Meet Our Team

Mike and Renee grew up in the Green Mountain area and still reside there. They love spending time in the Colorado outdoors including camping, dirt biking and UTV'ing. They are both passionate to serve the community. After a long haul in the corporate finance world, Mike decided to make a change in 2019 and do something different and outdoors (not behind a desk). Who knew they would decide to open the Southwest Denver Monster Tree Service Franchise and love every minute of it.

Drew was born and raised in Conifer, CO, so yes another Colorado native.  He mostly remembers spending hours carving sticks into swords and swinging them around in the Pine forest behind my house.  He has a lovely wife, a 15 year old who has no business being almost as tall as me, two cheeky, rambunctious boys under the age of 5, and a dog whose love for the outside rivals the entire family's love for it.

While working through college, he started working with a good friend and his dad who would go on to be his Arboriculture mentors.  Before long he was climbing trees and even spent a summer taking a crack at ownership.  He learned a lot and worked hard, making some great memories along the way. Once Drew finished college, he moved on to spend some time in corporate IT management. Despite success and steady advancement, he found that he missed arboriculture and couldn't shake a desire to return. With the help and encouragement of his mentors, he finally decided to leave IT management behind. Drew took the opportunity to start working with Monster Tree Service and hasn't looked back.

Drew has always had a tremendous respect for nature, and by extension, trees. He was raised with an appreciation of their beauty and over the years he has grown to better understand their importance to our planet and our society. Drew has many fond memories spending time in trees growing up and feels privileged to work with them now. He’s very interested in the science behind promoting and maintaining their health, and greatly enjoy sharing my knowledge with anyone who will listen.

As a native Coloradoan, Drew’s favorite hobbies include going on drives through the mountains, hiking, camping, and snowboarding. His other interests include playing tennis, video games, building models, and reading sci-fi/fantasy novels.

Justin was born in California but was raised in a few different states and countries. He remembers moving around and traveling to various places and embracing the different cultures. Justin’s family is spread out, so he usually must travel to see them. He currently lives in Golden with his lovely wife and two dogs.

His Grandfather worked in the Arboricultural field for 30 years, so he has proudly followed in his footsteps. He enjoys the fact that every job is different, and each one has its own challenges. He also likes the satisfaction of helping the community care for their trees and mitigating associated risks.

When Justin is not at work you can find him and his wife taking in the Colorado outdoors. He enjoys snowboarding/skiing, camping or anything that gets him out and about in the state.

Parats was born and spent his early childhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Parats said he was always fascinated with the origins/founding of this amazing country as only growing up in Boston can provide.

His family moved to Colorado when he was 12, where his dad and his grandfather were born (Fort Collins). Parats inherited the family passion from his father who learned the trade when he was just out of high school in the Washington, DC area. His father worked for Davey Tree Company (the oldest tree company in the US). He was given the amazing opportunity to care for the trees at The White House and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in the 70s.

Parats remembers his dad setting up huge rope swings and putting him in a climbing harness. He learned how to climb early in life and was working as a climber full-time in his teenage years.

Parats enjoys climbing, swinging, ropes, pulleys, repelling, rigging… all the fun things about this industry. He believes that mankind’s first “job” was to care for creation. He sees himself playing a small part in caring for trees. He is quoted as ‘There seems to be no end to the fascinating symbiotic relationship we have with trees, and all creation. And if it’s truly symbiotic then we must both give for the benefit of the other.’

Parats and his wife both came from families of six and now have five of their own. He’s a proud husband and father who cares deeply about raising his kids to be people of good character and can contribute to their community.

He enjoys climbing so much he does it for fun. He also enjoys mountain biking, mountain climbing and so much more the Colorado outdoors has to offer.

John was born and raised in Norfolk, VA. He remembers playing in the swamps around his neighborhood growing up. John is the middle (#3) of 5 siblings including 3 sisters and 1 brother.

Believe it or not John responded to a Craiglist add in Ashville, NC as an entry into the tree industry. He immediately fell in love with his industry and hasn’t looked back. He feels his work is a perfect mix of a science and a sport. John has always loved the opportunity to spend his time outdoors and preserve trees at the same time makes him extremely fulfilled.

When he’s not at work you will find John hiking with his dog or searching for new restaurants.

Daniel was born in Bronx, New York, but grew up in Jacksonville, FL. He remembers going to theme parks and playing sports in his younger years. His mom raised three boys including Daniel.

Daniel was introduced to the industry by applying for a job just to be outdoors. Now he has grown into an excellent climber and true leader amongst his peers. He enjoys trimming trees and making sure his clients are satisfied with his work, while keeping the trees healthy.

You’ll find Daniel fishing, snowboarding or playing sports when he’s not working his tail off at work.

‘O’ was born and raised in Tampa Florida. He remembers playing into the night growing up. He comes from a large family and his mother is a pastor.

‘O’ ‘s best friend and uncle introduced him to the industry years ago and he’s been learning and gaining knowledge ever since. He enjoys the biology side and the life cycle of the various types of trees.

After a long day at work, you will still find ‘O’ at the gym or doing some sort of outdoor activity.

Pippen was born and raised in Miami, Florida, the sunshine state. He remembers biking in the streets until the lights came on growing up in the city. He also spent time fishing and diving as that’s what you do when you live in that area. Pippen has a small family, just his mom and him. They are a tight-knit, happy and loving family.

Pippen didn’t grow up in the industry, but he had a friend ask him if he would be interested in trying it and he hasn’t looked back. He has embraced working outdoors and helping the community to stay beautiful and safe with what we do.

You’ll find Pippen riding a board (any type including a snowboard or skateboard) when he’s not at work.