Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

Trace Hall knows his way around a LOT of Cat equipment. He’s been with Thompson Machinery in Smyrna, TN for almost 20 years and is now a Sales Manager. The BuildWitt team recently met up at Thompson to drive a skid steer and a mini excavator. After seeing us out in the yard, Trace comes over and says, “I got something else you should check out!” and comes back with a full-size excavator for the team to try. After that, I knew I needed to get to know this guy. On this week’s episode, Trace and I discuss the ins and outs of CAT dealership culture, my first skid steer, and identifying competitive advantages. To learn more about what Trace and the team at Thompson is up to, check out their website at thompsonmachinery.com. Please submit questions and feedback to dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Monday episode (our second on the feed), Alex and I dig into the good stuff. We discuss the recent travel of our BuildWitt team, our growing collection of Dirt Nerds™, the awesome work that our new BuildWitt Partner J.W. Fowler is doing on the West Coast, and what it feels like to operate large equipment. Our guest this Thursday is Trace Hall of Thompson Machinery in LaVergne, TN. We'll talk all things Caterpillar and the inner workings of the Cat dealer world.Please submit questions or any feedback to dirttalk@buildwitt.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Chrisman (@beefybladehand on IG) is a weapon with a grader. He’s made a name for himself online with his warm-hearted early morning greetings, wild blade videos, and educational content on how to use machines and grade control to its fullest potential.Dirt’s been in the blood of Ryan’s family for multiple generations. He ran tractors and skid steers starting at age 7 and naturally got into the Dirt World as soon as he could start working. We talk about his operator experience and opinions on equipment, working 100+ hours a week, and advice for young workers entering the industry.Check out Ryan on Instagram at @beefybladehand! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A big week in Dirt talk history: we'll begin posting 2(!) episodes per week beginning this week.Our regular Thursday episode will continue to come as scheduled, but we're also adding a Monday episode each week with Aaron and new producer on the show, Alex where they touch on BuildWitt happenings and answer listener-submitted questions. This week, they'll touch on succession plans for family businesses, what to do if a fire alarm goes off during a podcast, and if it's a serious no-no to accidentally refer to someone from Kansas as a "Cornhusker". To submit questions to be answered on the podcast, please email dirttalk@buildwitt.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frisch and Sons is an expert at making Southern California pools disappear. For the past year or two, I’ve watched their videos online as they’ve maneuvered their baby skid steers (Bobcat S70’s) across tiny backyards, in and out of pools, and even through people’s living rooms. Yep… just another day at the office for Frisch and Sons.Since I’ve spent entire days of my life watching their pool demolition videos, I figured I’d give Bobby Frisch, who’s the second generation to lead the company, a call. We talk about why so many people want their pools gone, how many trips it takes to fill a pool with dirt, and how they’re training the next generation—everything you’ve ever wanted to know about pool demolition and more.While no, I’m not targeting contractors that only rely on skid steers to perform their work, it’s certainly a plus that they have a fleet of twelve S70’s that are so small you can nearly put them in your pocket.To learn more about Frisch & Sons, follow them on Instagram at @frischandsons or visit their website at frischandsons.comHere’s the video of a Bobcat going through a house: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLcUMROJOuj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Answers Your Tough Questions!In this Dirt Talk episode, Aaron is joined by himself to answer your questions submitted via Instagram. No script and plenty of nonsense.He discusses what BuildWitt does, how he stays sane, whether he prefers a booth or table, and many more important and controversial dirt-related topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gaurav Kikani, VP of Strategy at Built Robotics, shares insights into the exciting world of autonomous earthmoving. He explains how their technology automates heavy machinery for repetitive tasks in construction projects like pipelines and solar farms. Gaurav emphasizes that autonomy complements skilled labor rather than replaces it, enhancing productivity and safety on job sites. He recounts the company's journey, including early prototypes, real-world deployments, and the innovative culture at Built Robotics, where even the robots have unique names!

Since we’ve received plenty of feedback about interviewing more people who “do the work,” I finally heeded your advice and sent Pat a DM on Instagram asking if he’d lend me an hour or two of his Sunday morning. He said sure.Pat’s a long-time operator and has spent his entire adult life running heavy equipment. He started out working as a laborer for his family contracting business and quickly made his way to all sorts of heavy equipment-related companies across the Northeast and Canada.Today, Pat works at New Era Excavation, the same company referenced in DT039 when we talked to Tom Gardocki, AKA The Dirt Ninja. Pat works alongside Tom and his partner Craig as the third member of the New Era team.While Pat’s typically running equipment on the job, he has a fantastic amount of autonomy to run the projects as he pleases according to the vision laid out by the business partners.To follow Pat’s adventures online, check him out on Instagram at @patallen30. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marty Leum grew up traveling the country to race dirt bikes. Since he was around tracks so much, he began helping out where he could, whether it was hanging banners, or eventually, running equipment to clean up and build tracks.He had a knack for building tracks by shaping the earth with heavy equipment, and Marty traveled from event to event. After many nights away from home, he needed a more stable job closer to his family back home, so he went to work on the railroad. Said to be the best job in his town, he couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to get back to the dirt. With an old skid steer, he quit his stable job and officially started in the excavation world.Anyone who's followed Marty has seen his attention to detail and badass looking hot rod red Caterpillar equipment. He's done some fantastic work so far, and he's just getting started.Check out Dirt Monkey Excavating on Instagram at @dirtmonkeyexcavating! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American mining is hugely misunderstood and, as a result, demonized by many. The irony is most people who denounce mining couldn't live their lives without it. Electricity, roads, cell phones, and just about any other aspect of the physical world is thanks to the hardworking men and women working day and night to make it all happen.Frankly, even I misunderstood mining until I recently began to experience it on a deeper level through our work with North America Coal, Mitigation Resources of North America (MRNA), and North American Mining. It turns out that extracting the resources we need to live and being environmentally conscious can go hand in hand.When visiting one of MRNA's operations in Mississippi back in November, I met Rebecca McGrew, whose formal title is Manager, Environmental and Regulatory Affairs at North American Coal. She was extraordinarily knowledgeable about mining and mitigating the environmental impacts of extracting resources from the earth. Since I learned so much from our conversation, I thought I'd have her on the podcast to have a real discussion about the realities of mining.To allow the conversation to be as free as possible, we have to say everything Rebecca expresses is solely her opinion!To learn more about North American Coal and MRNA, check out https://www.nacoal.com/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices