The Best Job in the world?
Andy Hancock
Sandcastle Builder, Team builder I Proven system for Sandcastle building, Science education and Creation through Communication
Being on the beach every day of course!
Every day artist Andy Hancock starts his day at the beach. Now for most of us a jog down the beach would be a wonderful way to start the day, but it’s not quite the same for Andy.
He starts by wheeling a fat-tired cart down the boardwalk of his favourite beach resort, The Pearl South Padre in Texas and then, after disgorging buckets, shovels and various strange-looking tools, he is ready to start - but start what?
Sandcastle Lessons, that’s what!
Andy is the guy who teaches you how to make a better sandcastle on the beach! Yes, people pay this man to help them build a better sandcastle - and before you say "come on, no one gets paid to do that" - think again! (Try looking up his stellar reviews on Trip Advisor and videos on YouTube)
A wood sculptor and motorcycle engineer amongst other things, Andy happened onto sand sculpture after meeting an American sculptor in a ice carving competition in Finland. Andy was invited to
South Padre Island in Texas for the annual Sandcastledays competition. After experiencing sand sculpture first hand, he was hooked and the rest, as they say, is history. Andy now gets invited to give lessons and demos all over the world and introduce people to the best way to have fun and empty your worry bin known to man (a ‘bin” is a trash can btw)
Most of his outdoor work has been featured on every major news channel and in almost every form of digital media on the planet and all his work is shown online for free. Andy is an artist that believes art should be free to view.
After becoming the 2013 American Sand Sculpting Champion he decided that competitions don’t hold much appeal for him after he sat down and really thought about what made him happy –
It was simple : watching his 3 sons do well, meeting people and creating things others say aren’t possible.
Andy says there are two things that have helped his work become well known, "communication and collaboration are the two greatest strengths I have" - in other words, a big head, and a big mouth!" and he adds, " I never refuse a photo and talk to anyone as I was told a long time ago that if you do not talk to your public, you won’t have one!"
"As you can see from the pictures, having fun at his lessons is mandatory" said Marisa Amaya, the Event Manager for South Padre Island - Andy added “we supply the tools, you supply the smiles"
There are only 3 rules to a great sandcastle
- Only use Wet Sand – sloppy wet
- Always shape your castle like a pyramid – fat at the bottom thin at the top
- And always work from the top down using your tools NOT your fingers – after stacking the wet sand!
So how hard can it be? So whether you are 5 or 85 you can learn something new from anyone - you just have to listen and follow Andy’s #1 rule - KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!
So has Andy got the best job in the world? Well, he thinks so, as it enables him to make a little money (not high on his priority list) follow his passion of helping people learn something new while having fun and try and make the world a better place - one grain at a time
Andy's opinion is that if you are not having fun at what you do, what's the point? _ You will never be happy so find something that you love and build a life around that. It might not be covered in wealth and glory but you won't notice!
You can find Andy at www.sandcastlelessons.com or on 956 433 9948
Links
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChFFnw4EU_26F6SWiAR6ZUg?view_as=subscriber