I recently had the privilege of sitting down with Jason Lyle on the Sacred Grit Podcast to talk about something I don't shy away from — my journey from rock bottom to running Capital City Roofing. Jason is the founder of Adventures in Recovery, and our conversation covered everything from sleeping in a Walmart parking lot to building what we believe will become the first household name in roofing.

If you haven't listened to the full episode yet, here's the story behind it.

Listen to the full episode on the Sacred Grit Podcast.

The Breaking Point

I like to think my story is unique, but the truth is, it mirrors a lot of people's stories. I grew up with a solid foundation — good grades, played sports, went to church. But in my late teens and early twenties, I rebelled hard. Drinking, partying, chasing everything that seemed exciting at the time. By 25, I had burned every bridge around me. Nobody wanted me around. I was homeless, living out of my truck in a Walmart parking lot in January.

That parking lot was the breaking point. I remember sitting there thinking, "This isn't me. This isn't who I am." I got saved when I was five years old, and I knew the life I was living didn't match the person I was called to be. So I picked up the phone and called my dad.

Our relationship was strained — understandably. But he said I could sleep in the garage, and in the morning, we'd go see his pastor. On the drive over, I was having that internal battle we all know too well — making excuses, talking myself out of it, trying to find a reason to turn around. Right at that moment, a car cut me off in traffic. Almost rear-ended it. The license plate read: GO NOW.

I still get goosebumps every time I tell that story. Message received.

Haven House and the Road Back

The next morning, my dad's pastor connected me with Haven House Mission in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida — a Christ-centered men's recovery program. That place saved my life. It reconnected me with my faith and gave me the structure I needed to rebuild from nothing. I had the clothes on my back and nothing else. I stayed for 16 months.

Back then, my big aspiration was to drive a garbage truck. Not kidding. I just wanted stability and a paycheck. I put in applications at Waste Management, Lowe's, and Home Depot. Lowe's gave me a shot driving delivery trucks. I was upfront about being in rehab, and they took a chance on me anyway.

From Delivery Driver to District Manager

That chance turned into an 11-year career. I went from driving trucks to department manager, then kept getting promoted until I was a district manager overseeing in-home installation services — a large P&L with both direct and indirect employees. During COVID, I noticed two product groups weren't just growing — they were posting double-digit year-over-year increases: roofing and HVAC. I picked roofing because, honestly, it's more exciting.

I spent a season with a commercial roofing company, helped them double in size, and then launched Capital City Roofing. We'll hit two years in May 2026, and the growth has been nothing short of incredible.

Ministry in the Marketplace

Here's something a lot of people don't know about me — I'm also a licensed pastor. I got licensed while I was still in rehab because God gave me a clear vision: my purpose wasn't about helping myself. It was about being of service to others.

When I was weighing the big promotion to Atlanta with Lowe's, I went to my senior pastor worried I wouldn't be able to serve a church anymore. He told me something I'll never forget: "Son, the church is everywhere. This building is where I choose to minister. You can minister wherever you go."

He was right. I've been able to help and influence far more people through the business world than I might have if I'd been confined to a single congregation. Capital City Roofing isn't just a roofing company — it's how I serve people every single day.

What Capital City Roofing Does

If it has a roof, we can handle it. Residential repairs, multifamily projects like condos and apartment communities, and full commercial roofing — flat roofs on shopping centers, high-rises, all of it. No job is too big or too small. We also offer free consultations and second opinions because we want to be trusted advisors, not just contractors.

We're scaling through a licensing and shared services model — think of it like the Chick-fil-A of roofing. Partners operate as Capital City Roofing while we handle the back-office work: answering phones, booking appointments, ordering materials, filing warranties, bookkeeping, and compliance. This frees up our partners to do what they do best — build relationships, serve customers, and sell roofs.

We've already signed licensed partners in Nashville, Tennessee and Charleston, South Carolina, with Greenville, SC and Austin, Texas in the pipeline. And we haven't even launched a formal go-to-market campaign yet. It's all been word of mouth with people whose values align with ours.

We also own the technology. Our sister company, BuilderLync (builderlync.com), is the CRM and operating system we run on. It's built with responsible AI and automation baked into the workflows, making an already streamlined model even more efficient. And we don't keep it to ourselves — BuilderLync is available to any contractor looking to level up their operations.

Feeding the Future Project

Here's the part that gets me out of bed every morning. We founded a nonprofit called the Feeding the Future Project (feedingthefutureproject.org) with a mission to feed one million children in ten years. I'll be honest — this matters more to me than any revenue number. The roofing business exists to fund the mission. That's the real "why" behind everything we do.

Why Sacred Grit and Adventures in Recovery

Jason asked me why I support Sacred Grit and Adventures in Recovery, and the answer is simple: their values mirror mine. I'm not ashamed of where I came from. Where I came from made me who I am — someone with faith, perseverance, and integrity who wants to do the next right thing.

The proof is in the results. One of our top employees, Sam Silverman, is an alumnus of the Adventures in Recovery program. Sam was our top salesman last year, and watching his personal and professional growth has been one of the most rewarding parts of this entire journey. He credits the program for where he is today. That's not theory — that's a life changed.

Men are struggling. They account for 75-80% of all reported suicides and are significantly more likely to battle addiction. Programs like Adventures in Recovery and platforms like Sacred Grit are doing critical work. And companies like Capital City Roofing can extend that impact by providing gainful employment and a path forward.

Connect With Us

Whether you need a roof, want to explore our licensing model, or just want to connect — reach out. We'd love to hear from you.

Listen to the full episode on the Sacred Grit Podcast.