All right, so Steve Kost with metal health artwork, right? Yes. Okay, I want to make sure I got that right. Here at Fab Tech, 2025 in Chicago, obviously I'm excited to get into what we have right in front of us right here, but why don't you just kind of kick it off, tell me a little bit about who you are and what do you do. Okay. I'm a Navy CB, former Navy CB. So a CB is construction in the Navy. So, of course, everybody thinks of Navy ships. I didn't actually spend much time on ships. I spent about 10 minutes and I decided that wasn't where I wanted to be. So I got a job actually driving bulldozers and working on heavy equipment with the Navy. And then those skills actually, when I came back home in 1995 from that experience. I became an iron worker here in Chicago. So skyscrapers, large structural steel, big jobs like that. And naturally, welding has been a big thing for me. Stick welding has been with me for pretty much my whole adult life. And naturally, once I had been welding for a number of years, and I started creating my artwork, I was using stick welding for that. So That led me to a place in Michigan, Lansing, Michigan, we had this competition called Scrapfest, where you go to a junkyard, you pick up materials, and it's the only event that's like that in the whole country. Yeah, I mean, it sounds awesome. It is. And, you know, after about three years or four years of making this stuff, working and learning how to actually make things look like an animal, I decided I'm going to try and go to this competition. I was the first guy from out of state that wound up there. And everybody was like, well, why would you come here from Chicago? That's really weird. And I go, they don't have anything like this anywhere else in the country. Believe me, I've looked up and down. And I think these are the people I want to be among. And that's what I started doing. And those guys from Scrapfess are here with me today at Fab Tech. I live in Chicago right here, not too far from here. This is the first time I've been to Fab Tech. Really? Okay, I did not know that. And one of the other artists actually told me, goes, hey, you know, we go make connections with different companies and sponsorship, endorsement deals, and a good place to actually try out different materials and cutting disk, grinding disk, welding rods, get a bunch of related articles of clothing. So it's been a really good experience for me here. But the main thing for me has been just conversation starter. As I'm walking around, I'm carrying these sculptures, and people are like, where did you get that? Where can I buy one? I'd like to buy one of those. So it's a nice way to actually break the ice, introduce what I do, and the conversation normally just takes off from there, kind of like it did with you and I. Exactly. And it seems like every year, I've only been, this is my third fab tech, but it seems like every year, the more and more that it is so prevalent that everyone is on social media and big on LinkedIn, that it seems like there are so many, more of the artist's side of it, showing up to shows like this. It's not just the machinery. It's like a lot more networking for people like you, I feel like. You're right. And, you know, the amazing thing for me is as I'm walking through talking to these people, got CNC plasma cutting tables or punching and dice and stuff like that, or like, hey, What do you do? What kind of business are you in? And I tell them what I do. They're like, well, that doesn't really relate to us. And I go, well, it does because a lot of times when I go to these junkyards, I'll find sheets of steel, four by eight sheets where they laser cut all the pieces they need out. But the leftover pieces of material that's there is so interesting to me. And like, think, hey, if I can get my hands on some of that stuff. So I make conversations this week with people like, yeah, I'd like to come to your facility and take some of those leftover pieces. If they're destined for the scrap yard, let me make something cool for your company. Let me do something that we can celebrate and we can help each other and collaborate. Make a logo for you or make maybe a mascot or some kind of sculpture to put in your lobby. So it's been a very exciting week for me and making connections. And I can't believe for you being from Chicago that you have, this is your first You're coming here. I know. Same as, yeah, a lot of the other artists I've been hanging around with from Michigan at scrapbass. And they're like, hey, you haven't been? And I'm like, I don't. I'm an iron worker by trade and I weld all day. And when I get home, I just want to create. Yeah, absolutely. There's been a lot of interest in scrap metal art recently. And actually, metal art is all together. Just the technology. People have home plasma cutting machines now, CNC tables. They're able to make really intricate stuff. Social media has been a great tool for sharing all that. And just marketing yourself. And it's also amazing, at least from I've now grown up with a lot of social media obviously and big on TikTok and things. So when you see people like you, I would have never had exposure to that in my life. But being able to like get directly connected with someone like making something like this is so cool to me because I got at one point on a weird tangent on TikTok of watching people weld so much so that I was like oh what a horrible weld that was Jesus and then like yeah it's hilarious because I'm like I don't even know what I'm talking about I have no idea what I'm even