Who: Chuck Surack, president and founder of Sweetwater
What: Fourth largest retailer of music instruments and pro audio products in the country.
Where: Fort Wayne, Indiana
When founded: 1979
Full time employees: 340
Number of pro-audio products in catalog: 4,000+
Recent company highlights: Sweetwater recently received the Business Committee for the Arts’ prestigious Ten Award. Along with others, including H & R Block and Northwestern Mutual, Sweetwater was recognized for its ongoing support of the arts at a gala ceremony in New York last October.
Humble beginnings: “Sweetwater Sound started as a four-track professional recording studio in my VW microbus. At that time, I was recording albums and composing jingles for area retailers. But I had the same problems that many musicians had for decades: Where to find the products needed at reasonable prices — that, and getting dependable advice from people who actually knew what they were talking about. So I built a company based on three things: Reasonable prices, expertise, and great customer service.”
The company today: Last year Sweetwater opened its new $35 million campus. The first LEED-certified “green” building in the region, the new 180,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility houses includes a 250 seat Performance Theatre, and Sweetwater’s new Academy of Music.
People might be surprised to know: “I'm a helicopter pilot, collect and restore cars, and play the saxophone gigging almost every weekend. Also I’m a gear junkie, and know how to use almost everything we sell.”
Home front: Wife Lisa; stepsons Tyler and Comeron; and daughter Adderly (named after Cannonball); and dogs Butterscotch and Tootsie Roll.
If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be… “Balance life, family, work, and friends better.”
Best part about my job is… “I get to work with the most amazing people in the world. I am surrounded by some of the best and brightest and I’m inspired everyday.”
Biggest drag about my job is… “Those few customers who don't yet realize that Sweetwater is really different and we really care.”
If and when I get on vacation, you'll find me… “With my lovely wife and my head buried in a computer and reading tons of magazines, like Front of House, Mix, Remix, Recording, Car and Driver, Autoweek, Rotor and Wing, and many, many more.
The best concert I probably ever saw was… “Too many to name! Some of my favorites were seeing ZZ Top in the mid 1980s. Every concert I’ve seen with Tower of Power. Ray Charles in California just a couple of years ago, James Brown two months before he died …”
If I could have lunch with any person living or dead, it would be… “I have been fortunate to meet so many great people on this earth, but if I had to name one, it would be Jesus. I would have a lot of questions for him.”
Words to live by: “Always, always do the right thing. Your integrity and your credibility define your life while you’re here and after you’re gone.”
