We recently connected with Andy Weins and have shared our conversation below.

Andy, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Growing up in Milwaukee, WI, my parents Dan and Eileen raised me to make the most of everything — “waste not, want not.” My father and I would drive through nice neighborhoods on nights before trash day, looking for things of value to reuse, recycle, or repurpose. To this day, I feel the urge to stop to look inside every dumpster I drive by.

In addition to my interest in recycling and reusing, my parents instilled in me a sense of independence, entrepreneurialism, and compassionate service. Our family didn’t value the security of a job over the freedom of entrepreneurship. When you do what you love every day, you do more of it on the nights and weekends. To this day my parents continue to work on houses together, volunteer at the church and give to the community through their farm.

My dad is a carpenter by trade and is one of the top door installers in the Milwaukee area. He calls himself A-Door-Able Dan, he loves telling that joke, and it’s true. I recently got a text from a high-end general contractor I know asking him if “Dan the door man” was my dad. He went on to tell me that my dad was recommended as the only guy they knew that could fix a particular old door.

I grew up with him on job sites: from sitting with him in the skid steer tearing out driveways, to watching and listening to him talk with people talk about remodeling projects in their homes, and eventually to typing proposals for him late into the night. I learned a lot watching him with customers as he sold them a vision of what their space could look like at the end of the project. He was excited and passionate about learning what they wanted and how he would make it happen. Nothing salesy about his approach. He always treated people and their homes with the utmost respect.

My mom worked in senior living for 30 years, as the director of food service. It’s a fancy title to say that she was responsible for thousands of meals across seven dining rooms with hundreds of dietary restrictions every week. She took pride in every plate served. She knew she might be serving someone their last meals. When she interacted with residents, she recognized that many didn’t have family and friends in their lives. She was determined to treat people with dignity and respect every day, showing them that they are loved through food. For her it was a place of work, for the residents, it was their home.

Both my parents instilled in me that no matter what you do — haul junk, wash dishes, or install doors — continue to develop your craft, “Every task doing is worth doing right.” They took pride in being invited into people’s homes and their lives. They made the most of the relationships they developed day by day and year over year. They had careers where there was no doubt that they made an impact on the daily lives of the people they served. I carry that legacy forward every day.

I understand today that job titles don’t matter thanks to my parents’ hard work and dedication to their craft. What matters is how you treat people and how you carry out your work. The world glorifies athletes, movie stars, doctors, and lawyers. But what you do is insignificant. How you do it matters. It’s the way that you install a door because you care about making a house safe and secure. It’s the way that you prepare a meal because you want to make sure it’s healthy, safe, and delicious. It’s the way we continue to support people in their homes with their clutter.

Once we glorify how people do things, no matter what their profession, it changes the whole narrative. Some may look at me and say, “All you do is haul junk.” Well, no. I give people back their space, peace of mind, and dignity by removing a burden from their lives. I do this while I reverse-engineer the supply chain to keep the finished goods once cherished by them out of the landfill and put them into the hands of someone that will continue to cherish them. And that’s honorable.

What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.?

I’m most proud of the fact that I choose to do things differently. And that most people who join our organization start with little to no experience in the recycling world and ultimately understand the importance of taking care of the environment. They become passionate about an industry that I grew up passionate about.

What’s the difference in the way we do things? It starts with the way we treat customers. We start by understanding their situation so we can find a solution that caters to them. We develop relationships with our customers. We work with people during some of their most vulnerable times and we treat them with compassion, integrity, and professionalism. We go beyond the conventional approach of hauling unwanted items to a landfill. We see our work as easing burdens on the people that we serve. We clear space for them that they thought was lost. I’m proud that we have, at last count, over 600 Google reviews with a perfect five-star rating. That’s because our crews go to some emotionally charged situations, whether they’re dealing with a stressful real estate transaction or the death of a loved one, and they handle it every day with grace.

Another choice to be different is making Camo Crew Junk Removal a mission-based company. With all the material we handle, we follow a five-phase recovery process: Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle and Responsible Disposal. We partner with individuals and organizations throughout the region to keep 80% of the material from going directly to the landfill. I’m in the business of reverse logistics. When something is at the end of life for one person it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the life for that product. It means it now can go to somebody else so they can enjoy it.

