Ryan ChartrandThe gym is not the only place Cal Poly athletes train for their competitions. Many Cal Poly and Cuesta College players take jobs during the off-season to stay in shape for peak performance, and one local company is the place to go.
Meathead Movers, the San Luis Obispo-based business that provides moving services all over California, hires almost exclusively young men who take part in sports as their main workforce.
It’s a trend that Meathead Movers CEO Aaron Steed is proud of.
“We’re the largest student employer in San Luis Obispo outside of Cal Poly,” he said.
If the name seems familiar, that’s because the company is a sponsor of Cal Poly athletics. They make posters for various teams around campus, and in 2004 were given an award from the Orfalea College of Business, which recognized Steed and his brother Evan for their role in the community as emerging entrepreneurs.
Steed said that a lot of his employees come from sports, like football and wrestling, in which strength is of prime importance. Altogether, Meathead Movers has about 110 student movers.
“Athletes typically want to work at Meathead Movers,” Steed said. “Meathead is a common ground a lot of our guys share.”
Steed equates working at his company to “being on a sports team.” Meathead Movers also offers chiropractic treatment if an employee requires it, and even massages.
“You have to be really mentally and physically strong to work here,” Steed said. That is a sentiment that Cuesta College student Kody Nelson agreed with.
“It’s a nice physical environment,” said Nelson, a former wrestler. “Everyone’s pretty cool.”
The movers usually work in teams of three to five people and are responsible for handling, loading and unloading the customer’s belongings. But their job doesn’t end there. Both Steed and Nelson pointed out that customer service is just as important as all the heavy lifting. Acting “professional” and ensuring the moving experience goes as smoothly as possible is something Steed instills in his employees, much to their benefit.
“The tips are usually pretty good,” Nelson said.
Outside of work, Meathead Movers throws parties for its employees several times a year. Depending on the amount of broken customer property and the amount of workplace injury, the parties can get very large, and so can the prizes. Steed said that the company will sometimes raffle off flat-screen TVs, tickets to sporting events, or even vacations to Las Vegas.
Meathead Movers is “a mix between a sports team, a frat and a business,” Steed said.
If a job requires the company’s employees to travel out of town, the company covers hotel and meal expenses. Additionally, Steed said that the company works around the busy schedules of the student athletes it employs.