The First Shift

In Episode 31 of The First Shift , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Dennis Gehman, founder of Gehman Design Remodeling. On this show, we talk a lot about the hustle of starting a business—but today, we’re talking about the finish line. In 1990, Dennis quit his day job as a construction supervisor to start his own firm in southeastern Pennsylvania, working 50-hour weeks as a tradesman while doing p...

On the newest episode of The First Shift, I sit down with Rommel Sulit, co-founder of Forge Craft Architecture and Design, to drop some massive truth bombs about the state of global construction, corporate culture, and architectural design. As an immigrant from Manila who grew up in Chicago and trained under the legendary architect Rem Koolhaas in Europe, Rommel brings a uniquely global perspectiv...

In Episode 29 of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down for his first-ever live, in-person podcast with Victoria-based personal trainer Tyler Hupka. Tyler is the founder of Hubs Fit, an online coaching business that he built from scratch. He opens up about his messy beginnings—transitioning from a heavy party lifestyle and promoting clubs to finding salvation in the gym. Tyler details the mo...

In Episode 28 of The First Shift , host Graeme Bryks sits down with a truly exceptional local connection he made right at his co-working space in Victoria, BC. Janet "Jae" Cripps is a powerhouse entrepreneur and semi-retired sales executive who has done it all. From growing up in a tough, hockey-obsessed family in St. Albert, Alberta, to holding global enterprise IT accounts and growing...

In Episode 27 of The First Shift , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Kristofer Potts, the founder of Norseman Construction and Development, one of Toronto's premier custom home and renovation firms. Taking a raw, "How I Built This" approach, Kristofer strips away the polished veneer of his current success to share the incredibly gritty, unglamorous beginnings of his entrepreneurial journey. Startin...

How do you go from drowning in debt and owing the CRA to winning national home building awards? You embrace the quicksand. Babak Nikraftar, founder of Forte Projects, builds some of the most stunning custom homes in Vancouver. But the trophies and Georgie Awards hide a gritty beginning. Babak opens up about the absolute lowest points of his entrepreneurial journey—maxing out credit cards, facing t...

In Episode 25 of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Adam Schaffer, a man who took the ultimate war path to entrepreneurial success. Adam started as a humble sales rep in Saskatchewan with nothing but seven color samples, no brochures, and an unwavering belief in a revolutionary building product: Vipeq Thermal Cork Shield. Today, he owns the distribution rights for North America, the...

In Episode 24 of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Daniel LeSieur, a man who traded the high-stakes world of Fortune 1 logistics for the deeply personal business of custom home building. After a 20-year career at Walmart—managing billion-dollar supply chains and building the Walmart marketplace—Daniel could have easily taken a quiet board seat. Instead, he founded Walk Your Plans NW...

In Episode 23 of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Carl Nelson, founder of Visual PNW. Carl’s journey in construction started at age 14, physically framing houses with his father and grandfather. After a stint in the Army and a decade in residential design, Carl transitioned into the corporate commercial world, spending years executing high-efficiency, massive-scale rollouts for gia...

In this episode of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Keegan Burke, the VP and COO of Ground Floor Industries (GFI Inc.). Keegan didn't start his career in the corner office; he earned his respect in the trenches, digging foundations and working 14-hour days in the grueling waterproofing industry before transitioning to concrete. We discuss what it actually takes to scale a famil...

In Episode 20 of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Jeremy Herider, a former professional baseball player turned real estate mogul, coach, and tech founder. Jeremy’s incredible story starts with a devastating moment at thirteen years old when his coach told him he "wasn't good enough" to make the all-star team. Instead of letting it break him, his mother asked a questi...

In Episode 20 of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Brett Burkhart, the Chief Operating Officer and Partner at CapVest. Brett’s resume reads more like a Silicon Valley founder than a Wisconsin real estate developer. Starting out with a passion for architecture, he pivoted to launching his own software development company and a marketing agency before bringing his systems-level think...

