I think I am most passionate about...doing a good job at everything I do. Not perfect. But good. Sometimes I will choose not to do something if I think I can’t do it well enough to be satisfied. Also, I want to lead as a strong example for my children in all the good and hard things in life.
I’ve built lots of homes and other things out of wood and metal over the last 25 years…but I have always wanted to build a car from the ground up. It’s something I’ve dreamed of for my whole adult life. Like an American muscle car or a Factory Five Racing kit car. Although nowadays, I think I would add a vintage Porsche 911 to that list. Oh, and a new garage to put it in:)
One thing I consider to be a great accomplishment...in my life is becoming a licensed contractor at the age of 18. Before I even graduated from high school, but not by much. I learned most everything about building from my dad, Randy Perkins and my stepdad Bob Gernandt. I have them to thank for my confidence and success. To me, it’s a big deal because it allowed me to start my career in home building early enough to make a good living at a young age and build a house for my family.
I spend all my time during the week working on other people’s houses. So, as you might expect, I don’t like working on my own house on the weekends. And there’s plenty that needs to be done. Instead, I enjoy playing music and listening to music. I’m the only person I know that played guitar right-handed, but now switched to left-handed. I love getting to play a round of golf with my two sons, Carter and Sawyer. And if the weather is good, I love to get the yard mowed and cook out on the grill with my wife and kids.
If I could travel anywhere in the world, I think I’d like to visit all of Europe by train. Well except for getting there I guess, ha. My grandparents were big into traveling by train on vacation. I don’t know if I will ever be able to do that, but another fun thing would be to drive with my wife Jaime (yup we have the same name, and it is spelled the same way too) all the way up the East Coast visiting small towns and taking in the scenery and food. I really want to visit Maine because Jaime and I watched a TV show with a little restaurant that had the best-looking lobster sandwich.
1. I am most passionate about adventure… and sharing those experiences with family and friends… I try to make the most of every day and love to get out on any trail, lake, river, slope, or even city streets and explore. My wife, Sarah, also enjoys getting out and traveling new places with our 3 boys. It is our hope that they will grow up seeing the world as an amazing place that has new adventures waiting around every corner! I enjoy just about every outdoor hobby including mountain biking, skiing, wakeboarding, fishing, golf, and hiking.
2. I’ve always wanted to try kite boarding… Probably going need some lessons for that!
3. My proudest accomplishment is just completing homes for people and being able to walk away with a happy client. As a younger Builder, sometimes it seemed like the end of a job would never come, but now it’s getting easier and easier to just keep plugging along until the job is done.
4. My favorite way to spend the weekend is boating and camping out at Lake James with the family…. And some friends too!
5. If I could travel anywhere, I would love to do a summer trip to Whistler, Canada and go mountain biking! I would also like to go to Costa Rica sometime.
Bio coming soon!
1. I’m most passionate about learning. I have learned a ton about construction from working with the Perkins. I’m extremely thankful for that. Likewise, I have a specific passion for learning about technology, and being a part of the YouTube channel has helped feed that as well.
2. I’ve always wanted to skydive, but I haven’t had the chance yet… Jason has though. I think if it ever happens, it’ll be with him.
3. My proudest accomplishment would be one that isn’t well known. I spent seven years in New Hampshire and towards the later part of that I completed all the 4k’s. There are 48 mountains there over 4000 ft and a small group of five of us hiked to the summit of all of them.
4. And if I could go anywhere, I think I’d go to the Alps. I love the mountains, and at this point they’re the only ones I haven’t experienced that I really want to.
A few other random tidbits about me.
1. I am most passionate about spending time with and taking care of my family. My family is my everything, and I find great pride in making sure they have what they need and making sure they are all good.
2. Well, since I have already jumped out of an airplane, I guess bungee jumping would definitely be high on the list of things I would like to try.
3. I tell you what, one thing I am most proud of is hitting 100k followers on my own YouTube Channel, Building Jay’s Way, oh and raising what I think are good kids.
4. I love spending my weekends boating on the lake with my family and friends.
5. I really want to travel to Africa, and take a safari!
I met my wife Stephanie working in a restaurant in West Palm Beach, and I knew immediately that she was the one. It took me about a year to get the first date, but then she was hooked! Lol, I never thought about being a contractor because I was doing the real estate thing in Florida.
Before working with the Perkins Brothers, I had some construction background from when I was in high school and going to Haiti on mission trips to build schools and churches for the Haitian people through our church in Florida. But God works in crazy ways, and he brought us to NC and made me fall through a ceiling so I could reach out to the Perkins boys, and the rest is history.
The whole YouTube thing is crazy! Obviously, Ray is a big part of the way Building Jay’s Way started, but after he decided to step down, I figured we had put so much work into it that I didn’t want to just let it go, so I decided to do it on my own. It’s a ton of work and a huge commitment, but I find a lot of joy in it and love meeting people out and about that watch the channel!
I love working around the house. My mother-in-law always gives me crap because I’m working on a Sunday, and she says that is the Sabbath, and you’re not supposed to do any work. But I don’t think doing yard work and having a fire is work to me, it is more therapeutic.
I find a lot of enjoyment in taking care of people. It may backfire on me sometimes, but I do like taking care of my family and making sure that most things in our family and home run smoothly daily. I am a big fan of a routine. I love waking up in the morning and look forward to going to bed at night because I can’t wait to get up in the morning and do my routine.
