Through the guidance of high-school counselors, a young Sean Flottman found himself on a path to earn a degree in business management. Now a welder by trade, he discovered this career, as he describes: “by accident.”  While in school, he took on a temp position in a metal fabrication shop. While his position was in the grinding and polishing department, it was at that shop he met an early mentor.

“There was a guy in the shop..he was big into wheeling and building rock crawlers and stuff..and he kind of gave me the crash course on tig welding.”

Leaving school then working his way up through the ranks, Flottman soon realized not just the immense potential of this career path, but that it was something that he actually wanted to do. Even more incredible? He managed to master his craft in a tough environment with little resources. 

“It’s real hard getting a guy who hates his job, who's just getting through his day to show you anything…” 

While Flottman has spent the last 20 plus years working as a welder in the packaging and conveyor systems spector by day, it’s his craftsy side hustle that eventually put him on the map. 

“Tig welding art on weird stainless steel…I was just messing around at first, but people started to really like what I was doing.”

Shortly after creating an Instagram account, Flottman found himself gaining thousands of followers. Now he touts a monster reach and has become a staple in the trades community, but It’s not just Flottmans reach that caught our eye; He has continuously  demonstrated just how much opportunity lies within his trades, and is a firm believer that any young person today can capitalize on these resources.    

“20 years ago when I was learning..you were lucky if you could get a 45 second video. If a young guy or girl is out there..there is no excuse..if you’ve got the thirst for knowledge. On Instagram, once you get involved in the community..there are plenty of people who can help.”

Be sure to listen in on this electric episode, as we dig into how Sean got his start, what’s next, and where he sees the future of this trade. 

Tom Gardocki has been at the helm of some pretty heavy equipment since just 4 years old. His father, owner and operator of a now 45 year old hardscaping business, was quick to introduce his son to the trades. By 10, Tom already had the knowledge and experience to independently run the equipment on job sites. 

“I scared a ton of customers. My dad would literally..we would go into a new front lawn, and he would get all the equipment ready and he would leave..we had to put a 50 lb bag of seed behind me so I could reach the petals”

Spending countless summers working alongside the company foreman, Tom not only picked up a wealth of knowledge, but a deep love for running equipment. Hardscaping, however, was no easy feat. It’s laborious nature had taken a toll on his father over the years and Tom knew early on, long term, he did not want to carry the torch. Instead, he set his sites on Excavation which was able to combine his landscaping knowledge with his love for heavy machinery.

“I grew up in the family business so I knew hardscaping was hard work...I’d rather let the machines do the work”

Fast forward to 2010. Eager to show off his equipment skills, Tom created a YouTube account under the pseudonym “Dirt Ninja”. Not expecting much, he uploaded video after video all while learning the basics of the channel. It wasn’t until he posted a video of him stacking glass bottles with an excavator did things take a wild turn. The video was gaining 500,000 views a day and reached a level of virality some content creators can only dream of.

Now at 32, Tom’s is the co-owner of New Era Excavation out of Londonderry, NH and has a hand in a multitude of other businesses (including his parents), and While “Dirt Ninja”channel  has garnered a global following opening up doors he could have never imagined, Tom’s purpose behind the platform runs deeper than just creating a cool video. 

“My content is not just about me..it’s about what I’m doing. Not many 32 year olds have been running equipment since they were four..the main purpose of social media is making connections and helping promote and show off our business..”

From his early days in hardscaping to his current role as serial entrepreneur and social media guru, we've been blown by Tom's story. Be sure to listen as we dig into how the “Dirt Ninja'' came to be and what’s next for Tom Gardocki 

On this weeks episode of Bucket Talk, we sat down with Kyle Stumpenhorst, owner and operator of RR Buildings. RR (Rural Renovations) Buildings, is a post-frame construction build out of Franklin Grove, Illinois. While the companies day to days consist of building post-frames for a variety of different industries, if you're in the trades you have probably have heard of these guys. Since inception, Kyle has accrued quite the following on social media, boasting a Youtube subscriber following of 493k and an incredible Instagram following of about 323k. This is all thanks to Kyle's mission to show anyone interested in creating their own path in the trades, just how to go about it. 

Kyle Stumpenhorst  wasn't always a tradesman. Growing up, his father worked in IT with D.I.Y. projects as a side-hobby. When Kyle graduated at the top of his high school class, he pursued a degree in computer science positioning himself to follow a path much like his fathers. After graduation, Kyle took the route of most recent graduates and pursued a 9-5 office job. As Kyle mentions, "it literally took me less than a year to realize..I just didn't want to do that.." With a yearning to get out of the more white-collar career path, he left his job in the city to take on the remodeling of an old farmhouse him and his then fiancé were looking to buy. Having nothing else but his fathers limited DIY expertise and some DIY television shows, Kyle spent the next two years learning the art of remodeling from scratch. 

Tune in to hear how this former 9-5er not only took on a full time career in the trades, but capitalized on the massive opportunities and became an integral part of the community along the way.