We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Daniel McIntyre . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Daniel below.

Hi Daniel, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

That’s a very interesting question to answer which I’ve been ask a few times in my career. When you really sit down to think about it the question is very deep and deserves some soul searching. My legacy more than anything, has been and always will be, my children. My two daughters are my lifeline. They are 9 years apart and complete polar opposites but have their own ways of dealing with things! Mya is a teenager now at the age of 13 and discovering herself and what she wants. She is try to navigate through this thing we call life in her own way. On our free time Mya is OBSESSED with hockey and starting to play on her free time. We have season tickets for the Pittsburgh Penguins and I do my best to attend as many games with her as I can. Charli, my little “mini me” is 4 and is an absolute spitfire! She is my little helper and loves to work with daddy. She is fierce and bold for a toddler and admire it in many ways. My amazing wife brought them into this world and together we are trying to raise them better than the ways we were raised. I just want people to know that they can do anything they put their minds too. If you want to be a musician then do it. If you want to play hockey or be the a sports broadcaster then do it! Nothing is holding you back but you. Life can be cruel but through that cruelty you can find beauty if you look hard enough. Life is messy and you are going to make mistakes, the important thing is you learn from them. I live by a motto: Never Give Up. My wife has been my biggest supporter in that, and always will be. I’ve put her through hell and back and she has never left my side. We have been together since I was a teenager. We had our oldest, Mya, when I was only 20. Fresh on the heels of adulthood and just trying to find a way to be the father I never had.
As far as after I’m gone? As long my legacy that I described lives on through my children then I consider it a success. If you fail as a parent, then you’ve failed at life. Period. You lost sight of what was truly important in life. As for the world, well people are very different in all aspects of life. People will remember what they want to remember with the experiences they had with me. I have made some amazing friends in this world and I’ve also lost alot of friends as well. When you truly start to find your purpose and focus on your goals you will find out that your circle gets smaller. Always try to have a positive impact on the world and leave it a bit better then when you arrived! It costs nothing in this world to be kind.

Daniel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, you want to know about me? That’s always a tough question to answer when you look at the big picture and grand scheme of what that entails. I guess I’ll start out by saying my name is Daniel McIntyre. I am a native of the Steel City, “yinzer” nation, Pittsburgh. Born and bred in the blue collar city of black and gold I take pride in my hometown yet I have no desire to live here the rest of my life. I am a father of two beautiful daughters and a husband to a wife that has endured me for a decade and half this upcoming February (God bless her soul!)! (How she deals with me sometimes is a mystery to me!) What really got me into my craft is as my artistic ability and creativity to escape my childhood. I was physical abused by my father who was/is a narcissistic drug addict. He has many issues and like most abusers took them out on more vulnerable prey. My mother was never around. I thought for you 30 years that she had abandoned me but came to find out my entire family on my father’s side manipulated the story and left out key factors as to why she wasn’t around. Very tough things to swallow and grasp as a young man who just wanted to be loved and cared for. When I was 14 I was sexually abused by my aunts husband who came out as gay many years later. It just added onto the pile of childhood trauma and issues that I had to find a way to navigate through. I used drawing and art as a form of escape from reality. It helped me to get through the days and endure the trauma.

When I was about 8 I met my grandfather, my father’s father, for the first time and he was a real true artist at heart. He taught me how “to be one with the paintbrush” showing me everything from acrylic paints to oil based paints and how to eventually master the small details that would eventually help my desires to be a painter. He had his demons he had to battle with as a raging alcoholic but the man loved to read John Grisham novels and got me hooked into them along with painting every time I saw him. I’ve always credited my grandfather as the one who showed me that every project is just a “blank canvas and opportunity to create something new!”
As I got older I continued to have hardships in school continuously getting into trouble and suspended numerous times and even going before a judge a handful of times for assault charges after fighting. My strained relationship with my father only escalated as I became bigger and stronger and he created a new family leaving me behind. It only fueled my anger and rage and turned me into something I didn’t want to be. To this day I still struggle with my mental health and take the proper steps and precautions to NEVER be the monster he was to me towards my own kids.
By 17 I had moved in and out of his place 6 times and finally had enough when we had our final fight that caused me to break some bones and cause serious damage. I slept on a park bench that night, with no phone or wallet (as he wouldn’t allow me to have them-throwing all of my belongings out the front door into the mud puddle in the grass infront of the house) and found a way to my first step mothers house who was his second wife (by this time he was married 3 times now and had both of my brothers).
I settled in with her and stayed a long while going to community college with no real direction in life. I drank a ton going on binges and being with random women. I ended up with a peptic ulcer from stress and drinking with wasn’t a fun time.
I found solace in painting, drawing pictures and writings. After a few years of no clear direction I finally met my girlfriend who would become my wife working at my cousins pizza shop in Dormont. She saved my life by actually loving me for me, which to this day still baffles me at times! Though I struggle to this day she showed me the vulnerable parts of my soul that deserved to be loved. By the middle age of 19 she was pregnant with our first daughter, Mya, and we had some serious trials ahead of us. The birth of Mya without a doubt saved my soul and atoned my sins.
For a few years we had no money and worked together cleaning houses making chump change to just make ends meet for our daughter. My wife came a checkered background as well with her own demons and parents that caused there own damage. Both parents and step parents that were less than stellar led her to be the amazing mother she is today.
As the years went by I always loved to paint and would do it as side gigs for extra cash. Every job I had I either ended up leaving or getting fired, finding out that the 9-5 life just wasn’t for me. I didn’t do well with taking orders from other people and wanted more out of life than a salary and being told I had to show up at a certain time and punch out a certain time. I started to venture into entrepreneurial ways but found no success the first two times with insurance and housing markets, getting involved with shady individuals who didn’t have my best interest at heart.
One day I came home and said to my wife I wanted to paint full time because it brought peace and tranquility to my soul and didn’t even feel like work. I’ll never forget her saying to me, “then do it and make it happen.” Those words of encouragement stuck with me from her! I had a hill to climb because anyone that is an entrepreneur knows it’s not a simple process to open a business and thrive. Shortly after I started full time the pandemic hit and I thought I would be done for but the complete opposite happened! I have never been busier in my entire life! We had our second daughter, Charli who relit the fire inside me, and I knew I found my purpose for a job. It wasn’t just a job it was a passion. My passion was going to be my legacy I would leave for my girls and build something greater than myself. I was going to re-write my family name and history and rebrand it all!
My logo is unique in its own way paying tribute to my Irish roots with a shamrock but that is dripping paint. I wanted it to be different and stand out like myself. I’m 6’5 350lbs so when I walk into a room I stand out in general. I knew my brand and way of carrying my business had to be that way too! Being normal is overrated anyway, you have to find ways to stand out from the competition and show your passion through your work. When you truly love what you do people will see that and most will appreciate it. In time things will fall into place as they should. I have found more than anything that being commutative with your customers is vital! Quick and fast responses too, people love that. They want to feel important and you want to show them that there project is a priority in your business!
I still have my daily trials with being a business owner, inflation was tough to overcome at one point and being a father to a moody teenage girl and crazy spit fire toddler has its advantages and setbacks. I still struggle with my mental health daily but live by my motto to Never Give Up.
I’ve learned along my journey of life and being a business owner that things never come easy that you truly want. The right thing is always the hardest thing to do and you must sacrifice to have greatness and leave a mark. Balance is key and it’s something I’m still trying to fully grasp as I go along this journey myself.
For any inspiring entrepreneurs these are most vital thoughts for success, find a way to stand out, be consistent, never give up and find your own balance.

