Bucket Talk

On this week’s Bucket Talk, we catch up with James Smith, also known as Lion Dad. James is a caretaker of exotic animals in Stanton, Missouri. After getting his start cleaning horse stalls, he worked his way up into working with wildlife and the rest is history. Listen in as the guys chat with James about transitioning into being a caretaker, what it is like working with wolves vs. coyotes, playing with a 300 pound lion, and a bunch more.

James Smith, aka Lion Dad, has been working with animals for almost two decades. He started out scooping poop and cleaning horse stalls, and eventually came to the realization that he wanted to work with wild animals. Despite having minimal experience, he was hired on. He attributes this to his willingness to really put in the work.

“I tell everybody, even the people that come through the facility, or all the people that message me and comment, how do we get this job, it's one of those you've got to try, it's a hard job to get. You're going to hear no a lot. But when you finally get that, yes, it makes all of it so worth it.”

Currently, he works with lions, wolves, coyotes, and a handful of other wild animals in Stanton, Missouri. Currently, he spends most of his time with their wolves — and he even spent the last nine years raising a few of them himself. When he’s not spending time with his wolves, he takes care of other exotic animals at the facility.

“If I continue to do this for the rest of my life, working underneath someone and just raising animals and spreading the positive side of these big cats and these wolves, I'd be completely fine with that.”

We got a little insight into his future and what he has planned out. Rather than open his own wildlife facility, he is passionate about his job, and couldn’t see himself doing anything else than what he’s doing right now. The thing that got him involved in the first place was his passion for the animals themselves, so maximizing personal time with the wolves and big cats is what he enjoys most.

This week we’re joined by beekeeper Santos Vasquez, aka @isavebz on Instagram. After taking over for his beekeeper ex father-in-law, Santos has spent the last 18 years keeping bees as both a honey producer and bee removal specialist. Eric and Jeremy get into it with Santos, chatting about becoming a beekeeper, making honey, dealing with stings, and much more.

Santos decided he was ready to join the beekeeping trade when his ex father-in-law showed him the ropes. After some time in the trade he realized it was his responsibility and desire to take care of bees for the rest of his life.

“I didn't know a single thing about bees - I learned on the job. And that's pretty much the way you have to learn. You got to stick your hand in the beehive otherwise you're not gonna need and you go from there.”

Once he acquired a few bee hives of his own, he knew it was time to take it to the next level. Not only was he relocating large groups of bees, he was also adopting groups of bees for himself, harvesting honey to keep the dream of beekeeping alive.

“My [ex] father-in-law's dad always said if you take care of the bees they’ll take care of you. And it's it's really that simple. You know, they're gonna do for you what you're going to do for them.”

Santos and his partner Shawn White have built a company that specializes in everything from honey production to bee removal services. Their native, pollen-absorbing honey is one of the largest parts of the business and being able to sell it directly to his customers in person is one of the his favorite parts.

“We want to be authentic as possible and that's why we are so transparent. On Instagram, on TikTok.. we just want you to know where your honey is coming from, that you get the best quality product and that we are true beekeepers.”

After almost two decades of beekeeping, Santos plans on continuing to add hives in hopes of being able to add pollination to the company’s repertoire. Through determination, dedication and a healthy respect for the bees he takes care of, Santos has made something that will only continue to propel him to the top of the industry.

Mt. Phillip Metal Works is a metalworking studio that forges and fabricates a variety of metal goods, from small tools to enormous vintage-inspired pieces to art and sculpture. At the helm of Mt. Phillip is this week’s guest on the podcast, Chris Cash. Along with being a metal fabricator, Chris also co-hosts the Axe and Iron Podcast, a weekly show that highlights badass makers. Join Eric and Jeremy as they get into it with Chris about podcasting, the difference between a blacksmith and a metalworker, working on cars, and much more.

Chris got his start working on cars, doing production auto body work in a collision shop. This is where he began tinkering with vintage tools, finding a niche that he was able to make his own. After years in the auto world, he decided to make the transition to forging and fabrication, a transition that lets him do anything he sets his mind to.

“So I was the young guy, the young punk in there. And I decided to take that on and learn the system and learn the machines that we were using. And then I ended up becoming very successful at it and was making a really, really good living.”

He’s currently running his own business, Mt. Phillip Metal Works, where he makes and sells his work. He’s also got a podcast of his own called Axe and Iron, where he and his buddy Roy Scott highlight other badass makers in the metalworking world. Chris was also able to hop onto Instagram at the perfect time, allowing him to amass well over 30,000 followers.

