By Lauren White. 

The 2025 Building Envelope Olympics showcases sportsmanship and skills. 

Professionalism. Precision. Pride. All things that come to mind when thinking about Olympians, which we’ll see soon for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The same is true for the more than 100 competitors who convened in Scottsdale, Arizona for the third annual Building Envelope Olympics. Global Roofing Group invited their installers, fabricators and laborers to compete for the title of Building Envelope Champion April 9-11, 2025. This year, three new competitions were added bringing the total to 13 and ranged from installing TPO and spray foam to single skin IMP and coping cap. There were also three creative competitions – spray foam, TPO and metal – that were available all day for competitors to flex their imagination. And let me tell you, roofers are creative! I had no idea what was possible with these different materials – a moving Flintstone car, a bobble head French bulldog, a TPO mobile and metal Viking helmet.  

The night before the official start of the Building Envelope Olympics, sponsors met for a BBQ dinner and a tour of the WestWorld of Scottsdale facility to get a feel for what to expect the next two days. We also got a chance to meet with other sponsors who help make this event possible! Dave Nordentoft from Leister, Dean Jagusch with Wagner Roofing and Amy Staska with the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) were amongst a few of the sponsors I chatted with during dinner. Seeing everything set up was great, but it didn’t prepare me for what was to come! 

Opening day 

The WestWorld was buzzing with excitement as the competitors came together. Once everyone was checked in, the whole group started with a stretch and flex – it’s all about safety even during a competition. Then it was off to their respective stations and the measuring, cutting, nailing and torching began! 

We happened to be in Scottsdale during a heat wave, with highs reaching 103! And for us spectators, we got a glimpse at what it feels like to roof during the heat. Here at The Coffee Shops, we talk and write about how dangerous roofing is and the importance of heat safety and for many who aren’t on the rooftop, this can be an issue that’s out of sight, out of mind. Roofing is hard manual labor and rooftops are typically in direct sunlight, which, according to the Department of Energy, can reach temperatures as high as 150 degrees Fahrenheit on a hot, sunny day. That temperature doesn’t account for all the safety gear that’s required and essential for roofers to be safe either – boots, hard hats, long sleeves and pant legs, safety vests, etc. It’s hot, hard work.  

A glimpse into the competition 

Competitors are given a spec sheet and then get started on their install. And while it is a competition, it’s not about speed. Everyone is judged on their quality, following the specs, safety and then speed is considered last. Platforms were constructed on both sides of the facility to give spectators a birds-eye view of the competitions. Something new this year was VIP tours! We had the opportunity to sign up for a time slot and someone from Global gave the group a behind-the-scenes tour of the competitions.

People were very responsive to this, giving them a whole new perspective and insight to the competition.

And for people not familiar with all the installation steps and details (like me who reads about them all the time) it was really something to see it up close.

They also added more educational sessions for people to attend throughout the day. Representatives from DAS/BASF, SOPREMA, Berridge and GAF presented on spray foam, built up, metal and single-ply roofing.

See more for yourself below! 

Day two: Back for more 

Day two was family day! Taking place on a Saturday meant there were lots of people in attendance. Roofing isn’t typically a spectator sport, so it was pretty special to see all the waves, thumbs up and kisses blown to the competitors’ supporters as competitions took place. And how great that kids could watch their parents not only compete but see what their day-to-day job is. 

This was also the last day for the creative competitions and the final projects were set out for visitors to judge and choose their favorite – mine was the Flintstone car! It actually moved! Two kids sat in it and were pushed around. I’m telling you, anything is possible with roofing materials! 

Once the competitions came to a close, the day ended with raffle prizes and awards. Not only do winners receive a medal and the glory of being the Building Envelope Olympics champion, but they also win some incredible cash prizes, some as much as $3,000. It was pretty incredible to see two days of skill, competition, comradery and pride amongst the Global Roofing Group.  

How it started 

But how did all of this get started? RJ Radobenko, the CEO of Global Roofing Group, is the mastermind behind this event. It all started in 2020 when COVID-19 uncertainty was high and morale was low. Many industries were hit hard, materials were running out, supply chain disruptions were an everyday occurrence, prices were escalating, jobs were delayed regularly and overall, it was a tough time in the office and in the field. As RJ shared, “Culture was at an all-time low – hard to make customers happy, people were sick and there was so much uncertainty. It was negative for the business and the industry overall.” In an effort to turn that around, in 2022, RJ took a course at Stanford to gain a sense of what the new world would look like and figure out what he could do differently moving forward. What he took away from it helped change the culture and morale at Global Roofing Group for the better - the upside-down triangle model. In this model, the CEO is at the bottom of the triangle and the newest hires are at the top and the most celebrated. These celebrations started off as elbow bumps whenever a field worker was in the office. Then as COVID restrictions loosened, elbow bumps turned into knuckles and eventually high-fives. And the energy behind those high-fives really started the culture push. As RJ pointed out, high-fives are one of the most common reactions when you’re excited or celebrating someone or something! 

As this culture SHIFT continued, it was established that the office staff are the support team – coaches, managers, towel boys – for those in the field. And according to RJ, “We were all working together to accomplish one thing, to unlock the peak performance of the field workers mentally, physically and emotionally.” This happened both in the office and in the field. Whenever the all stars (field workers) were in the office they were greeted with high fives, given Gatorade and electrolytes and handed protein bars and other snacks to keep them fueled. They also started implementing field appreciation days once a month where office staff went out to the field and would have lunch with the crews in the fields, no matter what the elements were – hot, cold, windy. RJ shared that most of the office team had never been in the field before, so they got outfitted with safety vests, boots, hats and trained on safety in the field. And while it was uncomfortable for some to have all that attention and appreciation directed at them, it only took a couple weeks for it to really catch on. 

