ABOUT CONCRETE JUNGLE

Our CEO/Artisan Steve was born and raised in Sherwood, Oregon, which is just west of Portland. From 1975-1978, the Kroo family built their 5500 square foot dream home on the Willamette River. Everything but the Drywall, HVAC and Carpet was done by the family. Steve learned how to build a home and how to build it right. At 16, Steve was hired to detail cars and clean a local body shop. He watched autobody repair professionals repair, repaint, pull frames and even restore customer vehicles. Soon after, he started doing custom autobody and paint work on his own vehicles. It didn't take long for him to build a large customer base of friends and family members. He graduated from Newberg High School in 1984. He started painting cars professionally that summer. He attended every automotive industry related event continuing to learn and master all operations in the shops he worked for. He later went on to estimating, then managing a large BMW, Cadillac and Lexus body shop. 

In 1995, Steve left the day-to-day shop environment searching for a more challenging and lucrative future as the Sales Manager for a premiere automotive coatings company, ICI/Single Source. In 1999, Steve decided to escape the rain and moved to sunny southern California to become the Southern California Territory Sales Manager for ITW/Evercoat, the premiere autobody chemicals company. After nine months, he was promoted to Western Regional Sales Manager responsible for twelve employees in 15 states.    

During this time frame in Steve's busy life, he managed to buy, remodel and sell 4 properties, two in Oregon and two in California. On this journey, he grew tired of the same old boring materials used for flooring, countertops, walls and ceilings. With a definitive vision in mind, he wanted to transform his home and yard using various decorative concrete finishes. Certain he could save money doing so, he attempted to do the work himself. To his credit, he attended any seminar he could find. Limited and simplistic as they were now almost 20 years ago. Steve's quest to create something different and unique for his home resulted in a passion for the decorative concrete industry. That passion drove him to search for the best products available, become proficient in their usage and start designing and installing his creations for customers. As growth continued, he opened Concrete Jungle Distribution, which educated, supplied and collaborated with other Decorative Concrete Artisans in California.    

In 2012, Steve decided to leave California and start over in Austin, Texas. The overtaxed, over regulated and non-business friendly state made his decision quite easy. He purchased a foreclosed property in Spicewood, a rural area just west of Austin. There was no shop, no pool, no cool backyard and the previous owner had some strange ideas building the house. In the fall of 2020, Steve finally visualized, designed and started the total renovation. Covid, riots, building materials spikes, supply chain shortages, war, fuel price spikes and more placed endless roadblocks which challenged Steve and his partner, Adam. After 18 months of non-stop renovation, the results are stunning. The transformations throughout the property made it hard for the previous owner to recognize. The use of modern decorative concrete flooring, countertops, furniture, overlays and high-tech lighting leave you wondering how it was possible.    

Steve's current focus has been conceptualizing, designing and creating stunning Functional Art pieces that have captured the attention of designers, architects, builders, modern and abstract art collectors and so on. These can all be seen at www.opulence-art.com.  Steve tells all of his customers there are 3 factors they must understand upon making the decision and signing our contract. Quality, Cost, Timeframe; Pick two. It's impossible to demand all three and no amount of money can "buy" the quality of our designs. While we strive for perfection, it simply cannot be rushed.  Luckily, everyone agrees and they tend to focus on the quality, then speed. Every creation is unique and one of a kind. Literally anything is possible using this incredible medium. Here are some very kind words about us from our amazing time collaborating with designers, homeowners, builders and a few celebrities before we relocated from southern California:   

https://www.concretedecor.net/departments/concrete-overlays-and-toppings/rumble-from-the-jungle-concrete-jungle/

This was Steve's first property that he installed decorative concrete on literally every surface. Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete panels and boulders were used to transform and update the pool. Concrete flooring, countertops, sinks, stamped concrete overlays, vertical stamping on walls and even ceilings were the training ground for everything concrete. The floors and countertops were his first projects that were beautiful. After eight years installing his customer's decorative concrete, he applied every technique he mastered to the final transformation of this incredible property.