Finding Joy and Creativity in Welding & Metal Art with Courtney Chard

Courtney: 0:00

I was very aware of what my role was. So when I got into the trade, I knew there wasn't very many women. And I knew what I was going to be. So I almost had prepared myself like, I am going to face this. This is going to happen. That's going to happen. And so I almost had this mentality coming in that, you know what? I'm gonna handle it in a way that isn't gonna be controversial. I'm gonna handle it in a way. where people are gonna say, you know what? Women do belong here and I will get the respect and I will have a place and then that's gonna make things easier for the generation after me.

0:41

that is Ms. Courtney Chard, my newly found friend. I'm not sure if she's gonna be okay with me claiming, uh, that she's my friend, but people like her, those are the type of friends we want to have. You heard from that opening? She took her role in the trades? extremely seriously from the get-go. And I think that's what we all need to do is as trade professionals. Uh, we are representative of one another you're gonna get to hear more from Ms. Courtney about the realities of being a woman in the trades and becoming a metal artist cuz she's like a metal artist. She is out there rocking it, putting some sweet stuff out there, and not only like just the metal stuff, she's also gotten into photography and videography around showcasing her. Her pieces. You gotta find 'em on TikTok and all the socials. We'll have something in the show notes for y'all. she also talks about empowering kids to practice creativity through a skilled trade. Like, uh, yeah. She brings a whole lot of warmth and a whole lot of. To being a woman in the trades, to being a professional craftsman, to being an artist. and before we go, you know, I gotta show some love to my peeps out there. And first, before we get into the love part, I gotta make a confession. So if y'all been reading the show notes, You can probably see there's a big difference between some sets of show notes and then some of the other ones. A good example is go to the calabosessions on the goal that I did with Thomas LaMay. Those are the show notes I wrote all by myself. And then if you look at the show notes from this interview or the previous inu interview with John Toups and a whole bunch of other ones, You'll see a level of professionalism in those notes that are not me. Those show notes are written by Ms. Kayla, and because of the patrons that have signed up and have been supporting learnings and missteps, I'm able to put some of those monies to acquiring external services. to help me represent the trades better than I can with my own, um, writing skills. So, Kayla, shout out to you, sister. You've been knocking it out, and we appreciate you very much. And folks, if you're looking for copywriting services, creative writing, anything to do with writing, Ms. Kayla can hook you up. Her email address is gonna be down in the show notes. And time for the LnM Love. This one goes out to Mr. Buddy, the suave voice actor. Buddy left us an awesome message in support of the emotional bungee jumpers, and here's what Buddy says. He says, you want to learn a new communication skills. You wanna have fun doing it. get on board asap. We're keeping it real and improving ourselves along the way. Join us in the emotional bungee jumpers group and yes, folks, that is a thing that we've started. There's a whole group of industry professionals that are working to deepen their listening skills, their feedback skills, their vulnerability skills, like all the ultra powerful leadership skills where there's rarely a practice venue to do those things. That is what we're doing on the emotional bungee jumpers. There's a link, hit it up. If you're interested, We'd love to have you be a part of the group and contribute your experience and have some takeaways so that you can go back out there and join the effort in leaving this world better than we found it. So here we go. On to Miss Courtney Chard. Boom.

Jesse: 4:11

what is going on? LnM? Family. Here we are again. We have a like ultra super celebrity. Welder Artist, craft Worker Tradesperson, international Superstar. How are you doing Miss Courtney?

Courtney: 4:28

I'm good. Thank you for making up Nice lies,

Jesse: 4:32

I can't help myself. I just get super excited about having conversations with people that are contributing so, in terms of enhancing the image of careers in the trades. And I've seen a bunch of your content, I think I came across you on TikTok and like the videos, the artistry of the video that also captures what you're doing with metal art. It's like there's so many layers of amazingness in it. It really, it is beyond anything that I could even cook up in my own. and then you just do it so consistently, like for real. It is super. Mesmerizing is probably the closest accurate word I can come up with.

Courtney: 5:17

I appreciate it. A lot of work goes into it. We have hours and hours of footage just for literally a 60 seconds. Short or real?

Jesse: 5:28

Would you mind sharing like the progression? We're gonna get to know you a whole. But specifically the progression of your welding. You learn to trade. You've started creating art, and then this new thing of, maybe it's not new for you, but I think it's new for a lot of people, like how to leverage social media for marketing and making that an art of itself. Is that like a plan that you had or did you just happen upon it?