looking at but it was funny to me that I'm sitting there in my room at night I'm like oh wow you're I've seen better welds before. So it's very funny that where social media is like the exposure that it's giving people. And you're right. And that's actually a really good indicator. I didn't grow up with social media. I'm 52 years old. So I was born in the 70s. We used to have a ride our bike down to the phone booth that we wanted to call our girlfriend. And when social media came out, I remember saying like we're talking MySpace, maybe the beginning of Facebook, right? And when Facebook came out, I remember, like, what is this? You put pictures of your kids and the food that you're eating. Like how odd. Yeah, your kids dance recitals on there, and then they expect to see things. But when I started to document what I was doing, I took some pictures of my own at first. When I started my Instagram account, they were terrible. And I actually found a photographer who shoots photos of my band when my band was playing and I asked him, hey, would you come and take some pictures of my stuff? He's done incredible, detailed photos of my work. And let's face it, social media is a two -edged sword. So, like, we're used to scrolling on our phones. If that picture doesn't hold my interest and half of a millisecond, I'm moving to the next one. I mean, it has to just be the content going out right now. And it can be very competitive, obviously. So like you have to be, if you really want to does go a long way with pictures but I don't have an iPhone myself but yeah I mean it really does make it stand out though it's just having higher higher quality photos of all of your work yeah and let's be honest when social media kind of started and people were unsure what am I doing okay I'm doing plank you know I'm posing in a plank pose and you have these different trends that went on and then when I started seeing other metal artists coming out sharing their stuff that's when I really started to utilize the skills of the photographer friend. His name's Dan Cherry, he's here in Chicago, great photographer. And those photos that he's taken of my work actually really bring things to light and make it look lifelike and make it actually look like something. I mean, every single aspect of it is different. So it's like you really have to, you want to see every single little part in detail of it. And I'm sure the Instagram algorithm actually says, hey, people are pausing on the picture of the owl or the picture of this other bird that you made. So I get a boost and just be honest, it's show and tell. For me, I really do enjoy the fact that I'm sharing and showing what I'm doing now as an adult. Because when I was a kid, I wasn't fortunate like that. I wasn't athletic. I wasn't good at spelling bees and everything else. So I kind of feel like although I waited 40 years for this all to happen, I'm living the best life I can right now. Social media has really been a valuable tool for me to reach audiences. I mean, I'm talking people in the Middle East, talking people in different parts of the world that the guy's welding in flip -flops or barefoot, and it looks like he just took two wires down off of the telephone pole and he's welding with him. Orosha does not exist. It does not exist there. And it's interesting that people like that will actually send me a full message in their native language, Arabic or whatever language it is. And I'm like, okay, I've got to use Google Translate. And such heartfelt, well -wishing. And it's like, tell you, hey, you're really talented. And I hope one day I'll be able to do things like that. That's amazing. It is. And do you even feel like your work had like a slight impact on someone's day is just probably so rewarding? It does. And, you know, social media is good for that. And it could be a little bit too much. helping to inspire other veterans. Yeah, so that actually kind of segues us. And so what is your background? And how did you get started? And how do you feel like this path really became clear to you in life? You know what? If it's okay, I hope I don't draw any tears out of you or any of their viewers. But I'm a combat veteran. I was in Mogadishu, Somalia, back in 1992 and early 1993. And we went to that country and we're helping to 18 years old and I didn't think that there was anything abnormal. I signed my name on the dotted line to serve in the military and I understood I could wind up in a dangerous area. Many, many years later here in 2009 and 2010, I was living my daily life here in Chicago, working as an iron worker. Work just came to a grinding halt. Everything stopped. And because I didn't have any structure in my day, I was like looking for ways that I could do other things to take up that eight hours where I would normally be at work and I'd feel like I'm doing something productive. I started playing drums. That was it. I started a rock band and that was pretty good. But in 2015, I bought a new house and was remodeling the house. And here I was having a lot of anxiety issues, a lot of, I feel like there's something that needs to be done and I don't know what it is. As I was remodeling my house, I could hear like the floors creaking, the hot water pipes expanding and contracting. Inside of my mind, the thing that tells me, hey, you're in danger. It's going off all the time, all these strange noises at night. So I would find myself wake up at 2 o 'clock, 3 o 'clock in the morning, looking around the house, making sure nobody was breaking in trying to harm me or my family. And