In Episode 19 of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Brandon Bentley, the General Manager of Wimberley Roofing. Texas is known as the hail capital of the world, a reality that attracts thousands of fly-by-night storm chasers looking for a quick insurance payout. Brandon shares how Wimberley Roofing took the exact opposite approach, building a legacy of permanence, trust, and communit...

In this high-energy episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Brad Strawbridge, the visionary founder of Capital City Roofing and Chief Strategy Officer at BuilderLink. Most contractors spend a decade grinding to hit the $8 million revenue mark—Brad did it in just 18 months. He opens up about how he turned his ADD into a superpower, using intense hyper-focus to map out complex b...

In this episode of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Andrew Lyon, founding partner of Studio Lyon/Szot and a professor of architecture at Pratt Institute. Andrew brings a remarkably rare perspective to the table: he has the elite academic pedigree of a Yale and Brown graduate, combined with the gritty, boots-on-the-ground experience of directing advanced technology at Enclose, one o...

In this episode of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Denver's own Peter Brumley, a unique force in the commercial real estate world. Operating as both a commercial realtor with Brumley Realty and a Vice President for a commercial General Contractor, Peter embodies the "gray collar" professional—bridging the gap between the white-collar executives signing leases and the...

In this episode of Built on Blues, host Graeme Bryks sits down with Jim Heimler, the visionary founder of James Heimler Architect, Inc. (JHAI) and a true pioneer of sustainable design. Long before "green building" became a corporate buzzword, Jim was operating as an "ecoist" in Los Angeles, co-founding one of the first government-sponsored recycling centers in the 1970s and pus...

In this inspiring episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Nicole Davis, the Founder of Fortitude, a nonprofit transforming the lives of young adults facing systemic barriers. After three decades navigating the high-stakes, "soul-crushing" world of corporate contract triage on Wall Street, Nicole made a radical pivot. She left the safety of the boardroom to return to...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with a true powerhouse of business reinvention: Lori Tschohl, founder of Eagle Pipe Heating & Air. Lori’s resume is anything but typical for an HVAC owner. She started her career under the Golden Arches, rising from a crew member to running a $10 million McDonald’s franchise, before pivoting to own luxury jewelry stores with Pando...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Austin Park, the founder of Visual Installers. Austin describes his team as the "Special Forces" of the branding world—the guys hanging off high-rises at 3 AM or navigating security checkpoints at luxury jewelry stores to ensure every vinyl wrap is perfect before the doors open. Austin takes us through his gritty origin...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Jeff Wieland, a third-generation builder and owner of Wieland Builders in Southwest Ohio. Jeff isn’t just carrying the torch of a 65-year legacy; he’s completely redesigning it. He opens up about the brutal reality of the 2008 recession, where his family went from building entire neighborhoods to taking any job they could get—som...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Malcolm MacInnes of MGM General Contracting to get inside the mind of a veteran General Contractor. Malcolm didn't start with a spreadsheet; he started with a shovel in sub-zero Boston weather. He shares the hilarious and pivotal moment he corrected a superintendent on a surveying error—an interaction that launched a career s...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with Ben Parco, the founder of Parco Studio. Ben’s career didn't start in residential design; he spent decades as a corporate architect designing massive campuses for tech giants like Google and Uber—projects spanning over 20 million square feet. We discuss the "burn the boats" moment that led him to walk away from the s...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks is joined by Jess Glowacki, the visionary founder of EcoPhi. Jess isn’t just an architect; he is a regenerative designer on a mission to flip the traditional construction model upside down. From designing in the mountains of Montana to tackling housing crises in Bali and Colombia, Jess has seen firsthand how the industry prioritizes profit over...

In this episode of Built on Blues , host Graeme Bryks sits down with a rare breed in the industry: Jim Zack of Zack | de Vito Architecture + Construction. Jim isn't just an architect who stays behind a desk; he’s a licensed contractor who spent his formative years as a carpenter and "shop rat." This hybrid identity allows him to design with a level of precision and "spatial thin...