The Fresh Rental

In this episode of The Fresh Rental, we sit down with James Polkinghorne, Owner and Manager of James Equipment LLC in Winchester, Tennessee. James started his rental business with one skid steer, one trailer, and a simple “Rent Me” sign by the road. What began as a side hustle has grown into a real independent rental operation built through grit, reinvestment, customer demand, and a willingness to...

Russ Callahan has done it all: tradeshow production, solar, hospitality, and now Chief Revenue Officer at Guest Events in Las Vegas, one of the most competitive event markets on the planet. In this episode we get into what it actually takes to scale teams, lead under pressure, and compete in a market where everyone's trying to put on the biggest show. Russ has been an owner, a director, a VP....

From Navy Leadership to Rental Ops: Foster Harris on Building Systems, Teams, and a Rental-First DealershipIn this episode of The Fresh Rental, the hosts sit down with Foster Harris, Director of Rental and Trucking at Tri Lift Industries in Greensboro, North Carolina, to talk about what it really takes to run rental operations in commercial and industrial material handling. Foster shares his path...

Tejas Equipment Rental’s Next Generation: Kyle on Data, Fleet Strategy, and Fighting TheftIn this episode of The Fresh Rental, the hosts sit down with Kyle from Tejas Equipment Rental, a Texas family business operating since 1975 with eight locations plus three site-services units. Kyle shares how he entered the business after working in financial services, what surprised him about rental’s many m...

Goodshuffle’s Marshall on Modern Rental Ops, Software Adoption, and AI’s Next WaveIn this episode of The Fresh Rental, the hosts sit down with Marshall, an account executive at Goodshuffle, to talk about the software side of party and event rental. Marshall shares how his background in logistics, venue operations, and SaaS sales shaped his advisor-first approach with rental operators, and why logi...

Alan Hunt (Thompson Machinery) on Leading Cat Rental Operations, Culture, and Winning in the Margins | The Fresh RentalIn this episode of The Fresh Rental, the host sits down with Alan Hunt, East Region Rental Manager at Thompson Machinery (the Caterpillar dealer) based in the Nashville Metro area, to discuss running heavy equipment rental at serious scale across Tennessee and Mississippi. Alan sh...

Davis West (Top Tech) on Safe Tenting, Custom Projects, and the Future of Tent Rentals | The Fresh Rental In this episode of The Fresh Rental, the hosts sit down with Davis West, Technical Solutions Manager at Top Tech, to talk about his 15-year journey in the tent and event rental world—from starting at 14 on a local crew that grew from one 40x80 pole tent into a four-location business, to joinin...

Michael Larsen on Talent, Culture, and Building the Next Generation of Rental Leaders | The Fresh Rental In this episode of The Fresh Rental, the hosts sit down with Michael Larsen, a second-generation rental operator from Australia and co-host of the Rental Journal podcast, to talk about how the rental industry is changing and why the next decade’s biggest advantage won’t be fleet—it will be tale...

In this episode of The Fresh Rental , hosts Ralph Shaw, Daniel Botero, and Jaime Gaez sit down with Carol Fontanez , General Manager of Rentals at Jamco and President of the American Rental Association Florida Chapter . Carol shares her journey from growing within Jamco’s rental operation to leading one of the most active ARA chapters in the country. The conversation dives deep into what it takes...

The fresh rental. Ep 2. Ty Bolden. - All about events. In this episode of The Fresh Rental, hosts Ralph Shaw, Daniel Botero, and Jaime Gaez sit down with Ty Bolden, General Manager at All About Events, to talk about leadership, growth, and the realities of running a fast-paced event rental business. Ty shares what he’s learned in his first year and a half leading one of Florida’s most active event...

Welcome to the first episode of The Fresh Rental! 🎙️For this kickoff, the three hosts: Ralph Shaw, Daniel Botero, and Jaime Gaez, turn the mics on themselves. Ralph takes the hot seat as the very first guest, while Danny and Jaime step into the interviewer role. Together, they dive into Ralph’s journey in the rental industry, his role in the as GM, and the experiences that have shaped his perspect...