Owen Staley grew up in Battleground, Indiana and moved to Athens in the 3rd grade, attending Alps Road Elementary, Clarke Middle and Clarke Central High Schools. After high school he worked in restaurants, including the Taco Stand on Milledge for a couple of years. After a local electrician came and fixed their microwave, he decided to get into the electrical business, starting with a job with Andelectric. He is now the owner of Powerload Electric, which just got runner-up for the third year in a row for Best Electrician in the Flagpole Favorites. Owen lives on the Westside of Athens with his wife, Camille, son Fred, dog Obie, cats, Ernie and Boo, and four chickens. His daughter, Sydney, attends Georgia Southern University.   

 

What do you love most about the work you do? 

I just love the independence of being a business owner. I love the flexibility and also I’m employing a lot of people, and it’s fun to have employees because there are a lot of personalities and people to get to know. We work with a lot of different people around town, too, so there are a lot of characters in the construction world, of course, and I like getting to meet and interact with them. 

 

When you’re not working, what are some things you like to do in and around Athens? 

I’m in a band called the Wyld Staleyz. Me, my brother and some good friends of ours are all in that band together and it’s just a very part time musical venture for like a bunch of 40 something dads. We’ve played AthFest, Wild Rumpus two or three years, and PorchFest. It’s a hard rock originals band. And then me and my son are big outdoorsmen, and we love going down to Lake Oconee and the Oconee River and going to the mountains and fly fishing for trout, and we go to the coast and fish for saltwater fish. We’re also deer hunters, and we have a family property that’s in Elbert County and we go deer hunting there every season.  

 

If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why? 

I really want to go to Mexico City for the food. I love going to big cities for vacations because of the ease of transport and just the density, being able to fly into a big city and have access to so much to do makes it, I think, great to do a shorter trip and not have to get so invested. 

 

If you could see any band anywhere, who would it be and where? 

Thin Lizzy the Bring the Thunder Lightning tour. Maybe in Dublin, the home turf. 

 

What advice would you give to your younger self? 

Not to worry so much about finances. Don’t worry about making an investment into yourself, even if it looks like bad debt. 

 

Do you have a favorite book or a book you find yourself rereading or referencing or gifting? 

I’ve always loved All the Pretty Horses [by Cormac McCarthy]. I love westerns. 

 

Do you have a favorite movie? 

Terminator One. Since I was a little kid, that’s been my favorite. 

 

If you could put any message on a billboard, what would it be? 

Come see the Wyld Staleyz on March 15th at Flicker! 

 

If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and where? 

It would be my grandfather at Plantation Buffet. 

 

What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home? 

Well, Athens is definitely one of them. Family (I’m a family guy). And responsibilities.