Safety First: Insights from a Near-Death Experience

The primary focus of our discourse centers on the profound implications of safety in the workplace, particularly in scenarios involving elevated risks such as ladder usage. I recount a harrowing experience whereby I fell from a significant height while performing my professional duties, an incident that was perceived by many as a near-fatal occurrence. This conversation serves as both a cautionary tale and a call to action for industry professionals to prioritize safety protocols, as the consequences of negligence can be irrevocable. Throughout our dialogue, we examine the critical importance of implementing rigorous safety measures, fostering a culture of awareness, and maintaining open communication regarding potential hazards. Ultimately, we aim to enlighten our listeners on the necessity of safeguarding not only oneself but also one’s colleagues, thereby ensuring that such accidents are prevented in the future.

Takeaways:

• This podcast episode underscores the paramount importance of safety protocols in high-risk environments, particularly during tasks such as marine detailing and ladder work.
• The speaker's harrowing experience of falling 20 feet emphasizes the unpredictable nature of accidents and the necessity of proper safety measures to mitigate risks.
• There exists a significant gap in the awareness of safety standards among business owners and employees, highlighting the need for ongoing safety education and training.
• The discussion elucidates the psychological impact of workplace accidents, revealing how such incidents can influence mental health and necessitate supportive recovery environments.

Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content: http://www.youtube.com/@TheDetailSolutionsPodcast1

https://www.rhopointamericas.com save 10% on the Detailometer through the month of February with the MTE special/

https://www.mte.live/paint-correction-competition leave a suggestion for next years competition

Use code dsp10 at www.biobombs.com to save 10% on your order.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
If we look at what the outcomeis and where I am right now, if people
really heard what I heard frompeople who saw the video, you know,
that this conversation is justlike I said, you know, they said
it's a miracle.
But this conversation isreally one to just take in for anybody

(00:21):
listening because peoplethought I died that day, you know,
and.
And luckily, the people thatthought that they called somebody
was like, oh, actually, she'sat home, like.
And so they.
But I mean, it's.
To know that that's what the.
What it looked like on the.
The video is.
Yeah.
Crazy to me.

(00:41):
Y out to me and told me your story.

(01:22):
I'll give you a chance to kindof retell it so everybody kind of
knows what.
What happened to you.
But you reached out to me andasked, you know, about coming on
and talking about safety,specifically ladder safety, because
of the incident you had.
And I thought it was a greatidea because one of the things that

(01:42):
I've done in the.
The podcast before is try totalk about safety and the things
that can happen in your shop or.
Or just.
Just in general.
Right.
That could potentially put youdown and out.
So, Angela, explain toeverybody exactly what happened to
you and then how it has madeyou kind of, you know, reevaluate

(02:06):
how you do things.
Well, it was really, honestly,like, a fluke accident.
Nothing that we hadn't done before.
I mean, when I'm on boats,like the one behind me, you know,
we're climbing on stuff, right?
But I had a ladder up.
The boat was in the water, andwe had the ladder leaning against

(02:26):
the dock, and a boat came byon the lake, created a wake the same
time, so the boat was movingthe same time that I took a step.
And so normally I'm notstepping when the boat rocks.
I'm just holding on.
But I stepped at the sametime, and the ladder slipped, and
I just.
I fell 20ft and landed inbetween two giant cleats.

(02:50):
They're probably like 18inches and, you know, pretty thick,
solid metal.
You know, 4 inches at my headand 4 inches or 6 inches at my feet
where I would have.
Could have hit.
I hit my arm on, like, asmaller cleat that was probably like
12 inches because there's, like.
It's a.
That.
That dock is like the out tie.

(03:12):
So there's.
That's where they have all thebig boats.
They have to have multiplecleats there and different sizes.
And so it really just.
I know what I know partlybecause of the people that were there.
My.
Luckily, my Employee wasthere, and I remember him checking
my pulse.
And, you know, he had his handon, like, my chest.

(03:32):
Just, like, seeing.
You know, kind of letting me know.
I think it was like, that hewas there.
And then he called 91 1.
And then I just remember alady, like, doing a sternal rub on
me to get me to breathe againand, you know, talking me through
it.
And there was a guy in ayellow shirt.
I remember.
It's.
It's weird what you remember,you know, And I remember the guy

(03:52):
in the yellow shirt, and he'slike, I'm just gonna stand over here
and just was out of the way.
And there was a lot of people pretty.
What I thought was prettyquickly, but I think it was, like,
about 10 minutes.
And they want, you know, whenEMS gets there, they go through the
series of questions.
So I didn't know my last name.
I didn't know where Seattle was.
And I was at the Seattle Yacht Club.

(04:13):
I knew I was at a yacht club,but I didn't know also if I was at
Queen City or Seattle Yacht Club.
And they're, like, right byeach other.
I knew the exact boat I wason, but I didn't know why I was there
at the boat.
And I think the birthday one,it is funny because they're like,
do you know your birthday?
And I was like, it's Sunday.
Because my birthday wasSunday, you know, coming up.

(04:35):
And they're like, okay, we'lltake that.
You know, I was a C spine injury.
You know, it's a catastrophic fall.
And luckily, I didn't, like,no spinal cord damage, no nerve damage.
The only broken.
And I say only because of howfar I fell, was just like, my hip

(04:56):
socket.
Hairline fracture in my hip socket.
And.
And then obviously, a lot of,like, bruising, tissue damage, things
like that.
So, you know, and then youthink about, like, the things that
you think about when that happens.
For me, it was like my flip flops.
I was like, where are my flip flops?
You know, that's like, animportant thing for me.

(05:17):
I obviously have oneheadphone, and this isn't the same
set of headphones, but Ialways lose, like, an airpod somewhere.
And so I had lost some stuff, but.
And, you know, Mason told me,you know, he called my parents, and
they were five hours away on aboat trip off of some state park
south.
And, you know, his story oftalking to, like, my mom or my mom

(05:39):
and dad was kind of.
It's funny because it'stypical, like, just how my parents
are.
And so he Was like, Angelafell off a ladder, you know, and
she's going to Harbor View.
And my dad's like, well, we'refive hours away.
We can't go.
And my mom was like, yes, thewe can.
And so it's like, you know,then they.
They had to call all thesepeople, and somebody had to drive

(06:00):
to the state park and pickthem up to drive three hours to their
house to.
Then an hour and a half to me.
Wow.
And so.
So when I start thinking aboutthat, it's not just.
And I talked about this at mt,it's not just about us and getting
the cool picture.
It's also, there's so manyother pieces that are involved in,
like, in the safety aspect of it.

(06:22):
Like, I never want to put myfamily through something like that
again.
It wasn't intentional.
But when we don't think likethat until it happens.
Right.
And so for me, even after Ifell, I look at all the things I've
done.
They've just been really sketchy.
You know, they're cool pictures.
But is it worth it to take acool picture, or is it worth it to

(06:44):
just take the extra 15minutes, put a harness on, tie yourself
up, and make sure that thatcool picture is actually cooler because
you're safe.
Right, Exactly.
And I think when we'reyounger, we don't think about that
stuff.
We just think, like, I canclimb on here and I can do this,
and.
And I look at.
I look back at like, you know, I.
I'm 10 years in business, andI look back at year one through five,

(07:06):
and it's like we were doingsome wild climbing.
I mean, I climb on.
Used to climb on railings allthe time.
You know, we're climbing upand down windows on to get them to
the browse.
Instead of, like, reallythinking, what's an easier way to
do it?
Sometimes that's the only way.
We're not set up withharnesses to do that.
And.
And now I think this pastyear, I've been in a.

(07:26):
A harness more than ever.
Right.
And just.
And just so everybodyunderstands that's listening to this.
Who, you know, maybe doesn'tremember you from talking before
or whatever.
It's not like you're doingboats, right?
Like, you.
You keep saying boats all thetime whenever you talk to me.
And I'm like, you're not doing boats.
I mean, you're doing yachts.
You're doing mega.

(07:47):
Because, like, you told me,you're like, I don't like doing anything
under 100ft.
Like, that's not a boat.
You know, like, like myclients, like, little 24 foot, you
know, console.
That's a boat.
You know, like, I mean, my.
My bread and butter is like 60.
60 to 70.
And then of course, I love thebig ones.
And still 60 foot.
Yeah.

