My Favorite Kind of Hero

July 21, 2007 | Filed Under Blog 

Even as a kid I was never really interested in mainstream stars and never gave a crap about Hollywood. I always seemed to be intrigued by people who do amazing things, yet don’t find themselves on Entertainment Tonight. After spending 3 days, so far, at the AWSF Fair in Las Vegas I have realized how fortunate I am that I idolize accessible people. And as a person who aspires to make a name for himself in the area of woodworking education, I get awfully excited when I meet some of the big players in the industry. Everywhere I look I see someone that has influenced me as a woodworker. David Marks and Scott Phillips are giving demos at the Delta booth. I see the Popular Woodworking crew meandering around the Festool booth. Norm is signing autographs. And one of the MANY highlights of my week was finally meeting and chatting with Chris Schwarz and Glen Huey. I follow Chris’s Blog and his articles in Popular Woodworking and Ive seen almost all of Glen’s videos. So I was really excited when I ran into them at the Steel City booth on Thursday. As I quietly inspected Steel City’s new granite-topped offerings (secretly waiting for a chance to introduce myself), Chris actually introduced himself first! We had exchanged a few emails here and there but I never expected him to actually recognize me. After few minutes of conversation, it was clear that these guys were quite humble and perhaps even a bit unaware of their influence on the woodworking masses. And as a person who is just starting to cope with the concept of people recognizing him in public, their humble nature was inspirational to me.

And yes, we did stand in line to shake hands with Norm. Nicole and I told him we were from The Wood Whisperer and Norm actually knew who we were. Ummm, someone pinch me please! We gave him a Wood Whisperer t-shirt and he then began talking about online woodworking videos being the way of the future and how the guys at The New Yankee Workshop are discussing the possibility of putting old episodes on their website. How cool would that be??

And the real high point of the week occurred last night. We had an incredible evening with David Marks and his lovely wife Victoria. Stay tuned for the exclusive interview!

To sum it all up, I really feel bad for people who idolize celebrities who they will probably never meet. Fortunately for me, I have the opportunity to meet my heroes on a regular basis. I guess for me they are like Paris Hiltons with handplanes. Ok maybe there are other differences but you get the idea.

Comments

14 Responses to “My Favorite Kind of Hero”

  1. Northern Wood on July 21st, 2007 9:00 am

    That’s awesome for you guys! I can’t imagine meeting Norm and having him say, “I know who you are.” I would have said, “Can you shoot a brad in my arm so I know I’m not dreaming?!?” :-)

    I’m stoked to hear your interview with David Marks. I just found out that he is coming to Minnesota this fall sponsered by our woodworking guild. YES!!!

    And by the way, Marc, it’s cool that you feel that way about people like Norm, DM, and Scott Phillips. I hope you know that some of us feel the same way about you. Someday I can’t wait to say, “Honey… there he is! It’s Marc! And there’s Nicole! Oh, crap… look how long the autograph line is…” (And yes, I’m serious.)

    Thanks for sharing that with us!

  2. Northern Wood on July 21st, 2007 9:01 am

    Oh… and about your comment “Paris Hilton with a handplane.” Don’t you have to be smarter than a handplane to use one??? :-)

  3. Erik on July 21st, 2007 9:26 am

    Marc, You have just brilliantly summarized what I love about woodworking…there is no competition, there are no egos, everyone is truly interested in helping others learn and appreciate our craft. I hope that never changes.

  4. Bob S in CA on July 21st, 2007 6:38 pm

    Was the T-shirt you gave to Norm plaid?

    Great that you got to meet and interact with all these guys who are such legends in popularizing woodworking.

  5. Andy Hobbs on July 21st, 2007 9:19 pm

    I can say 100% this is the reason I love the wood whisperer, or more importantly Marc and Nicole (because they both make the wood whisperer what it is). I haven’t been lucky enough to meet them in person at the show. But every time I visit the chat room they are inviting and approachable (in a cyber kind of way). They don’t make us less experienced wood workers feel less experienced. Even though I grew up idolizing Norm too I could never imagine talking to him in a chat room about mortise and tenon joints and then asking what he’s having for dinner. Thanks Marc and Nicole for embracing the awesomeness of the internet!! And for being The Wood Whisperer…

  6. Paul Comi on July 21st, 2007 9:54 pm

    Marc, that’s neat that you not only met but got to speak with them 1:1, I can’t fathom any comparison you’re making to Paris Hilton though. Every person you mentioned has made a CONTRIBUTION and have enriched the lives of thousands of us in ways that go beyond just fashioning things out of wood. Fathers like me after seeing a few episodes of David Marks or Norm end up getting off the couch, setting up a home shop, and spending more time with their kids in the enthusiasm that has been rediscovered in doing woodworking. Guys like me are rediscovering the joy that can be had working with one’s hands; although come to think of it I hear Paris is also quite skilled at “working wood” so maybe you do have a valid comparison there…

