (including the cat lady), and much more.

Like many, Elizabeth Imlach didn’t mean to end up in the wood flooring industry—but after getting laid off during the Great Recession, she did, and now she runs her own one-woman wood flooring business in Northern California. Hear about how she got into the industry, her favorite parts of her business, the weirdest floor she’s ever done, and more.