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Meet Our Team

  • Headshot of Mike and Renee Barnes (and Tucker our mini-Australian Shepherd)

    Mike and Renee Barnes (and Tucker our mini-Australian Shepherd)

    Owner/Operator

    Mike and Renee grew up in the Green Mountain area and still reside there. They love spending time in the Colorado outdoors including camping, dirt biking and UTV'ing. They are both passionate to serve the community. After a long haul in the corporate finance world, Mike decided to make a change in 2019 and do something different and outdoors (not behind a desk). Who knew they would decide to open the Southwest Denver Monster Tree Service Franchise and love every minute of it.
  • photo of drew

    Drew King

    Sales Arborist – Certified ISA Arborist & Quality Supervisor for Plant Health Care

    Drew was born and raised in Conifer, CO, so yes another Colorado native.  He mostly remembers spending hours carving sticks into swords and swinging them around in the Pine forest behind my house.  He has a lovely wife, a 15 year old who has no business being almost as tall as me, two cheeky, rambunctious boys under the age of 5, and a dog whose love for the outside rivals the entire family's love for it.

    While working through college, he started working with a good friend and his dad who would go on to be his Arboriculture mentors.  Before long he was climbing trees and even spent a summer taking a crack at ownership.  He learned a lot and worked hard, making some great memories along the way. Once Drew finished college, he moved on to spend some time in corporate IT management. Despite success and steady advancement, he found that he missed arboriculture and couldn't shake a desire to return. With the help and encouragement of his mentors, he finally decided to leave IT management behind. Drew took the opportunity to start working with Monster Tree Service and hasn't looked back.

    Drew has always had a tremendous respect for nature, and by extension, trees. He was raised with an appreciation of their beauty and over the years he has grown to better understand their importance to our planet and our society. Drew has many fond memories spending time in trees growing up and feels privileged to work with them now. He’s very interested in the science behind promoting and maintaining their health, and greatly enjoy sharing my knowledge with anyone who will listen.

    As a native Coloradoan, Drew’s favorite hobbies include going on drives through the mountains, hiking, camping, and snowboarding. His other interests include playing tennis, video games, building models, and reading sci-fi/fantasy novels.

  • Paul Ramirez headshot

    Paul Ramirez

    Operations Manager/Sales Arborist/PHC Specialist

    Paul was born and raised in Denver Colorado.  He remembers growing up camping, fishing, and hunting with his family and enjoying the outdoors.   Paul says he is so blessed with an awesome wife and three wonderful daughters.  He was introduced to the industry right out of High School when one of his classmates asked him to join him to grow his tree business.  Paul took the challenge and has learned many facets of the industry. He has taken on the challenge as our Safety Coordinator and one of our trainers.  He will tell you he is most passionate about safety and Plant Health Care.  Paul takes great pride in educating our clients and providing excellent customer service.  When he’s not at work you will find him spending time with his family and doing anything outdoors.
  • Photo of Justin

    Justin Elmlinger

    Operations Lead/ Certified ISA Arborist

    Justin was born in California but was raised in a few different states and countries. He remembers moving around and traveling to various places and embracing the different cultures. Justin’s family is spread out, so he usually must travel to see them. He currently lives in Golden with his lovely wife and two dogs.

    His Grandfather worked in the Arboricultural field for 30 years, so he has proudly followed in his footsteps. He enjoys the fact that every job is different, and each one has its own challenges. He also likes the satisfaction of helping the community care for their trees and mitigating associated risks.

    When Justin is not at work you can find him and his wife taking in the Colorado outdoors. He enjoys snowboarding/skiing, camping or anything that gets him out and about in the state.

  • Parate

    Parats Wolfe

    Operations Foreman

    Parats was born and spent his early childhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Parats said he was always fascinated with the origins/founding of this amazing country as only growing up in Boston can provide.

    His family moved to Colorado when he was 12, where his dad and his grandfather were born (Fort Collins). Parats inherited the family passion from his father who learned the trade when he was just out of high school in the Washington, DC area. His father worked for Davey Tree Company (the oldest tree company in the US). He was given the amazing opportunity to care for the trees at The White House and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in the 70s.

    Parats remembers his dad setting up huge rope swings and putting him in a climbing harness. He learned how to climb early in life and was working as a climber full-time in his teenage years.