(08:07):
I mean, you're still gettinginto vessel size.
Like.
Yeah.
Like, so for everybody who'slistening to this, when you say,
like you're climbing up the.
The windows to the brow andeverything, and it's.
This isn't the wind, a Malibu,you know, water, wakeboard or whatever.
Yeah.
Like you're climbing up likethree stories kind of thing.

(08:28):
Yeah.
So.
Yes.
I just want everybody to kindof understand, like, if they don't
know you and they're listeningto this, like, Like.
Yeah.
You're not dealing with, youknow, anything small, especially,
I mean, right off the guy, youknow, right out the gate, you're
talking about a 20 foot ladder.
You know, like, obviouslythat's a big boy, but it's a big
vessel.
You know, I'm not even.
So.
Yeah.

(08:49):
So I think one thing too islike, no matter what size boat you're
on, or even if you're on acar, like working on a car or a truck
or whatever it is, and youknow, like, you're on a step.
Step stool or don't bring upthe step stool.
I still got.
I still got some PTSD fromthat little two stepper that broke

(09:10):
my wrist.
Okay.
Like, but I mean, it's like we don't.
We don't even think, like, how.
Yeah, you're right.
We.
Yeah.
So it's just.
But I mean, after the fall,like, I really.
I really took a lot of time toeven like, talk to one of my friends
who used to.
He used to work with me forlike six years and we talked and

(09:32):
just.
He was one of the last peopleI text before.
Before I started work that day.
And so.
And he.
He sent me a text and he'slike, have a great day.
Drink water and be safe.
And I was just like.
And then 35 minutes later, I'mtexting him, fell off a ladder.
I'm in the hospital, you know,and then he didn't hear from me for
like six hours.
But we had a.

(09:53):
We've, I think, wanted it withthe community is really small out
here.
And so with him and becausehe's worked for me, we've talked
about a lot of differentthings to be safer with what we're
doing.
And it even comes down to,like, process and procedure.
Yeah.
Like, what are we gonna.
What are we gonna do?
And how are we.
What?
Oh, sorry.

(10:14):
I heard a sound.
I was like, what is that?
But process procedures still,you have to look at that.
And what can you do with thatto make your day or your work safer?
And.
Yeah, and that's really whatit was.
And it became very apparent tome that, like, I.
Not we, but I wasn't reallybeing a responsible boss, and I can

(10:38):
own up to that and making surethat we were really safe 100 of the
time, probably like 90 of the time.
But you want to be like 150 safe.
Like an overly safe.
Yeah, because one small moveand, you know, we wouldn't be having
this conversation.
Oh, yeah, Yeah.
I mean, like you.
Like you said, I mean, youwere four inches from one, cleats

(11:00):
and stitches from another.
Like, if you'd have probablyfell on either one of those, it might
be a different story.
Especially with your head.
I mean, if your head those.
It might be a different story.
Let me ask you this.
Was there any kind of, youknow, after the fact and everything,
was there any kind of, and Idon't know, maybe like the right

(11:21):
word, like, investigationinto, like, whether it be OSHA or
insurance or anything likethat, of why you weren't, you know,
maybe harnessed up or thingsof that nature that, you know, is
important for people to understand?
The.
I mean, I can't say it was inan investigation, but in talking
with the people at the yachtclub, the guy was like, he didn't.

(11:46):
He.
He made it clear that hedidn't want to lecture me because
he was just happy to hear myvoice because people thought I died.
That's what people thought.
I died.
Or I was paralyzed.
And so he just was like, inthe future, maybe you can set up
differently.
Maybe you're not on the ladderthat's leaning against a boat, maybe.
And he gave me all these options.
He's like, maybe buildscaffolding, maybe be on a harness.

(12:07):
And all this stuff that Ithink was really like.
He kind of went into like, the.
The dad side of it.
Right with me.
As opposed to like, you didXYZ wrong.
Like, it was more like, let'shave a solution so this doesn't happen
again.
They never at that marina hadan incident.

(12:27):
They've had incidents, but notlike that.
And so I think for him and I.
I listen.
Like, I kept the voicemailsfrom people because it's just like
hearing them.
It's just a reminder of like,well, thank God I'm here.
Because a lot of them arelike, I'm just glad to hear.
Right.
But he really, like, even.
Even now, you know, once amonth, he's like, he knows I'm gonna

(12:50):
be coming up there to workpretty soon.
And it's just kind of like,let's be.
Let's be safe and have a goodplan and, you know, to not go through
this again.
And I do.
I have a plan.
I'm doing all the high stuffout of the water, so in a.
In a scissor lift, you know.
Right.
But.
And I can, like.
And now that, like, I thinkabout it too, I just think we didn't.

(13:11):
We never.
We did everything the same wayfrom the.
From year one till then.
And so for 10 years, you know, we.
You never know when it could happen.
It could have happened sooner.
It might not have ever happened.
But why are we waiting tillsomething happens to be safe?
You know, like, why can't wejust do the right thing right away?

(13:34):
And if somebody doesn't likehaving to wear a harness, may.
Maybe this isn't the job for you.
Right.
If you're going to complainabout the safety, go, you know, go
sit behind a desk.
Yeah.
You know what?
Even when I look at, like,when it comes to cars, RVs, whatever
it is, like, there's thatsafety side of it still.

(13:54):
Yeah, Well, I mean, there's.
There's, I think, the biggestthing that, you know, and I.
And I feel like it's.
Whether it's boats or cars or.
Or trailers or RVs orwhatever, one of the biggest things
that I think that a lot ofdetailers don't.
And it's probably, you know,the thing that nobody thinks about.
Right.
But I mean, like, you know,wearing a mask when you're compounding,
you know, so you're notbreathing and all those harsh chemicals

(14:16):
or even some of the ceramiccoatings that are, you know, super,
super high solids, you know, Imean, I remember.
I forget which brand it was,but I remember.
I remember, you know, coding acar one time and I was like, oh,
man.
Like, I feel a littlelightheaded for some reason.
It's because I was holding thebottle, like, close.
Close to me versus, like,setting it, you know, like, I was

(14:37):
holding the bottle, you know,and so, like, now I.
I poured on my pad and I.
And I set it down somewhere.
Yeah.
I mean, at least I.
I have always worn gloves whenI use ceramic coatings, you know.
But you're getting closer, right?
Yeah.
Get it close.
You know, like.
Yeah, but.
But, yeah, but I mean, like, Ithink that's, you know, like you
said, it's just something thatwe, we all probably instinctively

(15:01):
know or we know because we'veseen it enough times on Facebook
or whatever.
But when you're in it, youknow, it's, it's the last thing on
your mind is to.
Yeah.
Wear a harness or, you know,wear a mask or, you know, protective
eyewear or make sure that thecord isn't right underneath your

(15:22):
ladder when you step down offof the two stepper, like your wrist.
So.
Right.
And when, and when I, likewhen I was talking about safety too,
at mp, like, you have to havethe right insurance too when this
stuff is going on, you know,you actually do have to pay attention
to OSHA laws and all of thatstuff, you know.

(15:44):
Yeah.
And it's just, it's so crazyto me to think that like I, I have
this picture of one of my oldemployees and he.
I'll send it to you sometime.
But he's walking on the sideof the boat.
Like, he's like, it's a twostory boat, 58ft and he's walking
on the edge of it cleaning theStratoblast the outside of the stomach

(16:05):
glass.
Yeah.
I look at it and I'm justlike, the picture is really cool.
And he's on the water side andso I'm like, okay, well if he fell,
he would have fallen in the water.
Right?
But, but then I think about itnow and I'm just like, what the hell
was I doing allowing him tostep out there like that?
Yeah.

(16:25):
And just, and I mean, and whathe does now, he's like, yeah, I'm
harnessed up.
He climbed to the top ofsmokestacks and stuff.
That's his job.
But, but I'm like, as risky asyou are, like, is it.
And as.
As agile as you can be, is itreally worth it?
And that's what I keep asking people.
Is it really worth it to doall that stuff and just wait for
the accident to happen and,but how about we just prevent the

(16:48):
accident from happening altogether?
Yeah.
Because when I look at thespot that I was in when I went back,
I literally had five feet to buff.
Five feet, like nothing crazy.
And, and it turned into.
I never got to finish it.
Didn't get to finish the job.
And not because the, the ownerwas not mad at all.
Like, he was actually wantedme to be safe.

