This carpenter will represent the US in international competition. He’s 22. | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC

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Tristan Coates will travel the globe, training in niche skills in order to represent the U.S. on a global scale in an international competition. But he won’t be throwing a javelin, skiing slalom or doing a floor routine. 

He’ll be competing in carpentry.

In 2022, at age 18, Coates won national gold at the SkillsUSA competition, a showcase for young trade professionals. Four years later, he got the call to join a team of nine young competitors — who will represent the U.S. in other skills such as auto mechanics and welding — for WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai, slated for September. Prior to the invite, he had never left the country.

Now 22, Coates owns and operates his own business, Coates Builder Improvements, in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Here, Coates talks with Construction Dive about training to represent his country and running a columbus oh dump truck company at a young age.

Construction Dive: You’re 22 years old. You’re an international athlete of sorts and you own your own business. How did you get here?

TRISTAN COATES: I had a family friend that got me involved. He saw something in me when I was younger and pushed me to get into the trades. He was a contractor himself. He took me under his wing throughout the summers. I started cutting grass when I was about 10. I cut grass for about 10 years, about 30 yards a month, just as my own gig. 

I took that to the construction side. And here we are today, doing framing to finish construction, general construction. We just built two garages from ground up with in-law suites. I'm good with the ins and outs of it, from layout to finish. I have the vision to build from drawing plans, whatever it may be, and put it in the real world.

In 2022, you won the SkillsUSA carpentry competition. How did that come about?

I actually didn't even want to compete myself. My welding teacher at A. Philip Randolph Academy here in Jax — he wasn't even my carpentry teacher — he saw something in me. He was like, “Man, you need to join SkillsUSA, you need to compete.” 

I kind of already had my business running because I officially started Coates Builders right at 18. It was just one of those things I didn't really want to do, but he pushed me and I ended up winning districts, state and nationals. 

Districts was just a basic wall mock up: a small window, a four foot wall and an angle. State was more of a gable end, a little bit of siding. Nationals was more complex: a hip roof, metal studs, a window, a deck and then stairs. Worlds is going to be a lot more complicated, obviously. 

What will the global competition involve? What’s your goal?

Obviously we're going to do our best to at least place. It’s definitely going to be a challenge, because our carpentry here is not like their carpentry there. It's called “stereotomy,” and it's old world. It’s carpentry that a lot of times starts on a drawing board. It’s all drawn out on paper and laid out with millions of lines. We're talking like crazy angles. And it's all in metric, so that's a challenge. 

But I think the biggest challenge is time, getting training. Because again, it's just so different than what we do here. We’re going to be challenged.

Did you anticipate traveling as far as Shanghai when this started?

It's wild, man. It’s been a really crazy journey so far. Really busy to say the least. I didn't even know what I was getting myself into. The biggest thing is, when I do something, I give it my all. And so I ended up just taking it to the top, man, all the way. 

I hadn’t heard from my expert that's going with me — who is also the main judge that puts on the carpentry contest in Atlanta — in four years. He called me up out of nowhere. And he said, “I need a competitor.” I said, “Why not?” 

I haven’t done a whole lot of traveling. So, I’m definitely looking forward to that. I haven't been to another country, although soon I'm going to Canada for some training with a Swiss carpenter that won the contest a couple years back.

You have a unique perspective as both a young person and a business owner. What’s your advice to other people pursuing a career in construction?

The big thing out here is your body, right? You see all these older guys, and they're beat up. 

Then there’s the money. The body and money. I think for the younger guys, it’s important to figure out, “how can I get to the top,” but not “how quickly can I get to the top?” More like “How do I get to the top right? And how do I put the time in while I'm young to be able to get to the top when you’ve got guys out here that are older and they still don't know what's going on?”

When it comes to upward mobility and advancing our career, we have everything at our fingertips nowadays, so there's no excuse that you don't know something, you can't figure out something. And so I think that's a good thing.