The Drywall Podcast - Where the Trade Meets the Craft

On this installment of our Pearls of Wisdom series we'll hear from some serious greats in the industry and tease out the nuggets of wisdom We've come to appreciate.  If you haven't heard any other Pearls of Wisdom episodes you can check them out on episodes 50, 98, 126, and this one, 149.  These episodes are my favorite because it's the pure essence of who we interview raw and unabashed.  In this...

Well I got to sit down with kind of a legend in the industry.  Robbie Worrell is the Head of Tape-Tech and we waste no time diving head first into the history of AMES and Tape-Tech but it begins with a relationship between him and now president Mike Ventura of AMES way back in college.  The two stayed friends and when the time was right Mike called upon Robbie to come work with him.  Now the power...

Derrick is one of those guests that is just plain easy to talk to.  The conversation flows and he's also extremely knowledgeable about drywall and the tools we use to accomplish drywall.  He's the owner of East Coast Drywall Tools and they specialize in selling tools and repairing tools.  We talk about Derrick coming up in the trade working for his father's company Wilko back in the day and how he...

I'm very excited to bring our first guest from Mexico onto the podcast.  Oscar was referred to me by Ben Cole of GWI LTD in Swindon England.  They've been using Panel Rey mud for quite some time and Ben said I should interview Oscar so that's exactly what I did.  Oscar is a great guy and he likes soccer so he moves way up in my friendship rankings.  We talk about how he got involved in the drywall...

I had the pleasure of meeting Brandon at the AWCI Build 25 show this year and I liked him right away.  I've been wanting to get him on the podcast for a while now.  In this episode we talk about how he followed in his father's footsteps and why transitioning to the automatic tools was different than his dad but suited him better.  We talk a little about Fresco Harmony and his biggest take away fro...

Dave is one of 4 owners of a company called Apla-Tech.  Apla-Tech is unique because it is one of only two companies in the drywall space that offers CFS or Continuous Flow Systems.  What that means is that they make tools that you don't have to pump mud into.  You simple work the tools and keep them fed with an exorbitant amount of mud.  This means ease of use and productivity. Dave has made it hi...

Mike and I would have met at a training at the Columbia facility back in the day had it not been for his back injury.  We've stayed in touch on social media and I've been trying to get him on the show for a while now.  We talk about coming up in the trades and working for his father but also how he used to make money bringing soda pop to his father's job sites on his bike.  We talk about Fresco Ha...

On this episode of TDP we welcome Daniel Osborne back to the show for his second appearance.  Daniels firs show was fantastic and still holds a special place in my heart.  His first appearance was all the way back in July of 2022, 3 years ago and we discuss his drive to set the standard and why being impeccable is important to him.  This episode we talk about his involvement with religion, the dis...

We had a chance to catch up with Sunil D'Souza of Drywall Master and what a conversation it was.  From marketing to mastery we covered it all.  We talk a bit about the show Breaking Bad which was filmed in Albuquerque but we quickly shifted over to the history of Tape Master (the predecessor) and how that company was built and sold to AMES.  We talk a lot about sales and the resurrection of Drywal...

Really glad I Brad and I finally got a chance to sit down and talk.  Brad is a 46 year old bad ass from Tauranga New Zealand who's decided to live a full life.  Brad is a second generation finisher or Gib Stopper as they call it in New Zealand.  He's followed in his father's foot steps and made a name for himself on certain social media outlets.  Early on in his career Brad went on an OE experienc...

Chris is one of those guys you just like instantly.  Not only is he very well spoken, he's just one of the nicest guys I could have asked to be on The Drywall Podcast.  Beyond that, he's probably one of the best finishers we've had on the show.  It's evident in the first few minutes of talking with Chris that he's an extraordinarily good drywall finisher and painter and offers some tips that just...

We catch up with Tyler on this episode and start getting honest right away.  We talk about the challenges he faced learning the trade and how it wasn't until he quit his job and googled "how to start a business" that he really began to finish.  This is an episode of what it's like to be hungry for success at a very young age.  Tyler is very straight forward with his answers and his hustle might su...