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

Resilience by definition is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties. That is something I feel I have done my entire life. It’s hard to pinpoint one exact example of instance since “defying the odds” is something I have made a career out of. I was told my entire life I wouldn’t amount to much of anything in life like entire McIntyre bloodline, yet I continue to find a way to be successful and accomplish my goals. I was told I wouldn’t be able to overcome my anxiety/ depression and PTSD, that I was nothing and I was “making circumstances up in my head” yet I fight everyday to overcome the battles and stigma of mental illness.
I was told I was insane to have a business during covid and that I would struggle during the pandemic, but all I did was continue to thrive. Though I am far from reaching my goals I chip away at them a bit at a time.
I have made a career out of proving people wrong and I will continue to do so as long as I live.
I know that as a person, a human being that has suffered trauma, at times I walk a fine line between confidence and arrogance. My wife helps me to stay balanced on the side of humility and to never forget where we both came from. Our personal traumas drew us closer and ultimately made us a power couple when we are on the same page.
I think one thing more than anything that sticks out in my mind for resilience is when I first started my painting company and took my first appointment driving in a beaten up ford explorer with a little ladder in the back. I had no logo yet, was still developing the LLC and we virtually had no money.
Now I have storage units full of materials and equipment and a spray booth that a friend of mine helped me build. Two trucks over the course of the last 5-6 years and one being a dream truck of mine an F-150 with my company decals on it and a giant ladder rack.
It may be a small victory but in my book it was a victory and when I step and look at what I have built I feel somewhat accomplished and my family is proud of me. My girls are proud of me and at the end of the day what more could a man ask for?

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

It’s funny how I got started with social media for the business. I originally just had a Facebook and used my personal one. Then I made a page for the business and it just took off from there. My oldest daughter showed me some things on Instagram and one of my former employees introduced me to CapCut. I went from having 5 followers in 2021 to starting 2024 with almost 5,000. It may not seem like a ton to some but growth is growth and if you are happy with your own progress that’s all that matters! I will say that consistency is the key. I make reels regularly and stories all the time on Instagram. Tik tok is still new to me and I’m learning that. I have seen that tik tok is geared more for younger audience than anything. Instagram is the key for my social media presence and I use it with my Facebook page to upload a ton of content. Social media has become a serious presence the past half a decade and can really help and grow a company! I am learning everyday but I will say that you have to stay ontop of it and try to understand the algorithm or it all too.
Recently I hit a milestone with a reel getting well over 2.2 million views. It was a personal goal of mine to have a reel reach 1 million view so that pleased me.
Stay diligent and stay consistent with your content! You will eventually get to where you want to be with grit and determination.
I will say that when I hit 5,000 followers I will have a stellar giveaway! I will do the same when I hit 10,000 and then 20,000 and so on and so forth!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mcintyrepaintingllc.com
• Instagram: mcintyrepaintingllc
• Facebook: McIntyre Painting LLC & Daniel McIntyre (two separate facebook accounts)
• Linkedin: @dmcintyre1128
• Twitter: @dmcintyre1128
• Yelp: McIntyre Painting LLC
• Other: Threads: @mcintyrepaintingllc Next Door: McIntyre Painting LLC Google Reviews: McIntyre Painting LLC

Image Credits
I took the photos myself and uploaded them onto my social media platforms