Work experience

What began as a hobby blog and YouTube channel aimed at the off-road (side-by-side) market has grown into full time work for myself and 6 other employees.  YouTube continues to be the marketing focal point with over 500,000 combined subscribers, but is also supported by an ecommerce parts store, merchandising, sweepstakes, as well as advertising.  This endeavor has been a crash course in business management and has provided a vast number of invaluable life experiences and partnerships!

Just before graduating from SVSU I was offered a product engineering position in the General Motors Group.  In this role I was central in all areas of product development including design, validation, cost control, quality, & manufacturing.  Much of my work was on safety & performance critical components for GM full-size truck/suv, C7 Corvette, & later Ford full-size truck/suv.  This position offered excellent professional experience working directly with major OEMs and global partners.

I started at Kondo Machine Tool as a delivery driver but worked my way into an operator and eventually a programmer position.  On the job I began by learning manual mill work, then manual lathe, and then became proficient on CNC lathe (Haas), primarily writing g-code manually but occasionally utilizing SolidWorks and Mastercam.  I also had responsibility for fabrication when jobs required weldments.  This position greatly expanded my hands on experience with metalworking. 

Throughout my working career I have maintained involvement in various forms of powersport and motorsport racing, primarily providing engine assembly, custom machining and performance modifications to independent racers in both 2-stroke and 4-stroke varieties. I have also engaged in consulting services in areas of engineering, CAD design, and drawing preparation.