Courtney: 5:56

I think I happened upon it, so I've always been creative. I could draw and then I stepped away from it because you get told, you can't make a living from art pick something else. So I got it. I started out as a steam fitter and then did my welding apprenticeship. We did them side by side. In Canada you can do that. Yeah. So I did those two trades and then as I got, not bored, you get to a certain level in your. you've mastered it to some levels, to some degree. So I mastered it and then I wanted to explore something more. So then I had the confidence and the skill now to try making art from metal. And once I started creating these pieces I wanted to have a way of showcasing it or extending the art. And it was through social media. I met a photographer and I had this client and he wanted an owl, and he told me over the phone, I will pay for quality and I want it to be your best work. And he gave me free. Okay. So that kind of set the bar. So I'm like, I'm gonna make this the best owl I can possibly make and now I gotta deliver this owl to this gentleman Yes. In a spectacular way. Yes. So I said, we gotta do a reveal. We have to reveal this and make this big time cuz he's paying this all this money and we gotta make it worth. and he was asking, can I see the progress? I said, no, you're not gonna see any progress. When I reveal it to the world is when you're gonna see it. So then we get talking to my, the photographer that I was working with and I said, okay, we gotta take photos. And I try to get photos of my work because once the work's gone, I you don't get it back. So you have to have a catalog and Sure, you can show what you've done in the past. So we just started brainstorm. And he has his craft, he's artistic, photography's an art, and then merging the two together and just this whole creative process where we're bouncing ideas off each other and everything's just flowing and we're thinking about, okay, let's light it on fire and okay, how are we gonna do that? And, and it, yeah, it was just such this wonderful creative process. And I usually don't know what song I'm gonna. until I have the video edited and then, just this song just comes up and it's just amazing process. So I like working with him because it's an extension of my art and it almost creates another art form. Yes. So yeah, we definitely just happened upon it. I don't know any other metal artists that really do reveals like. I agree so it's fun. Yeah. But it's a lot of work, a lot of behind the scenes, like troubleshooting. So even with the koi fish we sunk it into the pool, but we had to think of the logistics on that were like, if I had to keep the bottom of the fish open so the water would fill and it would sink quickly. because if I closed the fish entirely, it'd be like a pontoon, it would just float on the surface. So just little things like that. And then I had to, after we did the reveal, I could close the bottoms of the fish. But yeah, just things like that. Just the whole thought process, like you have the idea, but then how do you make the idea come to reality?

Jesse: 9:34

So you're capturing like the coy, I got to see the coy video recently, and it's like the it's a, the story of the coy coming to life, it's the way it, I interpreted it, right? Like you're built, you're banging the middle, you're doing the thing, you're making it happen. And it's like gaining life. and then there's an awesome, and I'm not gonna give it away cuz y'all need to go find your own TikTok. So first, how do people find you on TikTok? Or is it only on

Courtney: 10:01

TikTok? Nope, I'm on Instagram and Facebook as well. So my Instagram is chard, Courtney, my Facebook's just my name, Courtney Chard. And my talk's Creative Welding. And then Courtney Char is my

Jesse: 10:16

username. Good. So folks, y'all know where to go now you get permission to. This episode and go watch those videos cuz it's a, it's it really is art. So you see the coy coming to life, you're building it, you're the kind of behind the scenes, the life story of the coy, the lighting, the imagery, the music. It's phenomenal. I'm like son of a gun that took, I don't have the, this is really what I was. that took a lot of discipline and patience that I know I don't have not to mention the skill and the talent to do the damn thing. I think it's beautiful and I'm eager to see how that influences and inspires other craft workers. Do you get, how often do you get folks that reach out to you and say, Hey, I don't know what you're doing, but girl, I need to do that.

