How to Choose the Best Mason Contractor in British Columbia - Joshua French

This is the Beyond the Story podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Rusk Josh, welcome to the show.

Sebastian Rusk

Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

Joshua French

Hey, thanks for taking some time out of your day to hang out with me for a few minutes. Great to connect with you here on the podcast. I know we're part of the same mastermind group, so I always like to get to know new faces through means of interviewing them, because what a better way to get to know somebody than, you know, get them on a podcast and interview them. Great to, uh, great to spend a few minutes with you here. Love telling people's story on this podcast. So let's, for context purposes for our listeners, let's back up a little bit, help our listeners better understand a little bit more about your backstory and what really everything started, say you said about 20 years now, um, and what brought you to present day with, with what you're doing.

Sebastian Rusk

So, um, I'm 37 years old right now. I live here in Kelowna, BC, in the Okanagan Valley. I was, let's call me a high school dropout. Didn't do very well in the school system. Was politely asked to leave, that's how they put it, at about 13, 14 years old. And then my wonderful parents had this grand idea of immigrating to Canada. So I was originally born and raised in England and then around 16 years old. They were like, hey, buddy, we're going to immigrate to Canada. And I was in a little bit of a transitional period there where I was very, very heavy into playing a high level of sport. And so I was in with quite a decent crew there, going places with it, and had to come out of that situation into a foreign country as such. Even though we spoke the same language, there was some learning curves and different scenarios. But here we are. I got stuck right into construction around 19 years old, started my own home building company. I met my beautiful wife of 19, and we married two and a half months later. And then things progressed in the residential world, and I had an opportunity to purchase, vendor purchase, this business that I'm now doing in the masonry world. And that it was a whole learning curve of a lot of, a lot of different things to unpack a lot of failure, a lot of, uh, made big, big mistakes. And, uh, but you know what, we stuck it through and here we are today and running a very successful mainstream company. So yeah, that's a brief snippet of the, my beginnings.

Yeah, absolutely. So when, when. Was there like a passion or was this like a necessity or was this, Hey, this is a moneymaker and I kind of like it too. Well, how did, how did that all kind of culminate?

I always, I always had a dream and an expectation of myself to do something great. And this opportunity came, it literally came across, across my desk. Um, it was painted in a picture that was, let's say false. but it would look very attractive. So as you do at 20 or 21 years old, you make the best decision with the information you have presented to you. And I did. Was it the right decision? Most would never have done it. But what I knew, I did it. Here we are today. And I mean, I love what I do. Every morning I wake up and can't wait to go build some fantastic structures. So here we are.

So you're passionate about what you do. You love what you do.

I love what I do, man. I love what I do so much. Actually, I'm the president of the Masonry Contracts Association right now. I fly out to Toronto tomorrow for our national board meetings. I am heavily involved with the training side of things and apprenticeship programs. So yeah, man, I love anything to do with bricks and block of mortar, man. It sparks some excitement.

Yeah, I bet it sounds like it. So, um, why did you decide to join a mastermind group? What, what, what, what, what was in it for you there with, with, with your business and already having a successful brand and what you've built?

I think, I think ultimately I, I've always, I've always dibbled and dabbled having a business coach. And I kind of felt like I was in a position where I was, I felt quite stagnant. I felt like I was at a certain place in life where I've, I have a, we got to blow this thing up. or we got a cruise and I've never been one just to kind of cruise along. It's always all in or nothing. And I'd been, I'd been kind of searching around, I'd been looking around and then, and then this, and then Dan stuck and it kind of caught my attention. And, um, you know, a few messages back and forth and, you know, hook, line and sinker where I'm in. So I'm excited. And now, Hey, here we are. We've, we've, uh, I think I'm free. all of the network I'm making, first podcast interview. So, you know, loving it.

Absolutely. And how long you been in Dan's group? I just. You cut, you cut out, I didn't hear you.

Only three weeks. I'm still the new guy.

Yeah, me too. I think we joined at the same time. So kind of funny how that, uh, that, that ended up, uh, working out. So, um, How big is the team and what are you excited about internally based on what you guys got going on there?

Right now, we're running around 20 to 25 people in a team. I've got a few other guys running some smaller stuff, but our main core is about 25 guys. Um, a diverse group. We've got, we've got apprentices. We've got guys who haven't even laid a brick who are just learning in the helper form. We've got guys who've got 35 plus years, uh, senior guys. So a very diverse group, um, a very hardworking group and, uh, some, some superior craftsmen. So it's a, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun.

Do you ever get your hands dirty these days?

No unfortunately they don't let me i really when i first bought the company i really wanted to learn how to lay bricks and block and i was politely told. Just go get the work, son. Go get the work. OK, I'll do that. So I'm I'm an office monkey, as they say, but I love every part of it. Sure. Sure.

