We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Roberto Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Roberto below.
Roberto, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
My name is Roberto Rodriguez, born in 1973 originally from Argentina, moved to Uruguay in 1984 and finally to USA in 1999. Here is the story of how I got to become an art maker:
Since my early years, I have had a great interest in nature. The outdoors and animals, especially dogs, have been part of my existence on this earth since I was a small child. As I grew, I was drawn to hunting and fishing. I was the only member of my family who was into it. I started hunting small game with my slingshot, homemade by me. I remember searching for the perfect piece of wood for my weapon and old leather shoes to cut the tongue out and use to hold the stone. It became a ritual as I spent hours working to have a great final product. As I grew, I advanced to a rifle and started hunting with my dogs. We hunted Russian boars, Axis deer and Capibaras. The practice of hunting wild boars with dogs and knives is a big part of my past.
When I moved to USA in 1999, I left behind my 6 dogs. Lulu, a small mix female dog, was one of my favorites. My plans were to come for two years and go back. God had a different plan. Within a few months my parents decided to move as well, leaving all our dogs with family and friends. Three years later, I was able to go back to visit. When I got there, Lulu was seeing her lasts days. She was blind and old, but she knew I was there. The next day I was with friends when my aunt called me to tell me Lulu was dying. I rushed to her home to find Lulu barely breathing, lying on the ground. I called a friend and we immediately took her to my old time vet. She said nothing more could be done and that it was likely Lulu was waiting to see me, to die in peace. I was crying like a small child as she passed and that day, something changed deep in my soul. My outlook and feelings for animals started changing.
Fast forward eight years. I decided to get my favorite dog at the time, an Argentinian Dogo. Jabali came from Buenos Aires at 10 weeks old. A year later, I rescued Rina from Ridgeland, SC and later Tara joined our family from Iowa. I found myself hunting wild hogs in SC, but something was different. I was not enjoying it. I saw a lot of pain and suffering. I saw a fellow hunters beautiful dog being killed by a boar, dogs getting cut, mother pigs dying with the piglets being mauled by dogs, the look on animals eyes when you are taking their life and the squeal that still bothers my soul when I think about it.
At the same time I was experiencing these mixed feelings, I was slowly nurturing a new growing belief and faith in God. I was questioning my actions and it became very clear to me that I was hunting with a prideful heart, a manly heart, and not a Godly heart. I enjoyed telling stories about the hunts, showing pictures, and feeling like I was a tough man. In reality, the toughest thing to do was stop. I will always remember the day around mid 2012, I knelt down and promised to God that I will never hunt with my dogs again or cause unnecessary pain and suffering to any creature. I asked God to help to fill the void that decision will create in my life.
A few months later, I watched a video of a man from Australia. He was carving a bowl from a random shapeless piece of wood. I loved it, so I decided to try it myself. I found a small oak burl, and started carving it with a chainsaw, grinders and sanders until I found the desired shape. I remember applying some lemon oil and WOW!! It was like magic and I could hardly believe I made that!
In January 2013, I built a work bench with my dad at his house. I started creating rustic, functional wooden pieces on a patio under an oak tree. I made bowls, trays, coffee tables, end tables, dining tables, mantles, sculptures, hanging lights,
centerpieces, and anything else I could. While doing so, I harvested all my materials from fallen pieces in the woods. This enabled me to keep taking my loving dogs with me on hunts. Instead of animals, we were hunting wood. Very little changed for them, but everything changed for me. I was free again, roaming the wilderness, feeling the spirit and connection with mother nature, without all the pain and suffering, just like God intended. I was given new life and am blessed enough to give new life to otherwise discarded pieces of wood.
Roberto, 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?
My name is Roberto Rodriguez, born in 1973 originally from Argentina, moved to Uruguay in 1984 and finally to USA in 1999. Here is the story of how I got to become an art maker:
Since my early years, I have had a great interest in nature. The outdoors and animals, especially dogs, have been part of my existence on this earth since I was a small child. As I grew, I was drawn to hunting and fishing. I was the only member of my family who was into it. I started hunting small game with my slingshot, homemade by me. I remember searching for the perfect piece of wood for my weapon and old leather shoes to cut the tongue out and use to hold the stone. It became a ritual as I spent hours working to have a great final product. As I grew, I advanced to a rifle and started hunting with my dogs. We hunted Russian boars, Axis deer and Capibaras. The practice of hunting wild boars with dogs and knives is a big part of my past.
When I moved to USA in 1999, I left behind my 6 dogs. Lulu, a small mix female dog, was one of my favorites. My plans were to come for two years and go back. God had a different plan. Within a few months my parents decided to move as well, leaving all our dogs with family and friends. Three years later, I was able to go back to visit. When I got there, Lulu was seeing her lasts days. She was blind and old, but she knew I was there. The next day I was with friends when my aunt called me to tell me Lulu was dying. I rushed to her home to find Lulu barely breathing, lying on the ground. I called a friend and we immediately took her to my old time vet. She said nothing more could be done and that it was likely Lulu was waiting to see me, to die in peace. I was crying like a small child as she passed and that day, something changed deep in my soul. My outlook and feelings for animals started changing.
