For many people, walking away from something they love sounds impossible. Yet in 2012, that’s exactly what I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before government surplus became my career, I spent years immersed in the world of technology, blogging, and travel. I had opportunities to attend industry events, test new products, meet people from some of the biggest technology companies, and travel to places many only dream about visiting. It was an exciting chapter of my life, and one that I genuinely enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But eventually, something unexpected happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I got bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know that sounds hard to believe. Most people hear “traveling the world” and “checking out the latest technology” and assume it must have been a dream job. For a long time, it was. Yet after years of doing the same thing, the excitement began to fade. The thrill of boarding another flight, attending another conference, or writing another review just wasn’t there anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So in 2012, I stepped away from the blogging and tech world and entered an industry that most people know very little about: government surplus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I joined Public Surplus and would spend the next twelve years working with public agencies throughout the country. To be completely honest, I wouldn’t describe Public Surplus as a great company to work for. During my twelve years there, I rarely interacted with anyone from the company itself. I probably saw my manager only four or five times during my entire tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What made the experience worthwhile, however, were the clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agencies, fleet managers, property officers, school districts, municipalities, and public servants I worked with every day were incredible. I built strong relationships with many of them, helped them solve problems, and worked hard to support their success. I believe those relationships are the reason many of them still recommend me and continue to support me today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, I gained a unique perspective on how cities, counties, schools, and government agencies operate. I had opportunities to visit places that most people never get to see, right here in my own city and beyond. I saw everything from surplus vehicles and heavy equipment to law enforcement assets, public works operations, and behind-the-scenes government facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government surplus turned out to be far more interesting than I ever imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, in January 2025, I began a new chapter when I joined GovDeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost immediately, I noticed a significant difference. The company culture, level of collaboration, and overall environment were unlike anything I had experienced before. After spending more than a decade in the industry, it was refreshing to be part of an organization where people were highly engaged and invested in helping one another succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back, stepping away from technology and blogging was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not because I stopped loving technology, but because it opened doors to experiences, relationships, and opportunities I never would have discovered otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government surplus industry also gave me something even more important: the opportunity to make a positive impact outside of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During this period, my wife, Arlett Mora<\/a>, and I founded Reyes Mora Youth Centers International<\/a><\/strong>, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people and communities in need. Building the nonprofit has become one of the most meaningful accomplishments of our lives, and it continues to inspire our work today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I reflect on the journey from tech blogger to government surplus professional, I’m grateful for every chapter. The blogging years taught me how to communicate, build relationships, and embrace new experiences. The government surplus industry taught me the value of service, trust, and long-term partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if there’s one lesson I’ve learned along the way, it’s that sometimes the biggest opportunities come from taking a completely unexpected path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I never imagined that leaving the tech world in 2012 would lead me here. But looking back now, I wouldn’t change a thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For many people, walking away from something they love sounds impossible. Yet in 2012, that’s exactly what I did. Before government surplus became my career, I spent years immersed in the world of technology, blogging, and travel. I had opportunities to attend industry events, test new products, meet people from some of the biggest technology […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,12,13],"tags":[44,46,4,9,47,43,45],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government-surplus","category-philanthropy","category-technology","tag-blogging","tag-bored","tag-govdeals","tag-hardwaregeeks-com","tag-life","tag-publicsurplus","tag-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Designer-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/60"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaeljreyes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}