To be honest, no one really asked these questions frequently, but I figured I could answer them before people asked. So here are some Retireman frequently asked questions.
Q: Why are you doing this?
A: Mostly I am doing this because it seems like a fun project. I enjoy trying new things. I like to stay busy. I also like creating lists of all of the possibilities.
Q: Do you make any money at this?
A: No. I actually spend a fair bit trying most of these things, but I retired with some money and I figure if I don’t spend it now I’ll just end up with a really fancy casket and that isn’t much fun. I doubt I will ever make much from this. I really don’t want to work that hard. I just want to have some fun, and if that fun costs me some money, that’s OK.
Q: Why do you make the videos and post about it?
A: I have a plan. I actually want to become fairly well known for reviewing retirement activities, then I want to use this small bit of fame to ramp-up the fun. Here are some examples: As a regular person I can hire a golf instructor to teach me to golf, just like anyone else, but if I get a bunch of viewers then I can get golf lessons from a professional golfer! If I want to try being a professional chef, I could try (and fail) to get a job at a local restaurant, but if people watch my videos, I will be invited into the kitchen and they will laugh if I make mistakes. If I want to help a charity by volunteering, I could only bring one person, but a famous volunteer may attract dozens of volunteers. So, in summary, I plan to use my super-powers selfishly and for good.
Q: What is your favorite retirement activity / least favorite retirement activity.
A: Surfing is currently my favorite and my least favorite so far is Metal Detecting. Keep in mind that I don’t hate metal detecting, after all I did spend money to try it. It just really wasn’t for me. I don’t have the patience for it.
Q: Where are you located?
A: Most of my retirement stuff is done in St. Augustine Beach, Florida in the USA. But at present I still have a house in Birmingham, Michigan, where my kids grew up, so sometimes I do stuff there as well.
Q: Are you married?
A: First of all, no one really asks me this because I am old and no longer attractive enough to warrant such a question, but I am married. My wife Lisa appears in the videos sometimes. She is retired as well.
Q: Do you have kids?
A: Yes. I have three kids. Boy, Girl, Boy. They are 20, 18, and 18. I had kids when I was a bit older, so I retired right around the time the youngest graduated high school and went off to college. My wife is super smart and she gave birth to three really smart kids.
Q: What did you do for work?
A: I made my living when I was much younger as an Engineer and then later by starting companies. I worked on Helicopters and Automobiles as an Engineer and then as a business plan writer. In 1998 I started my own company, PriveCo and had a bit of success with that. I sold the biggest chunk of the company in 2021, then other parts in the next few years. In the middle there I had a great run as a professional pumpkin carver and author. I made a large number of TV appearances and wrote three best selling books. Now, I still have a very small number of little ventures going on but I no longer have employees nor do I own any industrial buildings. I hope to be completely task free by the end of 2025.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I grew up in the Boston area in a town called Wakefield, Massachusetts. I went to Boston University. Then I moved to Connecticut for 4 years, then I spent 31 years in the Detroit area. I will live out my retirement in St. Augustine Beach, Florida.
Q: How long will this project last?
A: I expect to spend at least 2 years trying all of the activities on the Big List of Retirement Activities. The list may grow though, so it could take longer. My rate of trying new things might also slow as I find things that I really love and spend time doing those. So forgive me if I go a week without posting a new review, maybe I’m surfing or alligator hunting, or something else.
Q: Do you have a clear goal for this project?
A: Sorta. My main goal is to find things I really like and to try new things. I also want to show other people what these retirement activities are like so that they can decide if they would enjoy them.
My secondary goal is to meet fun new people while trying these activities. My wife and I will be moving to a new location where we don’t really know anyone. I’m hoping to make friends through mutual activities. It is hard to make new friends so I designed this process to force myself to meet interesting new people near my new home.
Q: How do I film these activities?
A: This is a low budget, low-tech process. I usually film the activities by turning my phone camera around and stretching out my arm. Once in a while I will use a small tripod or an action camera, but I won’t be winning any cinematography awards. I edit them in iMovie or I don’t edit them at all. I hope you don’t mind.
Q: Do I have any sponsors?
A: Retireman does not have any sponsors (yet?). I’m willing to work with just about anyone though, so if you are interested in sponsoring an episode contact me through @retiremandotorg on Instagram. I’m pretty easy to work with and I’m definitely not expensive. In the past I have received free product in exchange for social media exposure and that will be great here too.
I have experience working with sponsors. My pumpkin carving demonstrations were sponsored by Ryobi and then Craftsman tools. A non-profit I founded called Detroit Mower Gang was sponsored by Ryobi, Husqvarna, Craftsman, Dixie Chopper, and others. Another volunteer effort I created called Trash Fishing was sponsored by Boston Whaler. In all cases I returned value for the sponsoring companies by getting them major media placements in exchange for free products that helped our mission and our volunteers.
Q: Why is my social media handle retiremandotorg?
A: Well, @Retireman wasn’t available and my website is Retireman.org so I spelled that out for my handle. My daughter upon seeing it for the first time said “Oh yeah, Retireman Dog!” Dang it! So that is why retiremandotorg. I wish you could capitalize then it would be RetiremanDotOrg. Oh well.
Q: What can we expect from you in the future?
A: You can expect that I will continue to try new things and post short videos about each activity. You can expect fun and free-spirited adventure. I’m trying to be positive and funny because I want a fun retirement. We’ve all worked hard to retire, let’s enjoy it.
Q: Do you have any great advice?
A: No. I’m not really the type of person you ask for advice. I’m more of the type of person that you watch make a lot of mistakes, then you learn not to make those same mistakes. I’m more of a “bad example” than a “role model”.
A: What else do you want to add?
A: I do this because I love you and I care about you. We work our whole lives to finally retire, so let’s try our best to enjoy it. I hope my experience can guide you to the most fun retirement possible.
Thanks for reading,
Your friend,
Tom Nardone, aka Retireman