“It's like, yeah, if you're not happy where you're at, it doesn't matter how much money you're making, how great your insurance is, it really doesn't. Like in the grand scheme of things, I get these comments like, oh, you probably made a killing doing that. It's like, not, I didn't really but waking up with a smile on my face. As cheesy as it sounds, is so much better than any amount of money that I get.”

He’s always on the move, which is one of the benefits of working for himself. If he has to go to Indiana to pick up a part, he can. If he has to spend all day in his car, he can. He’s had a unique journey through the trades, but that is exactly where he wants to be. Working seven days a week sounds like a burden to some, but Chris says he’d rather spend every day in his shop than do anything else.

To kick off season 4, we’re back with Maggie Rogosienski, aka Electric Mags. Back home in Wisconsin by way North Carolina, Maggie is working as an electrician in Milwaukee. Not only is she moving swiftly through the ranks of her trade, but she has grown a following of almost 14,000 on her Instagram where she talks tools, the trades, and being a mom. Listen in as Jeremy and Eric talk with Maggie about switching careers, being part of a union, and being a woman in what is largely a male-dominated industry.

Born in Wisconsin, Maggie escaped down to North Carolina where she planned on going to medical school but ended up getting into personal training instead. After some time in the South she ventured back home to the midwest and eventually fell in love with Crossfit, enough to open her own gym. She even double-dipped into the fitness world as a USA Weightlifting-certified lifting coach. After some big life changes and a bit of time off, she was inspired to join the trades by her cousin, who works as a seam-fitter. Though she was skeptical at first, she and her brother jumped into electrical work head-on.

“You could never have paid me enough to believe I would actually be here talking to you about being in construction, but it fits perfectly with what I feel like my personality is. I'm pretty, pretty much a tomboy, got two brothers that beat the hell out of me. And so I've learned to be humble, and also just stand my ground.”

A year after her brother joined, Maggie got an apprenticeship with a union in Milwaukee and is now years into her work towards her journeyman’s card. She speaks on her experience as a woman in a male-dominated career:

”I know that as a woman, I got to prove that I'm not here to just take it easy, and let the guys you know, pick up the work, you know, whether or not they choose to do more, whatever. I never said no or, oh, ‘I can't handle that’ before. I've actually busted my ass to try to do something.”

After some uncertainty surrounding the future of the trade and what things would look like during (and after) the pandemic, she has found a place she wants to be for the foreseeable future. Along with her apprenticeship she has found a steady crew of followers on Instagram who keep up with her life in the trades through workplace memes, tool reviews, and her life as a mother.

A natural-born jack-of-all-trades, Lucas D’Angelo has been taking on a handful of projects since an early age. Based in Massachusetts, Lucas has dabbled with various hobbies throughout the years from woodworking, to metal fabrication, to restoring vintage equipment. Listen in as Jeremy and Eric sit down with Lucas to learn about his career, setting up shop, tool restoration, future plans, and much more in this very exciting season finale of Bucket Talk.

Coming from a family of woodworkers and carpenters, Lucas D’Angelo got his start in developing a handful of skills at an early age. As a kid, Lucas would work on small woodworking projects with his uncles, such as making pens, picture frames, cutting boards, and other items. This interest continued through high school, where he began customizing his 2002 Subaru and eventually started dabbling with metal fabrication.

“I got to learn a little bit of metal fabrication to work on this. So, you know, I learned how to weld and I really found that while woodworking was cool, you know, metalworking I really loved it because it almost felt like you were taking something so innocuous and turning it into something totally different, you know? And so it just really, I mean, it went from there.”

After high school, Lucas went to college initially for video production, before switching to a business major with a minor in tech education. Meanwhile, he continued working his way up at Ace Hardware, from a stockperson to store manager to director of facilities.

“Ultimately what I do right now is essentially director of facilities. And that's a pretty multifaceted job… we have four retail hardware stores, and a total of five properties… And so with that that's a lot to take care of. They're all older buildings being in Massachusetts, you know, so there's always stuff to fix to repair.”

To this day, Lucas continues his dayjob at Ace Hardware, while making time to focus on his various hobbies and side hustles. With a shop at home which has grown over the years, Lucas particularly enjoys taking on very unique projects for his clients. He has set up his shop to handle every step of the fabrication and restoration process, so that he does not need to subcontract anything out for any given project.