Carolina has an amazing story.  Her parents moved to the United States from Columbia when she was in her early 20's and she embraced every bit of that transition.  She focused heavily on work in language translation and found herself working in the medical field.  A position opened up at AMES and the rest is history.  Carolina's work ethic and passion for the company has enabled her to become a ve...

Meet Simone Cecchin Managing Director of Co. Me Tools.  If you haven't heard of them, they've been around since 1964 and they make some of the best knives I've seen.  A while back one of their sales reps reached out to me and wanted some information on marketing in North America.  It wasn't long before I wanted to get Simone on the show and I'm glad I did.  He's a very well spoken, passionate, and...

Craig is one of the nicest guys I've interviewed and recently he's been up to some pretty cool stuff. In the last year he's become a brand ambassador, Worked on a panel for a show in Scotland and stared on a TV show called, "Faking it" in the UK.  Not only that he is a professional drywall and painter but he also does decorative walls.  Oh, and he happens to have an amazing white kilt which he wea...

Matt and I met recently at the AWCI Build 25 show in Charlotte.  I knew right away that I was going to like him.  He's been a brand ambassador for Columbia for a bit and it's through that channel that we've gotten to know each other.  I'm fascinated by travel and have even lived in a camper myself so when I heard that he lives in a 5th wheel trailer I got even more excited to talk with him.  Recen...

Scott and I have been admiring each others social media pages for quite some time.  We almost had a podcast about a year ago and it fell through but I was able to wrangle him this time.  We talk about his experience being a Jehovah's Witness and how doing donation work for his religion brings him peace.  We also talk a lot about the automatic finishing tools and the difference between the banjo an...

Most of the time I'm having conversations with drywall professionals, but sometimes a plaster person wanders into the mix.  I was unsure when Jeremy's creative director reached out,  but I was also curious.  I'm glad we hooked up.  Jeremy is a guy I could be good friends with and I hope we stay in contact after this experience.  We have several parallels within our lives and we happen to be around...

Recently we had an unusually large order come through the Fresco Harmony and it was a familiar name.  Logan Davis.  I'd never talked to him on the phone and he'd never called to inquire about the product.  He just picked it up and has been crushing it with Fresco Harmony for many years now.  I decided to give him a call to see what in the hell he was doing to sell Fresco Harmony and maybe pass som...

Once again Drywall Shorty graces TDP with her presence.  It's been over two years since I interviewed Drywall Shorty and we were way over due for another conversation.  We get into the technical aspect of what she does and dig into how she makes money and it may not be what you think.  Lydia is a hard working drywall professional who isn't afraid to get dirty but still loves looking good when she'...

I must be the luckiest Drywaller in the land to get to interview Aaron and Elliot of Columbia Tools not once but twice! If you missed our first episode you may want to dig into the archives and check out episodes 23 and 26 way back in November of 2023.  We talk a lot about the history of the company but this episode is based more on current events.  We talk a lot about marketing and sales, the Sur...

We catch up with Steve Wessel of Whitby Drywall on episode 128.  I met Steve at a Fresco Harmony training at CSR in Toronto but that's not the only thing that makes this podcast special.  Steve is the third of his family to come on the podcast.  We've also interviewed Royce with the 3Way and his brother Dan both amazing and it was nice to catch up with a third member of this family.  We discuss ch...

Mike and Jesse came down to Albuquerque recently to work with me on a Fresco Harmony project and we got to know each other.  These two are some of the best finishers I've had the pleasure to work with.  We all had a fantastic time and created some new stories along the way.  Some of which you'll get to hear on this podcast.  We also talk a bit about our friend Kam's last day on the job and how tha...

At the end of each Podcast I ask for a pearl of wisdom that our interviewees can bestow amongst the drywall community.  The answers are fantastic and most times not what you'd think.  This episode is a compilation of Pearls over the past 10 months of shows.  From owners of companies to the tradesmen and women that work alongside you we'll get a chance to absorb the wisdom of the industry on this,...

I finally got a chance to catch up with Mark Wilson of AMES Taping Tools.  Mark is an extremely accomplished finisher who's rose the ranks in the drywall industry to become Director of Technical Education with one of the largest tool manufacturers in the world. We talk about Marks beginnings in the trade up in Michigan and how being knowledgeable lead him to an amazing career.  Mark has traveled a...