How many children do you have and what are their ages? Please tell us something about each child.
I have one child. His name is Nicolai and he’s 22 months old. Nick is the light in my eyes, so it’s hard to pick one thing. Something that hasn’t changed since he was born is his red hair – copper, actually. And his energy level – he’s always going.

What is a funny or rewarding experience you've had as a daddy?
...My son has for a long time responded to “Nick, are you OK?” with a resounding “Yep!”. Earlier this year he was hospitalized, having gone into respiratory distress for several weeks. When we asked him if he was OK, he’d shake his head wildly no. The afternoon we were being discharged, I changed him out of a disposable into one of his cloth diapers. It seemed to calm him down, so I asked him if he was OK. He smiled and said “Yep!” My wife Emily and I burst into tears. He clearly knew that cloth diapers meant everything really was OK and that he was going home.

Are you married? What is your wife's name? How did you meet her?
Yes.
Emily...
I was working at Oracle in Northern California and Emily happened to be my brother’s wife’s best friend from school. My brother suggested that we’d get along well and that we should meet. We exchanged some email and we met for coffee one afternoon.

Was it love at first sight?
Absolutely! But it took her 10 years to finally ask me to marry her.

What did you think you'd be when you grew up?
A veterinarian.

Who did your classmates think you were in high school?
A vagrant - just kidding.

Would your classmates be surprised by who you are now?
Most likely.

Who were you before EcoBunz, any interesting jobs or schooling?
I joined the US Army out of high school at the ripe old age of 16. I spent 5 years in West Germany with a border unit there.

After the military I went to college and became a Computer Network Engineer. I then spent the next 16 years in Information Technology; I worked at some Fortune 50’s and several high tech startups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I was a Senior Director when I decided to change directions and pursue my childhood dream of being a vet. I entered a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) [program] to prepare for entry to UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine. Right near the end of the RVT program, we found out we were expecting and I put my plans to become a Veterinarian on hold.

How did you get started cloth diapering and sewing your own diapers?
We decided early in Emily's pregnancy that we would be using cloth diapers for our first-born son Nicolai because of the environmental impact of disposables coupled with the potential health risks associated with their use. We signed up for a diaper service in San Francisco and bought a few covers from their inventory. We also decided that either Emily or I would be staying home with our children - no one else would do. I happen to have been the lucky one :) After several weeks of using cotton pre-fold diapers and the diaper service, I started doing research on the newer diaper technologies that were available. The diaper service sold Fuzzi-Bunz pocket diapers so I thought I'd give them a shot with the cotton pre-folds as inserts. As the primary diaperer of my son I quickly decided that I needed to do something different with the inserts...

My mother had taught me how to sew when I was 8 years old - hemming, buttons, even making a few shirts and pants. I decided to get my hands on a serger and some fabric (mostly tons of old cotton flannel receiving blankets) and started playing around with diaper patterns. I made many inserts and some fitted diapers from these recycled materials, but was quickly turned onto hemp. By the time I had built up our stash with inserts I discovered I had too many inserts and decided to sell some of the inserts on eBAY. The eBAY adventure was wildly successful and Ecobunz was born. We set up an e-commerce server in February 2004 and the rest is history....

How did you come up with the name EcoBunz?
There were a few things that went into the decision – I wanted a name that suggested the ecological/environmental benefits of cloth diapering and something that would be catchy. In addition I wanted to come up with a unique name that I could easily register as a domain name on the Internet. Eco for ecological and “bunz” – well doesn’t just about everyone have the word "bunz" in their company names? Thanks to Tereson…

What did your family say when you told them you were going to be an entrepreneur?
My wife thinks it’s great and loves that our son wears something so friendly and homemade. I don’t think the rest of my family thinks too much about it. I finally explained to my mother what I was doing and the reasons and she thinks it’s great.

Has it been hard to be a man in the cloth diapering marketplace?
Not at all – in many ways it's fun to buck trends – I don’t think there’s anything one cannot do if one really tries. It gets kind of fun when folks on the Sewyourowndiapers Yahoo! Group I co-own and moderate say things like “Hi Ladies” – or make sweeping generalizations about men. I tend to take the fly on the wall approach.

What do you think can be done to encourage more dads to be more active in cloth diapering their children?
As funny as this may sound I think if more Moms were to share the information about higher than normal scrotal/genital temperatures that are generated in disposables and how this can be linked to lowered fertility, more men would probably listen.... Having a wand to help wash out cloth diapers is also good – honestly, if men just tried it, they’d find out how easy it is. Most important, fathers need to be more involved in child rearing and care – there are so many benefits for children when they have an involved Dad.

If you could do any kind of work you wanted, other than the business you now have, what would you be doing?
I frankly cannot think of anything else I want to do but work at home with the company of my son and the children we hope to have subsequently.

What are your dreams for the future?
I want Ecobunz to succeed enough to have my dearest partner Emily come home and experience the absolute bliss that I do raising our son every day.

If you have time for hobbies, or outside interests, what are they?
I’m an avid hiker, backpacker, gardener and snowboarder, among other things. Many of these things I can do with the company of Nick but snowboarding is hard. I enjoy it immensely but have a hard time spending the time away from my wife and son that it requires.

What is your favorite dessert?
Profiteroles (filled with crème’ patissiere, drizzled with carmelized sugar - no chocolate)

What one attraction, city, or place have you always wanted to see?
What one attraction, city, or place have you always wanted to see? Actually two places, Ayer’s Rock (Uluru) Australia and the Khumbu Ice Falls on Mt. Everest.

Who is your favorite musical artist or what is your favorite song?
There are so many genres so many great songs. Well, to give you an idea – had we had a big wedding the first song to play that Emily and I would’ve danced to would’ve been Barry White - Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe.

If you could have a day to yourself (kids could be cared for if you wanted, and you were all caught up with sewing), how would you spend it?
Playing with my enormous dog, working in the garden, developing a new product – not necessarily in that order.

What is your proudest moment?
The moment I was able to hold my son Nicolai.

http://www.ecobunz.com
Products include: Fitted Hemp Diapers, Hemp Diaper inserts, Hemp Washcloths, Receiving Blankets, Hemp Pre-folds