Getting to know…Chris Mackin

Welcome to our “getting to know you” series, where we interview members of C Mac Contracting in order to get to know them better. Today, we’re getting to know Chris Mackin, owner and founder of C Mac Contracting.

Interviewer: Hi Chris! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions, so our clients can get to know you better. I know you’re busy, so I’ll just jump right in. C Mac Contracting is located in Point Pleasant, NJ. Have you always been in New Jersey? 

Chris: Yes. I was born in Passaic and spent my early childhood in Kearny. I spent my teen years in Tinton Falls where I also started C Mac Contracting. I moved the business to Point Pleasant when my wife and I moved here in 2014. 

Interviewer: And what about college? Did you go out of state then? 

Chris: I stayed in-state and got my degree in Business Management from Stockton University, only when I went there it was Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. But New Jersey is great. I’ve never felt the need to leave. 

Interviewer: What’s one of your favorite parts of living in New Jersey? 

Chris: I love living around the water–beach, river, anywhere I can fit a boat. And the people are great. Relationships are really important to me. I’ve made so many wonderful relationships with the people in New Jersey. 

Interviewer: At what point did you know you wanted to go into construction? 

Chris: The earliest memory I have is kneeling over in the driveway of my childhood house in Kearney, smearing paint on a foundation window. My parents said I had been watching the house painters they hired for 3 straight days until one of them handed me the brush full of paint & said give it a shot.  That house paint project was one of the few things my father ever hired out. Typically, if it needed fixing or building, he did it…and I followed him every step of the way. After spending all of my childhood following Pops around, I moved on to summer jobs with contractors and whatever odd jobs anyone would hire me to do. In high school & college, I worked summers for various friends’ fathers in different parts of the industry and kept going a few years after graduating college. 

Interviewer: And what made you go into business for yourself? 

Chris: I saw some things happen behind the scenes that I didn’t agree with. Every industry has its bad players, and construction isn’t any different. There are a lot of hardworking and honest people too, but I knew that if I wanted to stay in the industry and keep my integrity, if I wanted to be sure I was at a company that prioritized the work we did and the people we did it for over getting a quick and easy paycheck, I needed to be the one in charge. I’ve been so pleased to find many like-minded people in the industry and have really enjoyed working with them over the years as well. 

Interviewer: What is your favorite part of your job? 

Chris: Creating the spaces that people live and raise their families in.

Interviewer: Can you tell us about one of your favorite remodel projects you’ve worked on?

Chris: There was this whole-home remodel in Brick. It was an awesome job with detailed, beautiful work, but more importantly, the clients were awesome people to work with. We actually ended up becoming friends after the project. I’m all about finding the right people to work with. I don’t care if the project is tiny or huge–if the clients are a good fit, then I’m in.

Interviewer: What would you say is the hardest part of your job?

Chris: Balancing work with family life. 

Interviewer: Tell us more about your family. 

Chris: My beautiful wife Lindsey and I have been married since 2016. She has been supporting me since before Day #1 of the business. We have three kids, with the fourth–a little girl–expected in June. 

Interviewer: Congratulations! Four kids. Wow. Do any of them show signs of wanting to follow in Daddy’s steel-toed bootsteps? 

Chris: They’re all still pretty young, but they do love occasionally “going to the job with Dad.” 

Interviewer: And what about your siblings and parents?

Chris: I’m the oldest of three boys. My dad, Kennie (Pops), helps out by doing Home Depot runs and dropping off the dump trailer. My mom, Lorraine, was my biggest supporter until she passed last year. She worked as my office manager, HR department, personal assistant…literally anything I needed. I think if I had come back from a job one day and said I was changing the direction of the business to become a traveling orchestra, she would have turned to the computer and started researching what insurance we’d need and how to rent trailers for the instruments.

Interviewer: She sounds amazing. I’m so sorry for your loss.

Chris: Thanks. She really was incredible.

Interviewer: But you still get to work with your dad. What’s that been like?

Chris: Years ago, it seemed we would almost kill each other on a daily basis. But now it’s the greatest thing ever for both of us. It’s like getting to hangout with one of your best friends all day.

Interviewer: Well, it sounds like you have a job you love with people you love, and we’re happy to hear it. When you’re not doing construction work, how do you like to spend your time? 

Chris: I’m a lifelong soccer player, and I love taking my kids to the beach. If I don’t have my work boots on, then I’m wearing board shorts & flip flops, even when there’s snow. If I’m not at the beach, I’m counting the days down until the next time I can be under a palm tree, listening to reggae.

Interviewer: Last question–if you couldn’t do home remodels anymore, what other career could you see yourself doing? 

Chris: I don’t want to imagine a life without construction. But if I had to, then I’d probably be the guy who sets up the lounge chairs at a resort on the islands.