(17:10):
And I'm doing, I do three ofhis boats already.
Right.
But, but I, that job was atthe time was one of the biggest tickets
that I had.
And I was just like.
And, and I had never.
I do five figure jobs, butthis was a high five figure job.
And I had never pricesomething that high.
And then for the guys, for theguy like, and who it is, I was just

(17:34):
like, dang, this is crazybecause it put me into a different
level of, of clientele.
Right.
So to not be able to finishthat job and seeing what I had already
done, and I was just soexcited because I knew this boat
was, it was just going to be glass.
It was going to be, it wasgoing to be amazing.
And, and I just, I felt so bad.
But the owner, and this is theother thing to think about too, because

(17:55):
it's not always just safety,but are you working for the right
people?
Is that the owner text thecaptain and was like, I don't care
if she comes back in a week,in a month, in a year, five years,
10 years.
He's like, her, her health ismore important than.
Yeah.
Any boat.
And I had never heard that.
And I've been in business 10years and I never heard that before.

(18:16):
Yeah, no, that's awesome.
Because most people would belike, oh, well, okay, let me go find
somebody else to finish up thejob then.
Or, you know, whatever.
So.
Yeah, that's awesome.
So have you finished or so.
Well, you said you haven'tfinished a job.
No.
So he sold that boat andbought, bought the 100 footer that
I'm gonna be doing in.
So he just went, he went bigger.

(18:39):
But we're, I mean, that one.
We have a totally different plan.
You know, I'm doing major orall the high stuff I'll do out of
the water in a lift and theneverything else we'll be able to
do when it goes back to hishouse at Hunts Point.
But it was, I think it was really.
That was an eye opener for metoo, on a different side of it, which
is do I have the right clientele?

(19:00):
Are they really, do theyreally appreciate what I'm doing?
Because I think even sometimesall of us have, have people who are
just like, I just need the job done.
When is it going to get done?
Right, right, exactly.
Well, I don't know.
We're talking about me beingparalyzed and never working again.
So.
Yeah.
Figure that out first, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Your boat, your boat's thelast thing I'm worried about now
kind of thing.
Yeah.

(19:21):
So.
So how long was your recovery?
Because this happened, what,back in June?
Okay.
Yeah.
So I actually just learnedthis because I just saw my arm specialist.
So my Initial recovery, theysay six to nine months for your initial
recovery of like things kindof just like getting back into place
and being able to function.

(19:42):
Right.
But it's after that ninemonths, then it's 18 to 24 months
of my body really getting back.
I'm gonna go through a lot ofresidual stuff.
I still have my concussion, sothat's gonna be a couple years.
If not, it could be, who knowshow long that's gonna be.

(20:02):
So there's a lot of just kindof things that are trickling and
every day things go away.
The, the recovery itself isnot, was not a linear recovery.
Like when you break, I think Itold this to you.
Like when you break your arm,you kind of know where, where you're
going to be in six months witha, a fall.
And they explain this.
It's not, that's totallydifferent because your body is being

(20:27):
held together by theinflammation of your soft tissue.
Right.
And as soon as that startshealing in one place, things just
start moving and the pain is ridiculous.
And sometimes there's a lot ofpain, sometimes there's no pain.
I've, and I live in chronicpain, but I reached a level of pain
where then they also talkabout the mental side of it and the

(20:49):
mental healing.
And I, 10 out of 10 do notrecommend ever falling off a ladder
and having to go through itand be like, take all precautions
to not do it.
Because the recovery itself Ithink is harder than, or yeah, it's
definitely is harder than theactual accident.
So because you're goingthrough everything, you, you feel

(21:10):
things that you never thoughtyou were going to feel.
You, you're thinking thingsthat you, you know, if you're a level
headed person, the way thatyou think is not going to be the
same.
Right?
And then there's the PTSD ontop of that and it's just like, so
it's a trickling effect, it's,it's lingering.
I, I talk about it openlybecause I think people do need to

(21:31):
be aware that it's like if, ifmy mental health was not in check,
like I've, I've gotten it to apoint where I'm in check.
But if it, if this hadhappened two years ago again, I could
say we would not have thisconversation because of the amount,
the level of pain in which,that I reached physically, I could
not deal with it.
And if that's the kind of, andI, I really did say to my mom, I

(21:54):
was like, if this pain issomething I have to deal with for
the next six to Nine months, Iwill kill myself.
Like, and that is just because it's.
It's impossible.
It's like, there's nothingthat takes it away.
And I can't be on narcotics,you know, you.
And if you go on narcoticsafter a fall or any injury, there's
that chance of, like, youknow, getting addicted and all that
stuff.

(22:14):
Yeah.
So there's a lot of stuff thatplays into it.
And so how did you.
How did you keep your mentalhealth in check?
I mean, did you talk tosomebody or did you have somebody
know, a therapist or something that.
That helped you with all ofthat, or what did you.
Yeah, so I.
I have had a therapist.
Let's see, 15.

(22:36):
The same therapist for, like,15 years.
And I know a lot of people arelike, oh, you should change.
And I'm like, well, I hate change.
And she's been really good.
And.
And so, I mean, we're workingon that, too.
But.
But I talked to her, like, the first.
I want to say, three months.
We talked, like, every other day.
Okay.
And then, of course, like, Italked to my mom and just.

(23:01):
I didn't really talk to my friends.
I kind of isolated myself.
So it didn't surprise me whenpeople were like, I didn't know.
And I'm like, yeah, well, Idid isolate myself because it's a.
It kind of puts you in avulnerable spot of like.
Well, some of the stuff.
Conversations that were happening.
But my parents were definitelygo to people I had my animals.

(23:22):
And so that kind of also justhelped me be distracted a little
bit.
Not that I could get up and do anything.
I mean, I was stuck on mycouch for, like, three.
Almost three months.
Like two and a half months.
But, yeah, my therapist.
That was like a huge one.
My therapist and my mom and mybrother, my nieces, you know.

(23:44):
Yeah.
So you had a good support.
Yeah.
Team kind of with you to makesure you always had that comfort.
Yeah.
And I had.
And, you know, and myemployee, like, he kept my business
going.
But I think this was alsosomething that we are forever going
to be connected.
Like, we were connectedbefore, but we were forever going
to be connected after thisbecause, you know, he was just there.

(24:07):
And the one thing that a lotof people don't think about is the
person that's there who sees it.
And I made sure, like, acouple days later to just make sure
he was okay, you know, becausehe's just seen, like, right in his
face, he's just seen something really.
Yeah.
Traumatic.
Was he okay with it?

(24:28):
I mean, or did he you know,have any issues or anything?
He, he had some issues.
He was, he thought I died.
Like, he thought I was gonna die.
And we talked through it.
Like, we, we actually justtalked to him the other day, but
we talked through a lot of itat the beginning, just making sure
that he was okay.
And, and I asked him, I waslike, do you want to work or do you

(24:49):
not want to work?
And he's like, no, I stillwant to.
He's like, I want to work andI want to just do this.
You know, he, he was one of myvery first employees that I ever
had.
And so he, he was able to talkto his friends and I think just kind
of work through it and just.
But it was the.
He said the hardest part was,like, from when I went into the hospital

(25:09):
because he was with me.
And then he went back andcleaned everything up and all that
stuff.
And then he didn't really hearfrom me for two days.
So it wasn't until he heard myvoice that then he knew, like, okay.
Like, she's okay.
Yeah, it kind of felt better.
Eased up on him a little bit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
So pieces.
Yeah.

(25:29):
So have you gotten back towork yet or are you still kind of.
Yeah.
Working your way into it.
So.
Okay, so how long, how longwere you out before you were able
to, you know, get back in andget back into working?
Well, so originally I thoughtI could just go back to work because
I felt good one day.
And so I went to work like,like, I think six days later.
And then I couldn't walk after that.

(25:51):
And I was like, oh, God.
Okay, so that's not happening.
So when I realized that, thenI didn't go back to work for about,
I think, two and a half months.
Okay.
And I was lucky enough to.
Then when I went back to work,I got to work with this really amazing
guy in Gig harbor.
And he just said to me, he'slike, I was doing a coating on his
bow.
He has a 68 foot Princess yacht.

(26:12):
And he just said, do what you can.
He's like, don't push yourself.
He's like, if you can only doan hour, do an hour.
If you can do a full day, cool.
But he's like, just, just easeback into it.
And, and I'm so thankful forthat because there were days where
I, I could work six hours, andthere were days where.
And mind you, six hours isshort for me.
Yeah.

