About Us

1. Nursery biology, 40 feet up

   Looking back, I scratch my head and think about the chain of events that led me to this profession. I have adult education, agricultural & environmental technology, and horticulture degrees. Honestly, tree care isn’t all that different from managing a nursery; it’s the same biology, the same principles. The only real difference is that instead of making a quarter-inch pruning cut on a shrub, you’re making that same cut 40 feet up on a limb that’s 3 to 12 inches thick. Everything about the method is the same. It’s just: how do you get up there to actually do it?

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   I went to NC State, spent years around Raleigh, and this area just stuck with me. I like the outdoors, I like having a lake nearby, and I like that there are still a lot of people here who grew up the same way I did: spending time outdoors and working with our hands.

2. My first tree: a 70’ red oak

   I started this business while I was living in Greensboro NC. I still remember my first tree, 70’ red oak well within striking distance of the house. I topped it out and blocked it down with some coaching and a plug-in Ryobi chainsaw. That was all it took and I was hooked.

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   The first couple years of running this business were rough. I took jobs I probably wasn’t ready for yet, sometimes worked without a ground crew, and put in the kind of hours that only make sense when you’re building something from nothing. Eventually it was time to move on and the Triangle seemed to be calling my name.

3. Contract climbing and great mentors

   I worked for some really great mentors throughout my “contract climber” career and saw what a business could become. I slayed some giants, chased storm work, and even rescued and raised some squirrels. I had a blast while cutting my teeth to say the least. As you climb the industry rope (not ladder), you acquire more skills, more contacts, more work.

4. The wake-up call

   As most full time climbers do, one day I had a wake up call. I was on contract in a dead tree, which can be a daily occurrence. While trying to top out the crown, the supplied ground guy pulled hard before I’d made my back cut, and the tree broke at the base. I rode it down and walked away, but broke my back. If I had not been tied into an adjacent tree (advanced skill), which did slow the fall some, the story likely would have ended.

5. Why I hire people who know the work

   That single afternoon changed how I run this company with the revelation of “I can’t be the only guy climbing” hurting much more than the back injury. Honestly though, it shouldn’t have to be just me.

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   Having to hire a climber to fill in for me on my contracts, sounds an awful lot like a business and less of me climbing with a chainsaw. This incident is part of the reason why I care so much about hiring people who already know what they’re doing, and training the ones who want to learn it right. When a crew actually knows the work, nobody has to slow down and explain the basics mid-job and that’s the difference between a job that goes right and one that doesn’t.

You can't make mistakes and not pay for them in this industry. The accountability is immediate.