John the Builder grew up using his hands, helping his old man and grandfather build houses and sheds. He played pro football, and came home from a game to find our coffee table broken, so he tried to fix it. It ended up being really cool and people started asking, ‘Hey, can you build this for me?’

Pittsburgh-native John Malecki played high school, college and professional football in the city where he grew up. After he hung up his shoulder pads and cleats for good, he turned a passion into a career: custom furniture design and fabrication. Like many people from Pittsburgh, Malecki takes pride in using his hands to forge inanimate materials like metal and wood into surfaces and structures that will last a lifetime. And when he needs to escape the grind, John heads to the golf course. The camaraderie John experienced in the locker room is now found in the memories made with friends and family on the fairways and greens of Pittsburgh.