Irregardless

Emme Hughes is 23, owns a 10,000 square foot metal fabrication shop in Enid, Oklahoma, and will tell you straight up: if it's metal, EH Metalworks does it. She started cutting signs on a plasma table at 18 out of pure obsession, landed a competitive USDA grant for a fiber laser cutter, and built a full-service shop from the ground up. But that's only part of the story. Before the business, there w...

In Pt. 2 of our conversation with Andrew Roberson , owner of Dark Threat Fabrication in Heber Springs, Arkansas, we pull back the curtain on what it really takes to keep a fab shop running and growing. Andrew gets into the early grind of chasing customers with nothing but a plasma table, the leap of faith into his first laser and press brake, and the late-night LinkedIn message that turned into a...

In Episode 50 of Irregardless, we sit down with Andrew Roberson , owner of Dark Threat Fabrication in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Andrew comes from a family that's been building custom homes in Arkansas for over 110 years, and that heritage of craftsmanship, faith, and hard work shaped everything that came next. After earning a mechanical engineering degree and working at Husqvarna and Siemens, a tax...

We're taking Irregardless to NASCC! This special episode was recorded at NASCC 2026 in Atlanta, where Rachel was joined by three guests from across the steel industry. Tyler Sease , President of Southern Steel Engineers, talks about building a niche structural engineering firm that works exclusively with fabricators, detailers, and erectors. Haylee Fort , Business Development at Willbanks Metals,...

In Part 2, Rachel continues her conversation with Jonah Myerberg, CTO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. Jonah breaks down exactly how Desktop Metal's binder jetting technology works and why it's fundamentally different from the laser-based metal printing that came before it. From printing green parts at room temperature to sintering in a furnace, he makes a complex manufacturing process surprisingl...

In Part 1 of Ep. 47, Jonah Myerberg, CTO and co-founder of Desktop Metal, joins Rachel to share his unconventional career path through mechanical engineering. He discusses his time designing power tools at Black & Decker, developing speaker systems at Bose, and later revolutionizing battery technology for Formula 1 racing. Jonah covers his work at A123 Systems developing high-performance batte...

Emmy Ross, Director of Business Development at Astro Metal Craft and StellarCraft, joins us to talk about growing a custom metal fabrication business and the unique challenge of marketing to two very different worlds: architects and industrial buyers. Emmy walks us through landmark projects like the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and the Minnesota State Office Building, and explains how StellarCraft...

In this episode, Shep Hickey sits down with Matthew Nix, founder of Nix Companies and fifth-generation owner of what started as a blacksmith shop in the late 1800s. Matthew shares the story of a family business that spent four generations quietly defying the odds, never growing, never dying, staying strictly mom-and-pop. When Matthew joined, everything changed. He walks through how he spotted the...

This week we're crossing the border for the very first time! Brooke Laing and Eric Hyatt join us all the way from Toronto, both steamfitter apprentices with Local 46 and co-hosts of their own podcast, Two Bolts Short of a Flange . We get into the ins and outs of the Canadian apprenticeship system, what it's actually like to work in a steel mill, and the very real generational gap that's been left...

What happens when a girl who's supposed to follow the "safe" path falls in love with her Ford Mustang instead? Nushrat "Nush" Ahmed didn't take the route her Bengali family had mapped out for her, and thank God she didn't. From turning wrenches on muscle cars to earning the name "Miss Swiss" behind a CNC machine, Nush has built a career that most people twice her age would envy. Now, as CEO and Co...

Shep Hickey sits down with Jeff Matuszak, owner of Carolina Metal Fabricators, a Raleigh-based industrial fabrication company specializing in handrails, platforms, mezzanines, and custom stainless, aluminum, and carbon work. But as Jeff explains, the scope of what they do is always evolving. Each year brings new projects and new opportunities. In this conversation, Jeff shares his entrepreneurial...

From Poland to Dominos Pizza to Director of Engineering. Jack Gorzko's story is the American Dream in action. In this episode, Shep sits down with Jack Gorzko, Director of Engineering at Canam Steel Corp, to talk steel joists, structural engineering, and the winding road that brought him from growing up in Poland to leading projects for one of the top names in steel right here in St. Louis. Jack o...