(26:32):
But.
But that's all I can do now, really.
And then there was a day,There were some days where I only
worked an hour, and there wasa day where I came down and something
was out of place and my mentalstate was not right and I was like,
I gotta go home.
You know, and that's reallyjust how it is sometimes.
But.
Right.
I.
I think with him allowing meto just kind of figure out where

(26:53):
my body was able to do stuffand where it can't, and him and his
wife just being so supportive,that really helped me be able to
feel good about myself, to getback in and work because, you know,
some of my muscles atrophiedand I wasn't where I was before.
You know, we're talking aboutme working like 12 to 14 hours because
I like it.
Now the most I can work is sixhours or at that time.

(27:17):
Right.
And so yesterday I actuallyworked a really long day.
I did a.
Which is I.
I was so happy that I didthis, but I did my eight hours and
then went home, hung out withmy dogs and I went back to work because
I love working at night.
Okay.
So I went back to work and.
And I was like, this is.
It felt so good to just beable to do that and just almost be

(27:37):
back to where I normally am.
But I.
I'm not going to do that allthe time.
Right.
Yeah, it was just a.
Probably like once in a blue moon.
I'll go back to work later.
So.
Yeah.
How.
How hard is it to work onboats at night then?
I mean.
Well, they're in a boat house, so.
Yeah.
So the light, he's got reallygood lighting and I have a whole
light system now that I built.
I designed it when I was likeon my back.

(27:59):
I was like, I'm gonna designthis and I'm gonna do this and you
know what can make my lifeeasier, so.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
No, that's cool.
With the concussion, does that.
I mean, like, how does thataffect you as far as, like, you know,
I know a lot of times, youknow, having a concussion that lingers
on, you know, either brightlights or quick movements or, you

(28:23):
know, heights even.
So, like, how does that affectyou with, you know, being up on,
you know, ladders or having tomove your head side to side, you
know, looking at things, orespecially with the light system,
you know, being.
Being real bright.
Well, would.
It actually affects what.
My concussion affects me more in.

(28:44):
In my memory, so I have likeshort term memory loss of.
And I want to be like, is itbecause I fell and hit my head or
is it because I turned 40?
I don't.
But I really.
I've had such a good memory,but I really think it's because I
hit my head.
But I also.
Sometimes my balance is off.
Like, it's really weird.
Like, I'm.

(29:04):
I've always been.
When you're on a boat, it'sone hand for you, one hand for the
boat.
Yeah.
And I think, like, in thesummertime, we work barefooted on
the boats.
That's just how we are.
But sometimes I'll be on thereand just, like, the slightest movement,
it's like I'm like, oh, myGod, I'm falling.
Yeah, I'm not falling.
I'm just like.
Yeah.
But I feel like I'm going almost.
Like a severe vertigo kind of.

(29:26):
Yeah.
Just.
And it's really quick.
And then I.
I'm reminded of, like.
No, you're not.
You're.
You're fine.
You're literally standing here.
Ye at mte I noticed that I getover stimulated.
Okay.
Very quickly.
So walking into theconvention, my.

(29:47):
My head was just like, I can't.
I could hear everyconversation very vividly because
I'm.
Because my memory is, like, shot.
I'm concentrating a lot to.
To remember things, but nowI'm hearing everything.
Okay.
And where normally I couldtone things out, I can't.
I can't really do that anymore.

(30:07):
So it's.
It's really weird.
It's just.
I don't know.
And then when I get too tired,then my speech is messed up.
And so a lot of times I woulddip out before.
And I could get to that pointwith anybody.
Yeah.
Because my.
There's just like this.
I don't know.
I can't get the words out thatI'm thinking that I want to say.
And then I'm just.

(30:27):
I stutter a lot.
And it happens when I'm on thephone, too, with people.
Like, I'll start talking, andI'm just like, I can't say what I'm
trying to say.
And then I'm just apologizingfor not saying what's in my head
because I just can't get thewords out.
Right.
Right.
It's.
It's like they won't go fromyour brain to your tongue kind of
thing.
Yeah.
So.
So bringing up NTE And I knowyou did a ladder safety education,

(30:52):
so how was that?
You know, how did.
First of all, like, I guess,like, let's.
Let's go through, like,wanting to do it.
I mean, obviously, I know MTEfor everybody who's listening, whoever
wants to do any.
Almost anybody can kind of doan Education, you just have to submit.
MTE obviously has to, youknow, whatever the committee is,

(31:15):
they weed it down to, like,the ones that I guess are like, you
know, really good.
Like, ladder safety isprobably a really good one.
How to start a detailing podcast.
They probably, like, Alex, youknow, you don't need to do that,
you know, kind of thing.
So.
So, like, tell me, like, like,you know, from having that idea,

(31:35):
like, what did you submit?
You know, how.
And then how did you, youknow, plan it out and then.
And then how was the turnout?
So I knew I wanted to talk again.
They had asked me last year tospeak again about marine detailing
or this side of what I do.
And.
And I told them I would.
Like.
I was like, I'll do it.
And then after my fall, I wasjust kind of.

(31:57):
It really was just methinking, like, hey, you know what
this is?
Some people do need a realitycheck of, like, accidents happen.
And this is like, I'm very much.
I don't know.
People there were like, you'resuch a miracle.
It's a miracle that you're walking.
And they're absolutely correct.
I necessarily don't.
I don't necessarily think I'duse miracle, but it is true.

(32:19):
Like, I am.
I'm very lucky for the outcomeof everything.
But with thinking about that,I was like, I just want to go and
just not to be all sappy about it.
It's just, like, speak mytruth on what actually happened and
how we can prevent that from happening.
Like, where did I go wrong?
Because a lot of people alsowon't talk about where they went

(32:40):
wrong.
And they're just like, they.
We look at them and we're justlike, oh, they're perfect.
They run a perfect shop.
Nothing probably ever happensthere when the reality is, like,
they're doing sketchy, youknow, and, yeah, we do sketchy stuff
on boats all the time.
But I really wanted to want tobe super authentic about that, where

(33:01):
I've made mistakes and to helppeople not make those same mistakes
that I made.
And so that's where, for me, Ifelt like I can allow myself to tap
into something and be superauthentic and vulnerable about this
thing that still is fresh andlet people see that.
And being 10 years inbusiness, I'm not new in business,

(33:23):
you know, I'm 10 years in andhappens and did happen.
And I just wanted, like, I.
I saw the people that.
In that.
Like, I just see people, andthey just.
Sometimes it seems like they're.
They're better.
I.
I hate saying this, but it'salmost like they just come off as,

(33:44):
like, nothing will ever happento me.
Nothing can touch me.
Right.
And we're all invincible.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
So that's.
That was a lot of it too.
It's just like, I want to beable to.
To make sure this doesn'thappen to somebody.
There's going to be somebodyout there listening that is going
to take something from thisand be like, oh, well, maybe I can
just set myself up for successinstead of potentially setting myself

(34:05):
up for failure.
Right.
So that was a lot of it.
And maybe people take nothingfrom it and they're just like, oh,
she fell off a ladder.
Who cares?
But what, what's going tohappen if you do have an employee
and you aren't set upcorrectly and that employee falls
and that employee dies and howare you, like, what could you have
done?
How about we just prevent that?

(34:26):
Right.
And I think the one thing, andI mean, it's a little different in
your.
Your case somewhat, because itwas you and not your employee.
But I think, you know, we, alot of, A lot of detailers or, or
business owners, you know,probably don't carry proper insurance

(34:47):
or the right insurance.
So I mean, the fact that it was.
And like, not that it, it wasnot because it was you, but like,
if it was, if it's youremployee and you don't have the correct
insurance, like now that 10years in business is just done, because
then employees will sue youfor everything you want.
So you have to make sure thatyou're properly insured, you know,

(35:10):
and again, like I said, Ijust, you know, you see the posts
all the time of, you know,people asking, why do I need insurance?
Why do I need insurance?
You know, whatever.
Well, here's why.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So how, how was the turnoutfor it?
I mean, did you have a good turnout?
Yeah.
So there's definitely morepeople at this talk than there were

(35:32):
at the last one.
Okay.
And.
And then what I found out fromjust walking around and talking to
people is like, there, therewas a positive.
There's a lot of positivefeedback, which is we need to talk
more safety when it comes toMTE and being able to have education
day and people are like,that's going to be your job now.
And I was like, I don't.
You know what?
I don't wanna.

