The man who always liked it when it rained

Portrait of a 3D Printing Guy

Other than that, he was a completely normal guy. A wife, kids, a dog. A steady group of friends from high school, plus a few from college and previous jobs. Normal, ordinary parents — still alive — with no troubled history.

A car on lease, a townhouse with a mortgage. His own business — nothing big, three rented rooms in the city center. Him and just four employees. A business loan, but other than that, no debts or major obligations.

Standard.

But if you started digging, you’d be surprised how quickly you’d find it.

Because one thing didn’t fit at all. In this whole standard, ordinary, staying-under-the-radar life, there was something that stood out. Something that didn’t let you close the box.

3D printing.

Why was he into that? Something so niche, uninteresting, and unpopular? Didn’t he know that 3D printing was long a thing of the past? A summer hit from our parents’ youth? A presentation burned onto a CD?

And on top of that, he put so much work and effort into it.

There were times when he practically slaved away at it.

But there wasn’t much money in it… Just enough to keep the small business afloat, pay the bills, and maintain a relatively modest, average life.

If he had focused on something else — something normal, something people actually needed — he could have made three or four times the money for the same effort. Or the same amount of money for doing half of what he was doing.

It made no sense.

But if you started digging, you’d be surprised how quickly you’d find it.

A substitute for a bungee jump