The CWB Association brings you a weekly podcast that connects to welding professionals around the world and unrepresented communities as we continue to strive for a more diverse workforce. Join us as we celebrate Women Empowerment Month to learn about the incredible contributions of Women in the welding industry and our communities.
Ever wonder what it's like to spin multiple plates in the air and not let a single one drop? That's the daily dance Staci Martinez performs with aplomb, juggling her roles as a welder, artist, fitness coach, and family matriarch. Settle in as we walk through Staci's colourful career mosaic, from the climb up the manufacturing ladder to the finesse needed in her hardwood restorations and whimsical welding sculptures. Don't miss this episode where Staci Martinez – the 605 Shield Maiden – shares her blueprint for success that's as multifaceted as the woman herself!
Follow Staci:
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There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member
The CWB Association brings you a weekly podcast that connects to welding professionals around the world and unrepresented communities as we continue to strive for a more diverse workforce. Join us as we celebrate Women Empowerment Month to learn about the incredible contributions of Women in the welding industry and our communities.
Ever wonder what it's like to spin multiple plates in the air and not let a single one drop? That's the daily dance Staci Martinez performs with aplomb, juggling her roles as a welder, artist, fitness coach, and family matriarch. Settle in as we walk through Staci's colourful career mosaic, from the climb up the manufacturing ladder to the finesse needed in her hardwood restorations and whimsical welding sculptures. Don't miss this episode where Staci Martinez – the 605 Shield Maiden – shares her blueprint for success that's as multifaceted as the woman herself!
Follow Staci:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/605_shieldmaiden/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/605shieldmaiden
Thank you to our Podcast Advertisers:
Canada Welding Supply: https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/
There is no better time to be a member! The CWB Association membership is new, improved and focused on you. We offer a FREE membership with a full suite of benefits to build your career, stay informed, and support the Canadian welding industry. https://www.cwbgroup.org/association/become-a-member
Alright, I checked, checked, I'm good. So I'm Max Ron. Max Max Ron, shitwb Association Welding Podcast podcast podcast. Today we have a really cool guest Welding Podcast. The show is about to begin. Attention welders in Canada Looking for top quality welding supplies, look no further than Canada Welding Supply. With a vast selection of premium equipment, safety gear and consumables. Cws has got you covered. They offer fast and reliable shipping across the country. And here's the best part All podcast listeners get 10% off any pair of welding gloves. Can you believe that? Use code CWB10 at checkout when placing your next order. Visit canadaweldingsupplyca now. Canada Welding Supply, your trusted welding supplier. Happy welding. Hello and welcome to another edition of the CWB Association Podcast. My name is Max Ron. As always, I'm out there trying to find the coolest people I can find to tell their stories on this amazing show and this person I've had the pleasure of hanging with, partying with, discussing life's deep moments with at Fabtech, I have the wonderful Miss Stacy Martinez. How are you doing, stacy?
Speaker 2:I'm great. How are you?
Speaker 1:I'm doing good. I haven't seen you since Fabtech but you know I follow you on Instagram. You're always doing cool stuff that I can't do, like handstands, because I'm like short and round, so like, when I do a handstand I just kinda, I kinda just roll.
Speaker 2:Anybody can do them, as long as you practice as a manager short, tall, wide, thin you just gotta wanna do it and practice it, and practice it, and practice it every day.
Speaker 1:Hard. Is that on your shoulders or is it like good for your shoulders?
Speaker 2:Well, if you're not strengthened up there, you know I do. I'm a fitness coach too, so I do use my body a lot, obviously. So I think there's like a, there's a. I don't know what do you wanna say I utilize by the weights and all that kind of stuff. I do a lot of lat pull downs.
Speaker 1:You build those muscles before you try to stand out.
Speaker 2:I lift heavy yes, yes, pull out lots of pull ups, lat pull downs, anything that'll make my upper body stronger, and it takes a lot of core balance and stuff like that too, which I quite. I haven't got it down great yet, but I'm getting there.
Speaker 1:So you're I wrote down now fitness coach. So you're also like I mean, what don't you do? Like I'm into fitness too, but I'm into fitness whole pizza in my mouth. Yeah, I don't know I mean people don't usually think that I'm into sports because I'm tubby, but I've been tubby my whole life. It's just like my natural body build. I've actually never stopped playing sports my whole life. I love sports. I played volleyball on Tuesday. We kicked the, but I'm just shaped like an orange. I don't know, I can't help it Like.
Speaker 2:That's totally okay, man, just stay active. It's good for you. You know there's lots of people, all shapes and sizes, that come to the gym. It doesn't even matter, you just keep active All right, so let's get into the real deal.
Speaker 1:Here you are in the world of welding. You do stuff. I can see behind you for the people that are gonna watch us on YouTube. You got a cool mushroom. Looks like a giant Christmas ornament to me because it's got the hook on the top. Like a giant would put this on his Christmas tree.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, I kind of wanted this one to be a little bit more whimsical. I don't know if you've seen the one that I had made last year. But yeah, I just thought I'd go a little different with this one. So, yeah, it's one piece to this sculpture.
Speaker 1:So what would you say? Your job title is, what is it that you do? Or what are the hats that you wear? Stacy.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:So you're a mom, I always try. You got a couple kids.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got three kids. I got a, you know, 23 year old, almost 16 year old and an almost 14 year old. So, yeah, crazy. I wear a lot of hats and I usually don't try to say because everyone's like, what the Like? I don't. I don't ever try to brag, but it's just like when people ask me what I do, I just don't even know what to say, so I'll just lay it all out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a mom of a wife, been married to my husband for a really long time. We've been together to be 25 years this summer. I weld some of artists. I do fabricate a little bit, but I'm trying to step away from that more and more and more, so now I just focus on the art. I am a carpenter, so I build wood furniture, and then my husband and I own foundation wood floors so we restore old hardwood floors. And I'm a part-time fitness coach at FitMadi Bootcamp.
Speaker 1:Awesome. I remember us talking about floors because I have this house I'm in right now is built in 1952 and I got three quarter inch hardwood floors throughout the whole main level, which people tell me is like impossible to find three quarter inch hardwood now, but apparently it's just expensive because people put like little thin woodwood on and I need to sand it. I've already talked about it. I'm like I just gonna go rent a sander thing and you're like it's not that easy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, People think it looks so easy, but though, and it's like it's one of those things, that's what is very you can't put it back once you take it off. So you get that big eight inch drum sander and that belt just grips the floor. There's a divot.
Speaker 1:That sounds terrible, and why I've stayed away from wood the majority of my adult life. I love steel. I love steel. It's so forgiving. Oops, I cut it too short. Just put it back on, you know Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your grinding skills could be. You got good grinding skills. You can make it look like you never did it.
Speaker 1:So what came first? The carpentry or the welding? Like what part of the trades did you kind of get into first?
Speaker 2:So my husband's been into wood flooring like his whole life, so I've been around that my whole life. I just welded first. So I was actually in inventory management when I first started at the welding shop that I worked at and they just were short welders and they approached me about that. That's how I learned. So it was about, I want to say, like 10 years ago now that I started welding. So I guess welding came first because our wood flooring business. It's been about eight years.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I guess yeah.
Speaker 1:So in your early life let's talk about that you know where were you born, where do you call home Like what's?
Speaker 2:the roots. Okay, I was here in Sioux Falls, south Dakota. I was born and raised up until I turned 18, and then I met my husband here. He's originally from Phoenix. Okay. Captain Alex Caesar at Phoenix fur 10 years, once I turned 18, and then he came back here basically.
Speaker 1:So what was in Phoenix?
Speaker 2:His family.
Speaker 1:Okay, and you guys went down there for about 10 years and what did you do for living there?
