So I had the pleasure of working with Amy Haimerl at Fortune Small Business on an article about executives with “interesting” hobbies. I was honored, but I have to admit I am afraid that it made me look a bit goofy, if not downright eccentric. This is not what I had in mind when we were contacted by Amy – after all, this is Fortune – they wouldn’t write an article like this, would they?

Well they did, and as my friend Shel Israel says – when you blog you get to have your own say in what’s written, and if you want to you can add your own commentary☺

So to explain a little bit, I don’t really relax by “blowing things up”.  Well, I guess you could say Pillar is trying to blow up the status quo within the storage industry…( more on that in my next post).

When it comes to fireworks, I build “star shells” mostly. These are the aerial fireworks you see on the 4^th of July, or Football games, or New Years celebrations. It is a load of work, but it is great fun at the same time. Physics, Chemistry, Art, Mechanical Engineering, and even some Electrical Engineering are all involved as we build our own tools for production.

Before I get questions about legalities, we are indeed fully legal. We have a facility in the desert, we are licensed by the proper authorities, and we are regularly inspected as well. Same for wine – and we just barely stay under the legal limit for “hobby” home winemaking, which is 200 gallons per household per year (about 3.5 standard barrels).  It’s pretty good wine – Syrah, Petit Syrah, and Cabernet – and if you are interested in learning more about what we can do for your business, I’d be happy to share some with you when you visit Pillar. And I promise to leave the explosives in the desert!

I suppose the article could have taken a worse tack – that I get wasted and blow things up! Seriously, thanks Amy. I enjoyed talking with you. It was a fun interview.