Courtney: 11:11

I get that. I get asked a lot if I would give lessons. Oh, okay. So that's interesting. So I think a lot of people want to explore welding as a hobby. And I don't, I, there's a lot of like wood workers who, who make tables, but they'd like the ability to make their own table eggs and Yeah. That kind of thing. So I get asked that a lot. I know it's influencing my daughter. I, you never think. What you're doing matters until something happens. Yeah. So my daughter just recently had to do a science project and she told everybody in the class I'm gonna make a 3D model out of metal. I'm gonna weld it, So she asked me, and again, like she's exposed to everything. Sure. And she's an A child ambassador for kick ass careers. Yes. And we help. People get into the trade and trade awareness through education and mentorship. So she's taken on that role, but I don't push her. So when she approached me with that, I was like, wow, okay, this is awesome. And I actually videoed it cuz I had this feeling somebody was gonna say, oh, your mom did that. So I filmed the process so nobody could say that she didn't do it. Put it up. I actually got YouTube, just So for the classroom? Yeah. Put it up on YouTube shorts. And put it on my socials. She actually went viral on Facebook. She's got a hundred thousand views. She's nine years old. Nine years old. Then I get a an email from the local newspaper like, can we interview your daughter? She's in the newspaper. So I was just so happy for my daughter. That's amazing. Especially cuz we've had our struggles with schoolwork. So the fact that she has seen me create in the shop, one of the choices was to do a model. So then she in her head said, you know what? I see mom make sculptures all the time. I can make that model out of metal. And apply that to my school project. And then it goes into a whole other set of learning. So now she's not only learning about the nervous system, which was the assignment. She is now going into a whole other set of skills with, now she's in the shop, so now she's using the plasma cutter. Now she's using her imagination cuz she's going through my scrap pile. Finding out what looks like a spine, what looks like a brain, how are we gonna make the neuron, like we're going through all that. Oh, this will work. That'll work. We're using the torch and she's using the MIG welder. And then the next level of that is, she did in her schoolwork, which she's not too happy about doing, but now she sees, you know what? I did the work and then now I'm getting recognized. And there's so many positives coming out of this experience. So if that's because she sees me work in my shop on the weekend, then awesome.

Jesse: 14:17

Super awesome. Wow. Okay, so you started off, you got into the trade through the Steamfitter apprenticeship and it's a combo steamfitter welding apprenticeship. First piece was an o.

Courtney: 14:31

No. So the first thing was, okay, this is so funny. So my mom every year the fall fair happens. I don't know if you have fall fair is where you are, but we do. And she's I wanna enter my baking. And she would talk about this for years. And one year I got sick of hearing it and I'm like, All right, you're going to enter something in the fair and I'm gonna enter something. And she's what are you gonna do? You can't cook. I'm like, gimme the book. There has to be something in here. Like crafts, right? Yeah. So I went under the craft section and there was like a garden ornament. So I made this garden ornament. It was a pumpkin at a horseshoe. Oh, cool. And I won. And then she won for the baking. So then I said, Hey, maybe there's something here to this. So then I started making things on my own, and she is a hairdresser, so I would just leave them out on the porch and her clients would start being interested in buying them. Wow. And then the guys at work were like you should start social media, you could sell it. I didn't have the confidence though. And I was afraid to be rejected. Ooh. Because I liked doing it so much. I was like, but what if no one likes it? Yeah. So that was a big hurdle. How did

Jesse: 15:48

you did do that?

Courtney: 15:49

I had to force myself. I had to say, this is silly, Courtney, if you want something, you gotta go for it. So it was a bit of mind over matter so making your logical mind override your like primal fears. You know that setting Yes. Like where's this coming from?

Jesse: 16:09

And it's like we create this whole situation that's. for real. Except in our head. But it's so all consuming that it feels like reality. And it's all made up.

Courtney: 16:22

Exactly. And then there was the fear of exposure through social media, because you hear a lot of negatives about social media. Sure. But I knew to be successful or go to the next level, I needed social media. So that was a battle. Okay, you need to be visible. Which, puts yourself in a vulnerable spot, right? Yes. If you wanna get to that level in your career or level with your art, you need to do that. So all those things weren't exactly comfortable for me. But you have to be responsible and be smart about things and respectful. It's been an amazing experience.

Jesse: 17:02

So I also heard you've motivate, you motivated your daughter by living your truth. You motivated your mom to submit the damn cake. Yeah. How many other people are you aware of that are motivated and inspired into action? Because you. took the leap, right? You did the emotional bungee jump in and said, I'm scared, I'm terrified. This might hurt. My feelings may hurt, but I'm going to be vulnerable and put myself out there. How many Just a super rough guess.

Courtney: 17:40

I don't know if I've even thought of that. good. I've had experiences where you never quite know the influence you have on people till years later. Yes. So I was journeyman and I had this apprentice, 18 years old. We were just at this point trying to keep this kid. You're not sure if he's listening to you. He's looking at you like this, and you like take his head and you straighten it out. You're like, are you listening And you forget about him. You're just doing your job because somebody did that with you. And years later, I'm talking, 10 years later, I get a text message from this apprentice. not apprentice name. Always journeyman Foreman. And he said, Courtney I just wanted to say thank you. I think part of the reason why I am where I am right now is because of you and I'm like, Are you kidding me? I didn't even think you're listening. Yes. So I don't consciously think of it, but I have had moments like that in my life with the moment with my daughter when she is like, Hey, I'm gonna make this or with that, journeyman foreman. And it took a long, like 10 years, like boom. Blew my mind.

Jesse: 19:02

And it's like super fulfilling, right? Oh my goodness, I can't believe you just said that to me.