Speaker 2:I worked for an aerospace company. I made kits for small jets and airplanes.
Speaker 1:What's like kits? What do you mean, kits?
Speaker 2:Kids. So there's a communications piece of the front of the cockpit and that there's chassis's that go into there. What go into those chassis's is like washers, all kinds of different housing pieces screws, nuts, bolts, stuff like that. The department that I managed was it was called Primus Epic Kitting. I don't know why they just didn't call it Kitting and I had to put some fancy name on it, but it was. It was gosh. It was crazy like nobody was allowed in my department. Nobody was allowed to touch my stuff when I was gone. There wasn't anybody allowed to go in there because of aerospace things. If one thing goes wrong somewhere, they shut down everything. So it was kind of a cool job and I was super proud of it.
Speaker 1:So how the heck did you get into that? Like, maybe we should even go further back, like when you were a teenager. What was it that you thought? So you're in South Dakota going to high school. You know what kind of kid were you Like? Were you handsy, did you build stuff? Did you work on you know, the dirt bike? Or were you an artist? What kind of a teenager were you? A bad one, I don't really.
Speaker 2:I was just in survival mode when I was a kid. Basically I was just on autopilot and I didn't have a very good upbringing or childhood and I was basically I don't know kind of raised myself. My friends kind of I don't know. It was just without getting into too much detail, it was just really rough. So I was an autopilot most of my childhood and so I didn't really express my creative side.
Speaker 2:I always was very quiet and observant. I watched everything that everybody had done, and one of my oldest brothers I thought he was like the coolest guy. He worked on muscle cars and he welded and he did all this stuff and, yeah, I just looked up to him and he did all kinds of stuff. And then I have another brother that's a carpenter and he's amazing at it. It's so crazy to me, like some of the stuff that he does, yeah. So I kind of watched people work with their hands a lot and I wasn't very good at school and so I just felt like working with my hands or something that would. I don't know, something like that would be more of my thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so how many brothers and sisters you got?
Speaker 2:I have four brothers and two sisters, all right, so you're a big family.
Speaker 1:That's a big family there and you're the baby Yep. So out of all the brothers and sisters who kind of was the mentor to you, who kind of took you under your wing Because that's usually what happens in families. Where I mean I come from, we were refugees. It was kind of a rough start and so, like I very much I'm the oldest, I was very much like there for my sister, right, because my parents weren't really around so you know what how?
Speaker 1:about you Like who was in the family? Or were you the young kid? That sometimes helps the older kids. Sometimes that happens.
Speaker 2:Well, it kind of my brother Seth, the one that's a carpenter he like. When we needed school clothes and things like that, he would do things to come up with the money to pay for my school clothes.
Speaker 1:Do things without getting into too much detail.
Speaker 2:Yes, so my brother Seth, yeah, and when we moved to Phoenix for the first time he actually came with us too for a little bit and then he ended up coming back here. But and then when I was, I think, in the seventh grade, I lived with my sister for a little bit and she took care of me for that year, and I lived with my oldest brother as well, the one that works at the cars and all that kind of stuff so.
Speaker 2:I was always just kind of bounced around and I didn't really have like a stationary spot.
Speaker 1:There wasn't that one person that was like I'll take care of you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, and I was. I'm just more of an independent person too, and I still am, even though I've been with my husband for almost 25 years. I'm like hyper independent, like I don't want him to help me with anything. I don't want none of that stuff.
Speaker 1:He must get annoyed. He must get annoyed from that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he does and he still, he still will never give up. He still is like right there when I need him. So he's just waiting and hoping that I that I need his help for something. He's a really good guy.
Speaker 1:So you get through high school. You didn't really like it. It was like not your bag, what the heck did you think you were gonna do? You know you got a couple brothers in the trades. I'm not sure what your sisters did, but you know you're coming out of high school. Sounds like you already met your husband like pretty young. Were you in high school when you met or not?
Speaker 2:No well, I was out of high school when we met and yeah, I just I never knew what I wanted to do. I worked at some I don't know Hardee's. I don't know if you know what Hardee's is yeah, yeah there we go burger place yeah and only for a couple weeks, though, and I could only stand to like work in these restaurants for like a little bit until, yeah, I yeah, no, we like kudos to people that can do it.
Speaker 1:I got fired from one after two weeks.
Speaker 2:they were like no, this isn't your bag, get out of here yeah, I worked at this one Texas road and it wasn't Texas Roadhouse, it was called Low and Star and my friend Erin got me a job there and she didn't tell me everything they did because I think she knew that I wouldn't work there. And I'm a very quiet person. I don't sing, I don't dance.
Speaker 1:Oh, you have to do like that happy birthday, happy birthday stuff.
Speaker 2:Yes yes, I was like what in the? I will never. I was like, as soon as they did that, I finished that shift and I never went back there again. I'm like holy s***. They're like clapping and like jumping around these people and I'm like this is embarrassing, this is degrading and I will never I can never do that, yeah, but some people love it, you know.
Speaker 2:Props to them, props to them, yeah, but when you're like 16, 17 years old and shy as s***, that is like one good way to scare somebody off for sure.
Speaker 1:So you dipped your hands into the service industry. No dice, All right now what's happening with? Stacy.
Speaker 2:So, gosh, I worked as a pet groomer at Sherry's Pampard Pets in Phoenix. I worked there for a little bit and then I tried the daycare thing, and I did that for a few years. Years old, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a few years, yeah, and then I think I was 21, so we're 21, and we had our first daughter and I just we couldn't make it off of what you know, the dog groomer and all that f***ing. So there was a sign down the street, off the freeway, that said this place was hiring it was called vitron manufacturing and I noticed that they started like super early, and so my mother-in-law was like, hey, you know, you should go ahead and try it out.
Speaker 2:So, funny story, I didn't get my high school diploma at all, so I have no educational background whatsoever other than you know just school but yeah, so, and that's kind of a long story in itself on how that happened, but um, well, I got all day girl. I got all day. Well, it gets really dark. It gets dark if you want to hear it. So yeah, if we can go back to the high school thing here after this. But um so, so vitrion?
Speaker 1:what was it called vitron?
Speaker 2:vitron manufacturing. Okay, yep, so they made all kinds of parts and airplane parts, all kinds of stuff like that and chassis and things. And I had no skill whatsoever other than you know daycare, watching kids, wiping s***s, or you know barely restaurant. You know things. So, uh. So I went in there. I think the chef started at 5 am or 6 am, I can't remember which. It's been years. I'm 42 and I was like 20 or 21, something like that.
Speaker 2:So I went there right away in the morning, before they even started. So when they opened the door I went in and I was like, can I talk to the manager? And then they're like, yeah, sure, and then I gave him my information and I told him to call me if they are still, uh, if they haven't found anybody to hire. And they never called. So I went back in there like a week later and talked to the same guy. He said give me a call. Then he called me, got, gave me an interview, told me in the interview that the position that they were hiring for was for soldering. But it wasn't. I found out later it wasn't. He just didn't want to hire me. So I went back there again like in a couple more weeks and I said, hey, you know, I really need a job, can you figure out something?
Speaker 2:and they're like all right, and they gave me the job for the kidding department and within three months of me working there, they made me manager of it, so I don't think I did too bad yeah, so you have some type of really good organizational skills yeah, and there's a lot of parts and you have to be trusted with them and um, they're, all you know, bagged and put in these um kits, so it's like a little white box with an insert that have that has all the um parts basically the thing you get your pills in, like the prescription pills, and you can put like Monday to Friday. But huge, big bigger like Pete, like pizza box size, like um, and then there's a little foam cut out in there and it had a place for it, for everything to go.
Speaker 2:But we um, when we first started, I think we were doing 300 of those a month, and then, by the time we quit, we were doing like tens of thousands of them so when you say we, we quit, who's the we that well? Why am I saying we, I don't know how many? Of you I was pregnant.