(35:53):
Unfortunately, I am probablygonna be the one that does talk safety
and I am going to relive thisevery time that I talk about it,
which is fine because it alsois like healing.
Right.
But Safety is just.
I don't know, Like, I, I thinkI push it so much now just because
of this whole thing.
And like you said, you know,people don't have the right insurance.

(36:14):
People, like, do youremployees have their own personal
insurance?
You know, that's something tolook at too.
Like, are you running.
Is your business running theright insurance?
Yeah.
That's one thing I'm kind ofsurprised, like, now, kind of thinking
about it is like, I'msurprised more companies aren't offering,
you know, more safety equipment.
You know, whether.

(36:34):
Or even, like, you know, I'msurprised MTE doesn't have somebody
there, you know, who offerssafety equipment, whether it's, you
know, PPE gear, you know,eyewear, masks, you know.
Right.
You know, safe.
Safe ladders, you know, if there's.
If there's a safe ladder, youknow, kind of thing or, Or.

(36:56):
Or harnesses or, you know, whatever.
Yeah.
I might have to pitch that to Sheldon.
Maybe he should look into acompany to come and, and, and, uh,
exhibit at mte just to pushthe safety aspect.
I mean, the guy that livesacross the street, like my neighbor

(37:17):
that saves my house wheneversomething goes wrong when I'm gone,
that's what he said.
That's what he settles.
Like, he works for a companyand that's what they do.
And he's like, he's like, ifyou ever want, like, a really cool
harness, he's like, let me know.
And I'm like, what?
Like, okay, yeah.
Where were you back in May oflast year?
Yeah.
Yeah, but, yeah, I feel likethey really should.

(37:39):
I mean, you're.
You're pushing all this other stuff.
You're pushing some, like.
We're pushing, like, mediocrefilms, mediocre coatings.
Let's put some.
Some effort into, like, somereal stuff, some safety stuff.
How about.
Yeah, like, why do we push somany other things when we could push
even.
Yeah, because I mean, evensome of these companies, they kind

(37:59):
of, you know, like, a lot ofthe coding companies are like, wear
gloves, you know, but, like,you know, when I'm ordering chemicals
and, and, man, I mean, maybe Ineed to have a talk with Jason now
that I'm thinking about this,because Aquatech, we kind of fall
into this.
Or.
But, you know, I mean, like,how cool would it be if you were
ordering gloves from your.
Or, you know, if you were ableto order gloves while you're ordering

(38:20):
your ceramic coatings?
You're like, you know, I'mordering ceramic coatings in.
Your ceramic coating companythat you order from has Nitrate gloves
on their site.
You're like, oh, yeah, I needsome gloves.
You know.
Yeah, you know.
Yeah.
Because, you know, most of thetime we're all ordering them off
of Amazon, but sometimes youdon't think about it or whatever.
Or, you know, if, if thecompound and polish company has,

(38:41):
you know, eyewear and masks,and whether you order them or not,
it's different story.
But if they had themavailable, you know, like, make it
more accessible.
Like when you're.
Right, right, right.
Because that's, that's thething, right?
You're like, oh, oh, I needcompound and polish.
But you don't ever go like,but do I need gloves?
Do I need eyewear?

(39:02):
Do I need a mask, you know, tolike go on Amazon or something like
that?
So.
Because they all do kind ofteach it.
I mean, I've, you know, youhear all the, the big names across
the industry always talkingabout, you know, I mean, I always
remember Marcus Parsley whenhe was at igl, you know, constantly
was talking about wearinggloves because he's like, if it's
on you, it's in you, you know?

(39:23):
You know, and, and it's, it'sfunny to see, you know, people on,
on Facebook or Instagram orTick Tock applying ceramic coatings
and they're doing it barehanded, you know.
Yeah, what are you doing?
I did that one time and Idon't do it like that anymore.
One time and I was like, this sucks.
My hands are hydrophobic andyeah, I'm gonna die doing this before

(39:44):
I die.
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So.
So yeah, I mean, maybe, maybethe detail industry needs to be,
you know, do better with safety.
And I could say that becausewe're having this conversation and
it's making me think about it,but I, I think for the most part,
again, until it happens toyou, you don't, you just don't think

(40:04):
about it.
You know, I mean, I definitelyknow since I had my, my fall off
the ladder and, and, and brokemy wrist, like, I, I realized like,
you know, I'm 51, I'm about tobe 52 in, in a few weeks.
Like, I realized like, okay, Ijust can't like, hop up in the back
of the pickup truck anymore.
Like, yeah, let's get the stepout, you know, let's step on the

(40:28):
step, let's step on the tire.
Let's step over into the bed.
You know, like, it's, I feellike, ah, such an old man doing it
that way.
But I realized like, my bodydoesn't like, you Know, do that anymore.
Like, I can't just.
Yeah.
Hop into the back of a pickup truck.
I just can't jump out of theback of a pickup truck anymore.
Like, I have a.

(40:48):
You know, like, even now,like, you know, my mentality is like,
okay, we're just gonna jumpinto the back of this SUV and clean
these back windows.
And I'm like, you know, struggling.
Like.
Like, let me go.
You know, Like, I'll get itafter lunch.
Yeah, exactly.
It's like I'm trying to, like,hop up in there and roll around and

(41:09):
pull myself up and so.
Yeah.
I mean, I think a lot of it,too, is, you know, our mental.
Our mental state.
Like, we can still do thingsthat we could do when we were younger,
or we just.
Our mental state is like, nah,we got this, bro.
Like, let's just do it, youknow, and then.
Yeah, you.
You miss, you know, and.
And then you're down and out.

(41:29):
So.
Yeah.
And.
And I think that the one thingthat we didn't talk about is some
of the reality of gettinginjured on the job.
Yeah.
And the conversations thatcome with, like, a catastrophic injury,
which is like, you know, my.
My spinal surgeon, myorthopedic surgeon, my arm specialist,

(41:53):
you know, the neurosurgeon,they were all like, you may never
work again.
Or the one is like, the bigone is like, you may never walk again.
Yeah, the working.
I was like, yeah, but the.
That.
You may never walk again.
Well, then why am I, like,what am I doing if I can't do that?
Right.
You know, and so.

(42:15):
And that was a big thing forme when it.
With talking as well, is like,learn from, like, my mistake and
never have to have thoseconversations, at least not when
it comes to your job.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
So.
But to answer your questionabout the outcome from mt, I got
a lot of positive feedback.
There's probably twice as manypeople in the.

(42:36):
The on the education day thanthere was last year.
And I think it's gonnacontinuously grow, like, as I allow
myself to really, like, justbe open about it and just have these.
One.
Have these conversations andtalk more at MTE or any.
Any place that wants to havesafety as a conversation.

(42:57):
So I'm open to having safetyas a conversation.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, when you reached outto me and was like, hey, I'd love
to come on and do this, like,you know, again, I think I fell in
that.
That, you know, I didn't knowit had happened to you, you know,
because, you know, I didn't.
I didn't see it.
I don't know if you reallyposted it or anything like that.

(43:19):
And so, like, it caught me offguard when you said that.
I was like, holy.
You know, like, yeah, I.
I did.
Post when I got out of thehospital because I had, like, over.
Like, over 75 texts, like, 80texts or something.
I was like, I'm not textingthese people back.
Like, I will make a post.

(43:41):
And that's how people can know.
And, you know, then we.
The.
The nice thing, too, is, like,we have a community that's.
A boating community that's tight.
They're.
They really rallied around,like, me and my family as well.
And so that was kind of nicefor us to have, like, that extra
support, but I really didn'tstep outside.

(44:01):
I really didn't.
Well, because I really couldn't.
But.
But that's besides the point.
But I didn't, like, I didn'treach out to people and.
And really talk to them.
I mean, there's a handful ofpeople, and so I did have people
at mt, and they're like, oh, Ifeel bad.
I didn't.
I didn't contact you.
And I'm like, well, you can'tfeel bad about something that I didn't
tell you about, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.

(44:22):
Yeah.
It's like, you can feel bad alittle bit because that's on.
That's on you.
But really, like, don't feelbad about me, because if I didn't,
like, if I had text you andwas like, hey, Alex, I.
I fell, like, you know.
Yeah.
And then I never replied toyou, then I.
Yeah, then I'm the.
But the fact that you didn't,you know, like, I.
What?
Yeah, but no, it was just.
It was just crazy, you know,Like, I was, you know, when you reached

(44:44):
out to me, I was like, oh,hell yeah, let's do this.
Because, you know, that's theone thing that, you know, I always
like to try and do every sooften on the podcast is do something
about safety or.
Or health or whatever, becauseI don't think it's talked about enough.
And.
And sometimes it's toughbecause sometimes I think, you know,

(45:06):
we're.
We're afraid to hear thesestories or whatever because we think
it can't happen to us.
So, like, why.
You know, why do we want tolisten to it or why we want to hear
it?
So that's why I'm glad thatyou had such a great turnout at MTE
that people wanted to hearyour story or, you know, just, you
know, find out hey, like, thiscan happen to me.