Courtney: 19:08

It's so unexpected. Like from who it was too. Because you

Jesse: 19:12

didn't even know if

Courtney: 19:13

he was awake.

Jesse: 19:14

I was one of those apprentices I'm sure there's a few Papa Juan and Johnny and Pedro are like, man, that fool what? Can't believe he's still alive.

Courtney: 19:22

But he's doing wonderful.

Jesse: 19:25

That's great. So there's a few things. Are truths that I've been able to see or experience coming up. I went through the plumbing apprenticeship. And, you described how your daughter, you had to go through the scrap pile and say, okay, how can I have a vision? I have this thing, how do I make that work? Let me find some stuff. Oh, and by the way, if it's not exactly the shape that I want it to be, I can make it the shape I want it to be. And I think, I don't know what that's called, but an observation I have is those of us that work with our hands in the trades or in art, We have this ability to be able to say, I gotta get there. This is what I have, this is how I'm going to get there. Does that make any sense?

Courtney: 20:10

Makes total sense.

Jesse: 20:12

And so we just figure out how to get there,

Courtney: 20:14

I don't think we have a choice like we're it, like we make things. There's no choice. Wait, if we don't figure it out, like, how's it gonna get done?

Jesse: 20:23

Who's gonna do it? We're

Courtney: 20:25

the doers. We're the builders

Jesse: 20:27

Yes. There's a mindset, right? Or a steel grit. A force of thinking that lends itself to us accepting that call. Because if we don't do it, who's gonna do it? And that's like a serious responsibility. Nobody tells you that's what it is until you get in there and you start figuring that out. So what was it that attracted you or intrigued you to come into the trades to decide to join an apprenticeship as a fitter welder?

Courtney: 20:58

So I'm second generat. My father was in the same union as a pipeline welder. And I was always growing up a bit of a tomboy. I played hockey. Back then, not a lot of women. I'm 44, so not a lot of women played hockey. And I used to like my hair short and wear bagger. That wasn't really accepted things have changed a lot. So I always like those sort of things. After high school, your guidance counselor, you gotta go to college or university, so you just pick a course. So I picked law and security, hated it right away. Finished it because I didn't wanna be a dropout cuz that there was stigma to that. the trades weren't an option. So finally I just got enough courage and said to my dad, I'd like to wild, I'd like to be in the union. And he was actually really supportive. He's sure, get in the shop. We'll get you in the union. Which I was shocked about.

Jesse: 21:47

But he said, yes, come

Courtney: 21:48

on. Yeah. Cause it was never really put out there. So that's how I got into it. And so it wasn't really a straight path. But I was exposed to it. Same as Hayden. My dad had a shop on the property and he was very proud of what he did. You could see it. He loved his job. So that influences you too. Yeah. And I knew like the lifestyle we had and I knew I wanted that same lifestyle. So I wasn't scared, like I knew the trade could provide that, but I think overall he was really proud that he was a.

Jesse: 22:25

So I heard you say that on the weekends you work on your art. Yeah. So do you still full-time job and creator, artist? What's happening there?

Courtney: 22:35

So out of our union hall, Ua, local 46 Toronto. We work 36 hours. Okay. So it four days a week. So I get Friday, Saturday, Sunday off. And the way I attack my projects is most of my work's commission based. People put in a request and I don't usually have timeframes. They know I work, they know it's a hobby. I'm not a hobby. It isn't a hobby anymore. It's a business now.. I caught myself but the way I do work is if I go to the shop, I put some hours in. If I find myself getting frustrated in any way or not enjoying it, I leave. Yeah. And I walk away. Yeah. I don't let it get to that point where it's not fun or joyful.

Jesse: 23:23

This is amazing. you mentioned, joyful. Can you attempt, take a stab at describing what that joy feels like when you're doing whatever you're doing?

Courtney: 23:38

So the way I can describe it is just peace. So when I'm creating and when no one's around and when you're not thinking, there's no thought, and you're just doing, and you're just at peace. I've heard from people who meditate. That's what it is. There's no thought. And so it's a form of meditation and then it's almost where you're almost channeling you're just flowing. And it's awesome.

