Introducing The Fence Guy of Louisville
I’m writing this from the vantage point of going on twelve years of building gates and fences in Louisville, Ky. This is an update from an old post on an older version of this website that was titled, “ Who is The Fence Guy of Louisville.” Back then I was just starting out, unsure of what would come of this experiment. Since a decade has past I thought it might be time to reintroduce myself.
From Paramedic to Custom Gate Builder by Way of Saudi Arabia
A lot of men and women who start working on their own in a trade have decades plus of experience under their toolbelt before venturing out solo. That was not my introduction to entrepreneurship, although I did have some experience in the fencing trade. My experience was thirteen years of working in Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The last three of those years ended up being the most defining of my life up until that point.
I signed up to work a contract job in Afghanistan as a paramedic. This would be a year filled with experiences that I knew I didn’t want to repeat, but also ones I wouldn’t trade for anything. After my twelve month contract ended I accepted a position as a Senior Paramedic in Saudi Arabia working for Aramco. This would be a time of travel experiences combined with a healthy dose of soul searching. Mental and emotional landscapes were shifting that would alter the arc of my life and change the plans I had made for when I returned home.
Expat Turns Small Business Owner
I started working for myself after returning from working abroad because one of the changes I experienced during that period was how I valued my time. My original plan was to return home with some overseas experience under my belt and attend graduate school to earn my degree in physician assistant studies. I realized that route was going to require more of my time than I was willing to sacrifice. Not just time during school, but what my work schedule would be like once I got out. We all spend our time on something and it is a purchase that can’t be returned. It is wise to spend it well.
The Fence Guy of Louisville
Why Custom Fences, Gates, and Arbors?
The choice to become a fence builder isn’t as arbitrary as it may seem. I was looking for something to do while I was working on a foreclosed home I purchased when I returned home so I wouldn’t continue to burn though the savings I had acquired while working abroad. My dad and two uncles owned fence companies when I was a kid. I remember working summers and weekends from an early age. I learned enough that later on I could work as a subcontractor when I first attended college. When I started The Fence Guy of Louisville I had a pretty good understanding of the basics and have been improving every year since. Those improvements led to an interest in woodworking that I later parlayed into the styles of fences, gates, and arbors that you will find on the pages of this website.
Its been an unusual path that I’ve followed filled with its own unique challenges, but it has also let me live a life I would describe as the “philosopher/craftsman”. In a strange way, by means I am still grasping to understand, this work allows me to pursue my real work which for as long as I can remember has been; how do we find meaning in our existence? How do we live a meaningful life? Honestly, I don’t have the answers to those questions. At best I’ve been able to refine and articulate a better form of the questions. More importantly than the answer to such questions is how do we live our lives that reflect the values of such questions. How lofty ends can be attained through humble means I do not know. I only know that it does. And I am grateful…
Conclusion
I’ll leave you with an about page you’re likely more familiar with and share some things that make me who I am:
I’m married to a woman whose love has shaped me and allowed to believe in myself enough to listen to and express my creative self.
We share a home with our daughter and two cats.
I love to read. Primarily non-fiction.
I graduated college with a degree in philosophy with a strong interest in ethics.
I would describe my spiritual life as still waters that run deep. Filled with wonder, awe, and love. Always love…
I like to cook.
My favorite season is autumn.
My favorite softwood to work with is cedar and my favorite hardwood to work is walnut.
THE FENCE GUY OF LOUISVILLE
Embracing good workmanship and the quality that results from it is at the heart of what I do. What guides my design philosophy is the aspiration towards Beauty in built forms