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
Everyone needs a reason to get out of bed in the morning and do all the things that, if they didn’t have to, they wouldn’t do…
For people with families, it’s usually the family.
But sometimes, it’s other things. For example, ego — the desire to show everyone that you’re better than them (Christians call this pride, and it’s the first sin on the list of the seven deadly sins).
It could also be greed — the lust for money. The need to have more than others (number two on the TOP 7 sins list).
For the hero of our story, none of the above reasons were important.
I mean, he explained to everyone that it was the first one — like Walter White, he was doing it all for his family.
And for the money — but in the long run. Sure, now it’s not much, but in 3–4 years, 3D printing will explode! Everyone will be using it! That’s when the real money will come! Who knows, maybe someone will even want to buy his company for a million dollars?
Deep down, he secretly admitted to himself that he was doing it a bit for his ego, too. He never told anyone this — not even his wife or his best friend. He did it so people would admire him.
He really knew 3D printing. And in his local industry, he was considered quite a good specialist. When clients came to him, they knew nothing about 3D printing, and he could explain everything to them. And they looked at him with admiration. The same with his employees, for whom he solved all the 3D printer problems. He explained it all to them like they were kids, and they all listened to him attentively.
(At least that’s what he thought.)
So, he did it a little for his ego (the pride).
But in reality, it was about something entirely different. I said you’d have to dig a bit (but not too deep).
He did it because it was incredibly challenging. Most of the time nothing worked out. There were only constant problems and challenges. With clients, with orders, with suppliers. Fight, struggle, stress. And again. And still so little money. Constant pressure. Will he manage to close the month? Will he have enough money for salaries, bills?
If you look at it from the right perspective — it was extreme in its own way.
Like rock climbing. Like jumping a motorcycle over a chasm. Like bungee jumping.
For our story’s hero, a career in the 3D printing industry was a substitute for extreme experiences. The rest of his life was ordinary — even boring. Only his work allowed him to face something extraordinary every day.
Work in 3D printing.
A walk in the rain and against the wind
Just to be clear — most of the time, he genuinely hated it. He complained to his wife and friends about how hard the work was. Thankless. Unfair.
He’d say that if he were doing something else — I don’t know, selling injection molding pellets or offering CNC milling services — he’d have three or four times the money for the same effort.
But he kept doing the same thing. Was he afraid of change?
No. The truth is, he never really wanted to quit. It was a very simple formula:
3D printing career = (extreme experiences) x (ego boosted by others)
There are people who play paintball, running through forests or abandoned buildings, exhausting themselves, sweating, risking injury, and most of all, getting shot with paintballs. It hurts and leaves marks on the body for some time.
Why do they do it? Because it’s their escape from a boring and predictable life in banking, insurance, or accounting. Or from writing thousands of lines of code for applications that “run in the background” and no one ever sees.
The hero of our story is the opposite. His job is about dodging shots and firing back at the opponent. When he gets home, all he wants is to relax.
Paintball? Sure, I tried it once, but this weekend I need to prepare for a Monday meeting. Maybe next time…?
Yes, 3D printing attracts a very specific kind of person.
People for whom adversity is a daily occurrence. Who, for some reason, prefer to have problems they can solve.