Finding his niche in the trades, with a last name of Vader, Justin Vader has the plumbing force behind him.
As an underwater welder for eight years, Justin Vader (@vadertheplumber) traveled all across Ontario, Canada, for work. However, when his wife was pregnant with their second child, it was time to find something closer to home. “All my friends were in the trades and my father owned an excavating company so I thought if I was dealing with pipe underwater why not pick something with pipe on land? Most of my friends are in the trades but none in plumbing so it felt like the obvious choice, and I have never looked back,” says Vader, owner of Dark Side Services, Ontario since 2019, and 16-year veteran of the trades, the last eight in plumbing.
Vader started off by joining the Union, and worked commercial, industrial and nuclear, mostly with bit of residential under his belt. “Once I got my journeyman ticket, I decided to open my own company. I mainly do residential/renovation plumbing on the side while I still work as a plumber at a nuclear facility,” says Vader.
The yin and yang of the job in terms of challenging vs. rewarding always exists. Vader finds it challenging during a home renovation when someone wants to switch their plumbing to the opposite side of the house. “It takes some troubleshooting to figure out how you’re going to get everything to flow properly and up to code without making too many new bulkheads. Yet, I also find it very rewarding when the job is finished and it all looks beautiful and you have a very happy customer,” says Vader.
Lifelong Influences
Vader praises his father as one of his true mentors because he raised him with a hard-working mentality. “But I also learned to value my family time because he worked way too much and didn’t always make time for the more important things in life—family. I always said I would do things differently; I feel that it’s very important to find that balance,” says Vader.
Vader also had a few different Journeymen during his apprenticeship and a couple who he found inspiring. “They were very knowledgeable and proud of their work, they were perfectionists, so it set the standard of how I like my work to be.”
Skilled Trades Dilemma
What does Vader think about getting the youth into the trades? “Now’s the time!” exclaims Vader. “With a lot of old dogs retiring, we need to fill those spots. There is such a shortage of tradesmen, we need people to make the jump. The money and work are there if people want to start. Plumbing is a great trade to be in, it is always going to be in demand and it’s rewarding, mentally and physically.”
And how do we do that exactly? “We need to stop the stigma of being a blue collar worker. Movies and TV shows show dirty, rude construction workers as filthy bums essentially, and that’s not the truth. Teachers pushing people into college and university and the trades are only for the ‘not so bright.’ This all needs to change,” says Vader, who emphasizes that the trades are an amazing place to work—learning new skills that are essential to people’s lives and making a lot of money doing it.
The Social Effect
Again, how do shine the light? One major facet has been social media, which has definitely helped his business by showing off his work and how things should be done correctly. Oh, and receiving things from companies to test out has been a bonus as well because Vader then can decide which products he likes best and, in turn, stock in the truck and recommend to fellow plumbers. “Social media also has helped me connect with other trades and content creators to learn how to do things differently in ways I never would have thought. Making connections and meeting people at trade shows is a wonderful experience all thanks to social media,” says Vader.
Another cool thing arising from social media and the connections made there, the Beskar Collar Boys podcast actually came about when “a few of us tradespeople and Star Wars fans first got scammed by another person on social media. Once we realized that guy did not have the best intentions in mind, we cut those ties and grouped together and made our own podcast,” says Vader.
The group has been friends for more than two years now and they talk every day. The Beskar Collar Boys conisist of Vader, @theplumberlorian, @plumbdangerous, @atomtheelectrican and occasionally @nic.electric. “The name Beskar Collar is just a funny little combination we came up with where it’s Beskar steel—mandalorian metal—and blue collar workers. Hey, I am a Star Wars fan at heart and I was born to be a fan with the last name Vader. How could I not?”
The Work/Life Balance
For Vader, finding that right balance is very important. “Time is one thing you can’t get back; both my father and father in-law passed away young and that has caused me to live my life to the fullest,” says Vader. “My wife and I try not to stress about money; we can always make more tomorrow. I want to be there for my family and have once in a lifetime experiences. Money is great but it can’t buy everything.”
And that family time consists spending time with his wife and his children. “I have 4 kids so any spare time I have is spent with them and doing things together that we all enjoy—outdoor adventures, hiking local trails, home projects, camping and sometimes relaxing movie days.”
What’s next for Vader and his family? “My family and I all have a bit of the travel bug in us. We’ve already backpacked Europe and swam with sharks in Hawaii so I think next on our bucket list is to do an African safari or backpack through Thailand. Covid and inflation really killed our travel plans but we are working to get back to traveling,” says Vader.
