Inside the Rust Belt – First Impressions (Pennsylvania)

[Music]
so we’re now deep in the Rust Belt looks
like someone’s living up here when they
started to leave they left in such
numers it’s so much of it was left
unoccupied nature coming back
in coming into the castle it’s your home
back in the day the street lights would
be on at 2:00 in the afternoon cars
would never turn the lights off what are
you doing to this we planning to open
another restaurant you know what’s the
best part that we do the work that’s so
wild seeing the flame right Beyond Town
flame means money five grand a home
you’re gonna make 80k a year to start
it’s a steel mill and they’re like I am
out do you think people just feel left
behind here driveby shootings of blck
down so it’s kind of like living the
dream you know vage football helmets y
we promote the gloves up guns down it’s
two different universes absolutely a few
miles away it’s just what left was not
replaced that work ethic that Pride
[Music]
so this was all former steel territory
steel manufacturing all the homestead
Works Homestead works and this is
honestly like this had peaked and this
area now even though it looks pretty
okay during the day this is turning into
kind of a mess it’s 15 years past this
Prime not as safe okay so this tour
today you guys we’re going down the M
River Valley is that what you call it
yeah mon Valley Mon Valley and that’s
where basically all the steel making
took place yeah the areas it’s folded
you know there’s some areas where maybe
there is still a mill but it’s probably
at 5% of what it was in its
Heyday so Zeb you still work in steel
yep so I thought coming into this trip
that steel was pretty much done in the
Pittsburgh area but that’s not the case
I think a lot of people still believe
that um what our neighbor I was talking
to a neighbor of ours one day and I said
you work from home don’t you goes oh
yeah I work from home he’s like what you
do I said uh I said I work in a mill he
goes they’re still here I’m like oh yeah
yeah they’re still here and nobody wants
to believe that so this was a huge
initiative to take this land and remove
the industry and bring in modern movie
theaters and shopping and that sort of
thing this is even collapsing down oh
interesting this cycle is sort of on its
because everything is moved online yeah
that’s Universal so is this the start of
the M Valley just of Pittsburgh then you
get deeper in as as we go down yeah the
heart of it is charoy dinora
Maness that’s kind of the core of it and
people are still living out there I
don’t know if you’d really call it
living existing out there yeah we can
see a mill through the trees there in
operation yeah yeah that’s Edgar
Thompson that’s a US steel operation so
they produce slab here then they ship it
off to Mon Valley Works they reduce it
down the coil they they’ll turn into
sheet
okay for us metal newbies slab is what
um slab is a thick Ingot of Steel then
that slab is taken and it’s ran through
multiple series of rollers where it’s
reduced down till it’s a coil of sheet
steel and it could be anywhere from
couple hundred ft long to tens of
thousand of feet long depending and
that’s what’s going to go into your
sheet metal and your cars or what
refrigerator backers your refrigerator
doors your garage doors your storm doors
you name it if it has metal in it it
could be possibly being produced there
melted right there and then it just goes
off you can see all that recycled metal
yeah that would go to V Valley Works
operation so that’s coal yeah coming
from the mountains of West Virginia and
Pennsylvania or where probably more so
Tennessee so for those that don’t know
you need coal to make steel yeah the
coke right from the coal and there’s two
types of coal and I used to know a guy
way long ago he goes is it steam coal or
met coal and you know one is clean and
one is dirtier one is easier to work
with one is harder to work with the
cleaner stuff is what you’re seeing here
so that would be what he was referring
to like metallurgical
coal he’s another guy I mean they’re
recyclers they’ll drop their rolloffs
and and somebody that’s a steel
processor and they’ll recycle all the
scrap all the off cut all that stuff and
that’s another part of the steel
industry that’s like you don’t really
see it but it they service it most of
the big players in steel have operations
all over the country and are
strategically located to help them out
Alabama Indiana cuz you were Gary right
yeah so what I learned in Gary is the
steel is still happening but just the
automation has removed a lot of the jobs
it has and that’s what you’re seeing
here right yeah it’s
efficiency okay so young guys coming out
of high school are many of them getting
into steel no who’s doing the work then
uh a lot of college educated individuals
you know people coming out of college
that can’t find work um guys that have
left oil and gas we have a couple
veterans we have boiler maker what’s
this operation here this is this is ET
and that’s the slab Walkers right there
that are actually moving the slabs
around in the yard so he’s either going
in to pick one up or he’s dropping one
off yeah he’s picking up so how’s the
air quality here I I smell a little
something but not too crazy no so back
in the day Pittsburgh the air was dark
and full of soots and there were no
cleaners on the Smoke Stacks right right
but now everybody has to have air
scrubbers Pollution Control all that fun
stuff what you’re smelling now is the
process of them probably burning off
Coke it doesn’t smell like steel but you
wouldn’t want to live near this then no
yeah why do you think we do it in cities
wouldn’t this make sense to do in the
middle of nowhere there are operations
in the middle of nowhere Pittsburgh just
kind of grew up that way right and back
in the day this is where the labor was
yeah everything’s built around the
rivers I it’s all about being able to
transport things right so Brit are you
in steel too no no I’m in
education but uh you know a ship can
carry a lot really efficiently and then
you can build your rails and Depot and
things all around that a lot of it’s
just unanticipated consequences though
