Meet Tyler, aka, Mr. Portland.

June 21, 2013

Here’s Mr. Portland himself, as introduced in our Meet the gTeam post. Please say hello to

Tyler Pechette.

job title:

Director of Global Operations – 5 ½ years at gDiapers.

“Short version – I buy it and ship it. I work closely with our manufacturing partners, warehouses and logistics providers making sure our products get produced, shipped and delivered.  I work a lot with our warehouse teams in Columbus Ohio, Toronto and London.  As well as our manufactures in OH, WI, OR, and overseas.  I really enjoy all the different aspects of the various industries we work with to produce our ever expanding line of products.”

If you weren’t working for gDiapers, what would you imagine you would be doing instead?

“I really (REALLY!) want to work at a brewery. I think I would even volunteer to clean the tanks just to be there so I could smell the freshly brewed beer all day. In my imagination working at a brewery means that everyday is Zwickelmania. So…@doublemountain, @giganticbrewing, @walkingmanbeer – if you need your tanks cleaned give me a call or hit me up on twitter @mrportland.”

What is one of your biggest challenges? Be honest. Work, home, anywhere.

“My wife and I struggled to get pregnant with our first child and have experienced secondary infertility while trying to have another. Working at a diaper company while we have gone through this has been challenging. People (innocently) asked us when we were going to have our first kid…now they ask when we are going to have our second. We typically respond that we are happy with one – which we are! – but that longing and hope is still out there. I am not the type of person who likes to talk about these things. My private life is just that, private. But while I’ve been ok saying ‘what happens, happens’ – I’ve held my wife’s hand through a few miscarriages and many years of ttc, bbt monitoring, charting…and while we’ve been on this journey we repeatedly hear other people’s stories – all under a shroud of secrecy and embarrassment. Friend after friend has had stories of multiple miscarriages and long-term (silent) struggles with infertility. My wife read this article a long time ago and this stood out to us ‘A recent survey of infertility patients reveals that 61 percent hide the struggle to get pregnant from friends and family.’ And with that we’ve stopped hiding it. We do not openly talk about were we are at in the process but we do admit to struggling.

My wife and I have a stash of new gDiapers for our second baby and have placed one of our favorite gPants of all time (Game Day!) up for auction on Ebay. 100% of the proceeds will be going to the American Fertility Association (AFA) – an organization that provides support and recourses to help people have the families they have dreamed of.”

If you had to choose just one g word to wear as a personal statement, what would it be and why?

“Green of course.  Kermit said it best ‘It’s not easy being green’– it really is less convenient to make environmentally conscious choices. It means I have to pull more weeds in my yard (a lot more weeds!), pay a little more for organic veggies, try to grow more of my own food, wash more laundry because we have reusable bags and diaper covers that need to be cleaned. However, it’s something that has become woven into the fabric of the way our household lives. Trying to ‘be sustainable’ drives so many of the decisions my household makes on a daily basis. We are far from perfect (far from it) but we are trying to leave a better community for the next generation.”

 

If you could pick out one moment since becoming a parent to put on a highlight reel, what would it be?

“You know that very first moment your kid looks at you and you realize your greatest accomplishment has just been ushered into the world? That moment. That expression on my son’s face the moment we made eye contact for the first time. I can still see the look in his eyes and the O shape his mouth was in while he took in all that was happening around him.   It was magical.”

Tyler and his wife have generously offered up an HTF gPant. (that’s hard-to-find for those not already glued to the gDiapers resale boards) It’s being auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds from the final bid going to support The American Fertility Society.