I moved to Maumelle in 1987 with my mother, father and one of my sisters. At the time My Father worked in the trucking industry for Vouk Transportation as a dispatcher and my mother was a stay at home mom. I lived in Maumelle until I moved to Austin Texas in 2004. I went to elementary school at Pine Forest located in Maumelle. From there I entered the Catholic School programs. Starting at Immaculate heart of Mary and moving on to Catholic High for boys. While I was in high school I worked at Kirby’s heating and air. Unknown to me this would start my construction career. After high school I was not very interested in pursuing the traditional path to college. It was at this time my father said something to me that I will never forget. “Well if you’re not going to go to college then you need to look into a trade.” At this point of my life I like most 18 year olds rolled my eyes and went to apply at the closest company to my house so I could save my .75 a gallon gas. I did not realize until many years later that this one simple conversation helped shape my life to what it has become today. From that point forward I became very interested in the construction industry.
I worked for Kirbys Heating & Air for a little over 2 years. I liked what I did but I didn’t love it. So I started applying out of state for jobs. By the grace God and my mother I was able to make contact with a company in Austin Texas. At the age of 20 I took a leap of faith and picked up my truck load of belongings and started on what was the beginning of my professional construction career. I started off as an assistant building superintendent at Lennar Homes. Through hard work I was able to go from an assistant to a Lead superintendent in my first 6 months. Before this job I had never read a set of blue prints other than an a/c layout. I fell in love with the industry and the gratification I got from building homes for people. After my first year in Austin I was recruited by a former employer to come join the team at Standard Pacific Homes. I worked there for 2 years until yet again I was recruited by Harrington Custom Homes. Here I am a 23 year old kid with no formal construction education and I`m building multimillion dollar homes. I knew from that point forward there was no turning back for me.
Unfortunately In 2008 the housing market took a big hit in the Austin. All of a sudden I found myself laid off and looking for work. Again by direction of the Lord I found an opportunity with the roofing company that did all of my homes. Needless to say I was terrified of heights and no interest climbing on hot roofs all day, but I had bills to pay and no one was going to pay them for me. So I swallowed my pride and started what turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made. I started off selling roofs for Wilson Roofing Company and in just a short few months I was able to save enough money to move home and start my first company Rock Solid Roofing. I started Rock Solid in August of 2010 as a one man show. Within 6 months I had generated enough business to have 2 full time roofing crews and 2 fulltime employees. In the first 2 years I was able to win Best of the Best for residential roofing. At this point I`m 27 I have no formal construction or business education and I`m running a successful business. I thought I had made it to the top. Boy was I wrong! Needless to say the last 9 years have been roller coaster of emotions from choosing bad business partners to making my first six figure pay day. I love the construction industry but I knew I wanted to do more than roof homes. In 2016 I obtained my unlimited General Contractors license. This license has opened the doors for so many that work with my company. We now have the capabilities to work on any size job no matter how big or small. It has given me the opportunity to open 3 other businesses. I now own and operate Rock Solid Restoration and Construction, Rock Solid staffing, Rock Solid Removal and Diamond State Roofing School. I would like to assure you that none of this would be possible without the Lord and the great team that works with me.
A little over two years ago I started to pursue a dream of mine Diamond State Roofing School. After being in the construction business for 17 years I took notice to the lack of skilled labor in the work force. I with help from the Department of Labor created Diamond State Roofing School the only accredited Roofing Vocational School in the Southern United States. Diamond State offers Pre apprenticeship programs for High School Seniors as well as full apprentice ship programs for Veterans, Second chance individuals and continuing education for the current work force. So if you have a child that might not be looking into school do yourself a favor and look into a trade for them it may change their life.