Jesse: 24:06

And then thoughts start

Courtney: 24:07

there's no thought. No thought. Okay. So the thinking usually happens beforehand. Okay. When I've had the question. So when does the creative process start? It starts in the shop. No, it doesn't. It starts maybe weeks or months ahead of time with a thought. An idea. maybe when I'm weld. or maybe when I'm scrolling through social, but then there's that little seed and then you keep going, okay, so how would I do this? What materials would I need? You're sitting on the couch, you're thinking, how would I attack that? So there's that. A lot of thought. Lot of thought. Then I'll maybe go on social media or Google and Google Pictures. and I'll screenshot pictures of what I wanna make. Yeah. So when I'm in the shop, I'll pull up my phone and just look and then start building. So I've almost worked out a plan of attack, like while I'm at work under the welding shield, thinking while I'm on the couch thinking. And then when it's time to actually execute in the shop I have a plan and then I just go from there and it

Jesse: 25:16

then you connect with the source and and let things go. Yeah. Until whenever it gets heavy, you say, okay

Courtney: 25:23

Yeah whenever it gets tired, I'm like, I'm tired, but, oh, I have a day job. I don't need to push and make myself miserable, or, my daughter wants to go do something. Okay, let's do it. I gotta spend time with you. I want to spend time with you. I don't need to be here, and I don't put the pressure on myself. like that.

Jesse: 25:39

I think that's like critically important. no doubt. So how, being under the welding hood? I'll say that for me, the first time I got under a hood, I knew that I could not be a welder. Not just because it was my, everything was sticking and it looked like birds came and pooped all over the. but the solitude of being under the hood and not interacting with people was a problem for me. Have you heard of that before? Yes. Yeah.

Courtney: 26:11

Okay. So I used to teach at our union hall and at local colleges and you'd get a class of, let's say 15 kids and you could right away tell who didn't like it, who didn't wanna be there. Would probably succeed, but through hard work. And then who was just natural. And yeah, it's not for everyone at all. It isn't. I like the solitude yeah. And it never gets boring. A lot of people say it's boring, but it doesn't, to me it never gets boring.

Jesse: 26:43

That's the important part. I think today I would be able to handle it. There was also other stuff I had going on. I was terrified about being in my thoughts. right? So I was 18 years old and I'm like, Uhuh, right? I was always distracting myself with people and things. Now I love my style solitude. So there's a good chance that maybe be under the hood. Maybe I need to go buy me a welder and just start tinkering around here at the house. You

Courtney: 27:12

should. It's good. You need to be creative. I think we're creative betting people are creative. You. that creative outlet.

Jesse: 27:20

Agreed. Agreed. 100%. Oh my goodness. Okay. So what else should the LnM Family know about you? Miss Courtney You've done some great stuff. Apprenticeship full-time. You've done some teaching, you're a mother, you've motivated your mother, second generation in the trades. What do you see, like in your heart of hearts, what do you see the future being like for you and your trade and your craft?

Courtney: 27:53

I do see myself doing larger sculpture. I would maybe be able to retire early and do that full-time, but then I'm also involved with my union a lot too. And I sit on the executive board and that was a voted position I was nominated and voted by my peers to sit there. Maybe there's a place for me on that side of things. Maybe getting more into the business side of the union hall, could go lots of different ways, but that's exciting.

Jesse: 28:29

Having that many paths open to like just see what comes of them. See what turns into, yeah. Oh, I love it. That's good. And you mentioned. Talked about hobby, and he said no. It's not a hobby, it's a business. What's the difference?

Courtney: 28:46

I think the business is it generates decent money. And I could see there's room for growth. That way it could keep growing.

Jesse: 28:57

Absolutely. And with the marketing that you're doing, cuz that's what I see social media as, right? It's social marketing, it's a way rather. It can be right? It could be me goofing off or I can be intentional about the message that I'm putting out there and introducing people or doing reveals, like you said in promoting the goods and services that I can provide. So you've got that like again, folks, y'all need to go and see that coy reveal. It's an experience, I'll say that. And then, one person asked me when I started the podcast, cuz I've had the podcast for two years now. Over two years. And they're like, man, you must be making a lot of money. I'm like no. It's still a hobby. I'm like, what do you mean it's a hobby? Because I'm just spending money on it. it's not bringing in any revenue But at some. point it turns into a source of revenue. And in my case, cuz now I'm a consultant, it's almost a piece of my marketing

Courtney: 29:55

I was just gonna say that. Yes, it ties into what you are doing professionally.

Jesse: 30:00

Yes. That wasn't the plan, but what you were talking about. It's just how it worked out. And as I continue to explore, The creativity that I've discovered, whatever that is and have the conversations and share more of my thoughts, like more things starting and I'm happy. So what stuck out to me is when you said the joy piece, because for me it's that When I'm doing things that rob me of. I don't have to do them. I will stop doing them. I can pump the brakes, leave it alone, walk away from it, or just never do it again. But I get to choose what's I'm going to be experiencing. And I choose joy. Yes.

Courtney: 30:42

And you seem like the person who knows, you don't wanna just settle. like you don't wanna just get comfort. You wanna keep experiencing things and keep striving for more? Striving for, challenges and different forms of excellence.

