Able to find the balance between the hard work of a concrete contractor and the skilled challenges of being an Olympic athlete, Nick Baumgartner has been earning his way onto the slopes of the Olympic stage since 2010, finally winning gold at the Beijing 2022 games. During this time, he’s been working as a concrete contractor in Michigan.
Baumgartner partnered with DEWALT for Construction Safety Week (May 4-8, 2026) joining construction professionals in a discussion on jobsite safety, preparation, and the realities of sustaining a career in the trades. With safety at the core, the conversation emphasized that today’s construction workers are highly skilled professionals whose work requires the same focus on endurance and recovery seen in elite sports. Concrete Contractor caught up with Baumgartner in May 2026.
Many of Baumgartner’s family are also in the trades. His brothers include a builder, an electrician, as well as home restoration contractor. In recent years, he has stepped aside from his own business while continuing to work as a concrete contractor. Baumgartner specializes in flatwork and decorative stamped concrete.
Baumgartner joined construction pros for a discussion focused on jobsite safety, preparation and the realities of sustaining a career in the trades. The event underscored that today’s construction workers are highly skilled professionals whose work requires the same focus on endurance and recovery seen in elite sports.DEWALT
Concrete Contractor: We saw that you were in the union early on. Can you share some of that experience with us?
I think it's like everyone that goes in. You go and you work for guys with a combined experience of 125 years and work you into shape but make you a very good concrete worker. They put you on the path to make sure that you can make the products. They've seen everything go wrong, so they're preparing you for all that. That's what I did.
I stepped into a role as a laborer. I came in behind a guy that was form-setting in front of the guy that was finishing, and we did all the stuff. Over the years, I got to dabble in a few of the other jobs where they would show me what to do, because I was enthusiastic and I wanted to climb up the ladder. They showed me some stuff to help make their job easier.
The beautiful thing about concrete is, if you're willing to work hard and outwork everybody, the trades can give you everything that you want.
When I started, I wanted to be a professional snowboarder — someone who gets paid to snowboard. How can I do that and have a job? It's a tough thing to balance. For me, I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where the weather gets rough about October — right around Halloween is when they're usually shutting the doors down. So, I found a job where I could work all summer long, make very good money and jumped into the union. By doing that, I was able to bank a lot of money over the summer. Then, when the bad weather came, I was laid off. Then drew unemployment and went snowboarding.
Hard work is what made my dreams come true.
With some creativity, I became a professional snowboarder. By doing what I had to do. I had the perfect job to be able to do this, and to be able to still chase my dream.
I didn't love getting yelled at that first summer as much as I did, but it made me the person that was able to handle breaking off on his own and starting his own thing.
With that, I wanted more time at home. In 2008, I had a lot of success, and made some money in the snowboard world. I then considered that if I pour some concrete at home on my own, I can spend more time at home. I don't have to travel in the summer as well as in the winter. I can be home with my son.
I then started doing my own jobs and that comes with its own headaches. All the stress is now on me. All the pressure is now on me. But I found a way to be able to do it that I could balance being home and being a dad.
Pouring concrete locally gave me the opportunity to spend more time with my son, because the sacrifice of having to leave him, and the sacrifices he had to do to let me go and chase this dream — I needed to make sure that I could be home as much as possible. 
Nick Baumgartner
Concrete Contractor: You are working up in the UP in Michigan. How has the concrete work been there recently?
It's good. It's steady. Everyone tries to cram all their jobs in before the snow comes, which becomes a problem for the contractor. We're trying to get this done. We want to get everything proper. We don't want snow on the ground. We don't want to cover with plastic. We don't want to do these things. So, it gets a little tricky in the fall, but the rest of the time, it's go, go, go. There's not enough concrete people up here to handle all the work that needs to be done.
Lots of times, people get real competitive against each other. There's enough work for all of us. We just need to work together to make sure that we can all do it, and we can keep the people happy.
I always say that my hard work is what made my dreams come true. I can use that hard work to bring dreams to life, whether it's a dream patio, a dream backyard, a dream driveway. I did that; I poured an insane driveway here at my house that I'm very proud of.
Concrete Contractor: What lesson from snowboarding has affected your concrete side? Then, mirroring that, what from the concrete has affected your snowboarding?
Concrete and the trades in general, taught me that with hard work I can get what I want. That's how I attacked trying to make this dream a reality — I learned to outwork everybody.
