Roark Thriving In General Manager Role At New Waves And Wheels Location

Although his promotion from shop manager to general manager took effect a few months ago, Josh Roark is still getting used to spending a majority of his time inside the Waves and Wheels office rather than on, in and around the custom boat projects he’s worked on for the past 15 years during his tenure with the now Camdenton, Mo.-based company.

Longtime Waves and Wheels employees Josh Roark, left, and Kelly Smith, right, have thrived under the leadership of company founder Justin Wagner. Photo courtesy Waves and Wheels

Started nearly 25 years ago in 2001 by Justin Wagner, who also founded Bluave Marine Audio, Waves and Wheels moved to a six-acre, 16,000-square-foot facility near the Camdenton Memorial Regional Airport earlier this year following the sale of The Boardwalk at Waves and Wheels—Wagner’s former marina at mile marker 26 on Lake of the Ozarks. Both Wagner and Roark said the location of the company’s shop, which will be home until Wagner’s new development of 44 acres on the Shawnee Bend portion of the lake is completed, is great and that its workflow space is ideal for the company’s projects and new builds of Doug Wright Powerboats catamarans.

In fact, Roark, who has worked on everything from upholstery and electronics to fabrication and audio/video equipment for Waves and Wheels, said the move and the promotion happening together made for a smooth transition.

New general manager Josh Roark—seated at right in the rear of the Waves and Wheels Edition Doug Wright 39 Carbon demo boat—has been instrumental in the growth of the Missouri-based company. Photo by Jim Davis/courtesy Waves and Wheels

“The change of not being so hands-on has taken some time to get used to but it’s getting easier; plus, I still get to do a little of that from time to time, especially if the guys need help,” said Roark, who started at Waves and Wheels right out of college in 2010. “Altogether the changes have gone pretty well, and the good news is that we’ve been able to better organize everything at the new facility to match our production process. We don’t really need the waterfront to operate. It has its benefits, but it also has its distractions.”

Roark added that he enjoys getting to work more closely with the clients.

“I’ve always communicated with the customers in one way or another, but my role has grown quite a bit from just being the guy working on their boat to being a part of the conversation from start to finish,” Roark said. “Since I was 13, I’ve just been that guy who is hands-on—that’s all I’ve known. I’m a laborer, and I always will be, but I’ve gone to more of a desk position handling sales, customer relations and anything else that comes my way.

“When I started, you know, we were steady; but there were times when I went in and to earn my paycheck, I was sweeping floors and organizing parts,” he continued. “One day a switch went off, and it was like we hit the bottom of a roller coaster hill and I don’t think we’ve reached the top yet. Seriously it’s just been nonstop growth ever since thanks to Justin’s vision.”

Josh Roark, in hat above and below, believes he has the best boss in Justin Wagner—and his co-workers would agree.

More than along for the ride while wearing a multitude of hats at Waves and Wheels, Kelly Smith is thrilled for Roark as she’s seen him grow during the past decade while working alongside him and Wagner, who is her cousin.

“I’m so happy for Josh—he’s definitely become a leader around here,” said Smith, who recently celebrated 10 years with the company. “Waves and Wheels is such a unique place to work because it feels like one big family, and not just because Justin is like my little brother. Josh was here when I started, and prior to that when I was helping from time to time air-brushing Justin’s Ironman Hustler and his American Offshore before that. He’s like my adopted kid brother (laughs). Honestly, it is one big family, and just like with family, we have to respect each other’s spaces—or departments, in our case—and everyone’s individual personalities. And like a family, we pick up the slack and have each other’s backs.”

Smith, who handles a little bit of everything from accounts payable and graphic design to marketing and administrative roles, said the part about her job she likes most is that no day is ever the same.

“Since I started working with Justin his projects have spanned so wide that nothing is ever straightforward,” Smith explained. “Everything is bold and adventurous—there’s no such thing as 9-to-5 day with Justin either—so that was the frame of mind I went into this job with and it hasn’t let me down. I’ve always been an achiever and gone above and beyond what I even felt I was capable of, so I knew I would be a perfect fit. Justin knew it, too.”

The Roarks and the Wagners usually get to spend the day on the water together during the Waves and Wheels Fun Run on Lake of the Ozarks at the end of the summer.

Wagner, who often gets emotional when discussing his Waves and Wheels family and the successes they’ve achieved in their careers and lives, is extremely proud of his cousin and considers her to be an invaluable resource for the business.

“Kelly wears like 20 hats around here and she does all of the stuff that nobody else would know how to do,” Wagner said. “She’s a super talented graphic designer and she also manages our freight shipping. I mean who else does that? I’m very thankful that she’s in my life. She’s been so supportive of me for as long as I can remember.”

Between the new development, which Wagner said is likely to start sometime in the next 12 to 24 months, and the progress with the Waves and Wheels edition Doug Wright cats his team is creating and selling, the self-made entrepreneur is super excited about the future.

During the past couple of years the team at Waves and Wheels has taken Doug Wright Powerboats catamarans to another level.

“We’re still going strong with the Doug Wrights—we have one of each model available between the 36, 39 and 42 Carbon cats,” Wagner said. “And our workflow is the best it’s ever been thanks to the new shop and Josh’s efforts in his new role. I’m so happy for him. It was a little intimidating to take Josh out of the shop at first, but he’s made the transition easy on everyone. In fact, he’s allowed me to focus on our growing our custom boat-building business between the Doug Wright cats and H. Craft center consoles.

“Josh already has let me to do things in the last couple of months that I couldn’t have done without him in the general manager position,” he added. “I can see our efficiency improving as well, which is a big thing for us. I’m proud of Josh, not just as someone who works here but because his is a friend. He started as a young man, when he came in and applied for an upholstery position, and now he’s my GM, making a good living and married to an amazing woman, Elly.”

Wagner said the amount of hands-on experience Roark has had in all aspects of the business made for a very natural transition.

Seeing Roark tucked inside the cockpit of a project boat was an everyday occurrence at Waves and Wheels for nearly 15 years.

“Really none of what he’s doing is new, except for maybe creating work orders,” Wagner said. “And because he’s worked on the other side, on the parts and installation side, he’s improving the whole process. His 15 years of experience here have basically cultivated him to be a perfect general manager. The sky is the limit for him with the team behind him.

“I look at my team as a relationship, you know, like a marriage or a friendship,” he continued. “And that means the relationship has to go two ways. This company has needs, certain jobs requirements the team has to meet, right? And the team, those employees, have needs and the company has to meet their needs. It’s not a one-way street. I think, judging by the length of time our team has been here, we’ve done a really good job implementing that.”

Roark agreed with his boss and said he’s never wanted to work anywhere else because of the team environment Wagner has cultivated. His goal, he said, is to continue to push boundaries, both creatively and proficiently.

“I don’t know if I have any specific goals with my new role, except to strive to make things better in every way possible,” Roark said. “I know we can be better organized and in having more control over that, I’m hoping to make things more streamlined and improve communication all-around.”

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