- Episodes -

In this episode I talk to a financial advisor and portfolio manager named Tom Kelly. We not only dive into wealth management but also get into training, athletics and mindset. Enjoy!

Barry spent 20 years on the tools as a lineman before deciding to leave it all behind and pursue his dream of running his own business. Our conversation is raw and real. We talk about business, mental health, addiction, family and of course line work. Enjoy!

Andrew is a Lineman from the North West with a powerful story that proves accomplishing your dreams is possible even through great adversity. He and his wife Heather have now started a company called Line Roots and are giving back to a trade that has given so much to them.

Dennis is a very driven lineman from the east coast. His intense work ethic landed him a spot as a helicopter lineman for 6 years. He is also a successful business man owning a powerline contracting company and two gym/ training facilities.

Eli is a strong amazing woman who loves life and her family. Her husband Jacob was a lineman that passed away on the job in 2016. She walks us through that day and how she overcame her loss to live a full and love filled life. This story isn’t easy for linemen, or anyone related to this trade to listen to but it’s important that you do. Jacob’s legacy lives on through Eliana and their two sons. Join me in listening to this powerful story filled with so many great lessons and takeaways.

U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, former Police Officer and Firefighter Travis Howze is an international touring Comedian and Motivational Speaker who has been igniting top stages around the world with laughter and inspirational messages for over a decade! Author of Create Your Own Light, Travis has been able to find healing after an extremely chaotic and traumatic past which led him on a path to helping others through his very personal story of “Finding Post Traumatic Purpose.” Join us in listening to episode 40 as Travis takes us through his story and gives us tools, we can use to help us find our own purpose.

In 1896, Wilmot Stephens founded The Stephens Company in Binghamton, NY. “Stephen’s Climbers” were handcrafted in his blacksmith shop and formed the genesis of entire product lines serving linemen and arborists. Several years later in 1913, W.H Buckingham purchased The Stephens Company and changed the name to what is now known as Buckingham Manufacturing Co., Inc. At that point in time, manufacturing was expanded beyond climbers to include linemen’s body belts, safety straps, climber pads, knives, and other tools. Andy Batty Jr. and a new management team took ownership in 1984 and grew the company substantially over the next several decades, solidifying Buckingham’s role as the world’s leading and most trusted manufacturer of equipment for major electric utilities, telecommunications companies, wireless and cable providers, and arborists. Today, Andy and his son Tim continue to guide the company and have expanded, improved, and introduced new products; built, maintained, and grew a robust sales and distribution system that spans the globe, and introduced new technology to the industries Buckingham serves as well as its own production facility. Join me in listening to episode 039 of Powerline Podcast with President and Owner of Buckingham MFG Andy Batty. When you’re talking about Buckingham you’re talking about Andy. They are one and the same. ENJOY!

Johnny is a genuine person and lineman from SoCal. He served in the Marine Corp for 4 years before finding line work in his thirties. We had a great conversation about growing up and working on powerlines in southern California, apprentices, brotherhood and mental health.

JP Dinnell is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front, where he serves as Director of Tactical Training Programs. Jeremiah spent nearly a decade in the SEAL Teams with three combat deployments. Sent to the violent terrorist stronghold of Ar Ramadi, Iraq in 2006 with SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, J.P. served as point man, machine gunner, and lead sniper for Delta Platoon opposite the American Sniper, Chris Kyle, in Charlie Platoon. He worked closely with SEAL Officers Jocko Willink, his Task Unit Commander, and Leif Babin, and was the driving force on many of the daring combat operations Jocko and Leif wrote about in Extreme Ownership. Upon his return, J.P. again worked directly for Jocko as a training instructor at Naval Special Warfare Group One Training Detachment, where he orchestrated realistic and challenging special operations urban combat and close quarters combat training to better prepare SEAL units for the real-world battlefield. He also served as combatives and marksmanship instructor and earned his Master Trainer Specialist qualification while helping Jocko rebuild and enhance these training programs into the highly effective platforms they are today. J.P. brings exceptional experience and frontline leadership perspective into the winning mindset and culture of Task Unit Bruiser. He serves as Director of Tactical Training Programs, leadership instructor, speaker and strategic advisor for Echelon Front.