This will be my 22nd season on the U.S. national [snowboard] team at the highest level. That comes from the preparation that I do; I outwork everybody. Maybe there's a few people that work as hard as I do, but no one's outworking me. I'm out there doing everything that I can because, through my longevity of 22 years, I've learned that I need to do everything in my power to give myself the best chance of being as successful as I possibly can. I don't skip any workouts. No stone unturned. Then, if I fall short of the goal I can live with that.
There's three things with concrete: you can guarantee it's going to get hard, it's going to crack, and no one's going to steal it.
But when I cut corners, and I don't do everything that I can, and then I fall short of that goal — that's a heavy thing to carry around. That's regret for the rest of your life.
In the concrete world, it's the same thing. I go out there and I do everything that I can to make sure that your concrete's good. Everyone out there knows that concrete does whatever it wants to do. We try to make sure it does what we want it to do. We do the best that we can. If I've done everything that I can…taken out the subgrade, replaced it, made sure that there's drainage, poured the concrete, put the rebar in, and I did all the cutting to make sure that we relieve this concrete and it still cracks, I can live with that. Not only do I know that I did everything right, they (the customer) saw what I did.
They saw that I did everything that I could. I explain the job to them as I'm going. It slows down the job, but it's good for them to know. We've seen it all; they have no idea. They don't know that little things like you have to make a cut here because you know it's going to crack off of the corner. It's going to crack somewhere so it's better for us to put a cut there. Explain everything. You're just setting yourself up to be successful. Then, if it does go wrong you’ve talked about it, [they] saw everything that [you] did. [You] did everything right.
That's concrete.
There's three things with concrete: you can guarantee it's going to get hard, it's going to crack, and no one's going to steal it. I think some people think that when you put concrete down, that's it. You're done. [But] concrete's like everything, you have to give it some maintenance to make sure that it stays at that high quality and it looks beautiful forever.
Concrete Contractor: We saw some formwork in a December 2025 video on your social media. What was the project?
It's not a project that can be finished because I make it 100% out of snow. I build a snowboard track in my backyard which is flat so I need to build some momentum. What do I do? Do what you know.
I don't specialize in foundations, but I've done them and I know how to do them. So, I went to my neighbor, who's got a whole set of Symons forms. I set up this huge thing and snowball all the snow into there. I can make an 8-ft.-high tower to start off of and then move the forms back. I spray all the snow in there and make a staircase. My neighbors think I'm absolutely crazy. But then, when they see me on the Olympics, and they see me winning a gold medal or they see me out there and defying age. This year I got seventh (2026 Milian Cortina, snowboard cross), but seventh place at the Olympics, at 44? I'll take it. It comes from setting that thing up. I could have believed the excuse that I didn't have a place to train while I was at home or I could make the place to train. I did that. I used my concrete background.
Do everything you can to do the best that you can. Then, if you fall short, if you busted your butt and you did everything you can, another opportunity is going to find itself.
Not only did I use the forms but I had my level out making sure it was flat. I did so much, using a concrete rake to spread and a landscaping rake to put the groomer line so it looked like a groomer had come through. I'm using creativity — I don't want to believe the excuses of I can't do it, and then have to live with a bad result because I didn't do it.
The most important reason why I build this track around my house is because of the mental side of things. I can be sitting at home and focused on how crazy the stress and the pressure's going to get at the Olympics or I can go outside like an 8-year-old kid and make a snow fort.
I chose to do that.
Every time one of my neighbors drives by and looks at me like I'm crazy, I just can't help but chuckle and be like, you'll see, you'll see what I'm doing. And then the Olympics happens and they're like, “Okay, I get it, I understand.”
I need to have the right tools to make this 8-ft.-high thing or it’s not going to work. I want everything aesthetically to the eye, I want it to look good. This isn't just about going out there. I want everything to look the part. I want the blue lines to die along the sides, so that when I'm up there visualizing the Olympic track, and I'm standing on top of my concrete-form-built tower, that it feels like I'm on the track because visualization with athletes is so important. With a concrete person, if you visualize what's going to happen, and you prepare yourself, and you show up to the job and you're ready good things will happen, I promise — even in concrete. 
Nick Baumgartner
Concrete Contractor: Other than the snow ramp, do you have a favorite job or a project that you've worked on?