I didn't know it at the time. Those are things, those are triggers of PTSD. And even though I wasn't normally trying to look for things that would bring that out of me, it's inadvertently. And we've all had traumatic experiences in our life where something's happened. Maybe a car accident. You know, we watch pets or parents or siblings pass away. And we all carry some trauma with us. Being a human being in this day and age is a difficult process. It's a traumatic experience. And if you have something healthy that you can use to kind of offset that damage that you're experiencing, that is a healthy outlet. And so long story short, I was creating this stuff in the middle of the night. I was taking apart typewriters and taking apart little machinery, anything I could just because I wanted to see how it worked. And a couple nights later, I would wake up in the middle of night, I'd go down to my workbench, start separating all the gears and all the buttons from the typewriter and like really intricate, cool pieces. And it was a very, an activity that kept me busy. And then I started welding them together. I started with like bugs and robots and dinosaurs and very primitive things, things I wouldn't even want people here to be seeing. But that was the baby steps, the first thing that I started to do. And as it went on and on, I started creating more and more art. And one of the first things that I had an experience with being celebrated for my art was here in Chicago, we have a Veterans Hospital called Heinz VA. And they had an art competition and said, you know, we're looking for veterans that create something. You want to bring something in. And I brought this fish that I made out of Allen wrenches. And as I walked down the hallway of this hospital, I had veterans high -fiving me, stopping me to take pictures with it. And, like, it really felt special. And then I understood I was tapping into something that other people could appreciate and understand. And that brought you joy as well. And it brought me joy. And, you know, one of the favorite things that I experienced was other veterans, people that I served with, even people I never met, reaching out to me and saying, hey, I really like how you tell that story about being a veteran and why you're doing this. And, you know, I think I'm going to try and pick up painting, or I want to do this. And I like to be the person to tell people, yeah, there's no reason that you should. I believe that we should have maybe an hour of every day where we do something that's a special activity that we enjoy. And the more you practice that, the more you get better at it, and the more you enjoy it, and eventually You have enough courage to show that in a public place to some, and you get to have that experience. Like, it's show and tell for adults. And it's a very, I feel almost like a kid sometimes. I go, man, I made this owl. Do you like it? Please come look at it. But yeah, for me, the real commodity is smiles and bringing enjoyment to other people. And I did win that competition at the local hospital. I won regionally, and Then I won nationally. And they sent me to Michigan to have this award ceremony called the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival. And it was like being on the red carpet. I mean, people were asked me to sign my autograph by my pictures of my artwork and all these things. It was very special. And we got one winner from every different category of art that you could think of, from pastels and watercolors. All different mediums. So I'm meeting all these at veterans and I brought this fish that I made and they went right through the metal category and they gave someone else an award and I remember scratch on my head like I thought I was winning for that. Well it turned out they were giving me a special award for using art as therapy for PTSD. And when I went up to the podium to get my award and talk about my artwork, I got to tell my story to people and it was special. I came back home from that very amazing event. I had this very exciting week -long experience. Came back home and I was a nobody. No one wanted to give my autograph or take pictures of my artwork. And I was at the VA hospital, seeing my counselor. And she said how proud they were of me and how much they really enjoyed knowing that a winner was here. So she told me, she goes, you're not very happy and excited. I go, well, I got this award for mental health challenges. And I feel like that's a little bit weird to me. You know, I have a great family. I have a job, and I have this artwork that I'm doing. And I know it seems like it's kind of derogatory to say mental health challenges. And she put the pen down. I look, we're in this VA hospital. We're interviewing and we're talking to people who have issues with PTSD, you could really be a voice and share your artwork and inspire others. And around that time, I actually decided, what can it hurt? I'm going to tell other people what I've been through and why I'm doing this. And it just took off. And I've had so many incredible experiences, conversations with people, and got to go travel around different parts of the world and share my artwork. And suddenly, that show and tell that was just on my phone now it's in my everyday life and that's a very special it's a very powerful and moving things yeah i get emotional when i talk about this stuff because it hits home with me and i think i did this stuff because i didn't want to think about why i was creating it i was trying to take my mind somewhere else and not think