Dr. Lindsay Langill holds three trade tickets and a doctoral degree. He is the President of 3-Degrees Consulting and Board Chair of the Joint Line Apprenticeship Training Association. In this episode we dive into the idea of what a modern apprenticeship program might look like.

Doing a deep dive in this episode into a topic that we all need to be talking about more. That topic is Grounding and Bonding and I’ve asked two subject matter experts to join me in this detailed discussion on the subject. Disclaimer: This podcast is just a discussion to help you start thinking about grounding and bonding in a different way and to get you to start questioning current practices in order to help progress the trade. In no way are we telling you to go against the safety practices and procedures that are put in place for you by your authorities.

Robin has been in the electrical industry since the 70’s. His love of electronics started as far back as high school and in over 40 years he has touched every aspect of the industry. He’s a ticketed Electrician and Lineman who started a business from scratch during a recession and ultimately went on to sell it to Quanta Services after 25 years and become the President of multiple Quanta companies.

Lindsay has been a safety professional in the powerline industry for 10 years. She has a great perspective on safety and a genuine passion for the trade. Enjoy episode 33 of Powerline Podcast!✌️

Chase has been in the trade for 18 years and in that time has been able to check most of the box’s off on the list of things to do in the trade. He has gone from growing up with a passion for snowboarding and skating in a small coastal town to one of the lead GF’s of a major 500kV project in Northern BC, Canada. This episode is packed with lesson’s learned and great advice for anyone looking to make a long career in the line trade. And of course we talk about ocean fishing!

Jude is a J man with dual tickets as an electrician and LINEMAN. This episode is packed with great conversation. We deep dive into topics such as mental health, physical fitness, humility and so much more.

James is a veteran Fireman, Paramedic, and host of Behind The Shield Podcast. Linemen and Firemen have a long standing respect for each other despite the occasional poke about being each others hero’s. LOL In all seriousness James has a beautiful heart for humanity and a deep longing to serve. He spent just over 14 years as a Fireman and Paramedic also acquiring a Bachelor’s in Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology. James shares his history and how he became a Fireman then move on to do a deeper dive into a couple of topics that I’ve wanted to talk about on this show for a while, physical fitness and mental health. He has interviewed almost 300 amazing guests over 3 years on his podcast @BehindTheShield911. If you don’t already subscribe to Behind The Shield please take the time to do that right now. His guests are fantastic, and topics are very relatable to our industry. Stay healthy folks and enjoy the episode.

Ted is a second generation lineman. He’s originally from the East Coast of Canada. With a plane ticket, $3K in his pocket, and somewhere to sleep for two weeks Ted moved west to become a Lineman. Ted’s story is one that you just don’t hear of much these days. He literally packed up his life and moved west to become a Lineman. Fast forward 20 years and he’s not only a Lineman but he’s a company owner and someone that is continuously giving back to the trade that’s given so much to him.

Cyril grew up as an athlete in the sunshine state of Hawaii. Through family ties to the electrical industry, he found his way into linework. He’s a Journeyman Lineman known on Instagram as Zeus Hawaii. His skills are extremely creative, and it shows in how he represents our trade through photos and video on his IG page. Please enjoy episode 028!

Bruce’s career is a great example for everyone in the trade. The audience of this podcast is quite diverse ranging from people just trying to get into the trade to those in an executive roll. Bruce started digging holes for power poles almost 30 years ago and now is an executive for a major power line contractor. Bruce’s story isn’t linear. He has had a few setbacks but through each setback he pushed himself further forward. Linework provided Bruce the opportunity to travel the world. He’s stood in awe in the presence of silverback gorillas in the Congo, sat at the foot of the pyramids of Egypt, and bobbed around in a cage as great whites swam within inches. Each setback in his career could have been the end but he wouldn’t accept it. He’s a lineman and this industry is his passion. Enjoy episode 027 of Powerline Podcast. Please don’t forget to like, leave a comment and share these episodes with everyone that you know in the industry.