Speaker 2:I was pregnant with my middle child. So me, me and my child. I don't know why I always said. I said we, but um, shortly after that we moved back here. So Hayden was five months old when we moved back here so.
Speaker 1:I think, okay, wait the the. We were in South Dakota and then you got the job at vitron right and then when did you make the move to Phoenix?
Speaker 2:so Phoenix. So I was here when, once I turned 18, I moved to Phoenix okay and that was there for 10 years, and then we moved back right, so the vitron job is in Phoenix yes, right, okay, I thought, yeah, no, no, I'm just, I was trying to put the pieces together.
Speaker 1:So now you're in Phoenix, you worked at the at this company for a while doing these kits and it was good. And then what brought you back to South Dakota?
Speaker 2:uh, the economy was really there, um, and Joe was in the, uh, construction industry and it basically stopped like he didn't have, he didn't have any work and I was only making, like you know, I don't know, I don't even know how much I was making. I'm probably like 15, 16 bucks an hour, and it was just me. We had, you know, car payments and house payments and a brand new five-month-old baby. And then my dad, um, just said, hey, why don't you just come back here? We'll all look at a house to rent together and then, as soon as that years up, then you could move out. You guys can you know. So that's how we did that cool.
Speaker 1:So so you guys all all pack up the vehicle, two kids, the two of you you move back to to South Dakota. What kind of work did you get when you got back there? You know what? What were you looking for? I don't think you were looking to work at Arby's anymore. You know, like you were you trying to get back into some like aeronautical thing or manufacturing thing, or what did you do?
Speaker 2:no, um, so I worked. Uh, so I worked as a florist. I made bouquets and arrangements.
Speaker 1:I feel like that would be a really fun job it is really fun.
Speaker 2:Um I I never worked with a group of ladies before, so that was a challenge and a different thing for me, because they're very ruthless. You know yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm like I don't know, like, yeah, it was, it was. It was really fun, it was a learning experience for me. Um, and I loved, I love anything creative. If I can put my creativity in something, then you know I'm all in on that. Um, so I did that for quite a while. Um, yeah, I did that for really long time and then, as soon as I uh found the job at gosh Twin City fan is where I learned how to weld, so and then I went straight from the floral shop to a Twin City fan. To the movie show.
Speaker 2:And that's yep, and I was inventory management there. Okay, I see, Because I had inventory management and things like that from Vichron Right. So yes, from kidding.
Speaker 1:So when you were young you said that you didn't have the time or space to kind of let the creative side explore itself or be able to really get into that creative side of you. Between there and being a florist, where you said that you loved being able to express your creative side, had you, over those 10, 12 years now been able to explore your creative side, Like, were you able to pick up a hobby during the time in Phoenix, or you know when did you start letting that creative part of your body out?
Speaker 2:I like it, even though I'm not very good at it. I like to draw or I don't know. Gosh, I like. I like to do scrapbooking and things like that or anything that I could do to express my creativity. I don't know, even if it was just like rearranging a room like 500 times or like redecorating it or something. I always felt like I needed to do that all the time and I never really did stuff that would like fulfill that, I guess you would say I always felt like, so I was always taking pictures off the wall or putting it back or something like that Did you feel that you just had too much on your plate, like you went from being a quiet, shy kid to a mom with two kids and then you know this is before we went back to South Dakota.
Speaker 1:You know a? Soul bread winner. You know hubbies at home trying to find work in a dying economy. It doesn't sound like there's a lot of space there, like you're still kind of in survival mode nonstop, right.
Speaker 2:Yes, constantly, my whole life. There was a time, though, that I did sell diaper cakes. I don't know if you know what that?
Speaker 1:is what's a diaper cake? It doesn't sound good. It sounds like it's not something I would order at a restaurant.
Speaker 2:No, so it's just cakes. Like you roll up little diapers and you put little clear rubber bands on them and you make like layers to cakes, put ribbons around them. You can put stuffed animals on them. I put wooden spoons or I'm going to have to show you. I'll send you one that I did later. But I used to make little motorcycles like little quads, had two back wheels and a front wheel and like a blanket, like through it. I sold those at the store called the Willow Tree out here. So I totally forgot that I had done that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, that's very creative and like how did? You get that idea? Did you steal it from somewhere? Did you see it online? Like, how did you figure out that?
Speaker 2:you because I mean I have kids I never thought about making diaper cakes, like so my sister-in-law's niece, tanika, and I were kind of close and it was our niece's baby shower and she's like hey, I learned how to do this, Let me show you. And she taught me how. Basically, when we slapped together, we slapped one together. I'm like this is so easy, I could do this, and it lets me be creative. So we went to Hobby Lobby, grabbed a bunch of stuff, kind of made it match or and then to Walmart to buy baby rattles and pacifiers and spoons and whatever we could decorate it with.
Speaker 1:Maybe you can bring that back, like I mean, I feel like that I've never even heard of this, like this could be still your million dollar idea here, like, like do you? Do just newborn diapers, like the little teeny weeny ones, or do you like put a couple of different sizes, so like it's good for a few?
Speaker 2:months. Well, we do. Well, size two is like the perfect size.
Speaker 5:I don't know, they're about, about this size and it's just the perfect it's just the perfect size for it.
Speaker 2:So we would buy the big old pamper box or whatever huggies and just have at it. Yeah, I gosh, I totally forgot that. I did that. And one at one point I made one. It was out of a, a clothes hamper. It was Wicker and had a lid on it, so I filled that thing with diapers, had baby clothes and the little blankets hanging out of it and a little teddy bear. It was crazy, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good that's. That's super interesting. That's not something I've ever heard before, so you got me on that one. That's a new one for me, and now I'm.
Speaker 2:Maybe it's a States thing, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I might Google that later and be like you know, maybe I'm starting up a, I'll get my kids to start up a diaper. What was it called? Diaper cake company?
Speaker 2:The, the, the DCC, yeah, so they're for baby showers and things like that. Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:Not just for like centerpieces, not just for fun, hey guys. I didn't bring a bottle of wine to the party. No, no, no, no, I brought a bottle of wine to the party. I brought one of these, though.
Speaker 2:You can shove a bottle of wine down the middle of it you know, and then put it around it.
Speaker 1:All right. So so we're back in South Dakota. You've done a hundred different things kind of just whatever you can put your mind to and now you're finally in a in a manufacturing shop and it's welding time, right? So what? What was that transition like for you to get into the manufacturing world of welding? Now you're an inventory management there. So are you. You said you started off there before they actually put you on the welder, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, so. So I, I was inventory management and I was shipping and receiving. So I would load and unload the semis when they came in with the forklift and then I would put together stage jobs for the welders and then bring it to them, be like, hey, you're doing this next Stuff, like that, gosh, I, I did every, I did almost every station there was there. So I did all kinds of stuff wherever they needed me most mostly. So I was in shipping and receiving when my boss came to me and said, hey, we're really short on welders. Is that, do you want to learn?
Speaker 2:And I said no, I don't want to learn. I know that I'll burn myself. That's so scary. And he's like, oh, come on. And I thought about it for a little bit and then I think about a second or third time he asked me to do it. I was like, all right, let's do it. And then as soon as I did it, I loved it. And then I didn't want to stop doing it and I didn't want to do shipping and receiving anymore and I didn't want to do all this other stuff anymore. You know so.
Speaker 1:So once you made that switch over into the welding world and you're like dang, I like this for real, Did you? Stick it. Did you stick with it Was were you able to maintain that welding job at that company?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I, I did that for maybe a year or so and so they they had people come in from AWS, their certified instructor instructors or whatever that came in and then did some tests with us and stuff like that. So that's how I learned my. I earned my cert was through that company.
