“Our way of life shouldn’t be just about business, our business should be a way of life!”

“Hawaiian Dan”

I’ve been blessed enough to have had four successful careers in my lifetime thus far. What are my secrets to success? Well it’s not rocket science or anything and I’m no genius with multiple master college degrees. I did not come from money and nothing has ever been handed to me. I’m just plain ole Dan, a kid who was on his own at the age of 17 with the clothes on his back. A high school graduate with some college and trade school education, a lot of common sense and impeccable drive. An ordinary fellow whose secret lies in some important characteristics: a true passion for each career, due diligence and drive, self motivation, paying very particular attention to details, a desire to succeed at being the very best, a need to be challenged daily, a lover of hard work, a need to understand things entirely from the inside out and from the ground up, and having the opportunity for continual growth and advancement. Oh and I almost forgot, you absolutely have to believe in teamwork, love what you do, and most importantly have fun doing it! So let’s start with my current profession.

Sea Eagle Boats, Inc.
19 N. Columbia Street
Port Jefferson, NY. 11777
SeaEagle.com

Sea Eagle Boats, Inc., is over 55 years old. A family-owned and operated retail inflatable watersports company. The company started off with mail order and later expanded to include e-commerce, B2B, and an affiliates program. As a lifelong waterman, this was an easy fit for me. However, the path to my current position wasn’t. At the age of 36, I married and relocated to NY after living in sunny Florida for 30 years. On top of leaving everything that I had ever known including a long-time professional career in the fire service. There was a major adjustment to weather, location, and cost of living among many other things. I had to completely redefine myself and my career from scratch in a place that was completely foreign to me with no support group and no friends. However, in my mind success was absolute. The proof?  A brand new management position created specifically for me. I now work closely alongside the owners but it didn’t come easy. I started off sweeping the warehouse floors for $9 per hour. For those of you who don’t know. That’s $6 per hour after taxes here in NY, but I was determined to make it work. So I did what I do best. Dropped my head, dug my feet in, and worked my tail off. I worked my way up from floor sweeper to hull washer, repairs, technical support, customer service, product consultant, product designer/field tester, photographer, videographer, sales, marketing, and the list goes on and on but you get the point. I learned the business from the inside out and from the ground up. Oh, and I make a bit more than $9 per hour now.

 

Panther Martin® Fishing Lures
Harrison-Hoge Industries, Inc.
19 N. Columbia Street
Port Jefferson, NY. 11777
PantherMartin.com

Panther Martin® Fishing Lures are a trademark of Harrison Hoge Industries, Inc. and over a 65 years old sister company of Sea Eagle Boat, Inc. My life as a waterman also made me an avid fisherman and has provided me invaluable insight into the fishing industry. Being a waterman means having a passion and love for all things water-related. There’s nothing better than landing an incredible trophy fish!

Special Operations Technical Rescue Firefighter/Instructor, EMT-Paramedic/Flight Medic/Aerial Tower Truck 9C
78 West Central Boulevard
Orlando, FL 3280

Most definitely a career I still hold dear to my heart is the 12 years I spent as a professional fireman. Again the characteristics I mentioned above enable me to become one of the most sought-after firemen in the state of Florida. I remember graduating from the fire academy with only one certificate stating I had completed the basic firefighting standards requirements and later sitting in a conference room with hundreds of other City Of Orlando Florida firefighter candidates to take an entrance exam. I scored 98% and was not hired.

For the next 23 months, I applied to every fire department known to man and was turned down each time. Although I was very fit, it probably didn’t help that I was only 5’7″ and weighed around 150 pounds soaking wet. Which is not most people’s idea of a big strong and burly fireman who could rescue you from a burning building. My firefighting certification was also set to expire in a month’s time and there was only one department left to apply for. So I gave it my last shot. It was a very small, two-station department that didn’t pay much but they hired me. I became a City Of Casselberry fireman!

The Casselberry Fire Department was so small that every man had to learn every job and so did I. Boy did I love it! Still young and unseasoned I quickly learned that I could close the gap to experience by educating myself. I began taking course after course, collecting certifications after certifications. Three years later seeking more experience and opportunity for advancement, I moved on to a 42 station fire department named Orange County Florida FD. Still, I continued to educate myself in both fire rescue and now medicine. After 5 years I was selected as a fill-in helicopter flight paramedic on Fire Star 1 and as a full-time Special Operations Technical Rescue Firefighter Hazmat Paramedic on the elite and highly sought-after Heavy Rescue Squad 1. I was also teaching my firefighting skills as a lead instructor at the Central Florida Fire Academy. I had reached the apex of my firefighting career at Orange County but that wasn’t enough. I wanted more and I wanted to be the best! I wanted what had eluded me all these years. The City of Orlando Fire Department. I could have sat pretty at the OCFD but I wanted to be the best so I tested again.