(45:27):
So what do I need to do tochange my routine and.
And have a better, you know,setup for, you know, thing?
So.
Yeah, well, and I think therewas a lot of, like, I think bosses
in there, like, managers and bosses.
Okay.

(45:48):
There was a group that theyhad, like, younger.
Like, their crew was there.
Younger guys.
And I could tell those youngerguys didn't really care.
Like, and.
And that's fine.
Like, you don't have to.
You don't.
You don't have to care one bit.
But I could also tell thatmaybe the business owners sometimes

(46:09):
forget that they have to careabout their employees and their employees
safety and what theiremployees are doing.
Like, are they cutting corners?
Do you have the right processand procedures to make sure nothing
happens?
And are they following it?
And are you, like, enforcing it?
I know that any of my guys, Icould bring them onto a project right

(46:31):
now, and they would knowexactly what I want, exactly how
to do it.
Because we've done the sameprocess and procedures for.
They did eight and a halfyears with me, you know.
Yeah.
And so.
But there are quite a fewplaces that they're just like, oh,
you know how to buff.
This is how you're gonna do it.
Oh, we're changing it every day.
Yeah.
But it's.
We're not reinventing thewheel here.

(46:51):
Like, but you have to payattention to your employees, and
you have to make sure they'reset up for success and the safety
side of it, because if they goaway, who are you going to bring
in?
Yeah.
And if they go.
If.
If enough of them go awaybecause you haven't taken care of
them, because they might havegotten hurt, and God forbid they
do.
But if they have and youaren't taking care of them, what

(47:12):
are they saying?
Because you didn't take careof them.
Them.
Yeah.
And so that's like, if thishad been Mason, you know, like, I
already would know where wewent wrong, and I would be very prepared
to take care of anything thathe needed.
But I know so many people whojust don't care, you know, like,

(47:34):
you work for me.
No, my employees work with me.
Like, we work together.
But when the.
But I can tell when there'speople that are.
You work for me.
It's my business.
You do what I say.
Well, yeah, you're doing whatI say because I have the expertise
to tell it, to guide you sothat we can work right as a unit,
you.
Know, so when you.
When you work with.

(47:55):
With your employees now, Imean, do you Guys, kind of before
you start the, the project, Imean, are you mapping out your, your
kind of safety protocols?
Like, okay, if we're doingthis, you know, we're going to make
sure we're on the scissor lift.
We're going to make sure thatwe're harnessed in.
If we're, you know, top sideof the boat.

(48:18):
Like, you know, make sure, youknow, you're harnessed in or tied
off or, you know, however.
I mean, do you, do you kindof, do you kind of get a little bit
of a, of a plan going for thatbefore just attacking it?
Yeah.
So now.
So one, I don't really haveemployees now, but when I bring people
in, for instance, when Masonwas with me, we had, we're on the

(48:40):
princess yacht and his arch onthe boat was probably up like 18ft
or something from the water.
And so I wasn't going upthere, but Mason and I talked about
it for about a week and a halfbefore I put him up there.
And I was like, we'll have a harness.
I was like, we're gonna.
Every time we look at thisboat, we're gonna figure out how

(49:02):
are we gonna tie this off tomake it so it's safe for you.
And, and he very much was apart of that planning so that he
was going to be safe since hewas the one climbing.
Right.
A few years back, we did a 92footer when I had my full crew and
we definitely took about, Iwant to say, three days to plan how

(49:24):
we were going to set up all ofthese harnesses to get the outside
of the boat.
But it's never just me saying,like, this is how I want to do it
if I'm not in the harness andthe person that's in the harness
doesn't like what we're doing.
They are definitely a part ofthat plan of like, how, how.
What's going to make you feelmost safe while we're doing this?
Right?
And what do I have to do toensure your safety?

(49:46):
Like, do you want me standing here?
Do you want me not standing here?
Do you want me talking to youbecause you need a distraction?
Do you want me to hold your compounds?
You want me to be able to grabyour buffer?
What do you want me to do?
Right?
Because all of that plays intothe success of the job that we're
doing.
I would never just letsomebody just climb on up on like,

(50:06):
well, on a ladder there's gotto be two people, but we're never
going to use ladders again.
That's just.
Yeah, but.
And in a.
On a scissor lift, like,you're fairly safe on there.
Like, I mean, I was on asister lift today, you know.
Right.
But when we're on harnesses, Imean, that is very much a team effort
of, like, let's make sureeverybody's safe, whether it's two

(50:30):
people together or, you know,three people are watching the lines
and one person's out there polishing.
I don't care how long it takesyou to do it, as long as you have
what you need to be successful.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And safe.
And be safe.
I mean, that's.
That's the main thing is.
Doesn't matter how long it takes.
Let's just be safe with it.
Yeah.
And especially now, becauseI'm doing film, like.

(50:52):
Well, I've been doing film fora while, but, you know, like, you
have to be.
Like, when we do a horn orwhen we do a hard top, you have to
be in a harness, like, nomatter what, because the second that
film goes down, like, it's notlike I'm on solid ground.
Like, I don't have the luxuryof being on solid ground, like, on
a car.
Like, I'm.

(51:12):
I have to lay on this film sometimes.
And that film, the secondthere's moisture in the air, you
just start sliding.
Yeah.
Well, I've literally been atthe edge of my line on a harness
laying there, like, it's fullyholding me, and I'm, like, leaning
out the edge just so I can,like, you know, do my.
In the corner.

(51:32):
Because.
But, I mean, I'm putting allmy weight onto that harness and being
held in.
But I remember one time I laidthe film, and I had to lay down to
do a little section.
I was like, oh, God, I'm sliding.
I wasn't gonna slide far.
Right.
But I see it about, like, aninch, and I could feel it.
Very slowly, I slid, and I waslike, yep, we're gonna put a harness
on, and I'm going to tie offright now.

(51:54):
Yeah.
So.
Yeah.
Because sliding some.
Sometimes sliding an inchdoesn't feel like much.
Like, if you're on a slip andslide with not enough soap.
But if you're on a high thingand you slide just an inch, it feels
like you're falling off theEmpire State Building, you know,
so.
Yeah, I get that.
Yeah.
But.
But, yeah, I mean, I wouldrather my guys, like, if you came

(52:16):
and worked with me and you,and I'm like, you're gonna do the
outside of this boat.
Like, I would rather you tellme what is going to be safe for you,
like how you want to do this.
Me standing on this dockwatching you do the outside of the
boat is what I'm gonna tell you.
Because.
Yeah, because I don't do boats.
No.
That'S.
Most people, they're like, Ihate boats.
Okay, yeah, you can hate them all.

(52:36):
Day long, but I also, I alsodon't like cars.
So.
Yeah, you know, that's, that'slike the, the interesting thing,
like the more that I meetpeople in this industry is, you know,
there's, there's the peoplethat love to do interiors and don't
look, don't, don't like doing exteriors.
You know, there's people wholove exteriors.
Don't love and, and you know,don't want to do interiors.

(52:58):
There's, there's people thatare just boat people all day long,
you know.
Yeah, I know I've met somepeople that are like just, you know,
airline or, you know, planepeople, you know, that's all they
do planes all day long.
That's all they want to work on.
And so it's just neat howeverybody just, you know, somehow
finds their niche.
Because, you know, I mean, Istarted working at a car wash.

(53:19):
That's where I learneddetailing, you know.
And I mean, yeah, we would doboats at the car wash and things
like that, but I mean, it'snot, you know, very often or whatever.
And so it, it's, you know, I,I never really looked at it as like,
oh, there's people that aredetailing boats like as a job job,
you know, not, not just doingthem here and there.

(53:39):
Oh, there's people that likejust do airplanes only because that's
a, that's a job or whatever.
So the, the more I like, youknow, dive into this industry and
everything, you know, youlearn that there's, there's people,
you know, I mean, shoot metalpolishers, you know, the people are
just.
All they do is aluminum or whatever.