about that in the end because i created this brand called metal health artwork I have to spend time telling people this is what I do. And unfortunately, I had some experiences in my military career that took me to different places and put my life in danger. And those things are inside of me. I can't change them, you know. We can't escape the things that we've dealt with when we were younger, but we can find a healthy way to deal with it now. And that's the message behind my artwork. That's amazing. So why don't you tell me a little bit about what's sitting between us right now, actually? Let's talk about the owl in the room. As I said before, I went to Michigan, Lansing, Michigan. I took part in this competition, and that gave me the confidence to know there's other people out there doing that. Some of them are here with me today. We're celebrating. We got to go to another booth and share our artwork, give out stickers. And actually, it's a very special thing to be able to tell people, here's why I'm here. I'm not I'm not a manufacturing company. I'm actually sharing the power of art, and I'm a living proof of the healing power of art. So it's nice to be able to engage with people and share that. So earlier today, I was at the Everlast welding, edge welding cups booth, and they had a bunch of artists from Scrap Fest that brought their artwork, and we were sharing it. So this is a really cool piece that I did. Number one, it's special to me because these are the pliers that were out of my father's toolbox. That was the first thing me and my sister had pointed out we were like the use of the pliers is so cool. And you know what? I like to leave the pieces and the components of my work where you can identify them. And people that are watching this, you might be able to see on the back here, we've got a can opener, right? So I want to leave the impression that you could wind this thing up and it'll take off and fly. And a lot of the silverware that's on here are all donated pieces or I've gone to garage sale. or a laundry basket full of new stuff that someone knows where I live. They're like, hey, I want you to use this. And most of us don't want to see our material that we can't use, you know, your junk drawer and your kitchen, you don't want to just throw that into garbage. I want to know that you can use it to bring a new life or to do something useful with it. So I think that I'm giving people closure a lot of times by using some of the materials that they discarded. And there's wrenches in here, right and there's a couple of wrenches here here's a long box wrench the silverware and there's the file on this side of files and like I like to leave the materials the components as I find them so you could still look and say hey I knew those were pliers or I knew that was a distance it creates this like this bigger picture very much like it's alive and you know during those first three or four years when I was doing this on my own I would study on my phone pictures of owls and like, okay, I can just know how these neck feathers, how those rotates, how it sits, how it stands. And I think I've done a pretty good job of duplicating that and just I really enjoy, you know, like I always tell people, sometimes it takes me a month to build something like this. Sometimes it takes me two days because it's like when you're reading a good book and you know you got to go to bed and get up for school or work the next day, but you just can't put that book down. Yeah, I'm guilty of that. Yeah, I really enjoy. Like, I'm creating this whole cool. You just get sucked into the art. Yeah. And like, as I'm studying on my phone, building the thing, like, I can't believe it. Sometimes I'm leaving for work the next day and I got to rub my eyes like, I can't believe I made that. Yeah. I feel like the guy that had the elves and the shoemaker and in the middle of the night, someone put this owl in my garage. But the truth is that I've had this talent inside of me. I've had the ability because I've been welding for it and then when you see other people value your work then you have a certain thing I want to make this the best one I can each one gets to be a little bit better and people who follow along on my Instagram page have seen me go from where it was very primitive things taken with my chunky Nokia phone or whatever phone I had at a time some beautiful photos of my work I've had my artwork displayed in some of the most prominent places in the world I've had the Illinois State Museum right here in Illinois in St. Louis. I was at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Museum and the Library of Congress. I got to go share my work and they wrote my story down. It took pictures of my artwork and put in the Library of Congress. Incredible. And last year for Veterans Day I got contacted by Google. The art director from Google had emailed me on my business email and said, hey, we want you to create this thing. I didn't believe it. I would have been blown away. I would have thought it was like a scam email or something. Like, should I click on this? Yeah. I just wouldn't have been able to believe. Yeah. How could I? Little old me, you know? And I did. I spent like two or three days researching and trying to find out was just legitimate. Yeah. Because believe me, we, I get a lot of stuff from different countries and different users on Instagram. I want, I have a $10 ,000 budget. I want you to build this thing. There's a lot of that you've got to navigate and you've got to weed through it. So luckily I did actually