By this time I had a pretty well-established reputation as a fireman, fire instructor, paramedic, and all-around good guy. The City of Orlando Fire Department had been asking me to apply for some time now and so I did. I scored high on the entrance exam and was called in to interview. During the interview, the board asked me if I had ever applied with the City of Orlando FD before. I replied, yes nearly 10 years ago. The chief then asked me what I had been doing since then. I handed out 2 packets to each member of the board. One contained a copy of the score from my original entry-level test nearly 10 years ago of 98% and that single certification I had back at that time. The other was my current resume’ complete with a cover letter and enough certifications that the weight of it hitting the table sounded like a box of bricks. The chief stood up, smiled, shook my hand, and said “Dan, it’s so good to see you. We’ve had our eyes on you for quite some time now and it’s about time you came aboard.” My time had finally come, I had arrived! Eventually, I retired from the fire service while on Special Operation Hazmat/Technical Rescue/Aerial Tower 9 for the City of Orlando. I was the smallest but strongest firefighter of my size ever to have made it to a tower truck. Able to fully gear up and carry outside team tools while solo carrying and raising a 35 ft, 3-section, extension ladder multiple times on a daily basis.

Over the years many have inquired of me. Why do you train so much harder than everyone else? My reply has always been the same. I was given the responsibility to save lives and I never wanted to let anyone down. During my career, I was involved with the saving of many lives and unfortunately the loss of many as well. Every day I trained – I trained with the intent that every second counted and that I owed it to everyone to give it my absolute best both for the ones saved and the ones lost. I laid it all on the table, all on the line, all of the time.

Flair Bartender – 6 years

Another great career from my early days was bartending. That did not come easy either. I remember starting off in security as a nightclub bouncer at the age of 20. Small but scrappy they used to say. I worked my way up to a barback position restocking the bars and doing whatever necessary to provide support for the bartenders. I wanted to be a bartender so bad. They were the gods of the nightclubs, made lots of money, and…well I’ll let you fill in the rest.

I used to take the empty liquor bottles home, fill them full of water, set up a mock bar, and pour drinks to imaginary customers while performing tricks such as flipping bottles and blowing fire. I wrote down every drink recipe I could find on flashcards and practiced making them over and over again. Yes, I broke a bunch of bottles and yes I nearly knocked myself out a bunch of times with those bottles hitting me in the head while practicing flair tricks but I was determined to learn. I wanted a bartending job and I was determined to stand out to get it.

After fibbing a little to get my foot in the door of my very first job I was thrilled to see that my fellow co-workers were willing to help me out. I still remember their names, Mike and Isabel. I knew the drink recipes. What I lacked were all the little techniques that came with years of bartending experience. I caught on quickly and eventually became known as one of the fastest and best bartenders around. I acquired the nickname “Dan the Superman aka Superman Dan” which followed me around on account of my speed and the fact that people knew me to be a genuinely nice and considerate guy who would do anything to help a friend in need. I never had to worry about a bartending job again from that point on. I continued to bartend at different nightclubs and restaurants over the next 6 years and even worked my way into management a few times. Eventually, the fire department found me and I moved on to that life-saving career!

Ocean Rescue Lifeguard – Volusia County Florida
107 ½ Buenos Aires
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169

The year was 1986 and I was 16 years old when I first became an ocean rescue lifeguard. Attending high school in a small beach town called New Smyrna Beach. I believed this was the best career ever and at the time I was right! Young and impressionable, I was paid to stay in shape and save lives all the while keeping a great tan! What more could a teenage boy ask for? I learned a lot about teamwork, was awarded Lifeguard Of The Year and MVP for assisting our corp to a first-place international lifeguard competition victory for the first time in my corp’s history!

While composing my professional history for this website I’ve come to realize that although nothing was ever handed to me I always had help along the way. During each of my professional careers, someone was there to give me the opportunity, to guide me, to help and support get me to where I am today. Lifeguarding was no different. I became a part of a brotherhood and had the support of some really great people who wanted to see me succeed and placed me in a position to do just that. I won lifeguard of the year and international lifeguard competition awards. I saved lives and all because people believed in me as much as I believed in myself.

Life is all about growing and learning. Learning about your profession, learning about the people you work with, and most of all learning about yourself and what makes you tick. Look inside and figure out who you are. Find out what things make you happy and then find a career that fits. If you do that, I think you’ll find that you’ll end up exactly where you’re supposed to be and loving your work. Don’t be scared to dream but most importantly don’t be scared to act on it. With each step, whether you succeed or fail, you’re learning something about yourself. I once heard that success comes by way of many failures but it only takes one success to succeed. Thomas Edison was said to have failed thousands of times before succeeding in making the lightbulb. You have to keep getting up, keep dreaming, and keep trying. If you don’t keep trying how will know that the very next time won’t be your success? If this once young Thai-Hawaiian kid who had nothing, came from nothing, and never had anything handed to him could redefine himself multiple times over and prove successful each time – then most definitely so can you!