Lee Letourneau sits down with Anthony Jacobs in Chicago for the final episode of our FABTECH 2025 series. Anthony is the owner of Vigilante Welding and runs the popular YouTube channel Meltin' Metal Anthony, where he shares everything he knows about welding, entrepreneurship, and running a business. Anthony kicks things off with the story behind Vigilante Welding's name, which goes back to the old...

In this episode, Shep sits down with Evan Uyetake, Head of Sales at Leadline Marketing, live from FABTECH 2025. Leadline specializes in helping companies in the industrial, manufacturing, and fabrication space build smarter marketing strategies. Shep and Evan dive into why so many companies in the metals industry get marketing wrong. It's not just about spending money, it's about spending it wisel...

In this episode, Bryzos COO Lee Letourneau sits down with José Reyes, owner of Texas Arc Welding Academy and Texas Arc Welding Supply. José shares how welding offered him a new path when many around him were heading straight into construction. A high school counselor introduced him to the trade and connected him with a welder who helped launch his career. From there, he built a strong foundation i...

In this episode, Rachel Hartman sits down with Laynie Locke, founder of Lips and Sticks Welding, at FABTECH 2025. Laynie shares how she built her brand creating fun and feminine hood decals, stickers, hats, and apparel designed to give women in welding a way to express themselves on the job. Before welding, Laynie spent 15 years in marketing, often working with welding schools and shops. Being aro...

This week on Irregardless , host Rachel Hartman sits down with Steve Kost , metal artist and founder of Metal Health Artwork , for an inspiring conversation recorded from FABTECH 2025! Steve’s journey is one of grit, healing, and transformation. From his early days as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy, serving in Somalia in the 1990s, to his years as an ironworker in Chicago, Steve’s hands have always bui...

Recorded from the show floor at FABTECH 2025 , host Rachel Hartman sits down with Emily Wilkins , CEO and Founder of Marketing Metal;  a bold, no-BS agency built for the “Radical Job Shop” of the metals industry. Emily shares her journey growing up near Detroit in a GM family, trading a mechanical engineering path for a passion in marketing, and ultimately founding Marketing Metal, the “anti-agenc...

In this episode, recorded from the show floor at FABTECH 2025, Shep sits down with John King, the owner of JK Welding in Texas , to share an incredible story of grit, growth, and building a fabrication powerhouse from the ground up. John takes us back to the early days of his career, working through a string of grueling trade jobs—from oil mopping to HVAC to brick laying—before discovering welding...

This week on Irregardless , Rachel Hartman sits down with Demi Knight Clark — welder, manufacturing and automation enthusiast, “Steminist,” and founder of Reimagined Rosies . Demi’s passion for the trades runs deep. Inspired by her grandmother, an original Rosie the Riveter and welder during WWII, Demi carried the “Knight” name forward as a tribute to her roots. From early vo-tech classes to a car...

Irregardless recorded from the show floor at FABTECH 2025! In this episode, Rachel sits down with Sarah Stork, Welding Artist , to hear how her passion for metalwork first sparked and grew into a full-time career. Sarah shares how it all began with a practical need, learning code welding at community college to fix a fence on her farm. That spark quickly turned into a calling, leading her to compe...

On this episode of Irregardless, we’re kicking off a special spotlight series: Women in the Trades. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring conversations with women across welding, manufacturing, and the metals industry who are making an impact and paving the way for the next generation. We’re starting with none other than Barbie Parsons—better known as Barbie the Welder. A Metal Artist, Autho...

In Part 2 of our conversation, Tim Reboulet, COO of M6 Global Defense, takes us deeper into the world of the U.S. Secret Service and beyond. Tim shares what it really takes to make it into the agency, including the unforgiving training process where one failed test means you’re out. He explains the constant challenge of protecting the President in public settings, the tension between Secret Servic...

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Shep sits down with Tim Reboulet, COO of M6 Global Defense, to unpack a remarkable career in security, protection, and leadership. With nearly 30 years of experience across law enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service, cybersecurity, and K–12 safety, Tim’s path began in local policing before enduring the rigorous selection process to join the Secret Service. Ti...

In this episode of Irregardless , Shep sits down with Rob Rolves, President of Foreman Fabricators in St. Louis, a decorative and ornamental fabrication company whose work can be seen across the city’s skyline and landmarks. Rob shares the unique path that led him from engineering student to history major, and eventually to Foreman Fabricators, where he worked his way up to the top. He talks about...