Making the Dirt World a Better Place With Aaron Witt

If you work in the trade industry, chances are you’ve heard of Aaron Witt, the founder, CEO, and “Chief Dirt Nerd” of BuildWitt and the host of the Dirt Talk podcast. Aaron is on a mission to make the “dirt world” a better place (more on that later), and Ariat is proud to partner with him on his journey. We sat down with Aaron and let him share a little more about his goals, how our partnership came about, and what he has planned for the future.

When did you fall in love with the dirt world?

“Like many kids, I loved bulldozers, digging, the sandbox…” Aaron says. “I had my sixth birthday party at the local Caterpillar dealership but even before that I just loved everything to do with heavy equipment. That birthday just built upon my love and as an adult, I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate the dirt world because the dirt world is the only reason our lives function the way they do.”

Aaron explains that without the dirt world, we wouldn’t have clean water, toilets, electricity, transportation, internet, or most of the conveniences we associate with modern life. “Now that I’ve met so many hardworking people, it’s hard not to have this immense sense of appreciation for what they do. Without those people, I wouldn’t be able to do a single thing in my life.”

“The dirt world is all of our critical infrastructure and natural resources. So if you turn the lights or the faucet on, if you drive to work, or if you throw something away, that’s all the dirt world.”

Why partner with Ariat?

“Over the past few years, almost every major work boot and clothing company in the dirt world space has reached out, wanting to work with us,” Aaron explains. “I’ve always said no because we haven’t done any brand deals and I’m after something a little more significant. But I’ve also always said no because I’ve always only trusted one footwear brand and that’s Ariat.” 

Aaron has been wearing Ariat boots since he began working in construction in 2014. His favorite pair is the Cascade Work Boot, and he’s worn them on thousands of job sites around the world. They are his top choice for travel, work, and everyday life. “When the opportunity to work with Ariat came about, I was excited because I’ve genuinely been an Ariat fan since I began in this industry.”

“From the first meeting, it was obvious that we had so much in common,” Aaron says. “Everyone at Ariat is so humble and has a genuine sense of service that is very admirable. One of our values at BuildWitt is that “we’re the stagehands, not the stars.” That’s what we’re doing here; we’re building the stage to give credit to the hardworking people who make our world go around. We’re just here to serve and support them along the way. That’s how Ariat has positioned itself in the work industry. They say, “We’re not the ones doing the work here, we’re just here to support those doing the work by giving them great footwear and clothing.”

Aaron believes that it’s important for every company to support the trades and our essential workers. “Without those people, who often work 24/7/365, our world would not function,” he explains. “Ariat directly supports them by allowing workers to take care of and protect their bodies effectively but I think it’s important for every company to not lose sight of those who make the work that they do possible.”

What does BuildWitt do?

BuildWitt is on a mission to make the dirt world a better place and to show people what jobs in the trades truly look like because without human beings filling roles, the dirt world cannot function. Currently, around a half million people are needed to fill roles in the construction industry alone. Combine the need for workers with the fact that approximately 40% of the dirt world workforce will retire within the next decade and you can begin to understand the challenges BuildWitt is working to solve. And their goal is to start solving the problem through education and story-telling. 

“We need to show people what jobs in the trades look like,” says Aaron. “I don’t think people truly understand what people in the trades do, what opportunities exist, how much money they can make, and the purpose they can feel in their jobs. I don’t think any of that information is out there.” Combining their story-telling efforts with their commitment to education, they are hoping to draw in new people to the trade industry. Their software, BuildWitt Training, focuses on training construction leaders to grow effective teams. “We also help companies keep those individuals through leadership and development at our event, the Ariat Dirt World Summit.”

“People say we’re making construction sexy again but I don’t think we are; I think we’re really just showing people what it takes to build the world and hopefully, we’ll attract the next generation along the way.”

What is the Ariat Dirt World Summit?

Like any other industry, there are a lot of annual events in the dirt world, but until BuildWitt brought the Ariat Dirt World Summit to life, there wasn’t an event that specifically focused on the industry’s biggest challenge: workforce development and leadership. “We thought we could pull together some of the industry’s best leaders, some of the best thought leaders possible, and bring together a bunch of different vendors and groups and build an event focused on these things without complaining about the challenges we are facing,” Aaron explains. “We would rather ask ourselves what we need to do differently to get to the next level.”

Everyone attending the event will hear from some of the best leaders from around the dirt world industry. “These are unbelievable people with unbelievable stories,” Aaron promises. Over one thousand attendees will spend the three-day summit learning, growing, and connecting in an environment that’s unlike any other. “There’s an energy at this event that doesn’t exist anywhere else because everyone is wholly focused on bringing their companies and the dirt world to another level.”

This year’s event will take place in San Antonio, Texas. If you’d like to save the date, mark your calendars for November 4–6, 2024, and register here.

What is the Dirt Talk podcast?

“The Dirt Talk podcast is just me talking to the people I get to meet and talk to normally,” says Aaron, “but it’s in a recorded setting so other people can enjoy those conversations. It’s a very informal kind of podcast—nothing is prepared beforehand.” Topics generally include what their companies do and what challenges they are facing, but he does it in a way that brings a sense of fun and levity to an otherwise highly educational topic. His guest list includes everyone from small business owners sharing how they started and built their businesses to high-level executives discussing the trends they see in the dirt world. “The podcast is built for anyone in the dirt world, from laborers working in the field to CFOs at large companies. Our listeners are all across that spectrum and everywhere in between.”

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes on whatever podcast listening platform you prefer and check out all recent episodes here.

What are your plans for the future?

“This year we are building our foundation,” Aaron says. “We are a young company, just six years old, and we have a lot to learn. This year we’re focused on business fundamentals and how we can keep delivering great creative work and story-telling, and how we can develop the fourth iteration of our online training system, BuildWitt Training. We also want to host more great events and keep building our business.”

You can follow along with all of the excitement at BuildWitt and keep up with our partnership on Instagram, @buildwitt and @ariatwork.