you know like not realizing that the air
quality was going to be terrible and oh
yeah cancer caus saying many generations
down the road and this is the town of
bradic yeah okay so what’s going on in
bradic this is what’s going on in
bradic so when did this all happen here
like go from thriving on this street all
these shops being open to this so what
it’s Heyday would have been around like
the late 60s 7s somewhere around there
okay um economic decline was kind of
peaking in that Rust Belt early 80s so
everything kind of started to contract
and that started you know people looking
for work elsewhere and they started to
just
leave and when they started to leave
they left in such numbers that so much
of it was left unoccupied that it became
you know low income and there when the
jobs went away their businesses were
going to go away there’s some great
buildings like
this golden Treasures let’s check it out
wow there’s everything in here how you
doing ma’am you got everything little
bit from clothes to bird houses yes and
everything in between everything in
between Superman mags there’s a up
downstairs actually a cool shop ma’am
what’s your take on bradic these days
uh it’s okay there you know I’ve been
here 24 years so I don’t mind it you
know people don’t bother us we have
regular clientele um we have a big seal
usually every other week okay so I mean
we get really quite busy so and you you
even have license plates that’s so cool
everything look at these
helmets sure we get those and wear them
the rest of the day they’re for walking
around bradic oh my
gosh like where could these possibly
have come from I can ask how much this
is this is
awesome I mean that’s a steel ma’am how
much is this those are 25 I had eight I
don’t know how many I left I have a them
people buy them for everything who’s
making these oh we have a guy who made
them all but it is actually an old
football helmet okay oh yeah they are
old vintage football helmets yep I don’t
know if they’d let me on the plane with
this who are these people here oh one
the houses we did yeah we did in estate
you wouldn’t believe how many pictures
we get from Estates people don’t want
their family pictures okay so when old
people pass you come in and take all
their old oh not necessarily that
we buy out the entire State we can buy
one item we can buy everything or we can
clean out the entire state if somebody
needs it cleaned up and that’s how you
accumulated all this interesting stuff
yep that’s awesome one of the coolest
stores I’ve ever been to In My Life
awesome so thank you did you even go
upstairs no we didn’t there’s upstairs
and downstairs it gets it gets more
interesting upstairs or oh there’s all
kind our smaller if you go upstairs you
might never come back yeah I feel like
there’s a secret room back here man this
is and you go into a fantasy world or
something
yeah you said you have another store
that’s three times the size of this down
the street and then we have another
store also in Connellsville golden
treasure so that’s Anna golden I’m for
gold oh sisters or what mother bter she
would have liked to hear that right yeah
she would have like you ladies are great
thank you thank you very much golden
Treasures who knew yeah the welcome from
them is really typical like no matter
where you go the welcome from them yeah
yeah I’d say like in the on the opposite
side of town there’s like sickle which
is very affluent and I’d say it’s the
same like welcome that my mom and I
received like a month ago when we were
shopping over there similar Vibe
friendly people here friendly very
Midwestern yeah we’re on the edge of the
Midwest basically right yeah it’s
Midwestern looking East so it’s got the
amenities of the east coast and like the
education of the East Coast but it has
the sort of the attitude and the
kindness and the like Hospitality of the
Midwest we’re now out of Us’s operation
but this is still stuff that I promise
you is coexisting with us steel okay so
the people working there are they living
here very few they’ve been afforded a
way out of here so the jobs are well
paying yeah they’re they’re good paying
zville starts at 80,000 oh wow so people
move really far away from the mill right
they don’t want to live here yeah guys
will commute like an hour they’ll
they’ll do the middle and yeah they’ll
live in the middle of nowhere to work
where they work cuz it’s good money so
none of the money being made at the Mill
is being spent here yeah and 50 years
ago it was you worked here you went to
church here you spent your money at the
local
businesses like what do you think these
people are doing for work in these homes
a bus somewhere else okay collecting a
check you guys live back here yeah right
there how is it uh danger okay yeah
we’re making a video on the Rust Belt do
you want to say
anything what do you want to say I just
hope everybody changed man you know a
lot of people out here dying young men
out here dying man a lot of a lot of
young men are dying here yeah what’s
happening I mean people ain’t doing
their jobs right man helping their kids
out kids out here D and stuff you know
it’s just not safe out here you’re a
young man though yeah I’ve been through
all that bro I didn’t been through
attempted homicide shootings and all
that BR thank you though you have a good
day though you too you too yeah man R
take care buddy you too man all
right what are you saying isn’t wrong
it’s that bad out here they’re killing
each other at an alarming rate there’s a
program here in private schools it’s to
get you students of color out of like
Inner City areas and into private
schools where they can get great
education and I’d have like a get to
know you survey at the beginning of the
year like is there anything I should
know about you and they’d say something
like I don’t live in a safe place like I
don’t sleep enough at night cuz I’m you
know scared and stuff and this is just
such a huge piece of the puzzle of how
do we heal this nation is we can offer
all the education in the world the best
education but if kids aren’t safe if
kids aren’t fed if they don’t have any
body protecting them then none of that
makes a difference what the schools are
