Aaron and Alex met to record this podcast with 24 hours (spread over the following 3 days) of MSHA Part 48 training staring them and almost the entirety of the BuildWitt team in the face. Though there was much to look forward to with the training, it meant that a 5 (or 6) day work week would have to be squeezed into a Monday and a Friday. With their backs against the wall, Aaron and Alex bravely put their stresses aside and recorded their Monday podcast, as promised. The guys answered questions ...
Mar 22, 2021•38 min
Nick Bezates considers himself a utility man. He works on all kinds of projects in the Pacific Northwest, but he’s really made his name with a specific set of skills: welding. Nick and Bezates Construction Inc. have become one of the contractors to call in Oregon (and the surrounding states) for welding projects. Aaron and Nick had a wide-ranging conversation and touched on topics like how people get into welding, re-starting a family business, counting on your own quality of work, and the “joys...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 54
Good Monday to you all! We've received some great questions from y'all, and a few questionable submissions as well (you know who you are). So thanks to all who've reached out, and please keep them coming! This week, Aaron and Alex discuss a few BuildWitt company values, the pros & cons of starting a business, and --- HOLY SH!T you guys we saw a flatbed truck drive past with a skid steer, and less than ten minutes later, pass by again but this time, it had a mini excavator back there too. Who...
Mar 15, 2021•48 min
Trace Hall knows his way around a LOT of Cat equipment. He’s been with Thompson Machinery in Smyrna, TN for almost 20 years and is now a Sales Manager. The BuildWitt team recently met up at Thompson to drive a skid steer and a mini excavator. After seeing us out in the yard, Trace comes over and says, “I got something else you should check out!” and comes back with a full-size excavator for the team to try. After that, I knew I needed to get to know this guy. On this week’s episode, Trace and I ...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 58
On this Monday episode (our second on the feed), Alex and I dig into the good stuff. We discuss the recent travel of our BuildWitt team, our growing collection of Dirt Nerds™, the awesome work that our new BuildWitt Partner J.W. Fowler is doing on the West Coast, and what it feels like to operate large equipment. Our guest this Thursday is Trace Hall of Thompson Machinery in LaVergne, TN. We'll talk all things Caterpillar and the inner workings of the Cat dealer world. Please submit questions or...
Mar 08, 2021•46 min
Ryan Chrisman (@beefybladehand on IG) is a weapon with a grader. He’s made a name for himself online with his warm-hearted early morning greetings, wild blade videos, and educational content on how to use machines and grade control to its fullest potential. Dirt’s been in the blood of Ryan’s family for multiple generations. He ran tractors and skid steers starting at age 7 and naturally got into the Dirt World as soon as he could start working. We talk about his operator experience and opinions ...
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 57
A big week in Dirt talk history: we'll begin posting 2(!) episodes per week beginning this week. Our regular Thursday episode will continue to come as scheduled, but we're also adding a Monday episode each week with Aaron and new producer on the show, Alex where they touch on BuildWitt happenings and answer listener-submitted questions. This week, they'll touch on succession plans for family businesses, what to do if a fire alarm goes off during a podcast, and if it's a serious no-no to accident...
Mar 01, 2021•41 min
Frisch and Sons is an expert at making Southern California pools disappear. For the past year or two, I’ve watched their videos online as they’ve maneuvered their baby skid steers (Bobcat S70’s) across tiny backyards, in and out of pools, and even through people’s living rooms. Yep… just another day at the office for Frisch and Sons. Since I’ve spent entire days of my life watching their pool demolition videos, I figured I’d give Bobby Frisch, who’s the second generation to lead the company, a c...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 56
Aaron Answers Your Tough Questions! In this Dirt Talk episode, Aaron is joined by himself to answer your questions submitted via Instagram. No script and plenty of nonsense. He discusses what BuildWitt does, how he stays sane, whether he prefers a booth or table, and many more important and controversial dirt-related topics.