Jesse: 31:00

Yes, ma'am. This is as clear as I've gotten on it. I am in search of new avenues to serve others to share my gifts and talent. To refine the gifts and talents that I've been blessed with. Whatever they are. Some of them are undiscovered still, and how can I share that to enhance the quality of life of someone else? That's what I'm looking for. Two years ago, I never would've thought I'd be doing a podcast. That was the last thing on my mind. Then

Courtney: 31:31

Covid happened

Jesse: 31:32

exactly. And then Covid happened. And so it's really that, right? It's how do I think I understand or I have a better understanding of how I best. and how can I design my life so that I could do that as many hours as possible? yes, that's that simple and then go do that. But on that path there's pain, right? There's sacrifice, there's challenge, there's missed opportunities. And so on your path I'm pretty sure you've got some good ones, and all you have to do is pick. Is can you share a significant learning that you've had as a result of a painful misstep?

Courtney: 32:17

Painful. I thought about that today don't know if men and women are different on this. I think maybe when I hear you say misstep I hear like one thing that went wrong and it shocked me into something. Or I was embarrassed or something like that. I didn't have anything like that occur. I think what my thing was

32:39

Mm-hmm. it is time for the commercial break. You already know the deal. And if you're new, welcome and we're glad to have you. This, significant learning that our guests have experienced through a painful misstep is available on the YouTube only. So check out the Backstage Pass YouTube playlist You're not only gonna get this super deep revealing nugget of wisdom, you're also gonna get a lot of life lessons that our previous guests have shared over the last year, two years. Lots of great stuff there, so digest it, consume it, and share it and I wanna invite you to hook up with a super amazing crew. That go by the name of the emotional bungee jumpers. Yes, it is as fun and as scary as it sounds, but it's also intended to help us build our leadership skills. Build our communication skills, and you're gonna be hanging out with a group of industry professionals who are actively upskilling, leveling up their game so that they can serve in deeper and more meaningful ways, particularly focused on listening, asking questions, and connecting in deep ways. so hit the dudely. Do like Mando 2.0 says down in the show notes, there's gonna be a link for the backstage pass and there's gonna be a link for the emotional bungee jumpers. Hit it up and here we go. Back to the show.

Jesse: 34:07

but it's like throwing in the towel one thread at a time. And when I say throwing in the towel, I'm talking about taking the mask off. Yeah. And you said authentic and genuine. Like the road or the path for me to get authentic or more in touch with my authentic self has been a super, super long road. And it sounds like that's what you're saying, like it didn't happen overnight. It wasn't no big bang like, ha. Here I am, I've arrived. Let me go do a coy. It happened over time. Working through insecurities, self-doubt, self-sabotage. in the right ballpark.

Courtney: 34:49

Exactly, or just even if you have such a strong reaction at work or just anywhere, and you're just gonna take that step back and be like, okay, why is my ego so hurt right now? Like, why am I having this crazy strong reaction I shouldn't be?

Jesse: 35:05

But there's a progression, right? Maybe there isn't for me. There was, so that's the question when it first started happening, you're a young woman in the trades and I'm pretty sure the guy's were making it super obvious that you were a rarity. Is that true or false? Absolutely. Okay. And when they were being off by the off chance that they were being rude, disrespectful, and jerk. and your reaction was to respond in a way, in a very defensive way. Did that ever happen?

Courtney: 35:38

Yep, it did. I did. However, I was very aware of what my role was. So when I got into the trade, I knew there wasn't very many women. And I knew what I was going to be. So I almost had prepared myself like, I am going to face this. This is going to happen. That's going to happen. And so I almost had this mentality coming in that, you know what? I'm gonna handle it in a way that, you know isn't gonna be controversial. I'm gonna handle it in a way. where people are gonna say, you know what? Women do belong here and I will get the respect and I will have a place and then that's gonna make things easier for the generation after me. So I had that mentality going in.

Jesse: 36:29

That girl. Okay, where did that come from?

Courtney: 36:33

I was 23. I was young. I don't know where that came from.

Jesse: 36:38

I don't mind to say this is not just about me, this is about generations to come. That's what I heard you say.