reach out. I did speak with the art director and said, this is legitimate. So I made this eagle and made this eagle from all tools that I gathered on job sites from other veterans, horseshoes that I gathered up from a farm that therapy for a vet disabled veterans and like I want these components to be special I want them to have a life yeah and I think it's important to remember where these materials come from some of the wrenches I use at my work it so worn that you knew that some guy changing oil in a oil change place use this thing 28 times a day was cranking on that thing and some of the materials have worn out barks on there or I'll get donated materials But I do believe that a lot of these materials, they have a certain magic or energy of their own because they came from a special place. Someone carried this with them. And I tried to find that value and highlight it in my artwork. I think it's important. But yeah, the Google piece was a very special one because I had all these materials that were from veterans, related to veterans. I built this thing in about three weeks. I made an eagle that a 44 -inch wings fan from wingtip to wingtip. And the director said, OK, well, we really love that picture that Dan Cherry took. Could you bring that or ship that out to our office in Manhattan? And I said, look, I've thought about being able to take this to art shows. So I made it where the wings actually had pipe wrenches. And when you unscrew the pipe wrenches, the wings detached. And she asked for a video. I made a video of me putting the wings in a suitcase, putting the bird in a suitcase and everything in and I zipped it up so I'll be, I'll see you in Manhattan. And I flew to Manhattan with this thing. I was so happy when I got to my hotel room and I opened up my suitcase. And it was all still in the case. It was all there. Of course, as I'm flying, we're hitting turbulence going over the mountains and I was terrified. That's something bad was happening. But once again, by being honest about my story, by sharing why I'm doing this and what I'm doing. kids about, look, I was bullied when I was a kid because when I graduated high school, I weighed about 115 pounds. I was like half of the person I am right now. And I didn't develop the sense of worth until I joined the military number one. And I found acceptance in brotherhood. And I felt like I had a family. And when I started the artwork, I remember thinking, well, I'm definitely not a trained artist. I didn't go to the Art Institute. I'd never even been in the building. How can I be in a gallery? And I remember the first time I actually brought artwork to a gallery. I had to talk myself into going in there. And I was worried, like, if I go in there, they're going to say, look, the pictures were wonderful, but this is a rusty piece of junk. You know, we're not looking for junk. We're looking for art. I had to actually give myself enough courage to walk up those stairs and go into that gallery. And wouldn't you know it, the gallery owners were like, this is beautiful. There are so many people looking at, they moved it right by the front of the room. And I got to stand there all night and watch people as they were just like falling. That must have been a surreal moment. Oh, my gosh, it was. And once again, let's think about it. As adults, I'm doing show and tell now. Only I get to fade in the back. Nobody knows I'm the artist. and I get to watch people just fall in love, smile from ear to air, and just bring so much joy. And, you know, for me to be able to do that is, that's a meaningful process for me. It turns something bad into something good. And that's powerful. And it sounds like based on our conversation earlier that you've even made pieces that means so much more than that. And you were telling me and Kelsey about a hawk that you did. Oh my gosh, yeah. And I would love to hear that story and more about that. Yeah, I'd like to share that with the viewers here. And, you know, so over the last 10 years that I've been doing this, I've had a couple opportunities to put some larger pieces up. One of them is at a music venue here in Yorkville, Illinois, small town, but I put this pair of angel wings up. And while I was building the angel wing, my brother was suffering from lung cancer. Unfortunately, he passed away. So the day that I installed this thing, I brought my Dremel tool, and I asked the other people who were paying for the product, I said, hey, if anyone would like to, I want to inscribe a couple names on the back of this statue. There was a pair of angel wings, which I thought was very fitting. And I described my brother's name in, my grandparents' name. They actually everyone wound up having names to put on there. So here, many years later, I had someone contact me and say, hey, I was at this music venue and I saw these angel wings you built. I thought that was really cool. Nobody could see those names on the back. It was like something special just for you guys. And it helped to bring some closure to the other people involved, memorialize their family, and maybe to help bring some closure and say, I know this piece is out there. And the angel wings, people stand in front of them all the time. to get your picture. We're in his garage and he pulls back this blanket now the motorcycle's laying on the floor. It's all burnt up Tires were burnt and everything and I go man someone had a bad accident and he goes it was my son my son died and I got this motorcycle So we talked about Losing a child and the trauma with that and wound up