Bucket Talk

This week, Eric and Jeremy are back with Geoff Britton, an artist, farrier and Marine veteran from Nebraska. After enlisting in 2013, he shipped out in 2014, where he served as a small-craft mechanic. When his time in the military began to come to a close, he decided to get onto social media to promote his art. He started by painting empty liquor bottles he found around the barracks and it all went off from there. Now he works on his art and as a farrier to make a living. Listen in as he chats with our hosts about his decision to stay, and then leave, the military, his decision to get into the art world, van life and more.

From an early age, Geoff knew he wanted to join the Marines. Once he made up his mind, that was the target he had his eyes on and it came to fruition in 2013, when he signed the dotted line. He served as a small-craft mechanic, working on outboard boat engines for most of his career. Though he was in the military and didn’t have an exact plan for the future, he knew he always wanted to incorporate art and social media into his life. 

“So [art] was always something I kind of worked on on the side and just tried to grow and, you know, TikTok hadn't been around yet. So I was like, in the event, I do get out [of the military], maybe this could be something. Maybe, maybe not, I'm not sure. But it's fun.”

Once he decided to leave the Marines, he wanted to get into the freelance or art world in some capacity. After moving to Coronado for his final spell in the military, he decided that he’d like to live his life on the move. He lived #vanlife for a while, posting videos about that since he was not really able to share about military life on his social media channels anymore.

“I was like, let's just get a van. We do this all the time. When I ended up moving to Coronado, I was like, I can just do this full time, save my money. And I kind of started making videos about that, because I knew with the content I was creating, a lot of it was military based.” 

After his time in the van had ended, he went back to Nebraska for a spell, but ended up back in California attending farrier school. Though he didn’t have any real equine experience, the career made sense to him and school was paid for by the GI Bill, so he went for it. 

“I found there's a, there's a farrier school where you can learn how to shoe horses, and it's covered by the GI Bill…And I was like, Well, you know, that sounds like a decent paycheck…that sounds pretty cool. I can do that.”

Today, he’s got his hands full with his freelance art and photography work and job as a farrier, but he’s able to do it on the go. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but now that he’s out of the military and on his own, he’s able to find his own rhythm.

On this week’s episode of Bucket Talk, our hosts catch up with Danny Keiderling, a rig welder and pipe welder based in Wyoming. He knew he wanted to get into the nitty gritty and play in the dirt from a young age. While you can get dirty as a job (somewhere), Danny decided in high school that he wanted to become a welder. He got started in the shop at 15 and kept building up from there. Listen in as he talks with Eric and Jeremy about overcoming adversity, getting into the welding world and navigating social media as someone who prefers living life hands-on. 

A Wyoming native, Danny got started in the welding trade at just 15 years old. He always knew he wanted to do something hands-on, even as a kid, so once he got to high school, he decided that was the direction he was definitely headed. At his first job, he started out at the bottom, fixing rough welds and cutting metal, but ended up working his way up to lead welder. From there, he went out on his own, contracting on different jobs, working for himself. 

“I contract welded pipelines, compressor stations, basically [doing] the same thing I'd been doing for a while. It was amazing. I made some of the greatest money in my life, and it was fulfilling, you know — just a dream to me.”

Next thing Danny knew and he was starting a welding school. The school took off like wildfire and, thanks to the nudging of his marketing team, he dove into social media, posting tips and tricks in the welding world. Even our host Jeremy has relied on Danny’s welding tricks in the past. To Danny, being able to share his knowledge has been one of the best parts of his career. 

“I appreciate that you say that I'm an inspiration because that means a lot to me, believe it or not, not not in an egotistical way. But it just warms my heart…That's what I live for. I love that.”

What’s next for Danny? He just wants to continue inspiring folks in the future. This shouldn’t be a problem — not only is he a master welder with tons of helpful tricks up his sleeve, but he’s on one of the most difficult roads to recovery you can imagine: a tragic accident left him without use of his arms or legs. While he has recovered some use of his hands, he’s still unable to walk. This hasn’t deterred him, though, and he wants to be known for his welding prowess, not his current condition. He knows he’s good, and that is inspiring in itself. 

“I guess that was my claim to fame when I was out in the field: I was a pretty good welder, a pretty sought after guy to get on the job. And I think that was mainly just because I literally live, breathe, and sleep welding. It was pretty high up there on my goals list to just weld you know, anything welding, I just was always ahead of the game.”

While Danny isn’t able to do exactly what he wants to do right now, he has an infectious positivity. He is taking everything in stride, knowing that even if he can’t weld like he used to, he’s got so much to offer up, whether it is teaching or inspiring the younger generations. We can’t wait to see what is in store for him.

On this week’s episode of Bucket Talk, we chat with Lilly, the woman behind the renovation at the Elm Street House in Lewiston, Maine. After spending her college years in Florida, she grew tired of life at marketing agencies and returned home to Maine, where she was born and raised, to put down some roots. She purchased a fixer upper and is now on the journey of returning it to its former glory. Listen in as she talks with Eric and Jeremy about starting out in marketing, finding old treasures in her home, what it’s like to put blood, sweat, and tears into a renovation and more.