"I don't do the traditional kind of… make cutting boards or make the kind of stuff that I think is a very common thing to see out of a hobbyist or side business woodworking or metal fabrication, but I do a lot more kind of unique job to job stuff. So someone might say… I need this fabricated you know, here's some drawings or I need this repaired, I don't know how to do it or I need this. That's my bread and butter. That's the stuff I really enjoy doing because it's a lot more of a creative problem solving situation…”

One of Lucas’s main hobbies-turned-side-business is restoring and repairing vintage machinery, tools, and equipment. Luca’s began fixing old equipment out of necessity, since newer machinery can be very costly. Once he began to dive in, he learned that there is a whole community for vintage equipment, and a market of people willing to buy these restored tools because they are better quality. From full factory restorations to “resto mods” or customized restorations of vintage machinery, Lucas takes on a variety of projects for client, such as this drill press he found half buried in Long Island.

“To make it a perfect restoration that would have been, you know, brought back to factory paint factory colors, all of that. And to some people, that's what they want. But what I've found is so many people want something that's, you know, unique for them or fits their style. So for this one, he wanted it painted… Mohito green… cause he's got a couple other things that color… I did that colorway [with] gold accents. And so that's sort of a ‘resto mod’, but that's exactly what he wanted. And to him that's got all the value in the world and he can turn around sell it, because it's unique, but it's mechanically perfect. Whereas… being restored back to factory condition in factory color and factory everything that is its highest worth its highest value.”

Looking to the future, Lucas is playing things by year as his skills, side business, and career continue to grow. Among renovating apartments, restoring machinery, working a dayjob, and managing his social media presence, his main goal is to continue growing in his skills and sharing his knowledge with the world.

As an ironworker for over two decades, Larry Roughton has become a seasoned veteran on the job. A member of Ironworkers Local 55 in Toledo, Ohio and recent inductee of the International Ironworkers Hall of Fame, Larry puts in long hours on the job, while also making time to document his day-to-day life to over 189,000 followers. Listen in as Jeremy and Eric sit down with Larry to talk about his early career, raising a family of ironworkers, the dangers of ironworking, being part of a strong union, and much more.

Born in Ohio, Larry Roughton was introduced to the trades early coming from a family of boilermakers. As a hockey player throughout high school and college, Larry always had the drive to push himself to the limits within his team. However, there came a point when he realized he needed to find a way to pay the bills. He took his competitive drive and turned it towards ironworking, after a high school friend inspired him to take an apprenticeship.

“I'm super competitive. So I was like, Well, I'm gonna do it and be the best I can be. You know, and that's kinda how it started. I was tired of working odd jobs and holding on to a dream that wasn't gonna happen. So I went in, went down to the apprenticeship and applied, and maybe… six months later, I get a phone call, 'Hey, come do the test.' And that's kind of how it all began.”

Now in the trade for well over 20 years, Larry is a seasoned veteran and has passed the lineage to his sons, who are all ironworkers themselves. As a leader on the jobsite, Larry conducts safety meetings and trains new apprentices, among other responsibilities.

“As far as like training and stuff… we have a four year apprenticeship, you go in, and you learn, you go through the basics of rebar, and then you go through like year two, year three, year four. Same thing with welding, steel erection, post tensioning, all those various aspects…”

Larry has found a niche TikTok, amassing a huge following as he documents day-to-day life on the job. His videos cover just about everything, from something as simple as forgetting your lunch to how the benefits of a strong union make life on the job a bit less stressful.

“I was like, What are you guys watching? TikTok. It's young people stuff dude. And I'm like, what? So I started watching it. I’m like, I can be funny and so I said alright, challenge accepted.”

Every year, Larry attends the International Ironworkers Festival in Mackinaw City, MI. Along with winning several trophies over the past 20 years, Larry has also been inducted into the International Ironworkers Hall of Fame, becoming the first in his union to ever receive the accolade.

“They had told my kids and a couple other people that they were going to induct me, and then they did it on the day that I was, you know, getting my other trophies for winning this year or whatever. And they pulled me to come up there and gave it to me and was like, ‘Yeah, you know, you've put so much time into this tournament so much time in the ironworkers as a whole promoting ironwork and safety’ and this and that and you know stuff and you know, trying to make me be all in my feelings and stuff.”

With three sons and an ever-growing TikTok presence, Larry still continues to grow every day on the job as an ironworker, as a father, and an online personality whom many look up to.