Speaker 1:So like your D11, your basic AWS beginner cert yeah.
Speaker 2:So it was just yeah, just a little card. And yeah, I forgot where I was going with after that.
Speaker 1:So now? So now you're kind of like a real welder though now, like you got a cert, yes, You're doing tests.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, yep. So I did that for a year and then I think it was a year, maybe it was a little longer than a year and then, but my husband was out of town working his scaffolding job and he had been out of town for about four years, just coming home on the weekends or long weekends and stuff, and they were going to ship him somewhere a little further away and then he wouldn't be able to come home at all, maybe like once a month. And then I was like, well, that's not going to work for me. So we figure something out and he's got flooring, background and things like that. So that's when we started Phoenician wood floors and I hopped on board with him and then I worked side by side with him for years and then about three years ago is when I started my own welding company.
Speaker 1:So why Phoenician? What is it?
Speaker 2:Because he's from Phoenix. Oh, it's for.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I thought you were talking, I know people, I was like thinking Phoenician, like you know, the Mediterranean, you know, like you know, like 6,000 years ago, right.
Speaker 2:Right, Well, people from Phoenix. They just refer to themselves as Phoenician. Oh, okay, I didn't know that Because they're from. Phoenix yeah.
Speaker 1:I would think of it as like Phoenix Sionniers or something.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, it's really funny, Like when people are never sure on how to say it, so they always look at us like I don't know. I don't know how to say this but that's okay, just know that we do really good work.
Speaker 1:Oh, there's the plug there.
Speaker 2:Phoenician floors where you get it right. Okay, here we go Right.
Speaker 1:So now your life as a welder. You know what kind of work are you doing. Is this like sitting at a table working with jigs? Or just you know, helmet down, blue light all day. What kind of work are you doing?
Speaker 2:as a welder. Okay, so I was teamed up with a company called Dept of Bots. They had a side custom furniture store off to the side of there, so they built homes. So they had this other business on the side that they would custom build furniture for the people that bought the homes or whatever. And so my friend Bryce somehow found me on Instagram, I don't know through a mutual friend or something like that and he needed a welder. So then I just agreed to do it. But, yeah, he would bring me the little crayon drawing of whatever he needed.
Speaker 1:Crayon Didn't sound like a very official thing, but he's going to listen to this.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be like Bryce, I swear like we would come over here and sit and just draw it out on the concrete. Okay, you want it like this. No, you want it like this. So basically it was a lot of fabrication for metal legs and tables, chairs, whatever, and he would do the wood part and I did the metal part. So we did that for quite a while. But that's not what I want to do. I want to do art full time. So I'm kind of switch gears a little bit to do more of what I want to do instead of stuff that you know.
Speaker 1:So this progression is kind of scaling up, like from young Stacy who didn't have the ability to be creative or just didn't have the avenues to be creative, to young Stacy who's doing you know diaper cakes and then flower arrangements. So starting to get into this world, kidding is not a creative thing. That is like you know A to B, b to C that's pretty in stone to then you know welding on furniture, which is slightly more creative. So I want to do it a little bit more of your you know thoughts behind that. At what point were you like you know what? I just want to go all art because, like I feel like you made a jump there at some point to be like, actually I love art, actually this is who I am, actually this is what I'm going to do.
Speaker 2:All right, so I started it, my welding business I was. When I first started it. I started out piece by piece Actually, it wasn't all welding so I would restore furniture and everything that I make for this company. I don't spend it, I just put it aside and the savings and then so I would make, I would restore old dressers or I don't even know the word for it. With little tables and stools and yeah, yeah, and so my aunt gave me. Like that means for me right yeah.
Speaker 2:So my aunt gave me an arm war. That used to be my grandma's and it was kind of funny because on the side it had carved in, the over waxed side of it says I heart Jimmy. So that my mom did that and Jimmy is my dad, jim James. So this was like forever ago, so I almost didn't want to buff it out of there, but I did and yeah.
Speaker 1:So you're like, I did that, and then this mom.
Speaker 2:Look what you did. Totally jokes.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I started doing that. And then I started building like industrial coffee tables, like 45 the edges and put dowels in it and I started wood burning. So I would burned the pieces that I was either restoring or making and then I would sell that. But the money aside, and my husband was like, hey, you know what, we're gonna get that welder. So he bought me the welder and then the stuff that I sold I would buy all my tools with. So, yeah, it's just little by little by little, just add it up and now I have everything. And so I actually started the doing art before I started doing the table legs. So I don't know if you've seen Mr Hagelbor with my little gnome. So I had started that prior to doing that. It just took me a really long time to do it because I had no idea what the hell I was doing. Yeah, it takes a long time.
Speaker 1:I'm not good at it for me to do anything artistic. It's like if I'm doing an industrial job, I'm like on it, I get it. If someone tells me to do something artistic, like I got friends that reach out to me and I will be like, yeah, I'll try and it seems to take me a thousand times longer than I think it should. But I don't know, maybe that's art, maybe art just takes a long time. I would just I feel like it's never, right.
Speaker 2:I think it's just that part. For me, that part is like fear. I used to think I used to give a lot about what people thought of me or what I did, and once I kind of busted out of that like you know what they ain't even doing, you know they can't do it at all, why should? Why should I give a that if they don't like it? Because who has to like it at the end of the day? Me.
Speaker 2:You know I don't really care. So, yeah, I just kind of started developing from the shy person to like I'm not going to waste the rest of my life worrying about what people think is just wasting my life. Yeah, I was surprised.
Speaker 1:I was surprised to hear you say you were a shy kid because I mean, I met you and you're not shy to me. You weren't shy when I met you, we had fun right away.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was the kid that smelled like cigarettes because my mom smoked in the house. I wore boy hand me downs because we were really poor and my teeth were so crooked. I was very shy, barely smiled. I didn't want anybody to see me. Yeah, that, yeah, I was just really crazy and I never let anybody come to my house. Yeah, things like that.
Speaker 3:Like, I don't know, I was super like so when you get the braces, you got great teeth now.
Speaker 2:Thank you. When I was working at Vittron I think I was 24 and I had to wear them for two years.
Speaker 1:Well, my wife just got braces now in like her 30s and she's now has perfect teeth because, like she can never afford them growing up and it's like, well, man, if you want them to get them now. Who cares? Right, right and.
Speaker 2:I had really good insurance at the time too. So I'm like I'm doing this now and I kind of yeah, it just gave me a little bit of you know, a little bit of self esteem and confidence and you know, stuff like that. So, and it made me feel good that I did it by myself too. So awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, let's take the break now, because when we get back, I want to talk about now the new Stacey, full of confidence and vigor, and I don't give a what you think about what I'm doing, attitude and and and all the things that I see you do now. So we're going to talk about the Stacey Martinez now 605 Shield Maiden Right after we get back here on the CWB Association podcast. Stay tuned.
Speaker 4:And we're back here on the CWB Association podcast. My name is Max Saron. Thanks for sticking with us. Today we're talking to Stacey Martinez, who I met at Fabtech with a wonderful group of friends, a really neat group of friends that I always hang out with.
Speaker 1:And you were like the new person that I met at Fabtech and I'm like, well, I'm not going to be a fan of Fabtech, I'm going to be a fan of Fabtech, I'm going to be a fan of Fabtech, I'm going to be a fan of Fabtech. I'm going to be a fan that I always hang out with. And you were like the new person last year for me. You know, and it was great to meet you, and that that was the context of which I met you when and I'm learning so much today because I met you as this confident artist who kind of knows what she's doing, has a good style, really talkative, really fun and outgoing, and that's the person I met. And to tell me that you were this shy kid that had to go through all these experiences is amazing. It's an amazing trajectory of life, you know.