    Parats enjoys climbing, swinging, ropes, pulleys, repelling, rigging… all the fun things about this industry. He believes that mankind’s first “job” was to care for creation. He sees himself playing a small part in caring for trees. He is quoted as ‘There seems to be no end to the fascinating symbiotic relationship we have with trees, and all creation. And if it’s truly symbiotic then we must both give for the benefit of the other.’

    Parats and his wife both came from families of six and now have five of their own. He’s a proud husband and father who cares deeply about raising his kids to be people of good character and can contribute to their community.

    He enjoys climbing so much he does it for fun. He also enjoys mountain biking, mountain climbing and so much more the Colorado outdoors has to offer.

  • Photo of Daniel

    Daniel Sorge

    Lead Climber - Foreman

    Daniel was born in Bronx, New York, but grew up in Jacksonville, FL. He remembers going to theme parks and playing sports in his younger years. His mom raised three boys including Daniel.

    Daniel was introduced to the industry by applying for a job just to be outdoors. Now he has grown into an excellent climber and true leader amongst his peers. He enjoys trimming trees and making sure his clients are satisfied with his work, while keeping the trees healthy.

    You’ll find Daniel fishing, snowboarding or playing sports when he’s not working his tail off at work.

  • Osbaldo

    Osbaldo Granado (AKA ‘O’)

    Lead Climber

    ‘O’ was born and raised in Tampa Florida. He remembers playing into the night growing up. He comes from a large family and his mother is a pastor.

    ‘O’ ‘s best friend and uncle introduced him to the industry years ago and he’s been learning and gaining knowledge ever since. He enjoys the biology side and the life cycle of the various types of trees.

    After a long day at work, you will still find ‘O’ at the gym or doing some sort of outdoor activity.

  • Brody

    Joseph Brody (AKA just Brody)

    Climber Specialist

    Brody was born in Denver but was raised in the beautiful town of Evergreen. He remembers just hanging out at a gas station when the tree industry found him. He immediately fell in love with tree work and the industry. He enjoys the learning aspect and acknowledges there’s always something new to learn, from new gear, to how insects impact trees. He is a Lead/Foreman in training and doing very well.

    Brody enjoys going on walks with his dog, hitting the gym or simply gaming with his buddies.

  • Photo of John

    John Maschari

    Groundsman Specialist

    John was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, and a proud ‘Cheesehead’. He remembers it being cold and snowy, however he also remembers having fun outdoors playing baseball, water skiing and camping.

    He claims to be the only sane person in his family. He found arbor culture by just looking for an outside job. He really enjoys the outdoors, especially working in it. He’s known as the class clown here at Monster.

    When John’s not at work you’ll find him taking care of the elderly, playing poker (taking everyone’s money), or spending time with his Granddaughter.

  • Photo of Peregrin

    Peregrin Newlon (AKA Pippen)

    Grounds Specialist/PHC Technician

    Pippen was born and raised in Miami, Florida, the sunshine state. He remembers biking in the streets until the lights came on growing up in the city. He also spent time fishing and diving as that’s what you do when you live in that area. Pippen has a small family, just his mom and him. They are a tight-knit, happy and loving family.

    Pippen didn’t grow up in the industry, but he had a friend ask him if he would be interested in trying it and he hasn’t looked back. He has embraced working outdoors and helping the community to stay beautiful and safe with what we do.

    You’ll find Pippen riding a board (any type including a snowboard or skateboard) when he’s not at work.

  • paul senior headshot

    Paul (Senior) Ramirez

    Shop and Maintenance

    Paul (Sr) was born and raised right here in Colorado, a rare native. He attended West high school and remembers having the responsibility, as the oldest child, of taking care of his siblings.

    Paul lost his father early in life, but had a fruitful life being raised by his mother and had the support of many family members including aunts, uncles and cousins.

    Paul retired from the City of Englewood as a Maintenance Manager. His son Paul Jr. asked him to come work for us and introduced him to the tree industry. He quickly learned the various types of work and the heavy dependency of equipment. His role is vital to our success.

    Senior takes a high sense of pride in his work and customer satisfaction and although he rarely has direct engagement with clients, he understands the importance of his role to support those who do. He enjoys the science of trees and learning the Arboriculture side of things such as cutting up branches and safety.

    When Paul is not at work you will find him enjoying traveling, camping or fishing. He’s a devoted family man and loves to spend time with his two sons (Paul and Adam), his four grandchildren and two Chihuahua’s Estrella and Yutee.