John Hopkins became best friends with Chuck Surack, the founder of Sweetwater Sound, thanks to one phone call. Running his own heating and air condition company by day and helping his classical trained pianist wife by night, John found himself answering an ad in a magazine to purchase a keyboard upgrade. The year was 1988 and when John called Sweetwater for the purchase, the founder and owner, Chuck Surack, answered. They became fast friends and in fact Chuck hired John in 1992 and the two worked together until Chuck stepped up to chairman.
