Watch Toughest Summer Jobs on WTXL ABC 27 Wednesday at 11 and vote for who you think has the Toughest Summer Job. Watch July 29th to see who takes home the trophy for Toughest Summer Job.
TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) -- A nice paint job makes any house or building look great. But you probably haven’t given much thought to "how" and "who" has to break out their inner Van Gogh to make a building look beautiful.
Meet Sid Cooper; a painter? Yes! Vincent Van Gogh? Not so much. But did Van Gogh ever have to sweat it out under a scorching Florida sun? I think not! "Using lifts, ladders, in direct sun all day long. That's tough!" Cooper said.
Cooper owns and works at Expressit, a family owned company in the area for nearly 23 years. And in his 38 years of experience, Cooper has done everything from painting, to surface repair, to pressure washing.
Cooper says when you’re out and about he always recommends to wear lighter colors, adding "It's for the coolness of it, I think white was probably the original color that everyone used."
Plus, keeping hydrated is a must. "I insist that they do because of the problems that will show up later", said Cooper, "Plus, if you get sick, sunburned, you get dehydrated, you're not able to come to work and that's not good for anybody.”
Some of the difficulties included with the job of a painter include the heat, chemicals, deadlines, and falling off ladders. "If I were to tell you about falling off of a ladder while painting a skylight inside of a local home here in Tallahassee. And having my wife at my side in the emergency room when I came to, that was another thing," Cooper said, talking about one of the crazy experiences over a 38 year career.
Even with all the risks, his company’s motto is the same: "To do the best job possible with no shortcuts."
No shortcuts, determination, and danger. That’s why Sid Cooper and the rest of the workers of Expressit are in the running for the title of "Toughest Summer Job".