From a self-taught hobby to fully-realized craftsmanship, Dustin Loftis has turned his passion for art and western lifestyle into a tangible living. Owner of Dusty Hide Leather Company, Dustin has specialized in creating one-of-a-kind custom leather goods for the past 10 years. Listen in as Jeremy sits down with Dustin to learn about his start in tooling leather, custom upholstery, teaching, horseback riding, and more.

With a background in art from an early age, Dustin Loftis has always wanted to apply his artistic talent to a craft he can earn a living from. He had considered tattooing and other crafts, but working an unpaid apprenticeship was not a practical situation. One day, a friend introduced him to leather crafting and let him design a belt.

“I had no idea how to draw Western floral patterns at the time, but I drew some out, kind of Googled some stuff. And then, you know, figured out kind of where I wanted to go with it. I knew a few things. And I was good at art. So I drew a pattern out, gave it to him, and he put it on the belt. When I got it in the mail a few months later, man, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

Dustin has now been making custom leather goods for almost ten years. What started off as a self-taught hobby flourished into his lifelong craft - from making custom belts for a few close friends to owning a full-fledged business. Throughout this process, Dustin has become disciplined in his artistry through striving to master his craft.

“I mean, essentially, I learned how to tool leather off of YouTube. And so it was kind of funny because I was by myself, I've always pretty much done it on my own...I filled up sketchbook after sketchbook just drawing patterns, trying to figure out what is my main goal… And I told myself, you know, I want to be one of the best, if not the best down the road… as long as I'm doing the highest quality work that I can do... I wanted to be known for doing really, really good work.”

Expanding into other mediums, Dustin has more recently been taking commissions for custom automotive interior detail. His journey into this space began when a friend gave him a center console to work on. After learning his friend’s truck burned down, he finished the piece anyway and found success.

“I didn't have a customer in mind for it or anything, I made a couple videos of it and kind of put the word out there to try to generate some interest in it. And then it blew up, I was really surprised at how much interest I got, and put it up for auction on eBay. And I think that one ended up selling for somewhere around 1400 bucks.”

Looking ahead, Dustin wants to continue growing his business to take on more automotive interior projects. By expanding, he can continue with his core business in creating smaller leather pieces, and take on bigger commissions that require a longer lead time.

“I would like to build an addition off in my shop, to where someone could put their vehicle in and leave it with me for a couple of weeks. And I'm, you know, I'm able to really go to town on the interior. And to me, getting into that crowd and everything with the passion that I have for, you know, fixing up vehicles and stuff, I think it's a really good fit for me.”

Dustin also teaches a wide range of students how to craft leather, along with having written a couple ebooks and guides. From a self-taught hobby to fully-realized craftsmanship, Dustin Loftis has turned his passion for art and western lifestyle into a tangible living.

This week on Bucket Talk, we’re learning about everything solar. Brian Buzbee, aka The Solar Slayer, has worked his way up through the solar industry over the past decade. From an apprentice installer to a Sr. Electrical Foreman, he has put in time and dedication on the field to become a seasoned veteran in the game, and has even written his own field guide for others in the trade. Dive in as Jeremy and Eric learn about his start as an electrician, the benefits of solar, the future of the industry, and much more.

Starting as an installer, Brian Buzbee has worked his way up through the ranks to become a fully trained electrician. Having obtained a degree at a four year university, working in solar was not in his career plan. However, seeing the opportunity in the growing industry, Brian made the switch to focus on solar.

“...I had a friend who was just like, ‘Hey, you know, solar is paying really well, hop over here.’ And I kind of just went for it. As soon as I got into it I was, you know, really enthralled with it. I loved it. I loved everything about it, sort of learning as much as I could. And then I just kind of built my knowledge base...”

Now 7 years into his career, Brian is now a Sr. Electrical Foreman for a large company and has worked in just about every electrical role within a solar company - from lead installer, to electrical helper electrician, to corpsman construction supervisor, and so on.

“You don't have to necessarily go to a solar trade school or... electrical trade school, you can work, you know, under an electrician at a solar company for a while... build up your hours, go to schooling in the evening, things like that... become an electrician that way. So there's multiple avenues to get into the solar trade.”

The solar industry has taken off over the past 10 years, with the past 3 years seeing an unprecedented boom in the industry. As a relatively new business, Brian and his team are continually working on past projects from when solar installations were less calculated.

“...it was kind of wild west back then. So I would say... people just need to, you know, make sure they're not looking for companies that just want to slap solar up as quickly as possible. Find a company that's... focused on their quality and their safety... make sure they're providing the right safety gear and all that, a lot of companies will try to skimp there.”

