Erik Verleyen has been learning his trade since he could support a toolbelt. He spent his youth in New Jersey as the only child of immigrant parents. His father was a construction tradesman from Belgium and taught Erik everything he knew. The family relocated to Sugarloaf Key in 1983 and Erik built the family's dream home while earning an advertising and marketing degree at University of Miami. He has since built his own dream home near Surfside Aluminum's headquarters in Cudjoe Key.