Iowa-born and bred, Brandon Young calls on an even vaster expanse today
Cause and effect. There’s something to it.
“I was a pretty tough kid from having an older – and much bigger – brother, and growing up on a farm,” says Brandon Young, Alaska-based field sales consultant for Henry Schein. So, for Christmas in fifth grade, his mother gave him a wrestling singlet and signed him up for the Wild West wrestling club in eastern Iowa. “My uncles and grandfather on my mom’s side were really good at it, so it was natural to get me into the sport,” he says. “Plus, I am sure I had too much energy, and was horrific at basketball.
“As I got into middle school and high school, I understand why my mom got me into the sport,” he says. “As a single mom, she wanted me to be challenged mentally and physically. Also, she thought I could excel at it.
That’s why he got into wrestling. And the effect? Some life lessons learned.
“In wrestling, there is no one to fault but yourself. You can’t blame anyone else for a loss except yourself – which makes wins much more satisfying. Every day the sport expands your comfort zone and makes you mentally tougher. In my opinion, there is no other sport that can do this to that extreme.”
A perfect mindset for a medical products salesperson, especially one who covers a state bigger – and more mountainous – than many countries.
North Liberty
Young was born and raised on a small family farm in North Liberty, Iowa, just north of Iowa City. His mother, Margaret Young – like her mother before her – is a nurse. For most of her career, she practiced nursing at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. Today, she is a traveling nurse, taking on assignments across the Western states. His father, Mike Young, is the owner/operator of a small trucking company, hauling grain from local farms to the elevator.
Young himself attended Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. “It has a great reputation for academics, was fairly close to home, and allowed me to have a balanced college life,” he says. “I could wrestle, work and enjoy off-campus activities.”
Throughout high school and in college, Young worked on and off at Heartland Medical in Iowa City, helping with setups and other tasks. Heartland was founded by Doug and Brian Rummelhart. They – and a third partner, Ted Pacha – had run Hawkeye Medical prior to that company’s acquisition by McKesson Medical-Surgical in 2001.
“These guys were very well respected in the Iowa City area, and I always admired them,” says Young. And he liked what he saw at Heartland. “The sales reps seemed to enjoy what they did and got to interact with a lot of people.” So, when Doug Rummelhart offered him a job after graduation, Young gladly accepted.
“Not many companies are willing to give a chance to a young, 21-22-year-old kid, and take him under their wing. But they did.” He spent about a year in the warehouse and customer service before going into the field in eastern Iowa. “At the time, I was a little frustrated, because I wanted to be in the field. However, in hindsight, it was the best training.
“Even though I’m only in my early 30s, I feel like I am among the last generation to come from a mom-and-pop distributor.” (Heartland was acquired by Henry Schein in 2008.)
Bethel to Barrow
In 2009, Young made a big move. An opportunity opened up in Alaska. Turns out his wife, Karrie, whom he had met when she attended the University of Iowa, was from Eagle River, Alaska, just outside of Anchorage. (Her mom was a native of Fort Dodge, Iowa.) Karrie is an advanced practice registered nurse. “I asked her if she wanted to move back to Alaska, and she said, ‘Absolutely.’” Having lived all his life in Iowa, Young himself was ready for a move.
Stretching more than 660,000 square miles, Alaska is about two and a half times larger than Texas. It’s the kind of place where a sales rep not only needs a car, but access to small aircraft – when weather permits – to call on accounts. Despite its vastness, though, Alaskans take quickly to “locals,” even if those locals live 500 miles away. “If you have a 907 number, you’re kind of in the club,” he says.
He tries to call on his rural customers four to five times a year, planning his routes judiciously. “People really appreciate it when you go out to see them in Bethel,” he says. Between times, he’s on the phone. And he has plenty of help.
“At Henry Schein, our motto is Team Schein,” he says. “We have a team behind us.” One of his teammates is customer service rep Margie Main. “She is my inside telesales partner in about half my accounts. She is super knowledgeable, and our drive is very similar.” Together they won the unified sales team award in 2016.
Young occasionally goes hunting and fishing with customers, as well as relatives. But he still tries to make one or two Iowa Hawkeyes football games a year. “I do miss the corn fields like crazy,” he adds.
He still loves wrestling, and when time allows, volunteers at Eagle River High School and the Chugach Wrestling Club, a club that is open to all wrestlers age 5 and up. And he continues to carry with him the lessons he learned while wrestling in Iowa.
“The sport of wrestling has a lot of similarities to my career,” he says. “You are part of a team, but you have individual goals.” Wrestling teaches that you can learn from your mistakes, he says. It teaches tolerance to a heavy workload, how to adjust in a competitive atmosphere, the satisfaction of winning and the humility of losing, and mostly, motivation. “Not only extrinsic motivation – competitors in the field, compensation, company incentives – but intrinsic motivation.
“That’s the wrestling mentality, the athletic mentality. You’re not always motivated by outside influences. A lot of times you’re motivated by yourself and what you feel your personal goals are.”
Karrie and Brandon Young have three children: Reagan, Mason and Hattie.