offering and that’s what I have no idea
how to fix
[Music]
massive operation huh this is uh us
Steels claron works this is their Coke
Mill you know back in the day in the’80s
whenever this was all dying off all
those guys would do anything would take
they they they’d work plow and snow
they’d Work Land crew they’d drive a
school bus work as a jet or work as like
a day labor because they wanted to stay
where they were at and now it’s like I
know what we’re offering people we’re
offering people like what the average
householder income is in Pittsburgh
we’ll offer that to you on day 80 grand
yeah we’ll offer that to you through the
door and yet
somehow we can’t find viable candidates
I mean I only work half a year 4 days a
week four on four off 5:00 a.m. till
5:00 p.m. or 500 p.m. till 5:00 a.m. so
is one reason that people don’t don’t
want to work here the fact that it’s
hard work it smells you’re getting dirty
long hours you know working overnight
it’s 24-hour operation is 365 days a
year you’re not guaranteed your holidays
off you’re not guaranteed your weekends
off it’s a pride element too of like
working in a mill clocking in and out
you know being a factory worker a mill
worker I think there’s just a like
there’s a pride with that right and a
lot of our generation is educated right
so like did I go to school to get a
master’s degree to go work in a mail and
you know even though I mean his meal
starts at like double what I make
so and I’m sixth credit sh I have two
degrees I mean it’s not like I lack
education I just never finished my
education it’s just one of those things
where you can tell somebody like hey
I’ve got a great job for you 4 days on
four days off you’re going to make 80k a
year to start and the the opportunity to
move up is actually pretty quick you
know and they’re going to be like great
I’m in and you say like oh it’s a steel
mill and they’re like I am
out and and everybody thinks it is
completely gone it’s it’s not gone I
mean that would that would tell you
otherwise right I thought Russ Bell and
this is how naive I was Rust Belt
decaying cities okay Pittsburgh has some
tech and medical and stuff but the steel
industry isn’t really pumping I never
even made the connection of hey they’re
stealing everything we use every day
that’s got to be coming from somewhere
we’re not importing our steel from China
right I mean to some degree yeah we do
import if you go down towards West
Virginia one their tin Mills just got
shut down because they were importing so
much that they weren’t viable anymore is
there a threat with importing steel
there are tariffs on steel right from my
understanding so the industry is
protected to some degree to some degree
it shifts a lot it seems like it depends
on the political party I’ll give you an
example like so couple companies out
there like Lodge makes enamal cast iron
stuff or you can do all clad all clads
made in Pittsburgh it’s Pittsburgh
company kbur right Canonsburg yep you
can buy your really really expensive all
clad that’s gonna cost you a couple
Grand to put in your kitchen or you can
buy your Chinese made all clad that’s
going to cost you a few hundreds so a
lot of companies are offering both
options a lodge same you can go to
Walmart get a $50 cast iron you know
Skillet or you can you know go somewhere
else but let’s say a car is manufactured
in the United States would they use us
steel or would they import or who knows
most of it’s going to be domestic
produced the town of
mport when you watch Nightly News a huge
chunk of it is coming out of M’s Port I
wonder if there are any initiatives to
bring it around I think most are have
failed I think everybody comes up with a
good idea and at some point along the
way it kind of TAPS look at that church
is condemned and the bricks look good on
it so mport is one of the most dangerous
cities in the United States according to
a study from National Council rank
number four on a list of the 100 the
study looked at violent crime rate
average per 1000 as well as police
adequacy so the police adequacy thing is
probably what’s really dragging it down
too okay very under staffed a lot of
communities are kind of merging police
departments I mean these buildings are
stunning The Glass work in that thing
beautiful you know what’s crazy that
they Glass isn’t protected which you see
with a lot of these churches churches
Carnegie free library look at that yeah
the fourth worst violent crime in the
country with one of the coolest
libraries at least from the outside so
there’s some money coming into this town
and then across from it you have that
right and then across from that you have
that which looks good yeah and look at
that let’s let’s pull over are you guys
okay with that yep oh this gu sitting up
back this is
beautiful how you doing is this church
in operation it’s been my home for8
years it’s your home yeah are you from
Oz New Zealand so from New Zealand kiwi
land to
mport there’s got to be a story in there
oh you know you’d need a whole day for
that one and you moved in into an old
church I own two churches I have another
one in Pittsburgh up on the North side
that I’ve been trying to find investors
for for the last um 7 years but uh
haven’t been able to find anyone so the
big question is quite simple why well I
was living in New York and I was um
getting tired of doing real estate I’d
traveled around Europe quite a bit and
seen um seen some beautiful historic
buildings there but I’d seen also
converted judges so I decided to um try
to bring awareness to the abandonment
and abuse of religious structures in
America and bought two churches um have
been campaigning for them for the last
eight years that is so cool can we can
we Cruis around here yeah you one of
those cruises are
you that’s what I love about making
these videos it’s like you could have
never expected this situation
right first Reformed Church
1905 coming into the castle I’ll be
Glenn I’ll be your host all right Glenn
thank you oh wow Glenn come on in bis
come
on have to excuse my washing I uh used
my table as my folding man Glenn you’re
living a in Eclectic life here
originally was built in 1903 it’s had a
