Chad Is 41 Today!

Happy Birthday, little brother, even though I am one day late! What an eventful year for you! Did it bring as many surprises as your second birthday did? I love the look on your face in this picture:

Click to make the image larger:

For those of you who do not know my little brother Chad's story, let me tell you a little about the baby of our family. Before you have to pull out your iPhone and check and see what year Chad was born to make him 41 today, I will tell you he was born in 1973, not quite two years after my accident in 1971. He has never known me other than his big brother who uses a wheelchair.

At an early age, he had the nickname "Thumper" because he would thump his leg while he slept on his stomach. As soon as he was old enough to hold any two objects like wooden spoons, he would start beating them rhythmically on anything close to him. That included toys, furniture, his Big Wheel, the seat in the car … you name it.

Little did we know when he was incessantly beating on everything in sight with or without objects as he would use his fingers to pound out a rhythm on the dashboard of my van whenever I took them somewhere that it would lead to a lifelong passion for drumming.

I have posted about him before and the success he has had in getting his Drum Wallet snare drum accessory patented and now being marketed worldwide. His site may be accessed by clicking here. If that does not get to The Drum Wallet, you may access it at this URL: http://www.boywithadrum.com. 

Besides getting his patent last year and working on getting his product in stores, schools, garages and stages worldwide, he keeps himself busy by giving private drum lessons to budding drummers both in his house and at the students' residences, playing with some well-known bands and occasionally teaches as a substitute in two or three school districts in his area. No moss grows on Chad's north side!

Teaching fourth grade for seven years was a great love for Chad. However, California regulations, school administrators and policies made it extremely difficult for him to continue as a full-time elementary teacher. Now, he makes more money as a substitute, and has a lot fewer responsibilities placed on his head. Ultimately, it was the system that drove him away.


He even made it home for Thanksgiving last fall, and between marketing calls to local stores, found time to have dinner with our family. This photo was taken in my apartment as he waited to have me take him to the airport:

Click on the image to make it larger:

I have blogged about him three times before and if you would like to read any one of those posts, click on his name at the bottom of this post.

Once again, Happy Birthday Chadster! 

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Proud Big Brother Mike

Chad's Patent Is Official!

I am very proud to say my little brother, Chad, is now the proud owner of an officially patented Drum Wallet! He has a YouTube video on his site of him opening the FedEx envelope with all the official documentation and approval form from the United States Patent Office. You may go to his video by clicking here.

Needless to say, I am very proud of him as this process has taken him about a decade, countless messages back and forth, many phone calls, meetings with patent attorneys, write and rewrites, a lot of money, many setbacks along the way, but finally he has his first official patented product!

From the time Chad was a little boy, he has always been a drummer. I remember driving him places as a small child when he would sit in the front seat and beat on the dashboard with his index fingers as if the dashboard was a drum. It was maddening at the time, but low these many years later, his drumming has paid off.

Here is a photograph at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)in 2005 of Chad winning second place in the Worlds Fastest Drummer Contest. He beat that little pad eight hundred ninety-six times in one minute! I love the concentration he is exhibiting! 

 
My mom recalls us always calling Chad as a child, "Thumper" because he would lie on his stomach while he slept and methodically thump his leg.

He was drumming from the time he was very small, he was drumming, even while he slept. Now, Chad is off to his next invention. Believe me, he already has several in his head at various stages of development. He has found a true passion, and he is going for it! I believe we can all learn from that!

I am very excited to see how this gets marketed as he has already discussed an International marketing plan with the largest drum manufacturer in the world! They are interested in The Drum Wallet!

If you are a drummer, know a drummer or teach drummers, you may want to check out www.thedrumwallet.com. You will not be disappointed! Of course, that endorsement is coming from his very proud big brother!

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Chad is 38!

Some of you remember my baby brother, Chad, from our time in Worthington. We are the Alpha and Omega children of Arlin and Colleen. I tease him how he will always be the baby of the family and he comes right back at me with, "At least I'm not older than dirt!"

Here was his first birthday cake:

So I sign all my emails to him "Dirt." We have a great relationship. He was just in town for several days around his twenty-year Class Reunion. That's right, he has been out of Mayo High School in Rochester for twenty years already! I have a hard time believing it. We got to spend a lot of time together and had a great time. I miss him and have a hard time believing he has been living in Southern California for thirteen years already.

For my longtime readers, you may remember the post I did on him in January 2010. If you are a new reader to this blog, you may see the post by clicking here or click his name at the end of this post.

His website has been updated and his first invention, The Drum Wallet is starting to sell. You can see it with new videos, photos and many new testimonials. Just click here. If you are a drummer, or know a drummer, you need The Drum Wallet. They make great gifts!

He is a budding entrepreneur with other ideas, and starts bursting at the seams when he starts talking about his ideas. The Drum Wallet is in the final stage of getting patented, and he has a couple other products in various stages of development.

Here is a shot of him in action these days:

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Chad Patrick, Inventor!

If you have known me a long time, chances are good you know about my little brother, Chad. Chad was born two years after my accident and grew up only knowing me as his big brother who uses a wheelchair. As the Alpha and Omega siblings in our family, we have always had a special relationship. I tease him he will always be the baby of the family and he teases me I'm older than dirt!

All of my siblings have an artistic side. Between Chad's music and my speaking abilities are Kathleen, who is an award-winning author, Rick paints exquisitely, Vicki plays an amazing piano and Tammy has an incredible voice without ever having had a voice lesson. She just released her third solo CD. You can order her CD's by clicking here.

Back to Chad. He is now living in Southern California pursuing his dream and doing well drumming with his band Rolling Reunion, teaching young drummers, and most recently inventing percussion-related products. His Drum Wallet was just released to rave reviews at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim. NAMM is the largest music industry trade show in the world!

Check out this promotional video for Chad's Drum Wallet:



There are a lot of things I am excited about to see what Chad has done, but the most important issue is he saw a problem for drummers, and with several years of critical thinking and being creative in the problem-solving process, he found a very unique solution for a small niche of musicians.

Maybe it is not such a small market. He just told me he has already had inquiries from Australia and Europe!

To learn more about or to place your order for The Drum Wallet, click here.

Have I said yet I am a very proud big brother right now? I never would have thought all of those years of putting up with his incessant beating on everything from the dashboard as we drove down the road to beating on a coffee table while we watched a game on TV together would lead to this, Chad Patrick, Inventor!

I welcome your comments.

Later,

Mike