Born: I was born Aug. 1, 1988, in Beaumont, Texas.
Education: I graduated from Auburn University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Family: My wife, Andie, and I have been together for nine years and married for five of those years as of this June. We have a daughter, Lucy, who will turn 2 years old in August.
When and how did you enter the recycling industry? My family has been in the industry for 53 years. My grandfather started the company, and it has been in the family ever since. I worked a little part-time in the family business during high school. I probably shouldn’t admit this—especially given today’s regulations—but after school my cousin and I would play in certain corners of the yard, jumping off piles of scrap or skipping rocks off metal. At the time I didn’t expect to work in the industry, but I ended up joining the business full time at the end of December 2011.
What was it about the industry that prompted you to build a career in it? The industry is basically “family.” I don’t mean just me working with my family but the entire industry has that family feeling. For me, that feeling comes from growing up in the business and attending all the ISRI conventions. And Gulf Coast Chapter summer conventions were basically part of my summer trips growing up.
What are you passionate about? I love college football. It doesn’t matter which teams are playing—my weekends in the fall revolve around college football.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people. I wake up at 3:30 a.m. every day during the week to work out. I gained 40 pounds in college, and I don’t want to get back there. Once I started working, I found it easier to wake up early to work out rather than try to do it after my workday.
If you could improve anything about yourself, what would it be? I need to be more honest and open with people. I’ve always been a private person, so I probably need to open up more to people, reveal what’s on my mind, and let people know how I feel.
What do you like to do in your free time? I like to hunt and hang out at the golf course. I liked traveling, but that has stopped due to COVID and having a young family. Now that our household is into fish, sharks, and mermaids, I can't wait to get back to traveling to tropical locations on family trips.
When and why did your company decide to join ISRI and the Gulf Coast Chapter? I believe Wright’s Scrap Metals was part of the trade association before ISRI. We’ve seen several regulations implemented since I’ve been in the industry full time. I can’t imagine how voiceless our company would have been during those times if it weren’t for the Gulf Coast Chapter and ISRI.
Have you held any volunteer leadership positions in GCC? I’m currently the golf tournament chair for the Gulf Coast Chapter. I was rush and social chair for my fraternity in college. I really enjoyed setting up recruitment events, band parties, and tailgates, so I was pretty excited when GCC approached me about the golf chair position.
What benefits have you received from your GCC involvement? The connections and networking have been pretty amazing. There have been a few times where I talked to another person in the industry about one of their needs and have been able to pass along someone’s contact who played in the golf tournament.
What are the major challenges facing your company and the overall recycling industry today? Laws and regulations. It seems like Texas is always trying to pass more regulations on the scrap industry, even if we aren’t the primary source of the problems in the state. Let’s talk about batteries: Metal recycling entities, or MREs, in the state have many guidelines when it comes to buying batteries from an individual, but big battery companies can buy them without getting the seller’s ID, and they don’t have to report their purchases to the state.
At one time, the Texas Department of Public Safety told us we couldn’t accept an ID from a customer who had a P.O. Box listed on their driver’s license or ID card. I always felt like it was ridiculous that the Texas Department of Transportation could list a P.O. Box on someone’s ID, but DPS wanted us to do more work and get the customer’s physical address. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, but it’s one example of the laws and regulations that make me shake my head.
I also think there’s a misconception about private companies being made of money. Our company has been told during state inspections that we need higher-definition warehouse cameras. Does the state want to fund that? I’m sure high-definition cameras for scrap purchases are high on all scrapyards’ equipment lists.
