He’s the strong silent type, and 50 percent of his work is dealing in fecal mater.
A career in plumbing was never one of Aaron Gendernalik’s lofty goals. He said he remembers being young and watching a plumber fix his kitchen sink—and he told his mother he never wanted that job.
For the last 10 years, though, Gendernalik has been a plumber. After (and in spite of) his childhood insistence, he was eventually taken under another plumber’s wing and recently secured his own California state C-36 plumbing license. He said he’s been officially operating his own fast-growing business that spans from Santa Barbara to Nipomo—and it keeps him very busy, and lately he’s been working until 9 or 10 at night. He hopes to hire employees next year.
“It’s like a 24/7 job,” he explained. “I’m everyone: owner, operator, secretary, the tech—everyone.”
By staying current in education and technology, Gendernalik said his business is increasing at a rate that’s surprising his fellow plumbing associates. When asked what his secret is, he said he’s using the free advertising avenues offered by the Internet such as Yelp, Google notes and more.
If he were going to hire a plumber, Gendernalik said he would want to know he could count on the business to come back and fix the problem if something went wrong after the job. He said he feels so strongly about this aspect of business that he warranties all of his repairs for a year—not a typical 30 days.
Gendernalik said he doesn’t just look at the surface of the jobs he does: “Some guys can only fix things that they can see, and take out a part and fix it.”
In order to do a job the way he’s sure others would want it done, Gendernalik said he tries to dig deeper.
“I consider myself being able to see through walls,” he said, “having some sort of x-ray vision when it comes to plumbing.”
The thing Gendernalik said he enjoys most about being a plumber is that he can help people to do something they can’t do themselves. He said he finds his career very rewarding despite the fact that half of his service calls are for pretty dirty jobs.
“On service calls, at least 50 percent of them have some aspect of feces,” he admitted. “Anything that has to do with a drain line is gross. It has the potential to carry diseases and bacteria. I get hepatitis shots, wear latex gloves, keep my mouth closed.”
He said in all of his plumbing days he’s never vomited, and he’s only gagged three times. He keeps a positive attitude, which has strengthened his work ethic to push through every job.
“I get into the nastiest of nasties.” he said.
Other than the dirty work, Gendernalik said he also works with water heaters, frame cleaning, slab leaks, re-pipes, faucets, toilets, garbage disposals, showers, remodels, residential, commercial, video and sewer camera inspections, jetting, and more.
He said he stays as current as possible: “Among the newer things in plumbing are crimp fittings for copper, so instead of using a torch to sweat them together and fight water you just use crimp fittings. I use efficient fixtures that are properly rated to use less amounts of water. Plumbing is not rocket science, but there is a lot to know.”
McKayla Silcox—Gendernalik’s girlfriend of more than two years—said, “Aaron is selfless. He cooks dinner for me a lot. I often come home late after a long day at work to see that he has made me dinner again. And he is a talented chef.
“Aaron is the smartest, most determined person I know,” she summed up. “He practically rebuilt a Z-28 Camaro from the ground up last summer.”
Gendernalik says his dream is simple; he would like to continue making a living out of helping people, live in a nice house, be able to travel, and make sure his 9-year-old daughter gets a good education. He said she stays with him for the summer and enjoys any activity as it involves spending time with him.
A talent Gendernalik said he’s always possessed is working with his hands. In his younger years, he began working on cars with friends as an after-school hobby, and still enjoys this today.
Despite his demanding business operation, Gendernalik said he does find the time for leisure. His interests include kayaking, surfing, and fishing. Gendernalik said he recently ran a 5k color run in Santa Barbara. He’s also preparing for a mud run in October where he’ll show the world once again that a little dirt won’t stop him from achieving greatness.
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Intern Tamara Rawson wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Aug 22-29, 2013.