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Our new shipping/receiving manager Josh came recommended by, of all people, our UPS driver. Boy, are we glad! Ever since Josh has been on the scene, life at the warehouse has just become so much more entertaining. We love his great energy, terrific sense of humor and wide variety of interests – from boxing and race cars to technology and economics – but, perhaps more than anything, we’re grateful to have someone on our team with such a big heart. We love Josh!
What do you do at fredflare.com?
I do what it takes to make sure our warehouse can keep up. There's a lot of inventory that comes in, needs to be processed, packed and then shipped right back out to our customers. I have to figure out how to make all that happen as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What kind of work history prepared you for this job?
I grew up wanting to be an actor, and was in a lot of plays. Once that chapter ended, I worked as a bicycle mechanic at a shop downtown. One of the toughest jobs I’ve had was at an animal shelter. I would always make friends with the meanest dogs… Doing coat-check at the Blue Note was a cool gig. I got to see B.B. King and Tito Puente live. I am also a capable boxing coach – boxing as in punching, not putting boxes together like I do now.
Boxing? Did you actually fight?
Yes. I went to a boxing gym for a few years and became a decent sparring partner. I trained
hard enough to wonder how good I could be, but not hard enough to find out. Going to work
with a black eye keeps you humble. After a while, I decided I was humble enough and started coaching other fighters, mostly kids competing in the NY Golden Gloves Tournament.
Besides boxing, what else do you do for fun?
I love NASCAR, evolutionary psychology, running, eating and putting together music playlists to play on the job. (Keep your eye out for fred’s new boombox feature coming soon to sample some of my rockingest choices.) But, let me repeat, I really love eating. Oh, and Austrian economics. But really, eating is my favorite.
How did a New Yorker such as yourself get into NASCAR?
I actually grew up in Midwestern cities like Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Chicago, but I didn't get into stock car racing until I met my wife, Iris. She grew up around that scene, and she got me hooked. Seriously, everyone should go to a track and watch a race at least once in their life. And get the scanners so you can listen to the drivers yell at their crew chiefs.
Complete this sentence: My perfect day would go something like…
My perfect day would go something like this: wake up early, run a race in Central Park with the New York City Road Runners Club, eat, build a few shelves at the fredflare.com warehouse, throw a few punches at a heavy bag, eat, watch Tony Stewart win another NASCAR race, flip through Plates + Dishes for inspiration, watch Brooklyn's own Zab Judah box his way into pound-for-pound status then fall asleep reading a little F.A. Hayek or Daniel Dennett.
OMG, we can’t believe fredflare.com made it into your perfect day! You’re not just saying that cuz we’re interviewing you, right? You do seem really into your job…
I am. I like the challenge of being a part of a growing company. Having the best coworkers in the world is nice, too. On a more philosophical level, though, I think individual style is an important part of our global society. Someone in Iowa is wearing earrings inspired by palaces in India while someone in Taiwan is pocketing a wallet styled with a Wild West motif. Their lives are enriched by cultures existing on the other side of the planet. In some way, fredflare.com helps that cultural exchange happen.
Wow, that’s deep. On a more serious note, while we’re talking about ways in which we hope fredflare.com can enrich people’s lives, can you speak a lil’ bit about Modest Needs, the charity you brought to our attention after Hurricane Katrina?
Modest Needs is a non-profit organization that helps people meet unexpected emergency expenses, like health bills or car payments. These small acts of kindness are intended to aid hard-working individuals and families in times of crisis. It’s all about personal giving, a community of people helping each other. We hope to do more together in the months to come. Check them out at modestneeds.org!
Anything else you’d like to tell our customers?
Yes. Send me email at josh@fredflare.com! Let me know if there is any way we can make your fredflare.com experience more enjoyable. Or if you want to know the finer points of tape gun handling or if you’re curious to know who's the pound for pound best fighter today…
10/2005
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