I really love my [porch and driveway]. I was able to take everything that I learned from doing so many jobs for other people. Take this pattern, this color, I could put it all together and do exactly what I wanted. What I loved.
My yard is still in the process of getting fixed but I promise you, I have the nicest front porch and the most beautiful driveway in the whole county where I live. It's because I used that hard work and that stuff that I learned to be able to do it.
It came out beautiful.
Concrete Contractor: Do you have a dream concrete project that you would really hope to work on?
I would really like to make a concrete pump track in place of that snow one that I make every year.
I can build one of those, whether it be in my yard or somewhere in the community to provide this fun for kids — give them an avenue to go down rather than getting into trouble, playing on their phones, getting out and being active. I could do that with both my loves of snowboarding and concrete. Put them together, and we got things for kids to have fun for days.
If you come into my township from the east, there's a big sign that reads, “Home of Nick Baumgartner, 5-time Olympic snowboarder, 2022 Olympic gold medalist.” If you come from the West, the same thing. People are always “where does he live?” I'm not afraid. If you want to know where I live, I'll put a sign out, put a big flag, put the Olympic rings and concrete right in the front yard. That will happen when I get some time to get it done. I will do all the concrete work and get some friends to help with the framing and stuff, but I will be there framing with them every second. And I'll be using my DeWalt tools, don't you forget.
I've learned that if an opportunity comes up, you take it. Do everything you can to do the best that you can. Then, if you fall short, if you busted your butt and you did everything you can, another opportunity is going to find itself.
It's kind of like doing concrete. If you go out and do concrete and you do a good job, that homeowner's probably going to pass your name on. Another job is going to come out of that, no matter how it went. If you work with them and you work hard — good things are going to happen.
Baumgartner joined construction pros for a discussion focused on jobsite safety, preparation and the realities of sustaining a career in the trades. The event underscored that today’s construction workers are highly skilled professionals whose work requires the same focus on endurance and recovery seen in elite sports.DEWALT
Concrete Contractor: Of all of these concrete jobs and the snowboarding career, do you have any advice for fellow concrete contractors?
Prepare and be ready. I've been using my body to do so much for so long, luckily I learned early in my career that if I don't prepare, and I'm not ready and go do my thing, bad things are going to happen. I'm going to get hurt. It's just like in concrete. I go and compete at the highest level with people from all over the world, and we're stretching — we're getting ready. You go to a concrete job and a guy will twist his torso around for a short period and go “Yeah! I'm ready!”.
You're not ready. Don't be too cool to stretch. To prepare. To be ready. To get yourself ready to go and not get hurt. It just doesn't make sense to me. The reason I've had the longevity is because I do these things.
Safety's not about what happens in one moment. It's about how you prepare and how you get ready. Do it right. Do it proper.
The same thing goes in the trades. If you want to be able to go out there and provide for your family. To be able to come back tomorrow and do the same thing, you have to prepare. You have to make sure that you don't get yourself injured. That takes work. It's not just going to happen. In the concrete world, you see guys run it hard. They stay up late. They get dehydrated. They go out there and work. You have to pay to play sometimes, and you don't want to have to get injured and not be able to do the things that you love, or the things that provide for your family.
Safety's not about what happens in one moment. It's about how you prepare and how you get ready. Do it right. Do it proper. Don't worry about someone else. If some old-timer's going to give you a hard time for stretching before you go out there and work, teach them something. Go out there and stretch. Try to get him to come and do it with you so that you can continue to do that. I don't know that they'll always listen to you, but it's a good thing to do.
Take care of your body, so that you can take care of your family, so you can keep chasing those dreams, so you can keep doing what you want to do. Make sure you have the right people around you, and enough people when it comes to concrete.
Just as important, make sure you have the right tools. If you have the right tools for the job, it makes the job so much easier. If you don't have the right tools, man, concrete can be the hardest thing you've ever done.
It's a wild world. Every concrete job has a story. Make sure that you're prepared and you're ready and you have the right tools, so that when that thing happens — when it starts raining or when the truck ends up showing up late, you have the things to make sure that the end of that story isn't “I had to take that job out” or “I had to rip that out and report it.”
If you have the right tools, and you're prepared, you'll probably be able to fix anything that happens to you on the jobsite.
Share your story with fellow concrete contractors. Email us at [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you!