Feb 18, 2021•59 min•Ep. 55
The word "autonomous" is a hot topic for cars, planes, and any other machines that move. While self-driving cars are neat, this isn't Car Talk; this is Dirt Talk. Enter Built Robotics , a Bay Area start-up racing to automate skid steers, bulldozers, and excavators. Started only a few years ago, they're making serious progress in their quest to create robots capable of digging ditches, grading roads, and building house pads. Like any other technology in the Dirt World, there's plenty of skepticis...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 54
Since we’ve received plenty of feedback about interviewing more people who “do the work,” I finally heeded your advice and sent Pat a DM on Instagram asking if he’d lend me an hour or two of his Sunday morning. He said sure. Pat’s a long-time operator and has spent his entire adult life running heavy equipment. He started out working as a laborer for his family contracting business and quickly made his way to all sorts of heavy equipment-related companies across the Northeast and Canada. Today, ...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 53
Marty Leum grew up traveling the country to race dirt bikes. Since he was around tracks so much, he began helping out where he could, whether it was hanging banners, or eventually, running equipment to clean up and build tracks. He had a knack for building tracks by shaping the earth with heavy equipment, and Marty traveled from event to event. After many nights away from home, he needed a more stable job closer to his family back home, so he went to work on the railroad. Said to be the best job...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 52
American mining is hugely misunderstood and, as a result, demonized by many. The irony is most people who denounce mining couldn't live their lives without it. Electricity, roads, cell phones, and just about any other aspect of the physical world is thanks to the hardworking men and women working day and night to make it all happen. Frankly, even I misunderstood mining until I recently began to experience it on a deeper level through our work with North America Coal, Mitigation Resources of Nort...
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 51
Thanks to some recent internet criticism (I should know better about going down this rabbit hole, and yet here I am), I decided to take to the podcast to explain my stance on safety, photographs, and the mining world. Keep in mind this is me thinking aloud. I'm trying out new things on the podcast, so we'll see how folks like this one!
Jan 19, 2021•25 min•Ep. 50
While Ron Kellish was working for a big four accounting firm in Chicago, he got a call from Larry Ames, who recently began his new earthmoving company, Bemas Construction. He and Larry had worked together in the past, and as Ron admits, Larry was the only one who could've talked him into coming back to Denver. Larry Ames grew up building the family business, Ames Construction, into the behemoth it is today. After helping to move 100 million yards of earth for the new Denver International Airport...
Jan 14, 2021•55 min•Ep. 49
After a long career as a Sheriff in Fresno, Josh McCahill took out a second mortgage on his house to buy an old bulldozer to start his ag business. Today, after years of six and seven-day workweeks, McCahill Enterprises works with large agricultural corporations to remove old trees and vineyards to prepare farmland for more profitable crops. To remove hundreds of acres of trees at a time, Josh's company uses all sorts of custom dozers, excavators, and loaders. It's such unique work full of chall...
Jan 07, 2021•54 min•Ep. 48
Dan Briscoe, COO of BuildWitt, and I sat down to discuss what we learned and accomplished in 2020. We talk about our business model, how we've grown, and where we're heading into 2021. Many people still don't realize that BuildWitt is a marketing agency well beyond a "kid with a camera," as we often say (I occasionally miss those simpler days). Since "transparency wins" is one of our company's core values, we tried to be as transparent as possible with this episode. Hopefully, this episode provi...
Dec 26, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 47
In this episode of Dirt Talk, I was lucky enough to chat with Kari Taylor (President, North America Sales) and Matt Ackley (Chief Marketing Officer) of Ritchie Bros, the infamous global equipment auctioneer. As a dirt and equipment enthusiast, auctions have always fascinated me. I loved learning all about how Ritchie Bros manages to sell hundreds of thousands of machines annually. While we spent a lot of time talking about their traditional auctions, we heavily explore their transition to the on...
Dec 18, 2020•59 min•Ep. 46
Nick Frederick is Vice President of Witech Excavating (https://witechcompany.com/), a mass excavation contractor based in the Chicagoland area. Starting at Witech as a laborer and later marrying the owner's (Tom Witvoet) daughter, Nick is currently transitioning to lead the business as Tom retires. Even though Witech began from humble beginnings as an idea born out of ministry work and family history, the company today moves millions of yards of earth for some of the largest development projects...
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 45
Garrett Moss, President of Moss Utilities, has dealt with many general contractors as a utility subcontractor for large development projects around the DFW area. After speaking out against plenty of old school and harmful practices many general contractors believe in via LinkedIn, I figured I'd get him on the podcast to discuss his thoughts on the subject. While there are some great general contractors out there, everyone who follows me on social media knows I'm not the biggest fan of them, and ...
