Experience
The path to the trade
Creating, from the start
I came up as a Miami-bass recording artist under the name Iceman Ja, signed with Foresight Records and released the hit "Dance Transformer." I learned the business the hard way and was later recognized with a Pioneer Award. The habit it built — take an idea and see it all the way through to a finished product — is the same one I bring to the shop floor.
Welding — my trade
I've been a welder almost my whole life. I started professionally at 19, at Benteler, and have sharpened the craft ever since — tightening up my bead, learning fabrication, and starting to design and build my own parts.
Design & precision finishing
I taught myself SolidWorks and began designing and building my own stainless steel furniture — custom chairs, fabricated from my own drawings. A good weld wasn't enough; I wanted a flawless surface, so I learned the full grit progression, working up through finer abrasives until the steel reaches a true mirror reflection. Precision and patience became part of how I work.
Education
I completed four years at Grand Rapids Community College, then chose to transfer to Grand Valley State University rather than stop — earning a Bachelor of Arts (double major: Liberal Studies & Music), 2017. I'd rather keep advancing than coast.
Off the clock — staying sharp
On my own time I keep my fabrication skills sharp with personal projects. One is a metal humanoid figure I put together as a hobby. It's just a side build, but it happens to run the full fabrication cycle end to end: I sketched it, modeled the parts in SolidWorks, made my own cut lists, fabricated and welded every piece — and re-built it in aluminum to drop weight — then assembled it to my own plan. It's simply how I stay sharp between the disciplines I use every day: design, cut, weld, finish, assemble.