Courtney: 36:47

Do you know what's really interesting, Jesse? Do you know what just recently happened? And this is a little bit story about where we are today. So I just got my cousin in our local, she's a steamfitter welder apprentice. So she's 23, she's working at the local hardware store and we're at a family barbecue and I was eavesdropping. She's I gotta get my life straightened out. Like I gotta figure something out. So then we were having an intake with our union hall for pens. So I just shot her over the intake and I said, Hey, this might be something you're looking at and doing. Long story short, she gets accepted into our hall. Now it's time to find a replacement. So I believe, this is the whole thing, equity versus equality. Women are still at a point in construction where we need a little bit more help. Sure. In certain areas. I definitely wanted to make sure she got off on the right foot where she was going to get in with, a decent company. Cuz not all companies are created equal. We know that. Yes. And a decent sector so we have Lowrise, highrise, ici, industrial, commercial, institutional we have pipeline, we have different sectors in our hall. So I reached out to. that I had worked with, and we did our trade together and I said, look, can you take my cousin please? I'd really like her to, have a good start because you're always maybe starting not Yeah, cool, right? He goes, absolutely, I'll take her. So everything was ready. Getting ready. This was just not even six months ago. And this was devastating. He calls me, he's Courtney, there's a problem. I don't think I can get your cousin in. What are you talking about? He goes, it was all signed up. Now she has a name that could be either male or female. So I guess there's a process. And he had to go through the hiring or man powered guy and. He was talking, and as soon as he said she, all of a sudden there was not enough room in this company for this girl. And I was like, my heart broke into a thousand pieces and I was almost in tears. I've been in the trade 20 years. 20 years thinking I'm fighting and I'm making the difference and I'm changing things and everything's gonna be awesome. And I was almost in tears and I said to my friend, this cannot be real. Please tell me this is not happening. Please tell me after 20 years of, trying to, follow the rules and do right. And not be controversial and, do my job professionally and set an example and be a mentor. This is not happening. And he's I'm upset, Courtney. I'm upset. So I just said, okay, this isn't over. And I had this internal thing and just put it out to the universe like, you know what, I'm gonna have faith in my male counterparts, my male allies. So sure enough, they went up to this hiring guy. There was another man involved too, and they said, You're gonna hire her. We need women in the trades. They use some other language.

Jesse: 40:10

Yeah, of course. The convincing language.

Courtney: 40:13

You're gonna hire this girl. We need women in the trades, and you're gonna fucking hire. So I'm keeping all this a secret from my cousin. She has no idea this is happening. No. Doesn't need to know that No, because I don't wanna discourage her. She's so positive. She's done everything she's supposed to do. I'm devastated. I'm in tears like about this because it just destroyed me. Yeah. But I just put it out there. I'm like, Nope. I'm gonna have faith in my male counterparts, my male allies. And you know what, Jesse? They came through. You guys came through. That's amazing. And she's doing wonderful. And now they don't want to let her go. And everyone's we want her on site. No, we want her in the shop. We want her. And yeah, because she's doing such a good job. She fits in, and she's doing well. she's really got a close bond with her journeyman's, steam fitter. Wow. And it's just beautiful.

Jesse: 41:09

So shout out to the allies over there that I'm stealing that from Julin Cassidy. She calls them

Courtney: 41:15

allies. That's awesome. I've never heard that before.

Jesse: 41:18

So shout out to them because that took some courage on their part. It

Courtney: 41:21

did. It totally did.

Jesse: 41:24

And you, again I'm still in awe that you had the foresight and the wherewithal to say, I need to show up different for the next line of ladies behind me. So I could set a standard or set a precedent and demonstrate an example because not everybody does that. So I applaud you for that. Oh my goodness. Hopefully you'll be listening to this conversation in the future. Right now, just in the 45 minutes that you and I have been I'm counting seven people that you've impacted in such a way that they took steps, like life altering steps, life altering actions, and the one thing they have in common is you.

Courtney: 42:10

They didn't think of that No,

Jesse: 42:14

I'm telling you. Girl and so with. What footprint do you intend to leave on the world?

Courtney: 42:26

Ah, I guess that's my art, maybe. Yeah, like a permanent mark

Jesse: 42:31

because it

Courtney: 42:32

ain't going nowhere. It's not going anywhere. It's a permanent Mark. Courtney was here.

Jesse: 42:37

Do you ever leave Courtney's signatures when you're out on the job site or on some of the work you're doing on your day job? Or you can't say

Courtney: 42:44

It's funny. Sometimes we'll go do like shutdowns, so there'd be like regular shutdowns at certain places like Petro Canada has them, and then this one was Irving tissue and so sometimes you're up in a ceiling. And. it's not seen anywhere, but like previous generations had signs, like I've done stuff like that

Jesse: 43:04

okay, good. So I don't feel bad cuz I've done the same thing. Open up a chase to redo some plumbing or jump in a mechanical room and I used to find an I-beam or something in that's not gross to where it would be looked like graffiti. It was graffiti. But I'd do my little signature or do something to like I was there and I've even had people say, dude, I always had university hospital over here in Houston and I saw this thing and it looked like your handwriting. And I'm like, oh, I don't know what you're talking about, but yes, that was me. That was me.