Originally hailing from Maine, Lilly decided to spend her college years in Florida, just to get out of town for a while and experience something new. There she got a degree in marketing, an industry where she imagined she’d be able to combine all of her skills to really thrive. While she was successful there and continues to love her work, she was looking for something more, so she decided to make the move back home when the pandemic started. 

“I'm from Maine, born and raised Mainer over here. I went away for college just to experience a new place, [to] rebel a little bit [and] be in a bigger city. But I was ready to come home.”

As a self-proclaimed personal finance geek, Lilly knew she wanted to capitalize on the benefits of owning a multi-family home. While the process of buying was tedious, she managed to get her hands on a fixer upper that ended up being a much larger undertaking than she expected. She took the challenges in stride, knowing it was what she really wanted. 

“It was a daunting thing and an intimidating thing. But I couldn't shake the feeling that, like, this is my house. I just, I loved it too much. And before I could talk myself out of it, I went right home and called the realtor and got to work on buying it.”

While there are a number of challenges she’s facing, such as delayed plumbing and electrical support along with the frustrations of getting through a successful demo, she’s pushing forward, learning a ton on the way. She’s taking on this endeavor single handedly, albeit with some support from family and friends — but not too much support. At some point, she knows she has to be tactical in her requests to loved ones for help. 

“There were like nine people at my house who came to help. And so from that point, I got a little more comfortable asking for help. But to your point, I don't want to overdo it. I have not found that line yet. And I'm happy about that. But I know it exists.”

Renovating this house is a huge task — she’s taking it from borderline haunted back to its former glory — but when things get tough, she just looks at adversity as a positive thing. One day, the home will be finished, she’ll have a little reading nook for herself and things will be just fine.

This week on Bucket Talk, Eric and Jeremy talk with custom knifemaker, hunter and survivalist Kaila Cummings. Hailing from New Hampshire, Cummings is a self-taught knife maker who you may have seen on Discovery Channel’s Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid XL. Listen in as Kaila chats with our hosts about teaching herself how to forge, a lifetime of preparation for being naked in the woods and much more.

Born and raised near Keene, New Hampshire, Kaila got her start doing knife reviews on YouTube. After some time reviewing the work of others, she decided it was time for her to learn how to make knives herself, so she sold her gun and knife collections and taught herself how to forge. From there, she says, the rest is history. 

“I started off by doing knife reviews on YouTube. And then I kind of just fell in love with it. And I was like, you know, if I want to be reviewing other people's products, I really should know how to do this myself.”

While knives may have given Kaila her chance to make a name in the trades, it was just the beginning. Having grown up hunting and shooting, she was uniquely prepared for survival. Discovery Channel took notice and, in 2015, recruited her for its show Naked and Afraid. While growing up in the woods of New England certainly prepared her to be a survivalist, she went with a unique training regiment to survive naked in the wilderness for 40 days. 

“But honestly, the biggest thing I do to prep for these challenges is I just gain a lot of weight. Got it? Yeah, I just fatten up; so I eat a lot of McFlurries and cheeseburgers and pizza. That's my favorite part of the training.”

Since returning from her adventures with the Discovery Channel, Kaila has really dug into the knife-making business, forging knives not only under her own brand, but by collaborating with other brands on custom lines. She’s also interested in upcycling old metals to make new knives. She made knives for the players of the Boston Bruins using their old skate blades and a knife for a veteran who lost a leg in Iraq using the metal rod doctor’s used to keep him together. All of this keeps her busy, but that’s how she likes it. 

“I mean, honestly, every day is an adventure for me. So it's not good when I get bored. So if I spend too much time out in the shop, which I tend to do, I basically live out here.”

These days, she has carved out a space for herself in the industry that allows her to do a ton of custom work, forge knives for herself and spend some time getting out and about with her daughter, being outdoorsy and going on metal detection excursions. Oh yeah, she also loves breaking into abandoned asylums.

OVERVIEW

This week on Bucket Talk, Eric is back to host with Jeremy. This week’s episode is unique — we’ve got two guests, Will Posey and Jackson Conn. Based in Hokes Bluff, Alabama, Will owns Big Oak Garage, a hot rod shop specializing on design, fabrication and paint. Jackson is a welder/fabricator you can find on the TV Series Ride of Your Life, which you can find on MotorTrend TV. Listen in as they chat about their backgrounds in the automotive world, how they met each other and more. 

ABOUT WILL AND JACKSON

Will grew up in Alabama racing hot rods with his dad. After getting a degree in automotive restoration from one of the only schools in America that offer that degree, McPherson College. Will started Big Oak Garage in 2007. There, they design, fabricate, and paint hot rods. Jackson’s education was less formal, but he’s still elbows deep in the auto world. After graduating from high school in 2017, he interned in Atlanta, learning metal fab and all the skills that come with it.  

“I learned a lot from a lot of people and a lot of stuff I had to pick up on my own. So it's been a wild journey.”

Will was initially brought on to be part of Ride of Your Life, and this is where he met Jackson. After a few weeks, they realized that they needed more hands on deck, so Jackson was brought in. Initially introduced just to work on the show together, Will and Jackson were fast friends, making for a lifelong friendship. 

