Think your job is hard? Try one of these

Those with creepy-crawly phobias need not apply.

“Bedbugs are gross. I also ran into a raccoon that had babies – they can be very vicious. [I deal with] huge wasp nests. I’ve been stung many times,” says Gosselin.

Donning mask and protective gear, the microscopic-world terminator is asked to eradicate ants and stinging bugs and clean up pigeon droppings, all leading to some sticky and stinky situations.

“I got sprayed twice last year by skunks. I could give you a list [of pest problems] if you want,” Gosselin laughs.

“It’s not a bad job. You see a lot of different places every day. But I would say it’s definitely a dirty job.”

Weighty Work

With a different kind of weight on his shoulders, Airdrie resident Wote Winkelman measures the toughness of his occupation in pounds.

If moving is one of the most stressful occurrences in life, the Leap Express Cargo Ltd. owner has led a pressure-packed existence.

“We have our work cut out for us sometimes, that’s for sure,” says Winkelman, who has moved household contents and made deliveries across the province for more than 23 years.

“We moved 11,500 pounds up to the second floor of a new home under construction. That’s the heaviest load we’ve taken up stairs. The most recent one was 27,000 pounds,” he says.

Part long-haul truckers, part heavy lifters, Winkelman and his crew have endured 14hour drives in all kinds of weather. Starting out as a small-package courier, getting work has never weighed on Winkelman’s mind.

“It’s kept me working quite a few hours. It’s gotten heavier and heavier. Maybe I should go back to courier,” laughs Winkelman.

Rooftop Highs

Battling fainthearted phobias takes on new heights for Ron Forsyth’s rooftop moneymaking line of work.

Not to look down on other professions, the roofing industry combines heights, extreme physical activity and at different times of the year stifling mid-summer heat or frightfully frigid winter winds.

“It’s hard on the knees and back. The materials we use are pretty heavy and you’re bent over all day, especially shinglers,” says the Goodmen Roofing employee.

For eight years Forsyth has been lugging

50- to 70-lb. shingle bundles up ladders.

“If you have to move 50 of them around in a day, that’s a lot of weight. It’s probably one of the tougher [jobs] physically,” he says.

Prerequisites for the occupation are a love of the outdoors and toiling under the hot sun, no fear of back-bending labour and the ability to shun high anxiety.

Forsyth says that a few prospective employees didn’t pass the elevated rooftop test.

“There’s a few times [people] started, went up to the job and couldn’t get up the ladder. Or they’re hanging on for dear life,” he says, adding that safety is a big factor in the profession.

“We’re pretty safe here. We’re tied off all the time, so falls aren’t really a big concern.”

There are many tough, dirty and sometimes thankless Airdrie occupations that could have been listed here. Waiters and waitresses, police and rescue workers, ranchers and farmers, construction workers, those who keep our sewer systems operational – the list is endless.

Whether it’s stress, copious amounts of dirt, back-breaking labour, long hours or battling monotonous tasks, toughness can come in all forms. Hats off to those in vocations that most of us probably wouldn’t have the courage even to attempt. life

How many guys can say they do what they love and get paid for it?

Here three Airdrie businesses can lay claim to this –combining their talents and passions into profits

teofista elite (a.k.a. airDrie boXiNg)

When Rhys Eckardt realized he couldn’t fight anymore, he decided instead to share his expertise with a new generation of boxers.

For several years, Eckardt had been a member of the Teofista Elite boxing gym in Calgary, until its owner decided to expand into Airdrie.

“I was having [an] issue with some medications that put my bone density into an osteoporosis state,” explains Eckardt. “I couldn’t fight anymore – I was always getting my ribs broken [with] even the slightest hit. So I started to train people. And I wanted to go to the next level, which was being part-owner of a gym.”

Airdrie Boxing opened in the Kingsview business park in November 2008, offering programs for kids as young as four, all the way up to athletes with their eyes set on major competitions.

“We teach Olympic-style boxing,” says Eckardt. “There are tons of misconceptions about boxing, and we’ve had people turn their noses up and say, ‘Is this it?’ And we’ve had people come in and say, ‘Wow, this is nice for a boxing gym.’”

Indeed, the gym’s window-rich location is a far cry from the stereotype of dark warehouse-style basements perpetuated by movies and TV.

Instead, Airdrie Boxing has a traditional boxing ring in the centre, surrounded by exercise equipment, punching bags – even an arcade-style “Who punches strongest?” game.

“For the kids ages four to seven-eight, we have jungle-gym-style exercises – they’re just having fun with the sport,” says Eckardt. “The 6 [p.m.] classes are for all age groups, more fitness-based. At 7 [p.m.], it’s about learning the theory and applying it lightly with non-contact sparring and working on defence.

“At 8 [p.m.], it’s for people who want to test the theory and get in the ring. The blood happens at 8 [p.m.],” he adds, tongue-in-cheek.

Eckardt works to bring the science back to the “sweet science.” There’s a big poster of John Sul-