Courtney: 43:32

It's like a time capsule. Exactly.

Jesse: 43:34

It's like a little type capsule. They may or may not see it. And it's like you said, we craft workers, trade workers. We leave a lasting impression wherever we go through our work. We're

Courtney: 43:48

so proud of that. Yes, we're so proud of what we do Like trades people are proud. They're like, I worked there, I did that. My dad, there's a pipeline running through here. I did this, like even I took Hayden to go see Harry Potter in the city. I'm like, look, Hayden, that Mark on the ground? That was a tunnel. She's I know mom. I saw the video. So we're so proud. But somebody said, you don't see teachers or businessmen bragging about what they. do No

Jesse: 44:13

when I started transitioning into Foreman and then into superintendent and then like further and further away from the work, it became hard for me because the biggest challenge besides my vocabulary was I could not turn around at the end of the day or at break and say I did that. there was nothing for me to point. now. Then it's what did I do? Oh, I managed the spreadsheet. It has that effect where we can look back and say, this is what I did. It's this environment changed when I got here. It wasn't like this. And when I'm leaving it better than I found it.

Courtney: 44:52

Exactly. It's awesome. We're bad. You,

Jesse: 44:56

you're a badass. Courtney, you told me you're a badass. Can't wait for you to listen to this. Cause I hope it reminds you just in this conversation. I'm gonna say it again because I think it's really important and I recognize you to be, and I've learned in this conversation how responsible you are with your gifts and talents and the influence that you have. I also know how difficult it is to be. Like self-aware. We're hyper aware of our defects and our faults and we're like super not aware of how amazing we are and how influential we have been. And I'm just gonna say it again, like just in this small conversation with the random dude that reached out to you on TikTok, you've listed off six or seven people that you've had a significant impact. and my gut tells me that you can multiply that times a thousand easy that you've impacted so far. And I'm anticipating that there will be a million more that you'll be having that effect on. Thank

Courtney: 45:59

you, honestly, I just stay in my lane and just do my thing. Even my mom says that you don't wanna be bothered. You just do your thing and you help people if they need help, but that's it. I set my sights on what I want for my future and I just go after it. I don't bother anyone and I don't wanna be bothered, but I will help you.

Jesse: 46:17

And while you're doing, you are sharing your gifts and talents. I think that's the secret is if you share, when we share our gifts and talents, connect with the. Put that out into the world, be present and available to serve. Magic happens. I honestly believe that

Courtney: 46:38

it's true you know what, I take that from my dad. My dad used to mentor and help so many people and teach so many people how to weld and give so many people opportunities. He did that. And I saw him doing that. So I do that. I've seen people on site and they won't, they don't wanna teach anybody. and it's are you afraid someone's gonna take your job? Yes, because that's not how I look at it. I look at it like if I help this person when I'm old. When I'm like one year away from retirement, this kid that I helped is going to give me a job on the tool crib, passing out tools in abroad. Yes. And take care of me cuz I was nice to him. My dad passed to his funerals packed. Wow. Cause he was nice and he helped people. So I want the same thing. I want people to show up to my funeral and standing room only.

Jesse: 47:26

So are there any folks that you wanna give a shout out to?

Courtney: 47:30

I always wanna give a shout out to my Union Hall ua, local 46 Toronto and Kick Ass Careers.

Jesse: 47:38

Yeah. Kick ass Careers. I love it. Alright, Miss Courtney, did you have fun? Yeah.

Courtney: 47:44

Awesome. I did good. I did. I think you're the first Hispanic. I know. No way.

Jesse: 47:51

Yeah. To have a conversation with Uhhuh. That's awesome. I guess Canada's in my head, Canada's like super diverse.

Courtney: 48:00

It is. But I think in the States you guys have more that culture. Hispanic, right? Like we have Jamaicans people from India. some Trinidadians, we're Chinese, but yeah.

Jesse: 48:13

I live in San Antonio where my name Jesus Hernandez. And anywhere I go, it's just let me give you my driver's license number, my social security number, because there's a million Jesus Hernandezes in San Antonio There's so many of us awesome. I feel honored to be the.

Courtney: 48:33

There you go,

48:38

Oh my goodness. You're either driving down the road or just so enthralled with, uh, with this whole podcast that you went all the way down to the very, very, very, very end of it. And we appreciate you and just, we're going to take this as an indication of your dedication so we got a little special request of you, a call to action, because everybody tells us that like, you need to have a call to action. So here's the call to action. Be kind to yourself, go out there and share a smile with someone