Speaker 1:So when we left off, you were, you know, you got your first welder. You were starting to build your own art and find that expression in yourself. What kind of art were you thinking of doing? Were you thinking of, like I'm going to build stuff because I'm just curious about how it goes? Or were you thinking I'm going to build art to sell to see if I can make money, like kind of? What was your angle?
Speaker 2:I just wanted to build sculptures, yeah. So I wanted to go big or go home, I guess I wanted to make stuff that that that was at the closer to the top of you know the bigger stuff yeah just just straight up to the top and I don't know. So that's what I kind of shop for. The Nome was actually by accident, not really by accident.
Speaker 1:It was supposed to be a horse. No, no it was.
Speaker 2:It was actually a dang it. It was a piece that somebody had asked me to make, so a commission piece. I couldn't think of the word sorry.
Speaker 2:So it was supposed to be a commission piece. This lady was looking for just a small gnome with a functional backpack that she wanted to put on people's doorsteps with something good in the back, like maybe gift cards, movie tickets, things like that, and I can't remember. Yeah, so there was this huge article a lady from 605 magazine wrote about him and he was called Roman Roman the gnome and there was this big thing about how he's supposed to bring joy to people's lives and things like that. But then I had no idea that I can even do that, let alone it being my first piece on the sculpture walk. So as soon as I finished it, she's just like. She told me no, you're worth and tax it. So I did, I did that and it's a mini sculpture.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure I don't know how I would have made it any less than what it was, I guess. So she said I can't. She's like I think this thing is going to do much more than what I'm going to have him do. So then she wanted me to make a smaller, just plain version of that, and then I decided well, it didn't hurt my feelings because I was kind of attached to it Some weird way. I don't know.
Speaker 2:You know, when you make something like that, you're just like I don't know, it's like a kid or something, I don't know. But so I decided, well, why not put this dude in the sculpture walk? And that's when I made the mushroom for it and the kind of sea great thing that you see on today, that he's downtown Sioux Falls, but yeah, he's on the sculpture walk that we do have here is the biggest in the world, and I do know that you guys have one up there too. It's called Castlegar, yeah, things like that. So I learned that because of the artist reception there were some people that I met, really, really cool people from Canada.
Speaker 1:Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so yeah, they told me all this stuff. They were like did you know? Like thanks.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when are you coming up to come visit?
Speaker 2:I don't know, but I have to. I got to visit Ria.
Speaker 1:I keep telling her that I'm gonna and I got to and we got to get Ria to come down to a fab tag.
Speaker 2:Dude, I know this last time. I'm like Russ. Yeah, russ and Charlie from Fast Cut they got to pull something together and bring her down here for that. I think it'll be fun, especially in Florida this next year yeah. That'd be right, I already booked my hotel rooms.
Speaker 1:I literally so I mean at my work, I'm in, I'm in conference mode. I got one next week and then I got travel, like I'm gonna be on the road for the next few months, and so I already booked my Orlando trip. I already booked the week I'm there. I already got my podcast room booked with AWS and everything. So, yeah, no, I'm on it, I'm on it, I'm there. I already talked to Becker about what we're going to be doing there. I talked to Ray two days ago about what's going on, and so I already got the wheels in motion for Orlando. So nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm definitely going. I just I'm not really sure about the hotel situation, because I because there was some talk about maybe somebody supplying that, but then yeah, so I don't know if it doesn't happen soon, I'm definitely going to get one because I'm not going to miss out. Well, hotels are already filling up.
Speaker 1:You know you should got a sense of me, are they? The main hotels are already booked solid like AWS hotels full, definitely hotels full. I already had to go to like the second level, being like dang.
Speaker 2:Dang I may. I may have to get a hold of you later to see which ones are close by, because I kind of looked into what I'm really sure. So, or maybe, maybe I'll just air B and B with a bunch of girls, so either way, you know either way, or we can all go sleep at Becker's shop.
Speaker 1:We just take sleeping bags and go hang out at the underground. Right, I mentioned that would be really fun, actually, that would be a blast, but we probably would be really terrible for work, like, if you like, all right, oh yeah yeah, yeah, well, I got to work there. I don't know if you got to work there, but I got to work there.
Speaker 2:So I don't know if the Hoonan Heroes is supposed to go. I'm pretty sure that the American Wilding Society supplies with the booth every year. So yeah, I don't know if I'm pretty sure they're going to have one and I go anyways. So that's just an extra thing, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So actually that's a nice little segue into that project. I was going to save it for later, but you said it. So, hoonan Heroes, you know like explain what that is, what your contribution to it is and what that whole project's about, because that's another hat that you wear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, so the Hoonan Heroes Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that was started by a welding instructor, joey, and his soon to be wife, katie. Yeah, we just we do raffles and things like that over Instagram and we get people to donate stuff to us and we raffle it off for money that goes into an account and we help students in need welding students in need that need proper PPE and things like that that sometimes their loans fall short so they don't have the money to get their boots, hoods, safety glasses, whatever gloves, just everything. So, yeah, they reach out to us. We have them right. I think it's a 250 to 500 word essay about you know why we should help them, yes, and then what they need, and then we do check references, stuff like that.
Speaker 1:So who are the main sponsors for Hooded Heroes, like to be a non-profit, like I run, like what I do is non-profit, but I'm this is a $42 million non-profit as opposed to you know one just starting out. So you know how does a company or a foundation like yours get stuff. You know who. How do you reach out to? How do people reach out to you? How do they find you?
Speaker 2:Well, sometimes they'll just, you know, they'll see one of the posts or something like that or somebody will like mention it. So like word of mouth. Word of mouth because we've helped somebody before, things like that, and I don't know why that I can't think of our sponsors, right? I know that John King is one of them, jk Welding Gosh there's, there is so many and I can't ever remember like all of them and I don't handle that part of it.
Speaker 2:So I'm just the secretary. So when we're on the Zoom calls I am the one writing everything word for word. And then I sent out an email because we had to document things like that. So that I document everything.
Speaker 1:But so it's basically smaller, independent companies that are looking to support you.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:All right. What about chasing like the big fish, you know, like the 3M's or the Millers and the Lincoln's and the Froniuses, like the Air Lequids, all those big, big, big companies?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that nonprofits scare people and we have to start off, we have to prove ourselves before we can reach for the stars like that. I think, yeah, I don't know. We just have to prove to the people that we are who we say we are. We have to earn our keep. And the nonprofit world, I guess you could say, and then from there, I guess that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:Just evolves out of it, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you know and because when I think of like a nonprofit I am really like skeptical. I don't trust a lot of people. I don't believe a lot of you know either. So when I think of like somebody being like hey, you want to give me some money, I'm just like I'll dig into that first, yeah, or?
Speaker 2:like yeah, or it has to be something like totally worth my time or worth the, or you know. So I know how I feel about that. Imagine you know people in the cyber world and all that kind of stuff. They're trying to see who we are, or you know what I mean. I totally get what you mean.
Speaker 1:And I will give you another side of that coin, because I have to think about this too, because I live in the not profit space as well, and when I got into the not for profit world it was a lot of like how do we get past people being skeptical, how do we let people know that what we're doing exactly for the community and not just the line pockets, you know, it's all those same kind of fears that you have as a not for profit. And I said what do you think about the Red Cross? What do you think about the Salvation Army? Those are hundred million dollar, billion dollar, not for profits right that we all trust. So how did those companies get to where they are? Right? And that's what I think.