Dec 04, 2020•52 min•Ep. 44
Jarryd McNeil is a 15-time X Games motocross medalist who's traveled the world performing wild tricks on dirt bikes since he was a young kid. Growing up on a dairy farm, he fell in love with riding dirt bikes and operating heavy equipment. Once Jarryd was old enough, the ultimate goal was to become a professional rider in America. He left school early, moved to California when he was eighteen, and got to work. I talk with Jarryd about his career, love for America, Southern California farm, baby ...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 43
After being unexpectedly fired from the best job of his life, Dary Langfitt (@rockbottomenterprises on Instagram) told everyone in his family that he would start a landscaping business. How hard could it be? Once the Alaskan winter calmed down and the work season began, he kept his word by starting Rock Bottom Enterprises, a landscaping and now construction business still located in the great state of Alaska. Dary and I talk money, working on the north slope oil fields, and how to build ice road...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 42
In this episode, I talk with Michelle Walker, VP of Finance and Administration of SSC Underground, about suicide prevention in the construction industry. According to the CDC, while we as an industry rarely discuss it, construction ranked #1 for suicides by career. It's a serious issue that Michelle and the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention are bringing to light. We discuss why mental health/suicide is an issue, to begin with, what we can all do to address it, and why it's ok...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 41
Eric Jumper (@eric_jumper on Instagram) and I sat down at my kitchen table last week to discuss his upbringing in the dirt world, why building terrain parks makes for a wild job, how dredging works, and why / why not you should operate equipment with the doors and windows open. While thrilling isn't a word I'd use to describe our conversation, it was indeed dirty.
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 40
Tom Gardocki, known as the Dirt Ninja online, co-owns a residential excavation company in New Hampshire. If you've ever perused the internet for dirt related photos and videos, odds are you've ran across Tom's stuff at some point. He's shared his daily excavation-related adventures online for ten years now. Starting at his parent's landscaping business, he still works there a few days a week while he spends all his other days working at his own business. It's a crazy schedule, especially with a ...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 39
After many (at least two) requests, I reached out to Garret Wilson, who's said to be the world's best operator, and asked if he'd like to be on the podcast. He said no, but I managed to get him on anyway. While we start with antique heavy equipment, we eventually touch on mental health issues, parenting, starting as an operator, and a whole lot more. For a nervous wreck who has never done a podcast, Garret did pretty damn good. I enjoyed my talk with Garret and learned a lot, so hopefully, you e...
Oct 21, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 38
Sam Meeker is a Caterpillar dozer extraordinaire and is formally a Product Application Specialist for Track-Type Tractors. Starting in the agriculture world, he found his way into dirt with Caterpillar and quickly took to track loaders and now dozers. While he doesn't have a formal operating background like his excavator counterpart Mr. Ryan Neal, Sam knows more about Cat dozers than just about anyone. I've always enjoyed his love for these machines, and it's quite apparent in this episode. To f...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 37
In this episode of Dirt Talk, I talk with Mike Willhite, owner of Willhite Grading and Excavation, about his past controversies, life lessons, and business experiences. Most people know Mike from social media as he's shown off his Santa Barbara-based excavating business day to day for years now online. While he's spoken openly about some of the recent rough life experiences, we dive into it all, and I have a lot more respect for him after this conversation. We talk about anything from jail time ...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 36
Dane started his Bozeman, Montana-based excavation business a few years ago when he grew tired of his job. He abruptly quit, financed a skid steer the same day, and he was off to the races to build a business from nothing. While DC Excavation is small, they have an incredibly slick fleet with all the gizmos and gadgets imaginable from engcons to Trimble 3D GPS. Dane and I talk life, business, equipment, and of course, dirt. Learn more about Dane and DC Excavation by following them on Instagram @...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 35
This episode is a whole new world for Dirt Talk! We finally took the podcast on the road to interview RAWSO Constructors foreman/superintendent Brett Baker on his site development project in Antioch, Tennessee. Brett is a self-proclaimed red neck from West Tennessee who now manages entire projects at only 24-years old. Initially studying nursing in college, he dropped out of school two semesters short when he had a child to rejoin the construction industry. We go into his story, what he does day...
Sep 24, 2020•43 min•Ep. 34