“My eyes and Will's eyes locked each other. With somebody, you're in love with somebody and you're like, oh, my gosh, that's my person.”

One thing that binds the two of them, other than the automotive world, is passion. They both credit that to get them where they are today. All of the trades require hard work, time away from the family and a ton of skill, but when it comes down to it, you’ve got to love it. You can’t get through a conversation with these two guys without realizing that passion is essential to their current and future success. 

“Gotta have a passion to do this. If it's not what you eat, breathe, sleep, shit. You know, you're just gonna be another normal guy out there trying to make a living doing something, you know?”

This conversation is special, and a must-listen, because these guys are infectious. Just listen to their stories, the way they work, and you’ll be inspired to do more. They’re both in a great place in their careers, but they aren’t complacent, and this is something BRUNT strives for. Listen in to not only get practical advice for the automotive world, but advice on how to succeed in any trade you can imagine.

This week on Bucket Talk, Jeremy and our guest host Andrew catch up with Maine-based lobster fisherman Jacob Knowles. A fifth-generation lobster fisherman, Jacob hopped into his first skiff in grammar school and ended up diving fully into the lobster trade after high school. Tune in as he chats with our hosts about finding his place in the lobster world, keeping lobster fishing local and what the biggest challenges are for lobster fisherman in 2022. 

For the latest episode in season 5 of Bucket Talk, our hosts spoke to Matt Stanley of American Asphalt and Paving, who is also the founder of Raised on Blacktop, a streetwear brand made for blue collar folks. Matt’s family has a history of paving — both his grandfather and father are in the pavement business — so it was only natural for him and his three older brothers to join the team.

This week on Bucket Talk, we caught up with Lee Ohmen, who spends his days working his main gig as an electrician and his off-time crafting custom wood items ranging from corn hole boards and cutting boards to ornaments and dining tables. He grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, just a short way from BRUNT headquarters, where he got a union job right out of high school. He now plies his trade in Charleston, MA. Listen in as he chats with our hosts Jeremy and Eric about skipping college, falling in love with woodworking and spending time with his family. 

At the ripe age of 15, John Shevlin made the move from Ireland to Queens in an effort to pursue the American dream. The youngest of 10, John hailed from a long line of hard working tradespeople, so it was no surprise that he spent his first few moments in the U.S. working for his brother, a framer. With no knowledge of the trade, John threw himself into the trial by fire environment, paying his dues as he put in his 10,000 hours, mastering the art of framing. 

Now, seasoned with 25 years of experience under his belt, John has spent the last 10 month’s building out Shevlin Construction, a self-owned commercial and residential framing and finishing company that prides itself on providing clients with loyalty and high quality workmanship. While it may sound cliche, the proof is in the pudding with John’s book’s, booked out for the next 10 months. Tune into this week’s podcast, as we sit down with John to learn a little more about his background, how he got to where he is today, and what he sees as his biggest challenge down the road for Shevlin Construction and the trade itself. 

John Shevlin moved to Queens, New York right from Ireland at just 15 years old in 1997. The youngest of 10, John, despite going through a major life transition, was set up for success with the help of his older brother, a framer. Through him, John was able to learn the art of framing and finish from the ground up, paying his dues as an order taker while navigating the trial by fire environment that came with learning the trade. 

Not long after making the move to Queens, John and his brother made yet another move. This time to Springfield, Massachusetts, attending school for the first time ever at East Longmeadow High. John spent the next few years earning his GED before jumping right back into the trade working for a variety of jobs, both at construction companies and with a union. 

His time in the trade had it’s pros and cons, but his leap to entrepreneurship really bubbled up when he realized his work life was overtaking his family life. In the years after high school, John found himself married with two kids. With more at stake, John pushed himself to take on all the work he could get in an effort to support his family. Soon his workload hit a peak, and after 6 years of a 5:30 A.M. - 10:30 P.M. daily shift, John took note that his kids were getting older, and his was missing out on that time - so he took matters into his own hands 

Today, seasoned with over 25 years of experience, John run’s Shevlin Construction, a 10-month old, self owned business that is already booked out for the next 10 months. His biggest challenge? Finding good help. In his generation, if you weren’t first you were last, and more often than not he has struggled to find that same mentality in the younger generations coming into the trades. From his stance, framing feels like a dying trade, but yet there’s still so much opportunity. In his eyes all it takes is drive and loyalty. Sure, it’s hard work, but anyone motivated enough to take on the challenge is sure to find a wealth of success. Tune in to take a deep dive into John’s full background, and more.

This week on Bucket Talk, we chat with the world’s best roofer, Colorado-based TJ McCormack, who also happens to be the first roofer we’ve had on the show. After serving four years overseas as a torpedo man in the Navy, he came back to Washington, D.C. and became a police officer. He was with the police for 14 years, but eventually decided to head a different direction. He saw a Craigslist ad looking for folks to sell roofing and the rest is history. Listen in as he chats with our hosts about navigating his early career, the ins and outs of the storm chasing roof industry and what he’s up to after a couple of decades in the roofing trade.