About Us
Proudly and out-ly serving Aurora, Lakewood, and nearby places
Or Call: (720)588-3407
respect matters
Hiding is for Paint, not People
Hi. I’m River, and this is the story of Puma Pros.
You could say construction is in my blood. I come from generations of builders, and I’m Jill-of-many-trades. Most importantly to me, I learned that while techniques and materials change over time, your craftsmanship should not. The best policy is to do the job right the first time!
Downside was, I also came from generations of rigid and extreme views on gender and sexuality (among many other things), right down to the way you were told to dress and act and wear your hair! And that’s just not who I am. I didn’t fit into their box. I’m not the sort of human who fits in a box… but it’s hard to stick out, so I pretended to fit in a box for way too many years of my life.
Such attitudes, I found, were surprisingly prevalent in the larger society outside the small bubble I came from. People expected you to look a certain way, or they would judge you or even shun you.
Or not hire you.
I saw this from all angles. I felt judged by employers. By homeowners. By crew members. When you try to conform to judgmental peoples’ expectations just to keep your job, you lose the ability to be authentic, and it eats away at your sanity.
Fortunately, not everyone is like this, and over time I experienced enough kindness from good humans that I stopped caring what haters think. Words fail to describe how liberating that was!
When it came time to start this company, I wanted to create a customer experience and workplace environment that respects everyone’s authenticity. So I’ll come right out with it: we are a queer-owned company, and a radically queer-inclusive workforce.
And we’re happy to miss out on potential clients who are not okay with that! We won’t subject our crews to any toxicity.
No one should have to hide who they are. But it’s totally okay to hide old colors or stains on your walls… with a fresh coat of paint!
And that’s why we say, “Hiding is for paint, not people!”