few churches most of them all failed um
it’s 6,000 square ft on two levels the
original Church used to go that way and
had a fire in the early 1900s so what
they did is they built an extension onto
this back um and they just bordered that
up with wood so it’s not insulated so
this was another portion that was built
I not sure what year but what I did is I
converted the three rooms into two
master suites with um walk-in closets
and um and on Street bathrooms I’m not
going to show you in there cuz it’s a
bit of a mess I wasn’t expecting guest
but um this is the other room but I
dropped all the floors and um put in
showers and uh bathrooms this is my
storage room just for you know just for
dumping stuff actually originally all of
this was closed off with walls and there
used to be organs up there which I
ripped out all these walls to the
original architecture and then had to
redo all the floors put in beams and
then ripped up all the floors built in a
kitchen with uh vintage uh Viking
Appliances not hooked up though cuz I
couldn’t afford the gas um and then
Basic G the gas is that expensive here
well I haven’t heated this property I’ve
lived in it for 8 years and I’ve never
heated it what about the winter I
freeze literally yeah I literally freeze
I put a heater on the bedroom and hide
you’re a mly character I know right and
um so I busted all this out and then I
built in a just be careful cuz I’m
lifting up some boards I have to replace
and then basically I built in this whole
deck in three stages it’s just all
recycled wood do you miss New Zealand at
all well I haven’t lived there since I
was um in my 20s so that’s you know 30
years ago the idea was actually to save
a Gothic Brownstone in McKeesport which
um the uh the mayor end up demolishing
into the ground the gothic Brownstone
was one of the best buildings I’d ever
seen that’s why I moved here to save it
and then
um it’s a very complicated story but
it’s not a very nice one that they what
they did but end they ended up just
bulldozing it into the ground okay so
that’s why I came here to us to save
that church and try to get some um get
the get the government behind it maybe
get some um skilled workers training
thing get the kids off this you know
anyway it was all a great idea but it
just uh I didn’t realize how politics
work in these little CI
how do they work I won’t go there slowly
no let’s just say I won’t go there we go
here it’s just there’s nothing nice to
say they didn’t want you to save a nice
building why because they were getting
$200,000 from the housing department to
demolish it what do you think a place
like this is across the street I don’t
think anyone’s living there right well
no basically investor owned locally the
guys that own both of these have never
ever come out here and cleaned them up
or they never weed them I used to mow
the Lawns and take the weeds off but I
just gave up and so now the city just
comes out and poisons the Lots they just
put some round up or what yeah I don’t
know what they do but they come around
and if you have a look at the sections
opposite the library and over here y the
city just comes out and poisons them
because it’s just all weed and rat
infested okay so what’s the price on one
of these do you think roughly well I
think that guy I think he bought it for
something ridiculous like 6,000 but he’s
asking like 75,000 for and he’s done
nothing in 7 years 6,000 basically
they’re just s there and these local
investors just hold on to them for um
for their portfolios they’re good tax
breaks too probably it’s just a big pile
of crap but it’s unfortunate because it
ruins the whole block and um I’ve had
someone killed right outside my front
door there there was another guy went
crazy with a gun on the other side of my
church and started shooting at a guy’s
car they used to be driveby shootings of
block down and um I kept warning the
city about it but they did nothing it’s
was the same car every week and then
eventually a 14-year-old boy was shot
dead so it’s kind of like living the
dream you
know okay Glenn you want to put that out
there to the world you want to sell this
for 100k correct so this is advertised
for 100k right now how do people find
you it’s listed on Zillow at 1501 Union
AV McKeesport
15132 and I also have another church a
beautiful Lutheran Evangelical which is
at 2235 Federal Street Extension
Pittsburgh
15214 you can look that up and if you
want to take them are your church days
over
Glenn fair to say I’m moving back
overseas you’re going back yeah but
you’re not you’re done buying churches
for now yeah I’m done with churches I’ve
did what I could for the last eight
years but um sadly I’m not a millionaire
and there’s just no support in the
public spheres for them for so I
couldn’t find investors so it’s time to
move on next chapter travel the world
before it blows up see you see you glad
[Music]
we made it to the heart of the M
Valley so people are doing pretty well
up here yep we have a golf course over
here that’s like country club Country
Club people are working here and living
here what’s the story there’s some of
that and there’s commuters
it was driven by industry but the
industry didn’t really live in this town
it either was in front of us or behind
us school system was good you grew up
there versus growing up here it’s two
different universes absolutely a few
miles away yeah and there’s generational
families that live
here is that what we smelling yeah what
is that smell that’s the coke so this is
the Cleveland Cliffs Coke operation out
of Maness and Pa that is their After
Burner that’s not good for you it’s way
better than what it was back in the day
the street lights would be on at 2:00 in
the afternoon to light the streets cars
would never turn the lights off wow okay
Maness what’s the story of messent is it
on its knees or is it had a comeback or
where is it at it’s in a weird place
where they’re mowing a lot of stuff down
Coke operation up and running which is
employing people but not a lot is
willing to come in E you’ll see on the
side if you keep an eye out there are a
lot of abandoned houses right on this
Hillside some of them have been torn
down in the last 2 years but you’ll see
