Sam Mostue has lived a colorful life.

He competed in equestrian events in college, ski-raced in the northeast and rose before dawn at a ranch in Colorado.

These days, as the manager of Eastman Screen Printing on Pleasant Street, the color remains for Mostue, but in a more literal sense. He’s blending colors for all types at the new business to make vibrant clothing and logos.

Mostue isn’t the owner of the business, but he had the experience needed for the job. He once sold prints from his living room.

He explained the process this way: “Separating all colors so each has its own screen. Then register all of those images together to get one final image. This is very exciting. I’ve always dreamt of doing something like this eventually.”

Mostue, a Hopkinton High School graduate, had been friends with a local businessman who was looking for the right person to run Eastman printing.

Mostue was named boss, the person whose fingerprints would be all over the shop and whose demeanor, along with his product, would potentially bring in customers and keep them loyal.

“Great, so much fun,” said Mostue, 37. “I enjoy doing it. The biggest part is we are trying to touch on the customer experience, hold their hand from start to finish.”

That customer experience includes mirroring an old-time scene from another era.

“You can actually see the work being done,” Mostue said. “Think of us as a local candy shop. We have a big picture window, and you can see in and see the process.”

He was handed the reins last year and opened for business during Market Days weekend in June. He ran a similar business from his living room for 10 years, with a wife who “didn’t mind at all. She was very supportive.”

Elsewhere, Mostue chased goals or dreams in athletics. He began competing in equestrian events because his girlfriend at the time rode. He picked up one day and moved to Colorado, to a guest ranch, where his days consisted of rising in the dark and returning home 12 to 14 hours later.

“We took care of 200 horses and saddled and fed them,” Mostue said. “We’d take guests for a ride. Very early mornings.”

Ski racing was part of the family’s history. “Skied with my brother and dad was my coach,” Mostue said. “We skied at Sunapee.”

He still skis, in a competitive adult league Monday nights at Pats Peak Ski Area. He said his experiences as an adventurer and risk-taker have improved his skills in dealing with people, especially during the 1½ years that he spent taking guests through scenic trails on horseback.

“It prepared me,” Mostue said. “With working at a guest ranch, communication skills were important and managing expectations were vital to make sure the guests are having the best time. Always customers first.”

As for owning his own screen printing business one day, Mostue shifted the conversation back to the passion that he feels now, in a job that essentially has made him the owner as far as running the ship is concerned.

He’s the boss. His game plan will decide the future.

“I’m maybe a little worried but not too much,” Mostue said. “I have the right attitude. My goal is 100 percent dependent on this Eastman business. We want this to grow in the Concord area. This does not stop here.”

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