My business has never been, and it never will be, about junk. It’s about service to people, to the community, and to the environment.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My great-grandfather owned a scrap yard, my grandparents recycled to make ends meet, and my father took me on adventures driving through nice neighborhoods the night before trash day. To this day, I want to stop to look inside every dumpster I drive by.

Growing up in Milwaukee, WI, my parents raised me to make the most of everything, “waste not, want not.” In 2009 I was a laid off combat Veteran without the necessary skills or education to get a job in the civilian world. I went back to what I knew — searching around, finding discarded material, and recycling. From a means to eat to a side hustle while working and going to college, and to eventually into a full-time career. I’ve made the most of my junk removal dream. I went from barely getting by to having 10 franchise locations across the country to now owning an independent junk removal operation, Camo Crew Junk Removal.

I have been committed to shaping the junk removal industry since the start by beginning with the end in mind. Everything comes down to where does the material end up. I now share my journey, best practices, and business acumen with the entire $10 billion industry through my YouTube channel, podcast, and speaking.

In addition to being a fourth-generation entrepreneur, I am a Veteran of the U.S. Army and a Cardinal Stritch University graduate. My current ventures include Green Up Solutions, an environmental consulting business; Camo Crew Junk Removal, a solid waste removal service; and Young Guns, a community of entrepreneurs dedicated to advancing their skills. Through my consulting, teaching, podcasting, and writing I seek to support Veterans, entrepreneurs, community engagement, individual empowerment, and the environment.

My 18 years of military service includes service during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as continuing service as a U.S. Army Reserve Career Counselor. Most recent awards include being named a 2023 Waste360 “40 Under 40” member, which honors the next generation of leaders who are shaping the future of the waste and recycling industry, and a 2022 Outstanding Business of the Year / Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business award at the Wisconsin Governor’s annual Conference on Diverse Business Development.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My journey of resilience began in 2014 when I attended the Army’s Master Resilience Training. I spent one year in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, training other Soldiers on these skills and techniques. I utilized these skills and techniques when I later went through some complicated times — a demotion on my deployment, a divorce after my deployment, and a costly separation from a franchise organization.

In 2009, when I was a laid-off combat Veteran, I didn’t have the necessary skills or education to get a job in the civilian world. I went back to what I knew — driving up and down roads picking up recyclable material from other people’s garbage. Over time I realized that people would pay me to go into their homes and businesses to remove all types of items. In 2016, after my deployment and resilience awakening, I purchased territories in a junk-removal franchise. I became the #1 franchisee in the country my third month in business — even written up in Forbes and the New York Times.

As I got closer to the organization, I realized the brand never represented what I thought it represented. I tried to make changes and when that didn’t work, I exited the brand. I left tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table by walking away. I sat through a two-year non-compete, unable to practice my craft after 10 years in the industry. I waited it out before again betting on myself and our team. We set out to build our brand Camo Crew Junk Removal based on morals, values, and beliefs learned through all the previous experience.

It’s a choice to pave a new path. It’s a choice to step away from what you are comfortable with. It’s a choice to stick to your morals, values, and beliefs when the going gets tough. Those choices that I made are all rooted in what I learned growing up in the church, in the community, learning from my parents, and learning in the military that it’s values over dollars all day, every day. When you’re true to yourself you can be true to the people around you, and over time that truth shall set you free.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey The two lessons from this book that stand out to me the most:
Habit 1, “Begin with the end in mind.” In all that I do, I consider the desired outcome before stepping off and showing up.
Habit 7, “Sharpening the saw.” I continually work on myself, my craft, and my relationships to reduce friction in the times it’s needed the most.

“Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz
From the beginning of my business until reading this book I only paid myself what was left over after all the bills were paid. Entrepreneurship is very unpredictable, and I had a scarcity mindset. This book showed me that you can put layers of predictability into your business. This book challenged me to develop predictable processes so that I can handle the ebbs and flows of business from cash flow to training employees.

“The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast
Joe Rogan surrounds himself with different people to have candid conversations. He goes where others are afraid to go. He’s curious about his guests, their perspective, and their journey. He is not constrained like mainstream media that must please its advertisers and overlords. Joe seeks truth in all of his conversations for the betterment of the rest of us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.andyweins.com and https://camocrewjunkremoval.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyWeinsAFW/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyweins/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andyweinsdtft
• Other: https://www.greenupsolutions.org/podcast

Image Credits
Headshot: Stories Framed Company pics: Camo Crew Junk Removal