Speaker 1:Right, clear messaging, a solid story and a clear path. So, like that dollar, you can trace it, like I can see. If I give you a hundred bucks, that's I'll find out where it went Right Now. I would argue now that those giant billion dollar not for profits probably aren't as good at tracing cash as they are and like they're not great examples anymore. But I keep that in my mind to remind myself that a not for profit doesn't have to be small. Right, it can be big and it can do bigger things but you have to keep those same rules. You have to be transparent, you have to be authentic, you have to be honest, or else you'll fall apart right away. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I agree, and so we have. We have nine members on our board and, yeah, like each one of them kind of has brought something to the table in one way or another. We're all welders, things like that.
Speaker 1:So is it just for your area, or is this like all US?
Speaker 2:It's all over the United States. Sarah Jean, she's a, she's. Sarah Jean is her Instagram name, or whatever. She is in New York. We have somebody in Florida, you know Jason Sissaki. Yeah. Yeah, arkansas, that's where he's from. He's on the board All out metalworks Gosh. He is in North Dakota, and so is Joey and Katie. They're in North Dakota. I can't remember where Mitchell is, but they're from all over the United States.
Speaker 1:So you kind of got people split up all over the place.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one of our goals is to make it into Canada next and maybe Mexico, but we've got a long ways to go for that.
Speaker 1:Well, when you get up here, let me tell you, better, reach out to me, because we're the biggest welding not-for-profit in Canada and we support people like you all over the place. And I actually I know I already talked to you about trying to see if I can get support for you in the US, because we're coming into the US, the CWB is coming into the US, we're already we're already acquired a couple of companies, we're moving in, we're developing a new program and I'm always looking for stuff like this because that's the authentic stuff people care about, like I mean, it's the stuff that makes and I mean, to be honest, from my end of it, from a business standpoint, it's great optics to be authentic, to be like hey, we're helping, like smaller not-for-profits to do the stuff that I can't do. I can't get into your neighborhood and give out hoods to people and you can.
Speaker 1:Why wouldn't I use that. You know what I mean, so so, I think, it's. I think it's a win. I love that you're doing that. I think that's a wonderful thing to do. Just like you know from the heart, I always tell my staff it's a halo work, like a halo, like on an angel. We do halo work like, yeah, still money, but we got a halo on because we're trying to do the right thing, right, like we're still trying to help right.
Speaker 2:So I don't get paid anything, I get zero payback. I just, you know it gets to be the person that I needed when I was growing up, so that I love to help people. I really do, and this is a good way for me to do that.
Speaker 1:And what about fab tech, what you know? The conference scene. What is in it? What is in it for you to be there? You said you would attend anyways. Even if it was not, you know what is it that attracts stays seated fab tech or to conferences in general? I don't know what other ones you attend or what other stuff you do, but what attracted you to go to the first one and why do you want to keep coming back?
Speaker 2:It's the networking and I get to be around other women that do what I do. So it's like it's there's nothing like I don't always fit in like a certain place and I really do feel like I fit in there and I get to talk to women about welding and you know that kind of stuff, just tools. I get to talk to them about tools and just it's just an exciting place for me to be because there's like many people everywhere and I can just go up to somebody and just talk to them. I learned a lot. Frank led better, I don't know if you know who he is yeah, he's been on the show, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just talking to him it gives you so much advice, just like I learned so much just by talking. And this last fab tech.
Speaker 1:Me and Frank and Louie were in a hotel room to like seven in the morning. He did Taco Bell and we had to be up for work like in an hour.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, that is so funny. Yeah, everybody is so cool and I get I meet different people every year that I go and everybody knows something different and I think welding and even the wood floor industry. You will never know everything, so I love that that you can just go and learn and pick people's brains or, you know, say hey, I'm doing this, how would you do this, or what would you do differently, or whatever. Just have conversations like that with people.
Speaker 1:So do you attend any of the sessions or do you go for mainly the floor and the networking?
Speaker 2:The floor and the networking. I like to go check out what new tools are or, you know, finished, finished supplies, things like that. I like to see what's new with.
Speaker 1:And all the freebies.
Speaker 2:Like like FR gear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't normally get a whole lot of freebies but this time, oh man, I fill up bags of freebies Because then I bring them back. I bring them back and I give them all to students because I'm always going to high schools, so I take as much at Fabtech as I can. I actually take an empty suitcase with me and I fill it with supplier stuff because they don't want to take it back.
Speaker 2:They gave me gloves that I would do that.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah. So this is a here's life hack for everyone listening. When you go to Fabtech or Canwell or AISC, the steel conference in Denver, any of the big metalworking conferences on the last day when people are packing up, make sure you hit the floor with a big bag, because companies take stuff to give away at conferences and they don't want to take it home. They spent the money to give it away. Anything left over at the end of the day on the last day, they'll give it to you. They'll give you a whole box, as long as they don't have to ship it back, because that's just a waste of money for them.
Speaker 1:So I always go. I've come back with Meg Whips. I came back with a whole welder. Last time it was a $300 welder. She's like give me 40 bucks. I gave her 40 bucks and I came home with another welder.
Speaker 2:That's insane and you know if I would have known that. So, joey and Katie and drove, if I would have known that we would have had so many gloves for the students.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's what I do. So on my shelf right there I have a fish bowl. I don't know if you can see a plastic fish bowl. So I, when I go after I get back from Fabtech, I always fill that fish bowl with like random stuff and I take it to a high school and I just let it pass around and you can dig in there, take whatever you want. And then every high school I fill it up again and then it's just like and it'll be just random stickers from companies these kids will never see, they don't care, Like it's just fun. It'll be like the flashlights and the bottle openers. I got one of them here right now from Fabtech. Like I mean, I just constant, I just give it out because it's not mine, but I'm a not for profit and I don't have to spend the money on it. I'll spend the 50 bucks to bring the suitcase back, but the kids love it, Right? So there you go.
Speaker 2:Right, that's a good idea too, because I do speak with high school students as well. I don't. I don't think I'd mention that, but yeah, I will go in and speak to high school students and stuff like that, and that would be a good idea too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, like I mean, even though it's like we take swag, we don't like bringing it back, we're always like, yeah, they get, they get all. I don't want to get it out of here.
Speaker 1:I don't want to ship this back to Canada. Just let me know what I mean. So. So that's always a good thing to do. Now, aside from the networking and the conferences and the sculptures and the flooring company and the fitness and hooded heroes and also talking in schools, where do you find time for your social media? Because you got a pretty strong social media presence? You know you post pretty regularly. You know 605 Shield Maiden does well. You know, where does that fit in your life and did it come before you got so involved or did it come after you got so involved?
Speaker 2:Like posting on social media. So, gosh, I was just on Facebook and it was just, you know, just me posting talk mostly, and you know just my husband's family's back in Phoenix, you know.
Speaker 2:So I had the Facebook for like you know just communication and like what the kids were up to, like that, just nothing like whatever. I don't know why I thought of I think my oldest daughter was like mom, you should go on Instagram. I was like Instagram, what I was like okay, and so I just started posting my stuff on Instagram. So I do sound like I'm like super busy and I am super busy a lot of the time, but I do have a lot of downtime and I I don't know between picking up the kids from school or you know, when I work at the gym I get up at three in the morning and I have to be there before 430. And I do my four sessions and I am done doing that by 815 in the morning. So that leaves my whole day open.
Speaker 2:So, usually when I come home I can do some office work or get supplies or if my husband needs anything you know, run errands and stuff like that, or if I have something to do, I can just come straight out here. So my schedule is as always. It's never the same. It's very scattered and I just have downtime to do that. So every once in a, while.
Speaker 1:Do you feel that it's helped you in your career and in your reach, even with meeting people for things like Fabtech and making friends that you can like hope to connect with later? Has Instagram been useful for you as a networking tool?
Speaker 2:100%. I would blame it all on Instagram. I do I really do here. I don't know who would really know who I am. I guess, unless it wasn't for Instagram, I don't think anybody would really know who I was. So I mean not that I only have like, I have like under 3000 followers. I wouldn't say that I'm a big presence on Instagram, that's more than me.