RJ wanted to take it one step further beyond the office though. And he proposed to leadership in July 2022, “Our field workers are going to be practicing all year for the biggest event of the year, the Olympics!” Seven months later they were hosting their first Building Envelope Olympics. According to RJ, “That seven months was revolutionary for the culture of the team. This celebration of the Olympics was the ultimate praise for the field crew – seeing them on stage, competing against each other and celebrating together.” 

What started in a field with a few competitors has grown exponentially in just three years and now hosts over 1,000 people each day! And I have a feeling it's going to be bigger and better next year! 

Photo credit: Global Roofing Group, RCS 

We had a full day of interviews, seeing old friends and making new ones, handing out swag and rocking the roof with hospitalities!

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a conversation the Coffee Shop crew had after the first full day of the International Roofing Expo. 

Heidi Ellsworth: We had an amazing first day at the International Roofing Expo (IRE). The soundstage, sponsored by SRS Distribution, was busy all day long. Karen and I did a lot of interviews. We also had an amazing Coffee Conversations with our contractor panelists who really talked about some great topics from says sustainability to AI, including labor and diversity.

And our team out on the floor, who had booth interviews, everyone loved them, and we had so many contractors come up, and just lots of great things happening. 

The First-timers Event was fun. Everybody had bracelets and it really was all about Roofing Respect, and we had so many people stop and say on their way in, we love RoofersCoffeeShop. So that was great. And then we did go to EagleView and KARNAK hospitalities. We love those guys, saw so many people from the industry. What the industry is doing to take care of the contractors is really phenomenal.

Alex Tolle: This is my first IRE and it was so much fun. First day, the first time going, I met so many contractors and I got three of them signed up for R-Club. I got to meet a lot of my current R-Club members including Blair from Wagner Roofing and Wendy Marvin from Matrix Roofing and Home Solutions and Michelle Kettering from LTD Exteriors and it was just so much fun to hang out with all these people.

Karen Edwards: This morning was amazing. Because we're located in the lobby. And while everyone was waiting to get into the show, because it didn't open until 11, and they might not have gone to the second session of their classes, they were kind of like what am I going to do now? And so everyone came to talk to us, everyone, everyone. We were busy.

We did a live podcast. We did a little live RLW, we are live on the TV in our booth, which was really fun. I've been coming to the IRE for a lot of years. And this might have been one of my most fun IRE's ever. And the feedback from our friends and family and supporters and our customers has been. "Wow, thank you for everything you do. You're so amazing. This is so awesome." And it is such a pleasure to be able to give back to the industry and to be able to bring the IRE live to others. That's what this is about. Megan, your multimedia team has been amazing. We've had crews going around the show floor we've had the soundstage. We have an overwhelming amount of content so people tune in and listen.

Megan Ellsworth: We really do. This is the first year we've had this. First year we've had two floor teams cruise the floor because we only had one crew, Lauren and James last year. That was great. Being able to get four types of content at the same time as soundstage content and then having that doubling with social media content was so great and to go back to the R-Club, I think my favorite thing about the R-Club is being at tradeshows and having contractors come up to us. And it's like we're all family. RCS and all the R-Club contractor members, we're all best friends.

And all night, we were at hospitalities for EagleView, and Karnak. And Alex was just mingling with all these contractors. And jokingly saying we're best friends now. But that's not even a joke. It's so true. We're all just best friends and that's what I love about this industry so much and I am constantly telling all my friends that if you need a job, look into roofing, because it's like one big family and I love it. I love it so much. And if you had asked me when I was 16 if I would be saying this today, I would have told you you're crazy. But I love it so much.

Alex Tolle: I think that's why I mean, it would have been cooler to be there earlier because there were so many contractors just hanging out. I think it was great to see all the contractors and to meet all of them and shake their hands and become their best friends. That is the goal. We have never had anybody focused on educating our contractors. And now that we do, they're like, "Oh, yeah, great. I love your website." R-Club brings so much value to them. And they don't necessarily understand that until they have someone to totally focus on it with them. 

So I got a lot of feedback today of things that we could add to the R-Club or things that can be better. Like people want insurance information, how to work with insurance, and I have somebody who wants to offer that to our R-Club, which is really cool. So I took a lot of notes today.

Lauren White: James and I were one of the floor crews who went out on the tradeshow floor for scheduled interviews, which was phenomenal because people were already ready and prepped with things that they wanted to talk about and products they wanted to highlight. And anytime we asked for a demo, everybody was super excited to give a demo. So even just between interviews when we had 10-15 minutes we were going over to our friends and just asking, "Will you fire up a machine? Will you show us how this works?" CIDAN was great and let us see some fun demos. We got KARNAK showing us some underwater demos of their products too, which was really cool. And we went to their hospitality later tonight, which was so much fun. And they're celebrating their 90th anniversary, which is amazing.

Megan Ellsworth: That's why I love our content, because it's so organic and authentic. I think authenticity is so important in media, because there's a whole generation of people, kids, whatever, that see all this really scripted content and TikToks and what not and I think just being authentic on camera is so important.

And that's why I love RoofersCoffeeShop. And that's why I loved day one of IRE. And I think it was a great day. It was so busy. The show floor opened at 11 and we got there a little before nine. We were trying to set up soundstage and y'all were trying to set up the booth. And there was constant traffic to the booth.

Lauren White: Oh, and we sponsored the First-timers Event right before the Welcome Party at Beer Park in the Paris and ABC Supply sponsored the Welcome Party. And we handed out our Roofing Respect bracelets with roofingrespect.com on them. And had a lot of fun with our friends at the EagleView and KARNAK hospitalities. Now we are finally home.

And that's a wrap on Day 1! Stay tuned for our recap of Day 2!