United States
Mike Starling earned his journalism stripes over a 20+year career working in print and broadcast media.
He is currently a senior editor at Randall Reilly, where he is editorial director of the custom trade magazine PPC and its bilingual sister publication Pintor Pro.
He has also served as writer/producer of the magazine's Pro on the Go video series. Below are some samples of his writing, photography and video work.
A unique, eye-catching color scheme made the Beach Apartments a landmark property on Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But the exterior hadn't been painted since the 1990s, and rain and sun had caused significant damage. The stucco was cracked and crumbling, and the colors had faded in the high desert climate.
The late, great George Carlin on the peculiarities of language, what the cops in Milwaukee who busted him never knew, and just what made him so damn rebellious anyway. Plus Buddy Guy, Alice Cooper, Wavy Gravy, Bob Mould, Quark from Star Trek and more.
How do you take a newly constructed cabin and make it look like it's been nestled in the north woods of Minnesota for the last hundred years? That was the challenge a customer presented to painting contractor Nick Slavik. "I created my business for projects exactly like this," he says.
Let me tell ya, the things I do to get a story… I’ve slam-danced, spelunked, bungee-jumped, stayed awake through an entire Third District Congressional Forum and stopped at Wall Drug. But I think you’ll agree that on Saturday night, I went above and beyond the call of duty when I ate a two-inch mealy worm. Raw.
A giant fiberglass termite, a graffiti-spraying vandal and a really ticked-off community. This is the tale of Nibbles Woodaway, and how a painter from Providence, Rhode Island set things right again.
Paint color transformed a historic property and helped Designing Jewelers gain recognition as one of "America's Coolest Stores" from InStore magazine. We go behind the scenes with Lori Larson, the painting contractor hired to repaint the historic Frederick Rehfuss Building, originally built in 1881.
The Lincoln Way Inn is one of the oldest – and newest – attractions on the Lincoln Highway, the nation's first trans-continental highway. Turning the 104-year-old property into a premium tourist destination was a year-long labor of love for owners Lisa and John Ayres and Brumbly Brothers Construction.
The repaint of a classic California car company's corporate headquarters shows how professional painting contractors can leverage bold concrete color choices to help their customers create better branding. The project: A color update fit for auto industry legend Carroll Shelby.
Behold the rejuvenated State Theatre. Part of the final phase of a major entertainment complex restoration in downtown Cleveland, the repaint of the historic 3,193-seat theater was a collaborative effort of the Playhouse Square Foundation and two experienced contracting firms.
Volunteering your time in the community is not only the right thing to do, it's good for business too. That's what the owners of professional painting companies large and small are learning. "If you give, you get more back," says Craig Penne, who has built successful companies in Hawaii and California.