actually loading the more cycle up and as I was loading the bike up we're sitting out in the driveway and he showed me his son's Mustang hot ride car and he's like you know in this tree when I got home from the funeral was I was hawk bouncing up and down it wouldn't go away and I remember thinking well maybe that was your son's spirit animal saying goodbye so I went home, started dismantling the bike, and I sketched out a hawk. And I built this hawk at about a couple of days, maybe three or four days. I thought, man, it's really important to get this back to the guy, let him know this is from the motorcycle. So he had no idea that it was coming from the motorcycle too? He thought I would use the pieces and other artwork. And I do. I had parts of that bike in my garage and a little bit. from the motorcycle he lived and died on from the tools from their father's tool bench you know those are very powerful things that can help to celebrate a life and to bring some closure so i'm happy to say that hawk i'll provide you some pictures you can show i'm sorry i couldn't have it here with me today a lot of the stuff is heavy to carry around an event like this but uh your arms in your back is getting tired but i get messages on different social media from people who are at a car show and they say, hey, I saw this hawk and it reminded me of you. They send me pictures. I'm like, that's a hawk that I built for this guy. It's nice to know it's out there and people are enjoying seeing it. And, you know, for me, the artwork that I have in the Illinois State Museum, the artwork that I have in the library of Congress, those are huge institutions that I thought I have no way of deserving a place among the other artists that are there. But the truth is I had to take this journey for myself and tell myself what I'm doing is healthy, what I'm doing is valid, and it's opening a lot of doors and an opportunity for me, share my story, inspire other veterans. So one of the favorite things I, is when I get messages from guys I served with or other people that I never met, served with them. And they had military experiences that might have been similar. Even though we're in different conflicts, say, yes, I'm doing this because it's something that... It's an outlet. That also matters. I mean, there's... I was telling you earlier that we had Barbie the Welder, Barbie Poison, on our podcast. She was the episode from last week, and we got to speak with her a couple weeks ago. And her story was just so awesome to hear because she was sharing about how she had struggled with a point in her life of mental health and also addiction. And she was talking about how she was at such a low point in her life that she had never welded before in her entire life. And then she watched the movie Castaway. And it was that the woman welding the angel wings at the very beginning that just she felt like it was like she was hit by a truck. Like she like felt this calling to move towards that and then has been doing it every single day since. And now she's making these commissioned pieces. Also for veterans as well, she did. with this overarching having such purpose behind it of why you do it and it isn't just about learning how to weld it isn't just about even and I'm not knocking anyone that does welding for any structural or you know the everyday things that we need obviously but there is such a purpose behind it that I think is so probably resonates with so many people so there is and couple that with the fact that there's social media now right We could film the process of making this. Promoting yourself all the time. And like people, like I said, unfortunately, social media gives our attention span so short. But when you see Barbie the welder, you go, man, she's making bad ass stuff. Hell yeah. Really cool things and inspiring people to take up welding. I think that's a great thing. And you know what? I think that it's not that it's fashionable or trendy right now, but with the reach of social media, we've been able to show pictures of our artwork to people in different regions of the country. ever since I was 19 years old when I was in Somalia. And I've tried to compartmentalize and put them away, so I don't have to think about them when I'm driving or when I'm working. But eventually, you have to face those things, and you have to find a way through that. Addiction is another thing. A lot of veterans, we have suicide rates high addiction. I'm guilty myself of trying to drink away some of the memories that I had and smoking cigarettes and doing things that are damaging myself because I was thinking like I'm just trying to get through this thing and soften what the hell that's inside of my head the memories that are there trying to dampen those down not think about it but the truth is when I started creating like this it was a healthy way to do that you know and one of the things I get asked very often from veteran -centric groups art shows that I'm in like do you have a piece that present your combat experiences. And I go, every one of these is my combat experience. Well, I was even thinking that. I was going to say, what would you say is your favorite piece out of everything? But I don't even know that you could really pinpoint it with all, because I feel like every single one has had a totally different purpose behind them. I agree. And, you know what? Some of the things that I've actually, when I first started out, and I gave away for way too cheap or gave away for free, because let's See, as you're journeying as an artist, you're