Leaving Detroit

Two Challengers belonging to Josh Welton stolen and stripped. Photo courtesy of Josh Welton, Brown Dog Welding.

Editor’s note: Regular visitors to thefabricator.com are familiar with Josh Welton’s blog posts, which are among the most popular content on the website. You may have noticed that Josh hasn’t posted for a while. This man of extraordinary talent and drive has been subjected to some serious setbacks over the past few months. He has spent time reflecting on what’s happened and is ready to share his story with you. There are lessons to be learned. Sometimes, they aren’t pretty.

Welder Josh Welton and I go back seven years. We met on Twitter. He was then, as now, quite the presence. I was impressed by his posts under @browndogwelding and reached out to him to see if he would like to be featured in a series of Fabricator Spotlights. He agreed, and both a working relationship and friendship began.

Josh is quite gifted in many areas, including social media. He has huge followings on various platforms, and he provided input into articles I wrote about how job shops could use social media to grow their businesses.

When those of us who work on the website began to think about having guest bloggers, the first name that came to my mind was Josh. He gladly took on the challenge and wrote interesting, compelling posts that resonated with fabricators and nonfabricators of all ages, but especially younger fabricators—those the industry desperately needs. He makes welding and fabricating “cool,” or whatever today’s word is for cool. (Josh would know.)

When I go to FABTECH and people find out that I’m the content manager for thefabricator.com, many say, “Oh, I read Josh Welton. I love his stuff! Is he here?” Josh has been there on at least two occasions. The second time, he was featured in the Weiler booth, where many attendees stopped to chat and have their photos taken with him. He’s a rock star in the welding and fabricating industry.

Even more important, people ask him technical and job-related questions. He knows welding. He knows what it’s like to work at a welding job in a factory, and he knows what it’s like to have your own shop. He told me once that he’s basically shy, but when someone wants to talk welding and fabricating, he could go on forever. I can only imagine how much the students at Macomb Community College enjoyed being in the classes he taught there. Yet one more way he has encouraged youth to take up the trades.

I could go on forever talking about Josh. If he’s reading this, he’s probably hanging his head in embarrassment at the praise. He is a humble person. But believe me, at a time when hyperbole is rampant, there is nothing hyperbolic about anything I’ve written. It’s the truth, something that seems to be hard to come by these days.

Why am I writing this? Josh has been through the wringer the last few months, and I don’t like seeing what he and his family have been through. His story takes place in Detroit, a city he dreamed of moving to and spent a great deal of time looking for the right home and shop location. He found them, but his dream turned into a nightmare.

In his post “Detroit versus Detroit” on his personal page on oppositelock.kinja.com/, he wrote: “A quick glance from the outside would show The Comeback City making America’s largest municipal bankruptcy a diminishing object in its rearview mirror. Numbers allude to an improving and diversifying economy, the population skid has slowed. We have a competent mayor and the current members of city council aren’t creating Daily Show fodder while hiding inappropriate relationships with minors and/or accepting bribes from city contractors . . . as far as we can tell. The bar is set pretty low for local politicians, but let’s crawl before we run. There’s a police chief seemingly intent on rooting out deep-seeded corruption in his ranks. There are billionaires pouring money into old buildings and new projects. Instead of ‘ruin porn’ we’re getting a live feed showing The District’s growth. In the place of buying houses for a dollar, you can now buy a Midtown loft for $700k. Brands want to associate with Detroit. Some brands only exist because of Detroit.

“Detroit is the New Black. Made in Detroit. Detroit Hustles Harder. Say Nice Things about Detroit. Imported from Detroit. Nothing Stops Detroit. Detroit versus Everybody.”

Josh Welton and Vicki Bell at FABTECH 2015.

How about a “Detroit Welcome” of two stolen, stripped Challengers, law enforcement corruption, and a shop that was robbed and wiped out? “Welders, a plasma cutter, saws, and an entire toolbox full of top of the line equipment I’ve spent 15 years collecting. Dynabrade die grinders, full metric and standard wrench and socketsets, machinist’s blocks, my beloved hammers, drawers of Channellocks and Vice Grips. Full size argon bottle, you can’t buy them anymore. Boxes of 2% thoriated tungsten. On and on and on. Some stuff, I’ll never get back at any price. Gone.”

You can read Josh’s story here. It’s quite a story.

If I know Josh as well as I think I do, he will return to writing and plying his trade. When he’s ready.