  7. wilbur on July 22nd, 2007 3:42 am

    Paul,

    Paris _does_ make a contribution to society. If it wasn’t for her, all those celebrity tabloid shows on E! would have nothing to talk about. :@)

  8. John Rezzonico on July 22nd, 2007 7:16 am

    I can remember being about 13 years old and going to the Garden state plaza mall in NJ with my Mom and sister and running into George McPhee. He was the enforcer for the NY Rangers in the early 80’s and my favorite player. I was so excited that the first thing out of my mouth was “HOLY S#!T”. My mom was not happy since cursing was a big NO NO, but I got to talk to him as well as getting an autograph. It was great (my mom excused me from a mouth full of soap).
    The cool thing for you is that you are now on the other side of the fence. It is one thing to take pride in your work but it is another to go the extra mile by sharing your skills and inspiring up and coming woodworkers. I truly appreciate the hard work you and Nicole put into your work and would gladly stand in line to get an autograph and a picture. Keep up the good work…. And by the way, awhile back you left a comment on my Blog about a project I did (your cutting board) that truly made my day. Nicole has also left some great comments as well. It is great that we are in a community that allows us access to the people who we consider to be our superstars.

    John

  9. MikeB on July 22nd, 2007 10:36 pm

    you guys deserve all the good stuff you experienced last week! Like others above, I can see myself nudging my wife to say “hey, that’s Marc & Nicole from The WoodWhisperer!”. As I mentioned in one of your chatrooms, I saw David Marks at the AAW in Portland and said “hello” and mentioned your podcasts, He returned that he thought you were a “kick”. You’re a name too, and thanks for doing what you do, and letting us chat with you like regular people.

    MikeB

  10. Ron on July 23rd, 2007 7:19 am

    Ok now that I have awoking from the Vegas dream… Not only did I too get to hobnob with Norm but he actually signed my Wood Whisperer t-shirt now how much better does that get, well except if maybe David Marks and a few others signed it but hey I don’t want to push my luck!! Looks like one of the next projects is a case to frame it:) I guess I better get Marc to sign before he’s booked for guest appeareances:) Don’t look in the mirror man cause you are quickly becoming one of those guys!

  11. Branden on July 23rd, 2007 8:46 am

    Marc, thanks for sharing your perspective and experiences. Just to echo what has already been said, you are certainly one of these guys who is someone we all can look up to. I have already been telling my students to reference your site and study your Podcasts. You truly are a pioneer in this area and I very much appreciate that. Thank you for all that you have done thus far and I look forward to your mentorship and our collegial relationship!

  12. dagboi on July 23rd, 2007 8:21 pm

    great post, Marc–never lose that “fan’s perspective”…..it keeps us right there with you on all your adventures. Thx once again……

  13. Gracious1 on July 24th, 2007 8:43 am

    I have to echo the sentiments of those above. I too got to meet the man that got me started into woodworking(Norm) and the dynamic duo team of Marc and Nicole that have actually renewed my spirit and have forced me to give up the excuses of too tired, not enough time in the day to do atleast something in my shop on a daily basis to relieve the stresses of day to day life.

    My wife asked me after returning from the show on Day 1 whom I was more thrilled to meet, Norm or Marc. Without hesitation I answered her(honestly) Marc and Nicole. I told her the reason was that Norm is something safe/comforatable like an old sweater, where TWW is like a new video game where you never know what the next level is going to bring but you cant wait to get there. I know that I’ll never get an invite to the Batcave known as the The New Yankee Workshop, but I feel that somehow I get an invitation to marcs shop on a daily basis for a cup of coffee and chat about bits/blades, finishises and techniques…(even though I know I’ll never get a direct invite to Marc’s shop as the only other human’s I’ve seen there are his stepdad, nicole and the UPS guy), that’s ok, I know I’ll always be welcome through the online feed….

  14. Joanne on August 12th, 2007 12:20 pm

    I LOVE your post about heros. I was once at the Long Beach Grand Prix many years ago, when Mario Andretti was still racing, and I saw Paul Newman in the pit area, I walked up to him and asked if I could meet Mario Andretti (Paul co-owned Mario’s team). He looked at me with those blue eyes and said, you want to meet Mario Andretti? I said, oh yes, I adore him! Paul Newman went into a large RV, came back and said, wait here … he’s not in a good mood (Al Unser had just put him into the fence), but he’ll be out in a sec … out came Mario Andretti, and I was not able to speak for the awe I was feeling. It was one of those highlights that I won’t ever forget. My friends think I’m nuts - choosing to chat with Mario over Mr. Newman (:

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