IN THE MIXX Vol. 006: The Golden Backhoe

Breaking ground. Most people see these moments on a social media post & likely blow right past them scrolling for more clicky content. Why wouldn’t they? The photos are usually more Gouda than good & reflect nada about the struggle it took to pull up on that day. 

The struggle is real & it’s why breaking ground actually sounds really cool. Like super official.Yet these should-be-would-be momentous days always seem to fall flat. More superficial than super official. 

Still, if you know the struggle well then you also know what many (most) do not. You know that on many (most?) occasions the design/development process leading up to these snapshots likely took longer than the physical building will take to construct. Good design takes time. Architects, designers, artists, engineers, lawyers, owners, investors, plans reviewers &; especially when you’ve done something meaningful & GASP, different; their supervisors, all put their hands on this part of the process, & I can to tell you it’s hardly ever all hand shakes & high fives. Feelings are flexed, fucks fly, & funds become finite. The grind is fierce but it makes every little victory so fantastically satisfying. Strugglers paradise. 

That’s any good journey though isn’t it? 

When was the last time something great came sans a good clash, a barrage of f-bombs, & some happy tears? Some of us bleed for this shit so it’s way fair that we’re compelled to honor these occasions when the plans finally meet the dirt. 

Then it happens. The day comes. And goes. And all you’re left with is a crappy photo, some dirt on your office shoes & about eighteen months of hard work ahead of you. In about a week you probably won’t even remember who was there. That sucks.

Yeah the traditional groundbreaking ceremonies have always been super sucky to me. So when we pulled up for our first one back in 2015 I knew I had to start something we could have some fun with & claim as our own. More super, less official. 

Enter the golden backhoe. 

Better than a shovel? Yeah. By a lot. Excessive? Meh. Depends who you ask. You know what’s excessive? Wearing a pressed suit & polished hard hat while pretending to lift some topsoil off a rug with a shiny gold spade. I’m all for a well earned photo opp but we gotta do better. Those 2-3 minutes of cheesing are almost always more excessively embarrassing than they are monumental. Easy does it. Just take a group suits photo in front of the site sign and be done with it. That goofy gold shovel moment had its time but these days it feels borderline disrespectful to the good people who actually heave shovels & swing hammers. 

The golden backhoe though? A gritty nod to the mean machine that literally digs the first trench on Day 1, & all those who breath its exhaust. 

Dig it. 

I’ve never been denied the request. The operators usually laugh & look at me a little sideways but by the time I’m done emblazoning their bucket they always have a smile on their face. They become part of the ceremony & rightfully so. 

The suits will likely (& predictably) roll their eyes & that’s fine. Good for them. They’re why most of us cringe when we hear the word developer & why I dodge that title anytime someone lobs it at me. 

The ”D” word. Ew.

I should be fair here. They’re not all bad. I can think of exactly four D-Words right here in Tampa who have positively altered this city’s trajectory for the better & for at least the next decade. Nothing is perfect but if you don’t see far more positive in what’s been happening down on Water Street, up at Armature, & over in Ybor then you’re just helplessly salty. And don’t forget about the Hyde Park Village renaissance. It’s all good (great) for Tampa. Of course people will still bitch but that’s just part of the game. Naysayers, keyboard bullies, & those just hopelessly angry folks. You know who they are. They’re out there & they’re super pissed about progress. Only thing to do as a responsible respectable D-word is to stop now & then & listen… absorb… & move on. Bitch less, do more. Let them sip their salt water. 

The rest of us? Let’s keep it going. Stay hydrated friends. Cold filtered tap. That’s a splurge I recommend to all my clients. Worth every penny. Keep it tight. Keep it light. And if you’re huffing the gilded fumes of a golden rattle can & some backhoe diesel then maybe even a little light headed. Dig in. 

XX