Native New Yorker Finds His Niche and Calling as a Plumber in Roanoke

Ralph Vazquez is something of a contradiction.

He’s a native of fast-paced New York City who found himself in the slow lane in southwest Virginia about 10 years ago.

He’s a Puerto Rican-American who loves Salsa music but ironically doesn’t speak any Spanish, even though his wife happens to be a Spanish teacher.

And he’s got one of the dirtiest jobs around; he is a plumber – but he enjoys looking good on the dance floor when he deejays parties for friends.

Vazquez, 38, of Roanoke is the man behind Copperhead Plumbing and Heating, which does both plumbing and heating work associated with boilers. “Anything with copper,” said Vazquez.

He came to the area in 2000 when he was transferred to Arkay Packaging’s Botetourt County facility as a middle manager. However, the job didn’t pan out. “I was going New York speed and it just didn’t work out,” said Vazquez. “I wasn’t prepared for the southern way of living. It’s a slower pace of life.”

Luckily, he was introduced to a fellow Puerto Rican, a plumber, who got Vazquez into the plumbing business. He said he’s never looked back. “I love helping people and fixing things,” said Vazquez of the plumbing trade. “They’re the two things I love the most.” His customers “are always grateful. They tell me ‘You’re my hero.’”

Vazquez climbed the ranks, taking a course through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to get his master plumber certification in 2009. “You serve as an apprentice and then you serve a year as a journeyman,” said Vazquez. “When you’re a master, you’re able to do what you want to do and start your own company. That’s the goal that you try to get to.” Vazquez added, “A lot of people stagnate—they’re afraid of the master test. A lot of people I went to school with still haven’t gotten their master license.”

The plumbing business can be unpredictable, however. He often works late, but occasionally he’s scrapping for work. “Today I got home at 8 p.m., but some days I’ve got nothing to do,” he said. Other times, “If someone [has a pipe] leaking, you have to go there now. If someone doesn’t have water, it’s considered an emergency so you have to jump on it right that day.”

Plumbing is by nature dirty work. While it hasn’t happened to him, Vazquez said a friend once had wastewater shoot out of a pipe right into his face. His worst fear is having the long, winding metal “snake” used to clean out pipes break off deep inside the pipe. “What do you do then?” he asked with a laugh.

Vazquez’ Brooklyn accent stands out in the Roanoke Valley. While his parents were Puerto Rican immigrants, they spoke English in the home, so Vazquez doesn’t speak any Spanish. “I eat it, I dance it, I just don’t speak it,” said Vazquez of Hispanic food and culture. “I’m from Brooklyn. I speak Brooklynese.”

Vazquez’ love of Salsa, a style of music developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s by Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants to New York City, comes from his father, a musician who played timbales (a type of drum) in a band. “I’ve been around music all my life,” Vazquez said. “I love music.”

He met his wife Danielle while deejaying a party for a friend. Married five years, they have two children of their own and a child from Danielle’s previous marriage, all boys. Vazquez loves having a house full of boys, saying “They come home and tackle me; I’m a tackling dummy.” He’s been trying to get his boys involved in skateboarding. “I grew up skateboarding,” he said, “[One of my] dream vacations is to visit the world’s largest skate park in China.”

Vazquez said he now appreciates Roanoke’s slower pace of life over New York’s, especially when it comes to his family. “It’s much friendlier. Everybody waves at you when you’re driving. It’s more of a closer-knit community.” He added, “It’s a good place to raise a family. That’s why I’m still here.”