(54:00):
It's like, ah, like, you know,like, like I don't even want to do
cars or boats or planes or whatever.
I just want to polish metalall day long.
So.
So, yeah, I mean, if I eversay that.
Yeah, yeah, I don't want to dothat either.
It's, it's when I say that,like I do boats and stuff, like,

(54:23):
I mean, there's always thatone person that's just trying to.
1.
I'm a female in a male driven industry.
Yeah, not a big deal.
I really don't care.
But some people do Care.
And this was the first time atMTE were like.
And I, I know you'll get this.
When I say where it's likethere's like a bigger dick cover

(54:44):
conversation happening.
And I was like, I don't, Idon't care what, like, I don't care
about that.
Like, if you're good at whatyou do, by all means be good at it,
but don't.
Yeah, you're no better thananybody here.
We're all on the same level ofwhat we're doing.
Well, and I think it's allsubjective too.
You know, this whole like, I'mthe best or I'm better than, like,

(55:08):
I'm.
The best at falling off a ladder.
That is one thing I'll say.
I have won that award.
Well, I mean, let's, let's.
I mean we'll, we'll put it out there.
Has anybody fallen off ahigher ladder?
I've done a two step.
I've fallen off a two step foot.
So you've got me beat off offof the 20 footer versus is anybody.

(55:28):
Does anybody fall off of.
Yeah.
Higher than 20ft.
That can take it from.
And we're not talking, we'retalking hitting solid ground.
Yeah, yeah.
You have to hit solid ground.
Not falling in the water.
Yeah.
Not falling onto an airbag.
Let me ask you this.
When you fell, did.
Were you, did you have anytools with you?

(55:48):
I mean like, were you holdinga polisher?
Yeah, I was holding my polisher.
So when, when you fell, didyou let go of the polisher or did
it.
I think I threw it like,because it, from what Mason said,
it like landed on the dock.
It wasn't on because I wasstill climbing up, but it landed
on the dock.

(56:08):
But I think I threw it.
It's funny, everything likelanded fine.
Like my flip flops landedfine, my sunglasses landed fine.
My airpods were on the edge ofthe dock.
But you landed everything but me.
But then the funny part aboutit is like, I guess something happened
in my sunglasses, went in thewater, you know, and then it was

(56:30):
like.
And then the next day I put myairpods through the wash and it's
like.
And it's like then when we gotto work, like the polisher like fell
in the water.
So it's like just these things.
I was like, really like this.
Okay.
The reason why I asked is, wasbecause when I, when I.

(56:50):
And I didn't fall, I guess Ishould say I didn't fall off the
two step, right?
No, I stepped down and when IStepped down.
I stepped onto the extensioncord where it plugs in.
And it.
And it was.
It had a round into it.
Okay.
So when I stepped on it, it.
It rolled.
Right.
So then I did one of these numbers.

(57:13):
Yeah.
But I think where I went wrongwas instead of throwing my rupes
machine, I cradled it like itwas a baby and tried to brace myself
with my hand.
And that's.
That's what caused my.
My.
For me to break my wrist.
So, you know, Lesson learned.

(57:34):
Throw the 400 rupes machine tothe ground and, you know, not get
a broken wrist, maybe.
Although I still don't know ifI would have dropped the rupes machine,
would I still not broken mywrist or whatever?
Because how else would I havekind of saved myself in the fall?
So.
Yeah, no, I was just curiousif you.
If you hate.

(57:54):
Held on to it like it was ababy, like I did, or you just threw
that out, like.
No, I probably threw it.
I mean, the only distinctthought that I had while falling,
I think I told you this, wasthere was a dead fish.
Mason and I were talking, andthere we noticed there was a dead
fish between the dock and the boat.
And while I was falling, I doremember thinking to myself, just

(58:14):
don't hit that fish.
Don't hit the fish.
Right, because your brainworks in a very interesting way,
you know?
And so it's like.
But for that to be my thoughtof, like, while I'm falling is just.
It's just funny.
It's just wild to me.
Like, I really didn't want tohit the fish.
I was really concerned aboutmy flip flops.

(58:36):
And.
Yeah, not.
Not, hey, don't hit those bigmetal cleats that might take me out.
Completely minor situation there.
The.
My thoughts of, like, yeah,there was three people that I was,
like, really concerned about.
It was like, my friend Kelsey,for one.

(58:57):
And then I was like.
I remember thinking, like,where is she?
And I remember thinking, youknow, Grant Menard.
And I was like.
I was like, oh.
I was like.
I was like, I gotta call Grant.
And then my parents and so.
And.
And I remember telling Grant,I was like, yeah, you were one of,
like, my first thoughts, like,when I fell.
And he was just like, of course.

(59:18):
Like, he was, like, happyabout it.
But, you know, he's.
He's my friend and I have somuch respect for him and.
But he's.
He has definitely helped methrough so much in my life.
And it's.
It's.
You know, he's been.
He was updated along the waywith everything that was going on.
Right.
And he, he did, he did see me.
I did go to AFO and.

(59:39):
Because that was 10 days afterI fell.
And that's what.
And that's when I found out,like, oh, I can't, I can't walk.
Like, that's when I found thatout was when I was up there.
I was like, this isn't happening.
So, so the first couple daysyou think like, you can do stuff
and then really.
Yeah, you can't do anything.
Right.
Yeah.
But then, you know, like, whenit comes down to the safety part

(01:00:00):
of it, let's just not putourselves in those situations.
Let's.
Let's be smarter.
Yeah, that's.
That's the right thing.
Yeah.
So, you know, try, you know,kind of taking this role as, you
know, like you said, like, youknow, I'll probably be the safety
person to talk about this.
Whatever.
Like, what other ways are youtrying to kind of get that message

(01:00:24):
out there other than like MTEor, you know, reaching out to me
about coming on the podcast?
I mean, are you, are you doingany, you know, other things?
Are you posting about it ortalking about it or, or anything
or.
I am not posting about itquite yet.
I, I have thought aboutputting some stuff on my social media

(01:00:46):
and I just need to talk to mysocial media people about, about
that.
I think part of why I haven'treally put it on my social media
is because I'm still, I have alot of PTSD from it.
And so when I, when I do talkabout it, I've prepared myself to
talk about it.
So like, for this, I was like,I know we're talking about this,

(01:01:08):
this, this week.
And so I was able to preparemyself to not have some sort of freak
out moment all week.
Right.
But I think that some of ittoo is just being really realistic
with allowing myself to be.
To let people like, know thisside of it.
But to push safety, it's likethe people have to know why and the

(01:01:30):
why is the accident.
Yeah.
You know, that, that for methere has to be.
The why has to be answered andwhy is the accident and it's whether,
like, how am I going to getthrough that?
And still I'm obviously okaywith it.
Like, I'm not okay with it.
I'm okay with talking about it.
Right.
To a certain extent.
But I want to talk more likenot just on podcasts or not just

(01:01:54):
at mte because I don't thinkit should be like just a once in
a while thing.
I think that it should bepretty Regular.
That we are havingconversations, even if it's like,
you know, we're having, like,somebody's just like, oh, I'm just
gonna have you on and talkfor, you know, 10 minutes about safety
is so important.
And it's.
Then that's that on.
Whatever it is.
I'm still trying to navigate,like, who I can talk to and who.

(01:02:14):
Who has the biggest platformto be able to listen and understand
that we have to push safety.
Like, I apologize in my speechor like, in my speech, when I was
talking at mte, I apologizedto those people, and I.
And now that I think about it,I was like, I have nothing to apologize
for.
But what I said was like, I'msorry that I'm pushing safety so
much with you guys.
Yeah.

(01:02:34):
And nobody should beapologizing for that.
Exactly.
In my head, I was apologizingbecause people wanted to hear the
money side.
Yeah.
They didn't want to hear thesafety side.
But the real.
The reality is.
Well, because it's not gonnahave money.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If we.
We're not gonna have money ifwe don't have safety.

(01:02:55):
So I.
Whatever I can do, if peoplewant to call me or just like, yeah,
get it out more, I'm willingto do it to a certain extent.
I also have to be mindful of myself.
My men.
Have you tried to talk to theIDA at all about maybe trying to,
like, do something through the ida?
I mean, I think I.

(01:03:16):
I want to do a webinar on itbecause I did a webinar last year.
It was.
It's actually, I did mywebinar, and then that following
Tuesday is when I fell, so.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
So I think that I haven'treached out to them yet.
They know that I'm veryinterested in talking, so I probably
will reach out to them whenI'm maybe, you know, next week.

