Bella Fella: An Interview with Gary Sullivan, October’s Mr. Bella

Gary Sullivan has had a lot of interesting experiences in his life. “When I look back on life, everything has made me who I am today,” he says.

In his first job, he started out as a dishwasher, but moved up to cook after a fortuitous car accident. He still remembers the ‘65 Mustang with an 8-track player he was riding in that day. Gary and his friends survived the accident, but the car didn’t. He later trained to be an auto mechanic, but discovered working on cars all day wasn’t as fun as it looked.

Gary started his printing business in the Northwest Chicago suburbs in 1990. He and his bandmates would practice right in the shop. Moving to South Carolina, however, was a big change. Gary didn’t know what to expect as a northerner coming to the south, so he packed his bags with business clothes and showed up at the Aiken Chamber of Commerce. After a few years of southern living, Gary realized that he could be himself down here and traded his suits for t-shirts. He still runs his own printing and marketing business, TPi – Tyler Press here in Aiken. Gary and his wife have been married for nearly 30 years. Even though they’re opposites in many ways, together they “just work.” They met when he was playing with his band in the midwest. He’d tired of the rock and roll life, and when he met her, he knew his life was going to change. They now have five children together. They both also love spending time on the beach. Buying a condo on the beach was on Gary’s bucket list, but now that he has one, he thinks he may need “a new bucket.”

Music is central to Gary’s life. His “deserted island” band – the one he could listen to every day for the rest of his life – is the Allman Brothers. “Jessica” is his favorite Allman Brothers song, and he learned all the harmonies to it so he can jam on the fly. He still plays in a local band called OGR (pronounced “ogre”), which stands for “Old Guys Rocking.” They play all kinds of classic rock covers, and will be playing at the Western Carolina State Fair this month.


“When I look back on life, everything has made me who I am today.”

Gary Sullivan


Occupation: Printer

First job: Dishwasher at restaurant in suburbs of Chicago

Worst job: Auto mechanic for 3 years

Greatest career challenge: Moved from Chicago to
South Carolina

What you do to relax: Beach chair in the sand, wine

Role model: Jesus

Happiest when: Playing music

Trait you most deplore in others: Overbearing people

Career advice: Go for it, roll with it

Love advice: Love, I am for it

One word that sums you up: Fun

Cologne: None

Greatest achievement: Wife & family

Greatest weakness: Procrastination

What no one knows about you: I plead the 5th, no regrets

What makes you insecure: I never feel like I’m good enough

What’s on your bucket list: Jam with Eric Clapton

 

Bella Fella: An Interview with Gary Sullivan, October’s Mr. Bella | Aiken Bella Magazinel

 

Picture of Ladonna Armstrong

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.
Picture of Ladonna Armstrong

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

In the know

Related Stories

Publisher's Letter | Aiken Bella Magazine

Publisher’s Letter

“Home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.”   Cecelia Ahern The theme of this month’s Bella is expansion. You can find my partner’s editorial and perspective on the idea of expanding from Aiken to the surrounding area on page 3. My perspective on all this is different and in many ways opposite. My story and experience is one more of contraction than expansion. In my entire life I have never lived in any one location more than four years. I was born in southern Georgia and raised, for the most part, in central North Carolina. I was an Army brat and then spent 20 years in the Army. I have

Read More »
Psychological Flexibility in the Age of COVID-19 | Aiken Bella Magazine

Psychological Flexibility in the Age of COVID-19

Knowing what we control and what we don’t is a vital part of self-awareness. It has been nearly 3 months since social distancing policies were implemented for South Carolina, and there has been a huge range of personal reactions to the pandemic and to changes in our lifestyles. Nearly everyone has experienced the consequences of job loss, reduced income, and anxiety about the virus and getting sick or dying, to say nothing of adjusting to much more time spent with our families in much closer proximity. National surveys are reporting increases in stress, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. The novelty and uncertainty of the virus have resulted in differences in how

Read More »
A Mother’s Day Prayer | Aiken Bella Magazine

A Mother’s Day Prayer

On this fine spring morning, Lord, an extra special prayer; It should be said on every morning for mothers everywhere, A prayer that You’ll keep filling them with blessings from above, The blessings being the blessings three of faith and hope and love. The faith in You she passed along to me through every year, The faith I cling to every day through laughter and through tears. The faith she lives in how she lives in every little way, The faith she passes on to everyone she sees each day. In hope she brought me to this world, in hope we live evermore, The hope we hold which places us

Read More »
Getting a Good’s Night Rest during a Pandemic | Aiken Bella Magazine

Getting a Good’s Night Rest during a Pandemic

Sleep Despite Uncertainty There are few things as necessary to feeling good, but that can be so negatively impacted by daily stressors, as getting a good night of sleep. Sleep problems were already elevated prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, with at least 38% of South Carolinians reporting short sleep duration (<7 hours/night) per the Centers for Disease Control. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with social isolation and the resulting economic downturn, has resulted in increased anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep problems. It is well known that changes in routines, job uncertainty, financial pressures, and increased interpersonal demands (beginning homeschooling, for example) are important factors in the growing mental health concerns around

Read More »