Speaker 1:Nobody likes me.
Speaker 2:I think that people know who I am, just not a lot of people follow me. You know, what I mean. I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think it's because we might be a little bit older, Like I mean I'm older than you, but I mean my Instagram is not a lot. A lot of kids join. I get like 100 people to join a week and then 99 of them quit, Right. So, like, I think a lot of young people, a lot of young people are like, wow, who's this guy? He's involved in welding, Maybe he's old, who cares? But in the scene, in the actual scene, like at a Fabtech, you know I'll go and I'll know everybody there, right, Because I've been in the industry for 30 years, right, and in 30 years I've met a lot of people, whether it's Instagram or not. That's kind of like another world that I'm a little bit out of. I'm just on the edge of it. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:And I don't know. I saw I everybody's so familiar when I go there. I just know who they are. You know, they might not know who I am, or they'll say they know who I am and I'm just like what? That's really really weird in the out. And so another reason why I got on Instagram is because when I first started welding, I worked with this this. I should be nice. This lady, hey friend, she was not nice to me, she tormented the out of me and I'm like God, not all women welders are like this, right, I just hope to. I was just looking for somebody else, you know some supports and positive support.
Speaker 2:Just to see like yeah, so I googled it. I was like women welders. And then Barbie the welder came up, you know. So I'm like what the? And then I was like looking at what she did and I'm like, holy, this is amazing. And so that's kind of one of the reasons. And then I was like, well, kind of see who she was following. And then, you know, just started following people. Eventually people started following me. You know, though, the role. But then you know I'll do something like super cool and then I'll get like a bunch of followers. And then then, if you don't follow them back or whatever you get, I hope that, oh, this, this she, you know she follow me back. I follow her.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of people like that too, but I tend to be more sentimental about the people that I follow. Or if I've met you, I want to follow you. You know, I want to see what you're up to.
Speaker 1:More from a communication stance.
Speaker 2:It's not about the followers.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:No, and I and I want to support my friends, I want to see my friends in the feed. You know, like Rhea the welder, I have never met her, but she is the most bad chick. I swear I, I love her and I don't even know her like that. You know, she's just so supportive and gosh, she's just yeah, I don't know, she is somebody, she is one of my go to people and yeah. So for yeah, I don't even know. I'm just kind of rambling.
Speaker 1:No, but it's true, it's true, it's true, you create, you have a network that you meet online and you hope that they're like that in real life. You know what I mean you really do, and most of the time they are. Most of the time there. There has been I have been burned a couple of times where I'm like, oh, this person's got such a cool Instagram, we're going to hit it off, we're going to be best friends when I meet them at a conference and I'm like maybe not so much A little bit different, right, because I'm also kind of a weird dude, so I got my things to that. Probably not everyone likes me either, right? Like?
Speaker 2:I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of weird but.
Speaker 2:I'm weird. I'm weird and I'm awkward. I do the weirdest. Sometimes I say stuff like what the f*** is the matter with you? Why would you say that? I don't know, I'm just super weird. And but yeah, like I was saying, I just said more sentimental about the people that I follow and I want to support them. So I want to see their f*** in my feet. You know what I mean. I don't want to see the same thing over and over. I don't know. I hope that doesn't make me sound like a big old f***, but you just, I don't know.
Speaker 2:It's a community that I don't know I look up to and I've met like, like people that I can just like call and be like hey, how do you do this? So I'm going to redeem, redeem myself here for a second, because on the last podcast I did, I threw my friends under the damn bus. So my friend Evan owns Evco. Okay, he's a welder and he makes art, he's one of my favorite artists but I've never heard him say it, you know, because it's it's Instagram, you don't really. He never said it. So I told him I was like hey, I gave you a shout out, blah, blah, blah. And he says like Listen, I'm not being to check right now, but that's not how you say my name and I felt so bad. I'm going to fix this one way, or?
Speaker 2:another but so when I was working on the note, he actually gave me a lot of pointers and anytime something went wrong I was able to just go to him and he would answer me without a bull no, like I don't know. He didn't make me feel stupid. You know things like that and I have met a lot of people like that.
Speaker 1:So like I'll tell you a few people that I've met over Instagram that ended up being big supporters and now I help support them and we support each other. Jason Becker, when I got asked by CWB to start the podcast so I've been a welder my whole life but I also have a radio show. I've been doing radio for like 20 years. So CWB approached me being like hey, you're kind of a famous welder in Canada, you're a teacher, you do all the stuff. You want a business, blah, blah, blah. We heard you did rate, you do radio, do you want to do podcasts? And I was like man, I don't have no idea what a welding podcast sounds like.
Speaker 1:So I started listening to Becker and then I reached out to him and I was like hey, jason, you don't know me. I you know, I'm in Canada, there's my background, I want to start a podcast and I, you know, do you have any pointers? And he was so helpful immediately and like now me and Jason are basically the top one in two podcasts in the world for welding and we still work on projects together. Today I just flew him up to Canada to do a conference, all expenses paid. Thanks, brother, you know like, for helping me out. I put him on a big stage. We did an awesome show up here. We go down to states and Fabtech, we work together on projects and that's just Instagram. Like. We met through Instagram and now we're like our careers are tied together, you know like right, I love Jason Becker.
Speaker 2:He's cool. He was my first. I did our junkie's podcast and I think it was like I don't know episode 203 or 207 or something like that. I can't remember now, but he was so freaking nice and I totally forgot I was working on something with a deadline and I totally Forgot that I had that. I had like black all over my face, I was a mess and shut the door because it was the only one with like a big rug, you know for the noise, and I was so nervous, like that was my one of my first. That was one of my first podcast. But he was so friggin, I see, you know, didn't make me feel like an idiot or anything like that. So, and he's really, he's nice in real life too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then like Stephanie and Ray and Fred and Lou and all, yeah like they're all like we Messages there me and I even message all the time and these are like people that I would have never, ever ran into if it wasn't for fabtech. Like they're just, you know, people that I just meet and we become like homies for life and it's so interesting because we all have different parts of the industry, like so many of you guys are artists. But then there's instructors and business managers. Like like I mean, I ask Stephanie for business advice all time Because she's like the smartest business person I know. And then Jason, the teacher Right, and then now Allison palli I'm at last year and she's a lawyer. So I'm like, man, you got so much information.
Speaker 2:Like it's just all these amazing people in our networks, you know I know, I know it's saying now, you see, I I feel that you have the same excitement I do about that and that's really cool. That's why I go to fabtech. Yeah, that is exactly why and all those people that you had mentioned, I it's so weird that like I'm slowly becoming friends with all of them guys too, and it's just wild as and they are very smart. Like you talk to Ivan and All them guys and they all do stuff different. Lou does stuff different and you can learn something from Everybody and they're so willing to help or give advice to, or you know they say, hey, reach out, and yeah, you can just ask them anything. And Stephanie is so freaking smart at this. I swear I'm like I had no idea you can even put two metals together. You know I didn't go to school and I'm like, look at that. Oh my god.
Speaker 2:I'm like look at this thing she's making is so rad, you know, and she's beautiful and, yeah, just cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. So so now you know what's on the horizon for you what. What are you working on right now? What's coming up? What, what are you planning?
Speaker 2:So right now I'm working for my second piece that's gonna go on the Sculpture Walk. You're downtown in Sioux Falls, so they'll switch out in Like around Cinco de Mayo. They'll switch them out, so they'll put the new ones out and then my piece that I had down there sold already, so the person that get that got that it'll switch out with that. So, yeah, then I'll have another piece on the Sculpture Walk and then I'll just start working on my Sculptures for next year out. I'm gonna. I I'd like to Finish up my Vision board and I have a couple pieces on there. One of them I want to put on the Sculpture Walk and the other one I just want to do because I want to do it and hopefully it'll sell. Do you have?