Some of you out there will recognize Red Dog. If you’re part of the Quanta family and have spent any time at the Lazy Q ranch doing Barehand training than you’ve probably been taught by him. He has performed all aspects of the trade over the course of his career and is now a world class trades trainer. Listen to Red Dog’s story of growing up. The son of a lineman. His dad would often take him for rides in helicopters and on the right of ways of the 500kV transmission lines he was building across British Columbia. He would later go on to become a lineman himself and from the moment he could ride a bike he never looked back. Enjoy eps 026 of Powerline Podcast and make sure you listen to the intro for a special announcement that has been a while in the making.

025 | Brady Hansen | A True Tradesman. Brady Hansen has spent his whole life devoted to this amazing trade. He is a true tradesman that now helps teach and instruct Lineworkers not only in North America but abroad as well. He has founded and organization called Electrical Workers Without Borders. This organization helps Lineworkers in developing nations get things like training and tools. This episode is packed with fantastic conversation for everyone in this industry.

Glenn Wright is a JM Lineman, JM Electrician, and professional teacher/instructor. He’s been in the industry for more than 20 years and has been a training instructor for some of the biggest organizations in our industry. This episode is packed with a ton of great conversation about the state of training in our industry and some ideas about how to progress it further.

In this episode we talk about having a goal, setting an intention and striving to reach it. Syd grew up on a farm in southern Saskatchewan. She is the first female to go through the SaskPower line apprenticeship program and is currently a third year apprentice. With hard work, patience, and dedication you can achieve anything.

Mike has truly shaped a great career in this industry. He has very humble beginnings as a hole digger, through patience and a ton of hard work he has risen to be an influential leader of a major powerline contracting company. There are so many great lessons in this episode. Mike’s story has a couple of twists of hardship as well and he was gracious enough to share with us what they were and some of the tools he’s used to overcome them.

Lots of great conversation in this episode. Anne-Marie and I talk about everything from what it took to start LineJunk and now the Line Life Foundation to safety in the trade. She is one of those people that genuinely cares for the industry and the people in it. This is a great story that I think you’ll all really enjoy listening to.

“Distance teaches us to appreciate the days that we are able to spend together, and distance teaches us the definition of patience, It is a reminder that every moment together is special, and every second together should be cherished.” Distance is something that we in this trade know all about. Today’s guest has decided to close the distance in her and her husband’s relationship by packing up everything and joining him on the road as he tramps around the US working the on the lines. Shanna is the creator of LineWife. A community of women who share similar experiences and their version of life on the lines.

Isaac is a lineman that lives in the mountains of Southern California. One of the amazing things about this trade is how similar we all are. In this episode we really just talk about life. We share some of the jobs we’ve worked on and what we do with our off time. If you have a love of the outdoors this is the episode for you. Isaac has a jacked up jeep and utility trailer that he loves to get out into nature with. We cover everything from jeeps and mountaineering to leadership and training in the trade.

Del Marth. Most of you on IG or Facebook have probably seen the praying hands surrounded by lightning bolts with the words Brothers Keeper beneath them. Some of you may know Brandon Orozco’s story or at least parts of it. Del is Brandon’s mother, and this episode is about the story and legacy of fellow brother Brandon Orozco. Since Brandon’s passing in 2013 Del has been on a mission to get her #brotherskeeper stickers onto the hard hat of every lineman out there. In 6 years, she has given out more than 50,000 stickers! These stickers are a way to keep her sons name alive and they are a reminder of the brotherhood we are a part of. When you see the hands whether it’s on a sticker, a shirt or a hat. Take a second and think about your next move, think about your brother/sisters next move and watch out for each other. It’s up to us to make sure we all make it home each and every day.

Kylee Bott is a lineman and entrepreneur. I had a chance to sit down for an interview with Kylee to hear all about the creation of KB Rustic Signs and the Fried Squirrel Hat Co along with his military career and life in this fine trade.

Josh Langley is a Lineman from Southern California. In this episode we talk about leadership in the trade, balancing family and work, and a heart for the men and women that serve our nations.