a lot of Abandonment tons and tons and
tons of stairways oh the stairways up
the hills right up there okay the
stairways are just for the steel workers
going up these stairs back home to their
neighborhoods yep there was a bell siren
for to Signal shift change people would
hear that and then come
down there’s uh Russian Orthodox it’s
specifically Catholic this one right
here y it’s Byzantine Catholic instead
of Russian Orthodox
okay a lot of serbians in this area
right lot of Russian lot of poles a lot
of Italian you know my father was saying
last night um he belongs to a Russian
club they’re celebrating their 100th
anniversary he said he can remember back
in the day when every nationality was
represented with a club hey Peter up on
that Hill is one of the natives you can
see he’s growing into a 10p point what’s
that that buck right up there oh wow
look at that
he’s cute he’s so curious about
you nature coming back
in these things are not scared of people
huh no I mean it’s probably Associates
you with food yeah I wouldn’t doubt it
people probably feed him what a
place wow there was a lot of Pride here
at one point now it’s just like living
to
survive it’s just what left was replaced
you know that work ethic that level of
Pride there is a move though in this
area if you go on Zillow and red fin
uhhuh so what they’ll do is they’ll buy
five or six of these houses pick the one
that is the most plausible mow
everything down but the one that’s
plausible and completely rehab that and
then pump the price cuz what uh Glenn
was talking about in mport that house
would picked up for six grand this house
picked up for 10 grand well if you do a
little bit of rehab mow them under plant
grass you can make it look like you have
something
yeah is that your grandparents help me
found that church right yeah my my
grandparents were founding parishioners
of that one my parents were married in
that church my grandfather he worked in
messent Mill and your dad was also in
steel yeah so he’s been around all that
industry look at this building that is
cool how you guys doing what’s up man
how you doing sir good boss yeah how are
you how you doing good what are you
doing to this we planning to open a
restaurant seriously yeah different kind
of food okay he’s a chef he’s a official
Chef he work in a lot of countries a lot
of restaurants okay hotels it’s my wife
back there you know so good for you guys
Bend but now you know we try to get
properties you know you know stuff like
that so now we got this building try to
clean it up you know and and and make it
back again this to is no restaurants all
kind of stuff that you see like a you
know like a a McDonald Burger King yeah
you know that kind of restaurant but we
try to make something luxury something
officially you you can come in so this
is my beautiful wife how you doing man
so where are you guys from uh she’s from
uh Republic okay Dr nice and I’m from
Venezuela we come here once and we buy
one house and then we have the
opportunity to to buy another house and
then another house and then another
house and then we go into like 10
properties and then we got the
opportunity to get this building you
know mon is really beautiful town just
you know want to make a difference
difference yeah good for you guys we
bought this bu like two months ago and
whose amazing Vision was this you or
your wife my wife okay she’s the one
made all this happen you know the family
work together some my cing her caring I
follow you know her feelings so she said
listen we have to get a house and in
Pennsylvania we come we look the place
and we like in get a nice house and then
that’s how everything came going so why
Pennsylvania well I feel like you know
it’s a quiet place and then yes quiet
place yeah it’s very quiet it’s peaceful
here and uh Authority have given us a
lot of support like they open the door
for us so without them there wasn’t who
who opened the door the mayor the mayor
the coin enforcement es Marvin you know
um when we come here we don’t know
nobody so we go straight to you know
City Hall to you know act for help and
they open the the hands and they give
lot of us opportunity oh that’s cool how
do you guys speak English so well you’ve
been in us for a while I’ve been here
for like 23 years okay my English 100%
but at least I’m I’m try you know so you
guys are great okay let’s check it out
yeah I love the block glass that is so
cool so we just
starting
okay you you got some work ahead of you
yes but you got the old old wooden floor
good thing is you know what’s the best
part that we do the work yeah yeah so
yeah so you wouldn’t want to do this in
the Dr or in Venezuela you’d rather do
it in the US well um we have a um well
opportunity is here so we take take it
here you guys feel the opportunity here
yeah yeah okay so what’s the plan what
what kind of food are we doing uh we
want to do something different you know
something International for everyone not
just Latin it’s so good because we we
have like to start with we have stuff to
start you got space and what are you
going to do with this you going to have
some uh some dance offs here probably of
course on live music some Fiesta action
yeah of course we just tried to see how
you guys are awesome yeah you’re fired
up do you know this say yeah it’s like
you got the energy you’re going for it
yes and with people like you too we got
more energy all right now we’re more
exciting so when you when is when’s the
opening day well listen next week no no
no no no no no I hope so but we don’t
have like they but probably I say more
like next year next year by January and
the end of December probably you know
it’s a lot things to do you know so we
need to remodel the whole kitchen we
need to clean the place we are doing the
job because do does Chef do the Dirty
Work he no we are like a complete team
we all have each other in all the area
we have to do
Roofing I’m going to do flooring work
yeah I’m going to fix everything that’s
no no no big deal a very small hole
nothing big deal I’m going to fix that
fix the kitchen everything’s going to be
out we’re going to REM model everything
remember this is a commercial kitchen