Looking forward to the next 10 years, Brian is expecting the solar industry to continue growing in and innovating. For example, in California all newly-built homes are required to have solar, which opens new business opportunities. The industry will also likely see new technologies such as solar shingles and other components that can absorb light.

“They have windows now that can generate electricity... maybe even siding one day, so just you know, any side of your house or portion, your house that get sunlight, probably power the house, I'm hoping that's what we can get to.”

In his free time, Brian enjoys DJing and skateboarding. He is also the author of a field handbook on solar installations which can be found on his website. With the sky as the limit, Brian has made his way to the top of the solar game.

Growing up on the move, Anne Briggs has always bounced from one thing to another, both literally and figuratively. From traveling internationally to homeschooling, she has had the opportunity to learn from non-traditional educational experiences and choose her interests from an early age. Now as an adult, “Anne Of All Trades” continues to build her skills with the same curiosity and self-directed learning style. In this special re-airing of one of our favorite Bucket Talk episodes, Jeremy sits down with Anne to learn about her incredibly diverse background, from homeschooling, to blacksmithing, to woodworking, to farming, and much more.

From an early age, Anne Briggs has learned in a non-traditional educational setting that is different from most Americans. Anne’s parents were part of a missions organization for a majority of her life, and as a result she was exposed to a wide array of cultures and ways of living.

“...I had a really cool upbringing, getting to live all over the world with a group of people… That's kind of, you know, I got exposed to a lot of different cultures and a lot of different things as a kid. And I've had a vast array of interests over the years as a result. And that kind of basically led me to what I'm currently doing with the ‘Anne Of All Trades’ thing is basically giving a name to my utter and complete lack of direction and short attention span”

While her unique upbringing made schooling difficult in some regards, it also brought many crucial formative experiences which helped to shape the person Anne is today. For instance, instead of sitting in a public school classroom, there were points where she spent her days in a 19th century museum as a homeschooled student, or in her grandfather’s workshop. This helped her to develop an early interest in woodworking, hand tools, and farming.

“So it was kind of at the back of my mind, always from, you know, from that living history museum and my experience with my grandfather that someday, if I ever lived in America, I wanted to have my own farm. And I wanted to have my own workshop where I could do and fix anything that I wanted.”

Fast forward many years, Anne moved back to the U.S. from Taiwan to pursue a tech job in Seattle, WA. On the side, she continued developing her hand skills and engineering mindset by buying cheap tools, reverse engineering them, selling them, then buying new tools until she eventually had a full workshop to use.

“...I had no intention of ever, you know, doing all this stuff for a living. But the more tools that I acquired and the more hand skills that I learned, the more passionate about it I got, and the more dissatisfied with my job that I got. And I basically realized then that I wanted to figure out a way out of that lifestyle.”

Eventually, Anne leveraged her workshop to start woodworking. After a while, she quit her job to build furniture full-time, ended up failing, and learned from her mistakes to bring her to the next opportunity. She recalls:

“I quit my job working in tech because I wanted to spend less time working at the computer. But then all of a sudden, I had to figure out how to make a website and I had to become my own accountant and I had to market my stuff. And I had to send invoices and all those things that like, took all this computer time. And suddenly I was actually in the shop even less.”

After this chain of events, Anne eventually was lead in the right direction through connections she made on Instagram. One thing lead to another, and she landed a job at a Fine Arts Center, where she entirely revamped their woodworking program.

“...I ended up getting a job running a woodworking program at a Fine Arts Center. And so that was basically my ticket into doing this full time for a living again. And through that they basically needed someone to revamp their entire education program. So I got to hire new teachers and right new course curriculum. And basically, I created the woodworking school that I always wished that I had been able to attend, and then used that job to attend it.”

With a solid foundation for her business which she had been building in her free time, Anne eventually left her job when the time was right. Owning an organic farm, Anne has been able to focus on a variety of different trades such as woodworking and raising livestock. Having learned in a non-traditional setting her whole life, Anne continues expanding her knowledge with the same curiosity she had in her childhood. She recalls learning to milk a goat:

“I just literally like got this goat and brought it home. And just, like, assumed that it would just stand there and let me milk it. So I like you know went out there like proudly with my little milk pail that first time and like bent down to squeeze that little teet and I got kicked in the face.”

