Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani Pajak.
Hi Dani, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’m originally from Fairview Park. I come from a family of hardworking immigrants who taught me it’s sometimes better to repair what you have than to throw it away and buy a new one. My father is a Polish man who grew up in a coal mining town south of Pittsburgh. A Vietnam Era Marine Corps veteran who worked hard to raise his family all while going to night school to eventually become an executive at Woolworth, today it’s called footlocker. My mother’s family immigrated from Mexico. Her mom and her 11 siblings came from Mexico legally, my grandmother worked hard as a cleaning lady at Metro Health while putting her children thru school. When she retired at 68, she opened up her first Mexican restaurant in Cleveland called Luchitas.
These people were my education. They taught me right from wrong, they taught me common sense and they taught me how to use my brain to better myself and to help those around me.
I picked up drinking when he enlisted in the Navy after high school. Problems arose because I couldn’t turn off the cravings for alcohol as easily as his friends. I drank non-stop, and the consequences he received wouldn’t curb his addiction.
“The DUIs weren’t stopping. The legal repercussions weren’t stopping. The fact that I had no direction in my life wasn’t going to get me to stop,” says Pajak. “There was no bettering myself when I was kind of killing everything with alcohol. I lost relationships with friends and family because everybody knew I needed help but me.”
After leaving the Navy, Pajak returned to Northeast Ohio and says the only expectation people had of him was that he would be drunk.
When I found out that I was going to be a dad, my whole outlook on life changed. I checked into rehab at The Absolute House on Cleveland’s east side and began the journey to sobriety.
After learning to face my problems without alcohol, I began to build a new life for himself. I enrolled in welding school, landed a job at Lincoln Electric, and picked up a hobby to fight the late-night thoughts telling my to drink.
I quit drinking because I wanted to be a father to my daughter, I wanted to be a son to my parents. The path that it has taken is absolutely amazing. I opened up my award-winning motorcycle customization shop called Disowned Customs on Cleveland’s west side. I would say we would Bring old bikes back to life. Things were going great and the next thing I knew I was approached by Esquire Network (NBC Universal) to host their new motorcycle competition show Wrench Against The Machine. I was traveling all over the country; my social media was blowing up. I was spending less and less time at home. I had built some high-profile bikes, and money was pouring in. I expanded to California, the Brentwood/Bellair area and the fire hit. We lost quite a bit, and I didn’t have the required business interruption insurance to cover those losses. In many ways, I decided to double down and try to recoup my losses. Then covid hit. And like a bad gambler, I stayed at the table long after I should have gotten up. I made all the wrong decisions; it was all a blur. It was soul-crushing. I spiraled back into depression and alcoholism. I stopped doing all the things I should have been doing to take of myself as a person, as a parent, as a son, and as a friend. In the end, I lost it all, with nothing to really show for all the work I had done. And everyone abandoned me. I was toxic and self-destructive. I wouldn’t wanna be around me. I did have one friend that stuck with me when nobody else would. Natalie was my support. She saw something good in me. I’m grateful for her. My drunking eventually climaxed when my mother was diagnosed with Stage 5 Pancreatic Cancer. It was rough. It was a painful way to go. Almost a whole year of watching her body deteriorate while her mind was sharp. That was the worse. She was in pain, and eventually, she passed away. After she died and with Natalie by my side. I knew I needed to quit and turn my life around. I got active in the AA program again. I quit again. After the fog lifted, my wife Natalie and I got a beautiful house in Euclid, right on Lake Erie. I worked a normal job, out of the spotlight, and settled into a happy routine. My kids was back in my life. My father and my in-law were active in our lives. It was great.
Moving from Fairview to Euclid was an adjustment. But I was in my Lake Erie Beachclub neighborhood, so I was naive to what was going on in other parts I’m the city of Euclid. But then I had issues with squatters living next door to me. The drugs, the activity, the trash, and decay. I called my councilwoman and never got a callback. I called City Hall, the Mayor’s office, and again, no call back. It was a nuisance. Then I started driving around the city. So many vacant commercial buildings, so many vacant houses. Neglect would be an accurate description. Then, the crime, so much crime. Always on the news, shootings, domestic violence, drugs. I started asking questions; I started paying attention and going to council meetings. It was bad; the apathy was real. I couldn’t reach any of my elected officials; my neighbors didn’t even know who their elected officials were. But even then, a few years back, the residents voted against the city shutting down their tax department and outsourcing the job to a company called RITA. But the Mayor did, and they just passed it themselves against the wishes of the residents. So last year, an election was coming up, and I found out why there was so much apathy. The council members were mostly appointed and have been running uncontested elections. So, I talked it over with my wife, and we started a husband-and-wife team to get me on the ballot for Euclid City Council Ward 5. We walked through the neighborhoods, speaking to residents about their concerns, and we made their issues our issues. We ran as an independent candidate and spent less than 300 bucks just talking to people at the local coffee shops, beach clubs, and other meet-the-vote nights. But in the end, we couldn’t compete with democratic party’s candidate, and we lost, but only by about 8 percent. The loss of the election turned into me, once again doubling down and created A Better Euclid. A Better Euclid is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to prioritizing the concerns of Euclid residents over political affiliations. We have collaborated with other local entities, businesses, schools, and nonprofits that are local to Euclid to help bring awareness, funds, and whatever needs the residents of Euclid need. We recently held a Nonpartisan Election Education Forum at the Euclid Library to educate people on how out local government works, how to become a candidate or how to start an advocacy/activist organization locally. We also partners with many organizations with the city to build a community garden on some of the many vacate lots, with all the proceeds and harvests going directly to our Euclid Hunger Center. I plan on running for Euclid Council President next year. But for now, I like be able to do a little bit of good. Help out my neighbors the best I can with hopes that the message will spread of our “Neighbors helping Neighbors” mantra. It’s rewarding work. It’s certainly not always easy, and it’s not always the popular thing to do. But that’s what makes it worth it and back in 2017 myself and a production company called Garage Creative Studios, we filmed a TV pilot called What the Ride Reveals. Basically, it’s a motorcycle travel show. Think of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations but with bikes. We’re pretty excited with that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most of my struggles have been me not being able to get out of my own way. Reaching out for help and allowing those who know more than me to take the lead when it is required. And to spend more time listening than talking.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m known mostly for my custom motorcycles, my social media, and the television show Wrench Against The Machine. But now I’m known for my advocacy group and my annoying local elected officials. Haha. I don’t regret it. Times are changing, and people are getting upset. They might not believe the power they have in this world. I like to organize them and encourage them to speak up, knowing that there can always be a kindler, gentler way. If they are willing to fight for it. Figuratively.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I put myself out there. I post social media; I talk to my neighbors. I write in my local newspaper, and I listen. That has worked for me in finding not only like-minded individuals, but also talking, not debating, with people who think the opposite. I try to understand all sides before I can make an informed decision. I love conversation. I have mentors who are both liberals and conservatives. To see them all sitting at a table, together discussing ways we can all make A Better Euclid together.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: A_better_euclid
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093955533704&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Image Credits
John Copic
Euclid Observer
Jame Douglas
Shields Natalie Pajak