getting a little bit better and better. I used to tell people, hey, if you like that, just take it, please. I would feel so much better knowing that you love my piece and it's in your yard. And eventually I got to the point where I was in a gallery and I was selling stuff for very little money. And I started to see, like, if they would have sold it, they would have sold it for thousands. And I'm happy to say, I've sold some large pieces for a lot of money and really validating and say wow I deserve this thank you so much and I've gotten to a point in my life where I used to tell people I'm not an artist I don't have a formal training and art and I wasn't an artist when I was a kid I wasn't creative but the truth is it was just waiting inside of me for me to take the time have the material and have the reason to do it and those things when they all came in front of me I was using it as a way to deal with my anxiety and depression and PTSD. Barbie was using it as a way to deal with that addiction and try to find a way through that darkness so you could stop tamping those memories down. But we all carry something with us and, you know, unfortunately the human experience, as we get older, we watch people pass away or we see traumatic things happen and you carry that with you. And it isn't like we can call it up and say, hey, I want to think about this right now. It comes when you're in the middle of a traffic jam or when you're giving your kids a bath or you're taking your dog to the vet. All those things, they just creep up on you. And we don't have control over. We don't fully understand how our body works and calls up those memories. The human brain is a very complex thing. Very complex. And with the science that we have and everything else, maybe we'll figure it out. But for the time being, we're susceptible to whatever wins we had. We've all woken up and had a bad Monday, you know, and not had a bad weekend. Why are we dealing with this? Something inside of us. Can't explain it. But, you know, the best you could do is find a positive way to work through that. And I think that that's what art is done for me. And really, for me to be able to come to a place like this, be comfortable with walking around and carrying this owl around. And have so many people go like. And like, I've told my story so many times that I think everybody's heard it. Truth is, there's only a small percentage of people who know what I do and why I do it. But I'm very fortunate that places like Google, place like the Illinois State Museum support and share my artwork and, like, give me a reason to feel valid that what I'm doing is important. And it is. I'm living the best part of my life right now. That's amazing. Yeah. I look forward to other events where I'm going to be traveling around and sharing my artwork, talking to kids in libraries and schools. I'm like, you know, I hope that some of those kids, not too long ago, I was doing a veterans day of that. A kid with a red bandana sitting by himself and the bleachers watch. And I'm like, that kid was me, you know. And I hope I get to be the voice and reach that kid and say, hey, you're having a tough time right now, but it'll get better. Yeah, you know. Absolutely. And you can control it. You can find positive ways. And let's, you know, for me and a lot of people that I know, we talk about, we have these images of what we were like when we were kids, what our classmates were like. So when we see one of these classmates 30 years later, like, oh my, how much you've grown. Well, yeah. In my mind, I still had that image of you in fifth grade. But the truth is, we've lived our lives, we've had traumatic events, we've had good events, events and we've shaped into people that we are today. And it's funny for me because when I see people and they go, man, look at the size of this guy. Like, what happened to you? It's like you doubled in size. I go, well, number one, I joined the military. I did a lot of push -up. Number two, I became an iron worker and, you know. Number three, I started this artwork and I've learned to actually tell my story. I haven't really been this good at speaking my whole life. I used to be terrified about being in front of people. But as I've been reliving and telling this story again and again, it's gotten easier to tell. And you know what? I think it's important that we look at those things, not just the good things, the trophy's on your wall, but also look at the bad things you went through. Look at the people who helped you along on your way. Make sure you contact those people. Don't get even with the people that did you wrong. Get even with the people that did you right, the people that helped you. You know, It's important to remember that, you know, and here I'm living proof today. I've had conversations with other artists, companies that are willing to support me and say, like, we want to be a part of what you're doing. And you know what? It's validating. It's valuable. It lets me know that I'm on the right path and I'm doing something good for myself and the people around me. And really, the commodity, like I said, is for viewers and for visitors to enjoy this stuff and smile. Well, That's exactly when Kelsey saw you earlier this morning, when you were walking down our aisle. She said the reason that you guys started talking was she turned and she said, look at you. You just have a smile completely across your face. I do. I've been enjoying myself. Sometimes you do not always see that with people and it's just fantastic that you just seem like you