everything got to be by by the law you
know by the rules so yeah we going to
make everything
leg at the back side of the place you
can see
so come here look is that your Jeep
Junior no like somebody own it they’re
supposed to move those car maybe in like
the next couple days so okay how is the
community are they happy or here so far
everybody already come everyone’s cool
everybody’s super happy they say you
know like this is going to make this
player life again imagine how big is
this building when we get the restaurant
open everybody’s going to come you know
it’s nothing around here right now like
no restaurant no restaurants no no no
it’s like very small stuff like piz uh
Domino piz so we’re going to make the re
foot you know I own all this oh nice so
we’re going to fix everything so
everybody come part their car so they
going in the restaurant I want to show
you the best part just be careful this
is the best part look you okay this no
holes no nothing just be careful when
you no holes here no no no no so this is
the steps so you went up again uh to the
floor and this is the the bar look oh
this this is the dream bar bar huh down
the road that’s the bar look at this
it’s like the party just stopped you got
all the beer bottles out here look at
that that’s an old label yeah like a
long time ago people partying down here
yep oh that’s
interesting
2013
yep good good my name is R yeah how you
doing nice to meet you sir this weekend
I’m pulling the transmission out of this
okay and junking it by Monday Tuesday
okay that’s fine that’s fine don’t
worries man I just need to you know a
dumpster is going to come M to pull out
everything out all your space it’s your
space you need your space yeah thank you
I appreciate it okay you okay have a
good day you too man thanks it’s kind of
Da but I bring it back but it’s
something you know so you can oh thank
you thank you Junior you know it’s a
pleasure man and thank you for coming
you know for all the time you know yeah
appreciate it no problem thanks for
showing off what you’re doing lot of lot
of respect to you guys taking a risk
putting a lot of work in and adding to
the community that’s
awesome byebye byebye for now so that’s
the energy you were saying is gone yeah
and you know what it’s cool to see I
mean it’s an odd location but they seem
to have that fire that they’ll make a go
of it hopefully that’s that like what
can we do with our own hands and they’re
coming in to invest in the community
they said like we’re going to bring jobs
to this community we’re not like going
to get labor from other places is we’re
not looking for pittsburghers to come
work here we’re looking for people from
messen to come work here right and these
homes right here they’re probably what 5
grand a home the ones that are abandoned
they’re probably range from like 12 to
50 12 to 50 yeah this is the crazy thing
and I sure you saw this when you were in
West Virginia is seeing houses that like
have the broken windows and the front
door is a piece of plywood
and you think it’s abandon and then
you’re like oh no it’s not yeah yeah you
see a lot of
that that’s so wild seeing the flame
right Beyond Town yeah flame means
money you want to go through here I
don’t think that’s happening we’re not
this is a tunnel that used to lead Pages
Steel and Wire and that Pages Steel and
Wire is the place that my father was
telling me made all the uh wire for the
Golden Gate Bridge this is where that
wire was spooled and made produced but
apparently this was the entry way that
you went through to get to work which
now seems relatively uninhabitable
unless you are a
Sandpiper that’s what that is yeah that
is so cool so the steel cabling for the
Golden Gate Bridge the workers that
helped make that went through this
tunnel and out every day
yeah what’s going on in town these days
sir nothing nothing it’s going down do
you remember this town in like the 60s
yep what was it like it was moving down
you have
downtown everything open so it was a
good place to grow up yep okay when did
it start going down when this new
Miracle over the mayor took over uhhuh
and it started going down yep and the
there nothing about this all them
patient lot building burned down they
just turn out and leave the lot I was
here till
1948 1948 that when I was
born and 19 I was born in the 50s D down
was
H looks like someone’s living up here
they have the plant out and the fan in
the window there’s a camera quite a
bizarre Place really interesting though
if you’re a curious person want a little
adventure and want on some things you’ve
probably never seen next to each other
this trip today is one to go
on do you think people just feel left
behind here I think so I think some
people want to be left alone here
there’s the left behind but I don’t
think everybody wants to be where the
middle of Pittsburgh is either I think
people liked the life that this once
offered and don’t necessarily want to be
like oh now we have highspeed internet
everywhere you know we we’re putting in
fiber for the whole town you know I
don’t think that’s the goal but I think
they missed like the days of when it was
really good you know yeah but as a
country you know there are thriving
parts of the country and then you come
out here and it’s obviously not thriving
and you wonder because of social media
is there that Envy or jealousy or hey
they don’t care about us or do you think
it’s not even a thought I’m sure it’s
generational generational I I’d be
positive that’s generational cuz I think
there’s probably a difference growing up
as that older man we ran into Y and
growing up as a 13 14year old right now
seeing your peers across the Across the
Nation or across the city even you know
doing living a pretty different
existence you’re right you’re a teacher
you see you see things most of us don’t
what’s the solution and uh in one minute
or less I mean it’s it’s always
education and exposure you’re living in
a place this close to a city or and this
close to the the wild parts of
Pennsylvania you live to just doing
everything you can to get kids to the
symphony and you know to the
river not this River like the you know
the wild streams and stuff I think that
