Occupation: I have my own business. I am the owner of Two Dog Painting, Remodeling & Design. I've been doing that for about 15 years. I started doing contracting work in high school, helping guys out, then at college I was working on construction sites during the summertime and spring breaks. I graduated from college with a BA in graphic design and went into that field. Around five years after that I started to feel like I had to get away from working at a desk, so I went back to working with my hands again. I worked with mentors and learned the trade even better, doing painting and handyman work. I got very lucky and here I am today. It feels good.

Family: My wife Trish and I have been married for almost 15 years. When we moved to Newtown about 15 years ago, Trish had a big traveling job around the time I was figuring out what I wanted to do. It was fun to get to see how much she loved her job and it made me think how I wanted to have that type of feeling, too, about my job. When I said I wanted to give Two Dogs a shot, she was right there to back me up. She was very supportive the whole time. Without her I would not have gotten to where I am today.

Pets: We had five dogs at one point, but right now we have four. It had started off with two, Callie and Gus, who inspired the name of my business. We still have Gus - he's the old man - and also Finley, Bishop, and Ozzy.

How long have you lived in Newtown? Fifteen years. I grew up in Monroe pretty much my whole life and had friends in Newtown, so I spent as much time in Newtown as I did Monroe. I always came up here to ride my bike and go to Fairfield Hills.

What do you like to do in your free time? I like to ride my motorcycle, play with my dogs, hike, and play guitar when I can. Also, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, which is tougher as the years go on, but we always try to do stuff.

Do you have a favorite author? ItI like the author Hunter Thompson, too.. Stephen King. I keep up with the movies, and we just saw the movie

What is your favorite travel destination? Vermont, Block Island, California, I could name a million.

Watching it grow throughout the years has been really cool. There are so many new things popping up, like different restaurants. It's a destination town. It's a town that you just feel a heartbeat.

What is the best part about Newtown?

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? I don't have one specific person, since life is a melting pot of influences with family and friends, but as far as keeping me being motivated in my business, it's seeing how other contractors I admire approach jobs. If I'm on a job or at a house and I learn about a guy that built something great, then it really motivates me to want to do the best job I can.

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? I would say Trish - we really are best friends. But that's corny. So, I'd have to say both my brothers, Pete and James. We used to go into the city and it would be fun to get to go do that again.

What is your favorite musical genre? The 90s, definitely. I loved heavy metal, and I still do. Since I play guitar, I have a lot of different musical influences. I love having Sirus XM, because I just flip around constantly.

Do you have a favorite TV show? The Walking Dead is such a good series. We've been watching from the very beginning. Also, Stranger Things and Breaking Bad are really well written. The writing is unbelievable.

What is your favorite food? I like cheese - cheese and crackers, cheese on anything, fondue. Everything is better with cheese on it.

What is something you cannot live without? Laughter. You've got to laugh at least once or twice a day.