Speaker 1:I can't imagine you have problem selling stuff. I'm not stinger inside of me. I don't even know how people sell art like you, just like here I have art like I don't know.
Speaker 2:Well, a lot of the things. So I've been asked to donate a lot of things. So a lot of my art I have donated. I don't know if you've seen the bowl skull that I recently are, the Buffalo skull that I actually did, oh, yeah, yeah, that went to a nonprofit here to help bring awareness to children and About the opioid crisis and things like that.
Speaker 2:They actually pay for where insurance companies fall short, to get these people the help that they need. You know, because sometimes they turn away help because they can't afford it or whatever. This is where this company it's called Emily's hopes whoops in and yeah, I think I've heard of it takes care of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah and so it's so that. And then there was a?
Speaker 2:yeah, I don't know. I've donated a lot of stuff, so a lot of my stuff has gone to donation, and if I can't, if I'm able to do that. I'm gonna do it just because I don't know. It's just helping people and I feel like the stuff that it's helping is I don't know, it's bigger than that.
Speaker 1:I don't know it's bigger than you.
Speaker 2:it's good yeah yes, so I'm selling my art, this sculpt rock. That's what that will help you do get more recognized. I'm still a baby at this. I know I don't know if I don't know, if I look like I'm doing, know what I'm doing or not.
Speaker 1:But you do it better than me. I watched your Instagram this today and you're putting all those little rods underneath the mushroom and I'm like oh, I don't even know if I have the patience that I'd be like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've learned patience and I'm not really a patient person, but I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older now or I'm starting to realize my anxiety and all that stuff that I had before. It doesn't mean no good, like, if you just start slowing down thinking about what you're doing.
Speaker 1:It always comes out right, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just I have to slow down because I'm always in go mode, so I have to note that even my. Slow down. Yeah, I tell my kids to slow down all the time too. They're like, oh, freak down. I'm like slow down, think about it, like that's just the big thing, like people seeing a slowdown, but yeah, All right.
Speaker 1:So for the last couple questions has been fantastic. I'm curious about, and you don't have to tell me, just I'm curious what's your heritage? You know, like you know, what's your background.
Speaker 2:I'm just. I'm just the white girl, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm curious what makes it good.
Speaker 2:I I have. I'm Norway, nor Norwegian, german, swedish. I'm all white. Everybody thinks that because my last name is Martinez. Yes, made name is sour and people think that it's just the nickname in my my name. It's my maiden name, even though my dad was adopted. Yeah, my last name it would be fight FIT and that's like a German and I don't know all all these.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cuz dark eyes, dark skin. I was like yeah, yeah, they're like, oh, there must be some. You know, but who knows? You never know, especially if there's adopted people in the family. You never really know what, what the mix? And your husband? What's his heritage?
Speaker 2:He's Hispanic and Irish, half and a half.
Speaker 1:Hispanic mix.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's Bob.
Speaker 1:There's a little bit more, but that's what his main ones are is my kids mom is Mexican and Scottish and I'm full Chilean, so my kids are three Chilean, so half Chilean, a quarter Mexican and a quarter Scottish, and Both my kids came a white. I was like, come on, like really like your three quarters Latino and I, they came up with like white skin, like paper. I was like, wow, whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, where my husband's really white too. People don't think he's Hispanic either, but he is. And yeah, he never Learned to speak it. His dad always truly tried, but then you know he's like this Dad's talking me in Spanish again.
Speaker 1:My radio show that I do on on the weekends is in Spanish. So I've been doing Spanish talk radio since forever now. Crazy, you know, it's funny what.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's funny. So my friend Manny, back in Arizona I don't know what made me asking this stupid question, but I'm like because he's Hispanic and he can speak English too and I'm like, do you think thoughts in Spanish or do you think thoughts in English? Because he does it half and half and he said both, both.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I dream in both.
Speaker 2:Do you?
Speaker 1:yeah, well, no, because it's the same way I talk, it's not weird to me.
Speaker 2:I mean, it'd be weird if you dreamt in Spanish I know the bad word.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's not weird for me because it's. It's the same way. Now my company, like here at CWB, we just actually expanded into South America. So now I have meetings in Spanish and then I'll have meetings in English, which is like very fortunate. Fortunate that I'm Spanish speakers, the first language. But if I'm in a Spanish meeting for like a couple hours and then my next meetings in English, sometimes I have trouble, like yeah, flipping the switch, it's like I'll be like, just like forgetting English words.
Speaker 2:That is funny. I don't know what made me ask that. He started. He laughed. All right, so you see a question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is. You know, what can we expect from you in terms of you know the hooded heroes work. What's coming up with them? How do people get a hold of hooded heroes, for the people out are listening, how do they reach out?
Speaker 2:Um, go to hooded heroes org or you can. If you go to hooded heroes org, you can reach out to anybody that's on the board. You just saw the. We got a new website now. I'm not really good with navigating it, but the board members are on there. You can reach out to anybody on there. Or you can reach out to any one of us board members on Instagram. All of our handles are there on the website.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, okay other than that so and how do people reach out to you if they want to find out more about your artwork? Um instagram 605 shield made in shield made and there's a lot of shield maidens out there because if you, yeah, there is I had to make sure I found 605. Like initially when I was searching for you, someone said, just look up shield made, and there was like a hundred shield maidens. I was like, wow, which one? The original, oh?
Speaker 2:the og yeah right, I don't know.
Speaker 1:All right, any shout outs you'd like to send out to anybody?
Speaker 2:um, no, just uh Nothing. I didn't got nothing.
Speaker 1:Well, I hope to see you at fabtech. I'm sure I will. If you need any help Down there, or for hotel information or anything, let me know. I'm always around. We're heading down there, I think, on the sunday and staying till the friday, so I think we're gonna be there the whole week. Um, because there's stuff happening all the time. So I think we're signed up for most of it and plus we'll be doing podcasts down there live as well. It's gonna be lots of fun. Can't wait to see you there.
Speaker 2:Heck, yeah, I'm super stoked for it. Thanks for having me on this show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I appreciate it absolutely, and for all the people that have been following along, make sure you check out stacey's work on instagram 605 Shield made and it's fantastic. Plus, she does handstands, which I can't ever get tired of watching. I'm literally enthralled by them because since I was a kid, I was like maybe someday I'll learn to try. And I've tried, like I mean, I'm I, I try them against the wall, I've tried to get I got lots of shoulder muscles. I can get up there, but I just the balance part. I just can't. But anyways, that aside, you know, check out her instagram and lots of cool stuff and hooded heroes is a great project and I'm very happy that people like you're out there Investing your time and volunteering your time to to help people less fortunate, which is very important in this world. So thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is, thank you and for all the people downloading and sharing and commenting. Keep it up. Keep up the great work. Thank you so much for making the show what it is. We're having tons of fun. We're rolling out the shows. We're going to be pushing hard right until fab tech and fab tech we're going to be recording a bunch. We're going to be doing skills Canada in Quebec City. We're doing a 16 podcast, I think over three days or something. It's something ridiculous but it's going to be amazing. And we're getting ready for world skills Uh, to to really show off the Canadian welding content and skills that we got traveling around the world. So lots of fun projects coming up. Make sure you check them all out and stay tuned for the next episode.
Speaker 5:You've been listening to the cwb association welding podcast with max seren. If you enjoyed what you heard today, rate our podcast and visit us at cwb associationorg to learn more. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions on what you'd like to learn about in the future. Produced by the cwb group and presented by max seren, this podcast serves to educate and connect the welding community. Please subscribe and thank you for listening.