balance of like there has to be a home
supplement of education and sometimes
it’s Community push there’s a culture
that comes around and says um we want to
teach kids how to work how to engage the
world around them how to talk to other
people but it’s almost like there
there’s an extreme too because the kids
who have the extreme of the home life
where like their parents will never let
them fail are about as helpless of kid
as kids who have never been an
opportunity given an opportunity to try
anything so it’s like they’re kind of
end up in the same place oh
interesting okay
I think there has to be the opportunity
to try and fail and figure out we talk
about like these pivotal ages of
imagination and Discovery for small
children but it’s just as important for
big children as well that they get to
try take bigger risks and learn how to
face a setback and go back to the
drawing board and try
again we’re still in the M Valley but
we’re just now off of the river I’m
going to say I grew up in the M Valley
but I didn’t live anywhere near the that
I lived out here you lived out here yeah
back here in this area Okay so totally
different existence right back here yeah
what a trip it’s green not gray don’t
you notice energetically it’s just so
much more uplifting up here especially
after today yeah after today right this
just feels amazing well the weather
helps too it got sunny but just to go
walk around in a field like that and
drive these roads you know my father
moved my family out out here and we were
we were away from all of it I mean this
is you know where I grew up and he had a
45 to an hour commute he didn’t want to
be near the
city expensive real estate present day
you’re going to be paying to be out here
so as you were saying earlier the people
that work in the Mills now live out in
these places make good money you can
live out here do well
absolutely okay now we’re closer to the
river yeah the river is two blocks that
way it’s like the weather’s playing with
the vibe of the place yeah so the story
of Fat City like so many towns today
yeah this was more of a cold based town
because they they’d have belts and
everything down here right you can tell
by the soot on that building that we’re
on a coal route
yeah all right you saved the best for
last charoy it was settled by belgians
yeah charoy a charoy Belgium sister city
of sorts so Charla Roy’s story was steel
uh
glass okay each of these towns have some
common ground but they also have a
unique feel to them I would say yeah
this is one of the refugee areas for the
Haitian really yeah they were deposited
here I think about 4 years ago okay and
uh this was one of the cities that was
chosen for them because it was a city in
Decline absolute free IM immigration
consultations every Sunday yeah get
legal now get legal now it’s a good
one I mean that’s the crazy thing about
a town like Char ly you just got some
amazing old architecture like a new
American city would just die for and you
would never build anything like that in
present day You’ never do anything like
this in present day right that might be
a place some talk to you yeah okay Sun
okay so you grew up here in the area yes
back in the day like when growing up we
had things to do okay we wasn’t in the
streets we wasn’t just running around we
had birthday parties we had Church
conventions we had youth groups we had
youth works we always had someone to
talk to these kids don’t have nobody to
talk to and being around now as an adult
it’s like we’re losing them from gun
violence we’re losing them from drugs
and
suicide so why not open up a c you’re
opening up tanning centers really every
town is different here along the M
Valley I’ve noticed they are they’re all
have a different identity this one has
like a Haitian identity I noticed you
will find Americans Haitians
Dominicans
liberians Jamaicans all different kind
of forigners and they’re all awesome
because it’s teaching you more about
your inner culture from way back then oh
it teaches you how to make different
food
I never heard of a red snapper a day
before in my life and I bought one and I
want to put it on a grill ma’am you’re
selling red snapper yes yes I good stuff
so good I’m going to make it for the
first time I never made it but you know
and it took people that’s not from here
to open up to give at least something
for us to do originally I’m from West
Africa I moved uh from Africa 20 years
ago uh San Diego
California and then Phoenix Arizona I
was there till my first son passed away
through uh gun violence I’m sorry that
make me uh relocate to uh Shala
here and the
people they don’t believe they don’t
believe that they don’t believe we can
make a difference okay do you believe
you can make a difference oh yeah I came
with a difference and I’m making it okay
cool but I’m just talking about the
people and there is no love in everybody
like the the the the how to call it
Valley Valley area is it it’s dead it’s
dead there’s no there’s no love there’s
no happiness there’s no joy you walk
around and you may see people but you’re
really watching like dead spirits walk
around yeah that’s what it is like how
hard is it for you to wake up in the
morning get get yourself together and
you see somebody walking and just by you
saying have a good day sir you could
have saved his life yeah okay so you
ladies are bringing the spirits up why
not yeah but you know you can get a job
here at the the steel mill here entry
job for 80 grand these days are the
young men not wanting to do that or what
I think with the pandemic coming when it
came I believe everybody just fell off
and stopped believing in work stop
believing in work stop believing in work
nobody wants to work everybody wants a
hand out but there is how do you how do
you pay a rent though if you don’t work
people live in they live off the streets
because you’re not guaranteed jobs I I
like for myself I don’t really put my
business out there but I was I’m a
convicted felon i’ never been in trouble
a day in my life and I made the worst
mistake ever that I have to deal with
for the rest of my life I can’t go over
um to McDonald’s and apply for a job
they won’t hire me right right right so
