José Gómez Fernández, a professional fitter, has a large community on his YouTube channel (over 50,000 subscribers) where he shows us a few tricks of the trade and offers guidance to users and professionals.

We can see from your website that apart from being a fitter, you also carry out renovations, come up with handy solutions, and so on. Could you describe your work briefly?

 José Gómez (JG): My work currently involves the fitting of plumbing, heating and gas installations, which is my trade as such, and, apart from this, as I have been in the construction industry for many years, I also carry out full renovations with self-employed workers in other trades, bricklaying, electrical work, etc. I also handle estimates and time schedules for construction work and hours put in by tradesmen.

Of everything you do, what part thrills you the most?

JG: I've been working in plumbing for many years, 33 years to be precise, since I started as an assistant with my father; right now what I love most is overseeing the projects and especially the new path my career has taken through my YouTube channel.

How and why did you enter the world of social media? 

JG: I discovered social networks a bit by chance; I have a side that is craftsmanship, making things from recycled materials, clocks, lamps, robots, furniture, etc., and then I decided to promote these products through social networks; later on, I also started to promote my own business in the same way.

The world of a professional fitter is a tough one. What do you think the role of the fitter will be in the future?

JG: Yes, the world of the fitter is very tough and I think it is becoming less and less appreciated in this country, because nowadays there are so many people who carry out multiple tasks on building sites.

In the past, there used to be one person for each speciality, but nowadays, two people can do all kinds of jobs, such as bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing, electricity, painting, etc., giving the wrong impression that anyone can do everything, which is not the case, meaning the work carried out by a specialised fitter or skilled tradesman is no longer appreciated. Every trade involves years of experience, especially when it comes to solving tricky problems.

What would you recommend to someone who wants to start out in this profession?

JG: They should specialise as much as possible, get fully trained and qualified in order to get all the authorised installer's certificates; this is what is going to make them stand out from the competition.

What's the purpose of creating your YouTube channel “Aquilino Manitas FONTANERÍA”?

JG: I created the YouTube channel to showcase my trade and skills. I wanted to give guidelines to fitters on how best they should carry out repair work, but also offer help to those brand new to this sector for them to check that the service they get is professional and reliable. I don't expect them to do the repairs themselves, which would be a big mistake, but I do want them to know if the person hired is a good professional. The website is also aimed at professionals who are just starting out and don´t know how to do certain things because they have not seen them done on site or haven't encountered them during their vocational training. In the end, these are tricks of the trade that you have to learn on a daily basis when working in this trade and what you have studied or the product’s assembly instructions are simply not enough.

In terms of tapware and fittings, what features do you consider most important? 

JG: Basically, as always, value for money, but, above all, a fast and efficient spare parts service, which I consider fundamental when it comes to recommending any product.

What advantages do TRES products have that explain why you've been using them for so many years? 

JG: Well, a bit like the previous answer - value for money and the spare parts service, as well as being a brand that causes very few problems in terms of defective equipment or breakdowns, therefore guaranteeing maximum customer satisfaction.