And so and it's you know, it's like a traditional trade business. So to be excited about being an entrepreneur and wanting to constantly refine your skill set. joining masterminds, having a business coach, et cetera, on there is somewhat unique. Now, I'm not saying that I'm completely foreign to the trades industry, wanting to be part of masterminds and things of that such, but usually when it's a trade business of sorts, they're pretty well established, like business isn't scarce. It's a pretty consistent ongoing flow of business on there. So it's always unique when I meet people that own traditional businesses, brick and mortar, pun intended, um, but, but also deeply passionate about, you know, you know, being an entrepreneur, what, what would you say the most exciting part of being an entrepreneur is for you?

Every single day is a new adventure. I mean, you wake up in the morning yesterday, for example, I picked up a cow. I was closing a 46-story tower building. I was dealing with an interview of a person. I was talking about booking some trips to Vegas. I mean, the most random things you can imagine in one day. And I think that's what really excites me, is the consistency of change in the industry. And you can just do so much. It's never the same old, same old things every day. It's exciting. It just is exciting. I love that. And I think as long as I have that every day, I'll do this until the day I die. I won't retire from it at all.

I love it. Did you say that you went and picked up a cow yesterday?

I was dead. It was dead, but I went in the freezer and it did taste good. I had a steak last night, so.

Oh, got it. OK, so like a cow to go eat type deal. Absolutely. Absolutely. I was like, wow, that's I mean, do you like doing the back of your truck or like where did you take it? Where did you go from there with it? You never know around him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we are, uh, you know, rounding out 2024 at the time we're recording this podcast episode here. What, what, what are you most excited about for, for 2025, both with life and with business?

So I've got, I've got a, I've got a real, real push here on my health. Um, I, I had some surgeries this year that kind of slowed me down. Um, so I've been working really hard on my, my health, my fitness, uh, weight loss, just getting stronger. So I'm really looking forward to 2025 and seeing the benefits of this past years of kind of healing and getting repaired up. Just looking for growth and just building some phenomenal structures, like really looking forward to it. I've got some real cool trips planned with my family and my kids. So I'm really looking forward to that. And just more growth as a person and building a network. making cool connections like this.

So yeah. Starting a podcast. Amazing. Love it. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. So you're a family man too. How many kids you got?

I've got four children. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So me and my, me and my wife did not get a TV for a wedding present. And so, uh, we quickly created four humans and then we figured out what was going on. So, and then you bought a TV. Yes. And then we brought a TV. How old are the little ones? So my oldest is 15. My, uh, next daughter is 13 turning 14 in January. My son is 12 and my baby is 10. So we, yeah, we've, uh, ram gamming.

Everybody, everybody dresses themselves. They can. Yes, they do.

Yes, they do. There was a time in life that where there was my diaper fund and whatnot was extreme.

You know, I got to say that's not the most enjoyable part. Like you're when your kids are born. I had a, I had a daughter when I was 20 and I raised her on my own. And I got to say those early days while they're special and nice and beautiful, dude, they are such high maintenance. Like it's, I think that the best, the best phase of parenting is when they can, dress themselves, they'd start to be a little more self-sufficient. And then the second best part is when they leave the house.

I think that's, you know, we, we, we, we love to travel together. That's our thing, right? Um, I know one, one of my, one of my ambitions goals is to own my own jet so we can know we'll just jump on the jet and go wherever, man. That's the, that's, that's the, that's the dream for the me and the fam.

So love that. Is that going to happen anytime soon?

It will happen. I don't have a date for that yet, but it will happen. Air French, coming soon. You better believe it. You better believe it. I love that, dude.

Well, man, it's been great to connect with you and better understand exactly a little bit more about you and your world on here. I look forward to keep it in touch. Of course, we're in the same group, so it's all about community. That's what life's all about, right? Is being able to be in community and the quality of the relationships we're able to to establish. So it's been great to chat with you for a few minutes. I appreciate your time. Any final thoughts for our listeners? Anything that comes to mind that you just want to give a bit of advice for?

I think my advice would be to the younger guys who are starting out and, you know, take the risk. You're young. You know, I was 19, I was 20. I had nothing at 19 and 20. I also had nothing to lose. So take the risk. Stop thinking that you have to be someone. When you're nineteen and twenty you have all of this time and so go for it and don't fear. And yeah, just give her. Just don't think you have to be in the, I've got to get this degree, I've got to do this, I've got to do that. Take the risk, man. Just go for it. All in.

All in. Stop waiting for everything to be perfect. There's never a perfect or right time. You got to jump. And like it's been said many times before, no risk, no reward. But when we make that jump, just some incredible things start to happen. Love those final thoughts. Thanks again for your time, Josh. I look forward to connecting more often here and love to have you back on the show. Well, actually, I look forward to being on your podcast.

Wink, wink. You better believe it. We'll get her done. All right, man. Until next time.

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