Fast forward eight years. I decided to get my favorite dog at the time, an Argentinian Dogo. Jabali came from Buenos Aires at 10 weeks old. A year later, I rescued Rina from Ridgeland, SC and later Tara joined our family from Iowa. I found myself hunting wild hogs in SC, but something was different. I was not enjoying it. I saw a lot of pain and suffering. I saw a fellow hunters beautiful dog being killed by a boar, dogs getting cut, mother pigs dying with the piglets being mauled by dogs, the look on animals eyes when you are taking their life and the squeal that still bothers my soul when I think about it.
At the same time I was experiencing these mixed feelings, I was slowly nurturing a new growing belief and faith in God. I was questioning my actions and it became very clear to me that I was hunting with a prideful heart, a manly heart, and not a Godly heart. I enjoyed telling stories about the hunts, showing pictures, and feeling like I was a tough man. In reality, the toughest thing to do was stop. I will always remember the day around mid 2012, I knelt down and promised to God that I will never hunt with my dogs again or cause unnecessary pain and suffering to any creature. I asked God to help to fill the void that decision will create in my life.
A few months later, I watched a video of a man from Australia. He was carving a bowl from a random shapeless piece of wood. I loved it, so I decided to try it myself. I found a small oak burl, and started carving it with a chainsaw, grinders and sanders until I found the desired shape. I remember applying some lemon oil and WOW!! It was like magic and I could hardly believe I made that!
In January 2013, I built a work bench with my dad at his house. I started creating rustic, functional wooden pieces on a patio under an oak tree. I made bowls, trays, coffee tables, end tables, dining tables, mantles, sculptures, hanging lights,
centerpieces, and anything else I could. While doing so, I harvested all my materials from fallen pieces in the woods. This enabled me to keep taking my loving dogs with me on hunts. Instead of animals, we were hunting wood. Very little changed for them, but everything changed for me. I was free again, roaming the wilderness, feeling the spirit and connection with mother nature, without all the pain and suffering, just like God intended. I was given new life and am blessed enough to give new life to otherwise discarded pieces of wood.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
So before all my woodworking career started, I was working as a Personal Trainer, I did that for 12 years, there I met a lot of people, some of them became a long time clients and friends. At some point a partner and myself opened a small gym, it lasted 1 and half year and it was a hard lesson but a useful one, I lost all my savings, had to file bankruptcy and start all over
Few years later, When I decided to find a place to do my woodwork, I knew I didnt want to rent a place, I didnt want to have any overhead whatsoever so I asked one of my long time client/friend if I could use a spot in his 180 acres property to do so as bartering for my training sessions, he agreed, told me to build a small roof and I did so and started spending time creating wooden things with a chainsaw a grinder and some chisels and a sander
Slowly I was getting tools that I needed to grow, I wanted to get to the point that I have a sawmill so I could rescue fallen trees, mill them and work the wood, the idea of the sawmill was always present but my credit was not in good shape, so I forgot about it for awhile and kept making small pieces, bowls, cutting boards, sculptures very much es, etc.
At the same time I kept training a few people, one of them already for 5 years, very committed to training. I was thinking to make a transition totally to my woodwork so gave my few clients a notice that I was going to stop training and a few weeks later I did, only kept the one who I traded space with.
2 Months passed by and my faithful client called me, he said he was doing nothing and needed to get back, and what can I do about it. I told him to come and join me on my workouts, we will workout as partners, so we did started training again. Few weeks later the topic of payment came up, so I jumped on the opportunity and offered him a deal, he would buy a sawmill that I needed and I will train with him for as long as he was making payments for it, so we did, and I just finish the last month this past May after 3 years.
That piece of equipment allowed me to transition from smaller pieces to big pieces and sell slabs and dimensional lumber
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
I used to be invited to a great event called Music to Your Mouth at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton SC. It was a weeklong event where top chefs form the East coast came together plus all kind of music and different events.
I attended 5 years in a row with my father as a helper, best helper ever.
The event for artisans was on a Saturdays from 11 to 4, well on the 3rd year I decided to bring a massive red oak log bench I carved out of a single log, plus a beautiful Black Walnut organic coffee table also carved out of a stump.
That Saturday we sold over $10000 within 3 hours, sold those 2 pieces that fetched over $7000 plus smaller pieces, the most gratifying thing was that all the material for my work is reclaimed meaning I get it free of cost
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: wildwoodrescue
- Facebook: Wild Wood Rescue
Image Credits
Roberto Rodriguez