Details

What is your position within your company?
I am a partner with Factory Direct Roofing, Maricopa, Ariz., and roof consultant for The Arizona Roofer, Phoenix.

What is the most unusual roofing project of which you have been a part?
I bought one of the first cell phones on the market so I could talk to a man who was roofing a witch’s peak on a giant Victorian-style house with a steep-slope, cut-up roof. The team decided to put one man on the roof and use the cell phone to communicate with him.

Why did you become involved in the roofing industry?
I was about 17 years old and homeless when a local general contractor offered me a subcontractor role as a roofing worker. I started out in roofing to make money and eat, but it did not take long for it to get into my blood.

What is the most high-tech item in your house?
My wife’s brain

What was your first roofing experience?
A residential home with four hips and a peak. We tore off the roof, and I realized I had not learned how to shingle. I asked my friend Robert: “Rob, how do we do this?” He looked at me like I was the dumbest person on the planet and told me the instructions were on the package. From that point on, I always read the instructions.

What is your favorite food?
Chocolate

What is your roofing industry involvement?
I have worked as a traveling ambassador and trainer for the industry, going to trade schools and other places. I also taught at a community college. I try to help build a workforce with the efforts of NRCA. As I get older, I am starting to transition into a consulting role, offering expert witness services and due diligence inspections. Most importantly, I am an advocate for safety and fall protection.

What qualities do you most admire in a person?
Honesty, integrity and humility

What’s your favorite roofing material to work with? Why?
I like working with liquid-applied materials, fabrics and foam: They are versatile. Considering how fast the materials are improving, who knows where the technology will take us?

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
I would love to see Ireland and Scotland. But I would be OK with traveling the U.S. for a few years.

People would be surprised to know ...
I am an ethical vegan; I used to be a clinical hospital chaplain; and I have an associate degree in arts and visual communications from Collins College, Phoenix.

What is your favorite stress reliever?
Playing guitar, writing songs and painting

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I was homeless from 12 years old to about 19 years old. Those days were full of struggle. All I wanted to be when I grew up was safe.

My favorite part about working in the roofing industry is ...
The culture. It let me, a homeless kid, start making money.

If you could meet any historical figure, whom would you meet? Why?
Randy Rhoads: He would have to give me a guitar lesson. He has played with Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne.