5 Questions with a Pipe Cleaning PRO – Brian Kohutek

Name: Brian Kohutek

Employer: ClearWater Plumbers

Job Title: Technical Install Manager

Years in the Industry:12 (at ClearWater Plumbers)

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1. How did you get your start in the industry?

At 20 years old, I fell into plumbing when a good friend’s father got me a job with Drum Brothers Plumbing in Lubbock, Texas.

He told me that if I was going into the field of construction, it’s best to find a trade where a license can be obtained.

2. What does your typical day look like?

A typical day starts at the shop, cleaning out trucks from the previous day’s adventures and loading them up to be prepared for the day. After being dispatched, we head out. The day usually consists of three or four calls. I usually have enough time on each job to stop, listen to and interact with the customers. It’s so much easier to help a customer when you can talk to them and figure out what the real pain and problem is. The day usually wraps up around 6 p.m. and I’m driving westbound back home.

3. What is the No. 1 challenge facing our industry?

It seems harder and harder to find new guys and gals willing to get their hands dirty. Plumbing can quickly become a lucrative career but it seems like there are less and less people willing to learn a trade.

4. What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with your fellow PROs?

Learn everything you can about every new product and outlet within the trade. Plumbing is evolving into a much more sophisticated trade. Between tankless water heaters and automated showers, the average plumber will have to understand electrical on top of plumbing.

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5. When you are not at work, what is one thing you enjoy as much as being a Pipe Cleaning PRO?

When I’m away from work, I can usually be found at home working on various projects around the house, tinkering in the garage, or out on the lake fishing with my wife.