very much exude that passion and the happiness behind your work. So I think, I mean, I'm very glad that we were able to connect at this show. And it's just incredible story. And I'm very grateful and thankful that you are, you were willing to share it. Well, thank you. And if any of your viewers or listeners for the podcast are interested, I have a website. Yes, please. Yeah, let us know the website and your, your Instagram or wherever your most, most, I'm at stevecost .com. And you can also type in metalhealthwork, metalhealth Metalhealthartwork .com will take it to my website. I've got links to social media, everything like that, videos. I've been on PBS, ABC, WGN, and like being on television, having a film crew come to my house and look at all my materials and say like, so where do you do all this? I've got a little plastic rubber made card I pull out and I go right here and they're like, this is a mess. And I go, I know it is, and I'm a little embarrassed. Please don't film the piles of junk. Please just film the sculptures. But, you know, for me, the chaos of building in that environment is part of it. Yeah, it's a whole story. Yeah. And you know what? I really do believe. Like, if you're honest with yourself and you look at the materials and the tools you have available with you, you can do a lot with it. You've got to have that confidence. And, you know, the bravest thing is to be a public speaker, to stand in front of people and share your story or to share your artwork. It takes a lot of courage to do that, especially when you're starting out. But Instagram has been a big tool for me. And my Instagram handles Dad's 357, D -A -D -S -357. And when I first started doing this, I was, once again, I was worried that people were going to say, this is junk, not art. So I didn't want to have my own name on it. So I made this dad's 357 to kind of be a screen name. That way, if it was a train wreck, I could go like, that wasn't me. That wasn't me. I don't know where that guy was. Now I've had to actually tell CEOs from Google, yeah, I'm Dad 357, steep cost, metal health artwork, go by a lot of them. But, you know, I've learned over time, just to be honest, you know. If you have to, you know, tell fancy stories about how you got to where at you better remember what you're talking about and you better have some verifiable proof and I do so yeah social media has been a big boon for me and really to be living in this day and age sharing stuff online talking having conversations about environmental sustainability keeping these materials out of the scrapyard or even out of the melting furnace at another we're going to refurbish and reuse these materials. It's good. One of my favorite things to do is to go into older places where it's abandoned. One of those was the famous old Joliet prison where they filmed the Blues Brothers movie. And I had a local artist from Joliet contact me and like, hey, I do this group, we go into the prison, we're making art and we'd like to have you maybe come. And I remember thinking like, I'm a huge Blues Brothers fan. I've driven past that prison and been like, man, I wonder what's inside. So the truth is that some vandals actually climbed over the walls after the prison was closed down and abandoned. And they lit some fires and they burned up all this stuff. Well, they brought bulldozers in. We're going to start demolishing this stuff. And this girl, this artist Sue Regis from Jolietz, hey, we've got artists that could use the materials. Don't be so quick to get rid of that. There's a lot of history there. So I got to go into that Joliet prison and dig in the ashes. I mean, 18 inches of fallen ashes where the ceiling timbers had burned in and just falling into this little factory where they made mattresses. And I got a shovel and I'm digging and I find these materials. And I made some cool artwork from that and got to display it there. And, you know, I love projects where I only use those materials that are from that thing, like that hawk I talked about, like scrapbust, getting specific materials from the junkyard and using only those materials, the Joliet prison. And like, it's a challenging thing for me to only use those materials that completed. But I think when the product is finished and you can say, hey, this is representative of that place, these are materials that came from there, it's a very special thing. And it tells a song story. It is. Yeah. I'm I'm always looking for opportunities. Anybody watching or anybody here at FabTech, if you're interested, reach out. I'm an easygoing guy. I like to share what I'm doing, and I'm always looking for the next project and collaboration with people. And I'll definitely, I'll put all of your handles and your website and everything over the video of this podcast as well, so anyone can reach you pretty quick. But, I mean, it was an absolutely fantastic conversation, And I'm so glad that we were able to connect at Fab Tech. And hopefully we have the chance to beat again at some point. But I will definitely be following along because, I mean, it's absolutely incredible. I'm really excited to see what you're working on in the future. You know what? I'm finally at the point of my life where I can accept that. And people say, hey, I'm really happy for you and I'm proud of what you're doing. I got to the point where I could say, I own that, you know. I love it. And I enjoy what I do and I love inspiring other people. Thanks for having me talking. Thank you so much for being on and hopefully we meet again at some point. You bet.