Just for Us. But You're Welcome to Listen.

Peter Burrows brings a little bit of everything to JustFU — East Coast roots, Midwest business grit, retirement reinvention, and a healthy willingness to laugh at himself. Born in Virginia and raised in Maryland, Peter survived DeMatha Catholic High School before heading to Virginia Tech, where he probably learned as much outside the classroom as inside it. After nearly two decades in accounting, he made a hard left turn into the salvage auto auction business, eventually owning and operating a company in the Midwest.

These days, Peter spends his retirement years staying busy with pickleball, chasing golf balls he swears were hit “right down the middle,” and trying his hand at stand-up comedy — with a current streak of not being booed off stage. He and his wife Christine now run a team-building company that teaches communication and teamwork through pickleball — which honestly sounds better than most corporate retreats. Proud dad of four kids scattered across the country and granddad to two beautiful grandkids, Peter loves getting together with his buddies for JustFU — because whether anyone’s listening or not, the laughs are real.

Steve Clarken is proof that you can take the boy off the Iowa farm, but you can’t take the Iowa out of the boy. Born and raised on a corn, soybean, and livestock farm in northwest Iowa, Steve grew up learning hard work, straight talk, and probably how to fix things with duct tape and baling wire. After graduating from Estherville High School — home of “The Midgets” — he continued his education through Iowa Lakes Community College, South Dakota State University, Purdue’s MTEK program, and an executive course at Columbia University. Steve spent 33 years climbing the ladder in animal health, working local, regional, national, and global roles with companies like Pfizer and Zoetis — including five years living in Manhattan, which sounds about as far from an Iowa hog barn as you can get.

Along the way, he traveled the world, saw the good and the bad, and somehow managed to make lifelong friends almost everywhere he went. Retiring at 55 due to health issues — or as Steve says, “so I could spend my money” — he now enjoys life with his wonderful wife, Angela, two daughters, and son-in-law. For Steve, JustFU is exactly what it sounds like: three buddies sharing equal parts wisdom, nonsense, and laughter about absolutely nothing important… and loving every minute of it.

Mark Dirks was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, but his roots are pure Kansas farm country — which means he grew up with a strong work ethic, practical common sense, and probably enough casserole recipes to survive a small apocalypse. After moving cross-country to Hickory, North Carolina, Mark spent his teenage years learning that Southern conversations can go on for 20 minutes before anybody gets to the actual point. He graduated from Wake Forest University, where he became a lifelong Demon Deacon fan, then earned a master’s degree in computer science from Kansas State University — proving that a math guy can, in fact, still have a sense of humor. After many years with AT&T, Mark started Beacon Technologies, a web technology company that he’s remarkably managed to run successfully for 26 years despite being regularly distracted by beach weather, sports, and checking flight prices to the Caribbean. While most people his age are already retired, Mark insists he’s “almost there,” with December 2026 the latest target date.

Happily married to Tracy for 33 years and proud dad to two grown kids, Mark spends his free time playing disc golf, pickleball, and what he calls ‘real golf’ (the kind with expensive balls and emotional damage), and walking the beaches as part of the Island’s Sea Turtle Patrol team. Now living in Kure Beach, where he somehow got himself elected to the Town Council, Mark enjoys traveling the British Virgin Islands, sipping a good bourbon, and hanging out with Peter and Steve solving absolutely none of the world’s problems. He can get sentimental now and then, but mostly he just enjoys sitting around with Peter and Steve laughing about whatever nonsense pops into their heads.