Not to get ahead of myself, but in our July 2022 issue, we’ll have a special feature section celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Ratchet+Wrench. We’ll walk through industry changes, catch up with some of our early story subjects, and celebrate an industry that deserves to be celebrated. Personally, though, I have a hard time associating the “start” of Ratchet+Wrench with its “official” launch in July 2012.
Yes, that was the month the very first issue of the magazine was mailed out, but the work for it began earlier. I started at 10 Missions Media (publisher of Ratchet+Wrench) on February 20, 2012—and I was on the phone the very next day, asking many of you about your businesses, your successes, your failures, your strategies, your stories. As I write this, I am almost exactly at my 10-year anniversary of working on the magazine. It’s an odd feeling: I simultaneously find it hard to believe that Ratchet+Wrench has been around for that long, and struggle to remember what it must’ve been like before it.
It’s funny, also, because I can remember each and every one of those early phone calls—and my astonishment at how open, honest and willing these folks were. I mean, I was a random person from a company they’d never heard of, working on a magazine that didn’t even exist yet, asking them for the most intimate information about their respective life’s work. Why in the world would they be so willing to share? (I’ll get to that answer in a moment.)
Mike Brewster, Brian Sump, Ryan Clo, Rissy Sutherland, Greg Buckley—these were just a handful of the very first folks I spoke to in those first weeks of Ratchet+Wrench’s “existence,” along with dozens of others. They couldn’t have been more helpful, kinder or genuine. And it was their willingness to share—and the willingness of all those that followed in the 10 years since—that has made Ratchet+Wrench what it is.
Our goal from the beginning was simple: Deliver stories that inspire success in others. Storytelling is a powerful thing. Telling and sharing stories creates better understanding between people; it connects them. Stories matter—your stories matter. In the years since we released that first issue, there hasn’t been a week that went by that we haven’t heard from someone somewhere who was impacted by one of your stories.
Each in their own way, I believe that all those early folks who spoke to me believed that. They wanted to help. They wanted to make a difference for someone else. They wanted to make this industry better. And none of this would’ve ever been possible without all of you who thought that way.
That’s why I always repeat this refrain: Ratchet+Wrench is your magazine. I’m proud of the work our team here has done over the years to help share these stories. More than anything, though, I’m proud and appreciative to call so many of you my friends. Thank you for your commitment and support, and cheers to all that comes next.
