Climbers' Own Stories

Released January, 2025 - Tommy Schuch Media

Tower climber Andy Schneider had a serious accident while working on a tower site. Ends up with nearly 100k in hospital bills and the company re-classified him from a W-2 Employee to 1099 to absolve any liabilty. 

This is not uncommon in the tower industry and it needs to change. To stop this cycle, we need federal regulations that enforce strict safety standards and hold companies accountable, like OSHA’s proposed safety rules for tower work and the Corporate Transparency Act, which prevents businesses from hiding behind name changes. Not only every tower climber, but every worker deserves to be treated with respect. 

Released April 5, 2025, Tommy Schuch Media

This clip from The Life of a Tower Climber Part I: Death and Chaos in a Vital Industry tells the story of Darren Bishop — a husband, father, and experienced tower climber who made a fatal mistake and lost his life on the job.  Through interviews with Darren’s family and friends, we get a glimpse of who he was and what he loved.His story represents far too many like it in an industry plagued by unsafe practices, lack of oversight, and a dangerous push for profit over people.  This segment is part of  the full-length documentary, which gets into the dark reality behind one of America’s most vital — and most dangerous — industries.