as many jobs as you’re putting here how
many people can you really get that
don’t have a background or give the
people a second chance with the
background I did my crime I did my time
and there’s never a day I’m going to go
by without remembering without trying to
stop somebody else from doing the same
mistake I did okay how’s crime in town
these days you have a lot of gun
violence there’s nowhere to run to
there’s no outlet for these kids how
about the
cops you could trust them but how many
can you really trust who’s really there
for you everybody’s like don’t go to the
m Valley there’s nothing to do you’re
right there is absolutely nothing to do
there isn’t but if you just want to get
get a piece of mind and you’re an older
retirement it’s for you raising kids
it’s not I wouldn’t put them in the big
cities but I would put them in the mid
mom Valley area to give them something
to do okay get get these kids off the
streets and get their parents off the
streets yeah the parents have to be the
example for the kids and it’s not easy
for them cuz everybody lives in the past
in this town nobody lets go everybody
just holds that’s why it’s so dark if
you ever pay attention to the sky it’s
always dark over the valley and then you
hit manonga in them it’s very
bright all ages welcome cave Boxing Club
and your boyfriend’s in here yes zaye
Ross zann Zayn okay Coach Rosco and your
Zayn sir yes sir we promote the gloves
up guns down to you me so it’s like uh
everybody it’s easy to shoot somebody
but it’s so much behind it is just live
to fight another day type situation like
I rather fight you and then it’ll be
over I have my life you have your life
instead of every right little handshake
at the end maybe okay right and probably
your friends afterwards oh yeah right
with the gun with the gun there’s no one
to be
around it’s it’sa like if me and him
have a problem then it’s just like all
we’ll squabble and then after that we
shake hands hug and it’s over you know
what I’m saying and it’s it’s done and
over with nowadays the new generation
everything is shootting up bang bang and
it’s destroying our city it’s destroying
everything as a whole you’re getting the
kids into this you’re getting the kids
into this Mission yeah we we’re trying
to it’s uh we started because it’s like
it’s a big group like Dan Ro ride you
know they got people in Ohio Virginia
like I had my son I had him fighting at
uh at 8 he R training that six so like
you know got picture of him right
here this is your son yeah this my son
right here oh nice I had him working you
know he live back in Ohio but he don’t
he don’t worry about guns you know he
friendly he’s peaceful what everybody so
oh that’s cool and and this is your
operation this is my yeah I opened it uh
in
2016 okay I used to be a boxer and then
I did cage fighting and uh my promoter
and my manager was taking all my money
so me and my dad ended up opening here
and then uh
Shadow that’s my Pro fighter now
Shadow’s Pro yes he got a fight uh
September 28th in Butler that’s Mighty
Mouse we ended up going and branching
off me shadow ax couple of his guys we
branched off and did the gloves gloves
up guns down movement and we used to
travel around that’s all underground
backyard so with gloves up guns down
what’s the uh what are the rules you
just you just get them beat them till
knockout or what no no I mean they quit
you know quit still get three three
still it’s like fight 16 o gloves and
you do three three rounds two three
rounds two rounds and this guy over here
is he in it no he he’s a new guy he he
been here uh first week was Monday oh
nice so how’s it going so far I have a
girl fighter she’s she’s up on the wall
this one here yeah Jesse smino jessino
so we’re an active gym we’re try to get
people obviously we’re in a low poverty
area in charoy but we’re trying to make
the best of it to do something get kids
off the street and make something happen
very cool uh do you want more people
here do I want more people yeah yeah so
do you have a website should I tell
people to go to a website Facebook cave
Boxing Club so that’s the Facebook page
yeah cave boxing on how do you guys fund
yourselves you me all out of this pocket
all out of pocket no there ain’t no
donation we we got to put in ourself if
you need help we got to put in our like
I say we tra we when we travel we all
put in it’s us we all pitch in that’s
cool in that’s cool guys don’t take a
picture of that what but that’s they got
see the we they got see the V let’s go
take a look at it can we get out there
drove to Dallas drove back and then we
were home for a day and then we went to
Miami and came back so so did you come
in for the boxing or for the put the
guns down I came in for the because I’m
I’m originally from sou Indiana Notre
Dame you know shout out
and that’s why I really for born and
raised my little brother came here was
coming here first and I was looking for
a gentle come to cuz I wanted to box to
get to get my anger out cuz I from a
divorce and I just started coming here
ever since then I just started just got
into the fight it’s just a great release
if if you you got some issues some anger
which we all do to some degree right so
boxing take it out on the bag you know I
say he came yeah he came from you know
rough streets down there he was shot
everything else so to get out out
atmosphere he came here and cool yeah
yeah sh how long you 2018 so like 6
seven years I’ve been here now we just
love it you love it just come support me
yeah SE September
28th PA at the where’s the butler Club
poost they’ll be posted on on our
website okay so he just came off a first
round knockout yeah yeah down to
Morgantown yeah yeah so I got stay
staying in shape and staying
ready all right guys well that was a
super interesting day y the M Valley lot
to unpack every town little bit of a
different identity and then when you get
away totally different reality yeah you
know getting away from the river still
consider M Valley anything else to say
let’s eat just another day yeah let’s
get some food that sounds great you’re
up for it we had to piig and fire
awesome all right guys thanks for coming
along until the next one
[Music]