Fast forward to today, Anne has been running a successful business and recently bought a new farm. She continues to grow her skills through various projects, from restoring a 1953 Chevy, to modding golf carts, to building a new workshop for woodworking and teaching. From start to end, “Anne Of All Trades” has come to fully embody her persona through years of dedication, curiosity, and self-directed learning.

As a commercial diver and welder by trade, Kendal Keating is immersed in a sea of opportunity every day. Hailing from New Brunswick, Canada, Kendal has worked a large variety of jobs across the country in just about every province. What began as an interesting possibility when his high school teacher mentioned “underwater welding” has manifested into the foundation for his lifelong career across welding and diving. Listen in as Jeremy takes a deep dive with Kendal to learn about his early career, welding in Canada, commercial diving, safety, and much more.

Growing up in a small Canadian town, Kendal Keating always had the ambition to travel but was unsure of what career path to take. Kendal had been surrounded by trades since childhood, living on a farm with a tight knit blue-collar family. He did well in high school, but like many other students, was not too interested in the material. However, one day in an elective course was when Kendal first learned of his future career.

“Actually, I was in a shop class that was just a burner course because I already had all my credits to graduate and stuff. Basically, my shop teacher one day brought up the thing of underwater welding, and I was like “Wait, what? What was that? And it's something that really stuck in my head and it just seemed like something that was so cool but also very unattainable.”

As graduation approached, Kendal was looking into the sciences in pursuit of his original career plan to become a pharmacist. However, he also enrolled in welding courses at the local community college for a backup plan. As it turns out, Kendal was accepted into the sciences program being a high-performing student, but went with welding instead.

“At the community college there, my parents were very, very supportive. Like I said, I grew up with a lot of blue collar background. However, my older brother went to university. He has a financial background now, as well as my little brother's a chemical engineer. Obviously, I got the brains of the family being a welder.”

After graduating the welding program, Kendal studied in Alberta for an apprenticeship program before obtaining his Red Seal in 2017. In Canada, a Red Seal is essentially the equivalent to becoming a Master Welder in the U.S., which would allow him to start his own business and take jobs across Canada and beyond. Kendal explains:

“So basically, a journeyman allows you to work in one province as like the top of your trade. But if you get your red seal, you can work at any province as the top of your trade. So it allows you to travel… I can head over [to] Australia and go to Europe, all that fun stuff with a red seal and still be recognized as the top of my trade.”

As a welder, Kendal would bounce job to job as opportunities present themselves. Over his career, he has been able to work in just about every province across Canada. His work is split across welding and metal fabrication work, which Kendal enjoys due to the building element. 

“I want to be building stuff, I want to see something going down the road, like a full trailer with a twin deck stream deck on it for rock crushing, and be like, I built that or something along those lines, right, I get a lot more satisfaction of building something than just welding something that somebody else put together for me.”

As Kendal got older, he wanted to tie in the underwater welding element to his career. Looking deeper into the job, he learned that in order to do that, he needed to become a commercial diver which is a completely separate set of certifications. This would allow him to become a jack-of-all-trades in diving, but specialize as a commercial diver who welds. Through both of his experiences as a welder and commercial diver, Kendal has found a job which combines the two.

“So the job I'm currently on, we're actually doing a refacing of an old dam - the dam was built in 1950s. And all that concrete on the upstream side is kind of getting washed away. So we're going down, we're chipping everything off. And then I'm putting like steel plates on it, almost like an armor, welding all those plates on and then refilling, where we ship with new concrete. So now instead of water hitting concrete and hitting the steel, they're bolted on.”

Looking ahead, Kendal is planning to go in the direction of inspection for his welding career, which will provide longevity in terms of physical ability as he grows older. This will require more certifications that will allow him to certify X-ray and work in nuclear plants. However, in the time being, he is incredibly happy as an underwater welder, as he is able to do and see things every day that many people might never get to in their lifetime. Kendal recounts:

“I'm 40 feet deep in the middle of nowhere in Ontario welding, basically a big armor plate onto a bullnose on a dam. And I'm there and like a bass swims by my face as I'm welding. So I can't see for a second and I'm like what's happening? And then I lift my lid, and there's just a bass looking at me. And I'm like, how many other people that have ever walked this earth or ever will walk the earth are going to have that experience, right? Like, you kind of sit there and first I can think is like, oh, this is... this is surreal.”

Becoming disciplined in both worlds of welding and commercial diving, Kendal now finds himself immersed in a sea of opportunity. With the sky as the limit, he continues learning new things every day about how he can apply his skills across a wide range of professions.