(01:03:38):
I'm pretty busy this year,though, so.
But I do wanna.
I do want to get.
Get it out there more andjust, you know, if that's what people
know me for instead of votes,then fine, so be it.
That's totally okay.
Yeah.
No, but that's.
That's probably a good thingfor people to know you for.

(01:03:58):
You know, that the personthat's making everybody safer or
at least giving them kind ofthe right, you know, id.
No.
Excuse me.
Ideas for safety.
I mean, I.
I would also say, like, youknow, the round table, too.

(01:04:19):
I mean, reaching out to them and.
And talking to them.
I don't know what kind ofinteraction you have with the with
those guys and everything.
But, you know, I know thatthey do a lot of.
I don't know if they do anywebinars, but I know they do a lot
of, you know, just posts andtalks and, and, you know, the trainings

(01:04:43):
and things like that.
That would probably be a goodthing too.
Yeah.
And I think as this yearprogresses and as they go, probably
start looking more.
I do feel like it's importantfor me.

(01:05:05):
For me.
I.
I know it's like most of thetime people see me as like, joking
and having a good time, whichI am.
But this is like, I know thisis a serious conversation that people
need to really have, have likesunk into their head, you know, when
they're gonna get a businessgoing or if they already have a business.

(01:05:28):
You really, you know.
Yes, it can always be fun.
You can have a good time andlaugh because I definitely push that
with my business.
But we got to be real about safety.
Yeah.
Like.
Yeah.
I can't say it any other way.
You just have to feel about it.
Yeah.
For sure.
I mean, it's.
And I don't mind being thatperson that, you know, that does

(01:05:49):
that.
Yeah.
You know, I think it's.
I, I think, you know, not agood thing that it happened to you,
but, but maybe, you know, onthe, on the reverse side because
now you're thinking that way,you know, and now you've got this
experience to kind of, youknow, explain to people or teach
people, like, hey, this iswhere I up.

(01:06:12):
So let me give you the toolsso you don't go through the same,
the same thing again.
Yeah, well, I think, like, theonly thing I can do for people is
just be honest about what Iwent through and what happened.
And I don't need to go intothe, the details of like, you know,

(01:06:34):
the recovery part.
They don't, they don't really know.
Need to know that kind of stuff.
That's really personal.
And really, when I look at it,some of it's just overwhelming.
Right.
To talk about.
But when, if, if people aren'ttalking about, like, they're not
having an authenticconversation about this, then people

(01:06:59):
aren't going to realize thatit is so important.
Right.
Exactly.
To sit there and listen andmove forward and put those things
into action so that doesn't happen.
Yeah.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, it's definitely eyeopening too, you know, and, and you

(01:07:21):
know, when you, when you hear,hear your story or stories like yours,
it really makes you think,like, like, okay, what am I, you
know, where where could maybeI tighten up, you know, a little
bit?
Maybe where I.
Where can I do better andthings like that.
So, I mean, I, I, I'm gladthat you came on and did this, and,

(01:07:42):
And I hope you continue totell this story.
I hope everybody alwayscontinues to tell their stories because,
you know, sometimes it's just,you know, one.
You know, it just takes onestory for somebody to hear and go,
like, oh, yeah, you know, or,you know, maybe they had a near,
you know, accident or fall orwhatever that they just kind of brushed

(01:08:04):
off.
But, you know, they hear storylike yours, and they go, wow, like,
mine could have been way worseor whatever.
Yeah, Yeah.
I mean, if we look at what theoutcome is and where I am right now,
if people really heard what Iheard from people who saw the video,
you know, that thisconversation is just like I said,

(01:08:29):
you know, they said it's amiracle, but this conversation is
really one to just take in foranybody listening, because people
thought I died that day, youknow, and, and luckily, the people
that thought that they calledsomebody was like, oh, actually,
she's at home, like.
And so they.
But, I mean, it's.

(01:08:50):
To know that that's what the,what it looked like on the, the video
is.
Yeah.
Crazy to me.
Yeah.
I have no idea.
All I know is I was up there.
Yeah.
Were you, like, knocked out,or was it just like, you had the
wind knocked out of you?
I know I had the wind knockedout of me.

(01:09:11):
The lady said it took me alittle bit to come, too, so I don't
know what that means.
I landed on my age.
Back, Back, head and neck, sowho knows?
Yeah.
And then Mason was just like,you landed like a pancake.
What's better than saying youlanded like Peter Griffin, you know,

(01:09:32):
whenever he falls on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
He was like, you land like a pancake.
And he's like, that lady.
He.
What did he say?
He goes, oh, that.
That lady mother birded you,is what he said.
Wow.
And I was like, that's a.
But I get it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

(01:09:54):
But it's called.
It's called cpr, Mason.
It's.
Yeah, yeah.
She was doing a sternal rug.
Everything's fine.
Yeah, exactly.
But that there tells me, like,I was not breathing, you know, and
her, like, when I met her andher husband, I met them that Friday

(01:10:15):
after I fell because I wantedto thank them.
And I mean, of course, shewas, like, in tears when she saw
me, but she said that theyheard me fall, they heard me, and
then all of A sudden it wasdead silent.
Like there was no sound.
And she was like, we ran so fast.
There I was on dock four,there on dock three.
And she said, by the time shegot to me, I wasn't moving, I was

(01:10:39):
unresponsive, I wasn't breathing.
And, And I was like, that'sjust wild.
Like, it's so.
A lot of the stuff that I knowof, like what happened is because
people have told me.
Yeah.
Or I was just thinking aboutdead fish between the dock and the
boat.
So.
Yeah.
At least your first words whenyou came to was like, I didn't land

(01:11:01):
on the dead fish, did I?
Yeah, I think my first wordswere, oh.
She's like, what?
She's like, what's your name?
And I was like, I was like,where am I?
And she's like, yeah, butwhat's your name?
And I was like, I told her myname, but I didn't.
It's just still crazy.
Like I didn't know my last name.
Like, who doesn't know theirlast name?

(01:11:22):
This one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's nuts, man.
Yeah.
Well, listen, I'm, I'm, I'mglad that you're still here with
us.
Thank you.
Thank you for reaching out tome and, and asking about coming on
and talking about this becauseI think it's something that was or
I think it's something that'sdefinitely important to talk about.

(01:11:44):
So, you know, I'm glad that wewere able to kind of talk a little
bit at MTE and kind of, youknow, get this, get this scheduled
in and everything like that.
You know, I hope everybodythat listens to this definitely,
at least for the most part,just, you know, thinks a little bit

(01:12:05):
more next time about, youknow, doing some sketchy, you know,
I mean, like, what's the ticktock thing?
Go to do some sketchy,sketchy, sketchy or whatever, you
know, like, let's, let's not,let's not.
Let's be right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If anybody wants to reach outto you and maybe get some more information

(01:12:25):
or just talk to you about likeeverything that happened, what's
the best way for them to get ahold of you?
If, I mean, you can, you canreach me on my Instagram or Facebook,
which is elite marine protection.
I, I mean, I have a websitewhich will direct you to my Instagram

(01:12:47):
or Facebook and that's justprotection.com or if you really want
to just, you feel like justbuckling down and writing that thousand
word essay to me, you can popinto my email and that's just Info.
Elite Marine Protection.com.
Okay.
So.
Yeah, no, that's awesome.
Well, listen, Angela, Iappreciate you coming on and doing
this.

(01:13:09):
It was definitely, definitelyvery interesting and.
And educational.
So it's made me think a littlebit more.
And.
Yeah, I mean, if you ever, youknow, come up with, like, some new
ideas or some.
Some new ways of doing thingsor something like that, and you want
to come back on and kind of dolike, a revisit or whatever, let

(01:13:31):
me know.
And.
And we could always kind of,you know, revisit, you know, maybe
where you've made some tweaks or.
Or things of that nature,maybe learn some things or whatever
that's a little bit different,that might help people out.
For sure.
Yeah.
I'm always trying to figureout better ways anyway to do things,
so.

(01:13:51):
No, that's awesome.
Yeah.
Safer.
So.
Yeah.
All right, well, listen, youenjoy the rest of your evening.
Again, thank you so much fordoing this, and we'll chat soon.
All right, Sounds good.
Thanks for having me.
No problem.
Take care.
Bye.
Hey, don't go anywhere.