My name is Louis and I’m the owner of Lou Moves You. Real clever name, I know.
We’ve been in business since 2010, but I didn’t set out to start a New York City moving company. It happened completely by accident — very on-brand for my life.
I was moving to the city (great GNR song BTW off Live ?!@ Like a Suicide*). I’m from Long Island but that’s a whole other story. Anyway, where was I?
Right — I was moving to New York, I was in a punk band, and I had a van that I bought from my friend for 500 bucks. I was about to go on tour so I had no real time to get a real job. My friend was like, “Why not put an ad on Craigslist for ‘man with van’?”
I was like, “WTF is that?”
He informed me him and his old band mates used to use the band van to do small moves for beer money and such. I was like, ok, I’ll try it.
The Craigslist Era (aka Bushwick Chaos)
My girlfriend and my cousin moved off the Morgan L in Bushwick. March of 2010. We moved our shit into my apartment — I had no idea where to park the van but a neighbor saved me a spot. I’m like ok, I’ll post some Craigslist ads and probably drop the van off in Philly or Florida or something until I go on tour. I wasn’t trying to become some trusted local NYC mover or anything — I was just trying to survive.
Ends up I got a move from the Craigslist ad. My cousin did it with me. He was sitting in the back seat with a bat. Lol. Ya know, meeting people on the internet is funny.
We go to the move and it’s some young hipster dude with a bunch of art. He gave us 50 bucks, we felt like kings. Next day we got another move and then another… it just kept rolling. Suddenly this little hustle turned into a thing — Brooklyn walk-ups, Manhattan studios, Queens basements — the kind of small, affordable NYC moves we still specialize in today.
And those first few months? Man, they were WILD.
During the first few months it was just me and my cousin and a few random people I met at the bar who ended up being friends. We would do some insane moves.
I remember we moved all this crazy art for Kanye West. I wish I could tell you what it was but it was so offensive this blog would get shut down.
Once we did a move in Staten Island and this Italian meathead (I’m Italian BTW) claimed we broke his mirror and tried to fight me.
Once we showed up to this basement in Queens and it was a girl who worked at the Bunny Ranch. She was smoking PCP lol.
So many crazy stories I should probably remember them and blog ‘em.
Oh I do remember once this customer trying to get me to do cocaine:
“Hey man it’ll make you move faster.”
I was kind of offended. I’m like, I’m moving pretty fast lol.
From Punk Vans to MTV Money
Summer rolled around and I went on tour. While I was on that tour we played the Whisky a Go Go in LA. Some girl from MTV asked for our CD. I was like sure take it — she’s most likely lying.
Fast forward six months: she sends me an email saying they used a few of our songs for the show Jersey Shore. I thought no shit?
Then a few months after that I got a 10k check and that’s when I bought my first legit moving van. So funny, so wild. That’s basically when “dude with a van” turned into an actual reliable New York moving company.
The Skateboarder Era
I ended up getting tapped into a bunch of skateboarders who took the moving company to the next level. They’d work their ass off for a few months doing moves all over Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens — then go on skate trips with that money. It was so sick.
I was trying to give all these people the job I always wished I had: something well-paying, something kinda fun, and something that lets you pursue your dreams.
Was my dream owning a moving company? Absolutely not.
But I love it and I love all my customers — well almost all of them. Some are real shitheads but for the most part people are nice.
Why I’m Even Writing This Blog (If I’m Being Honest… I’m Not Totally Sure)
I don’t even really know the purpose of this blog. Is it to boost sales? Get SEO to work for us? Trick Google into something? I mean I dunno.
All I know is we do a pretty good job moving and we’re locally owned and operated — a boutique, non-corporate alternative to the mega movers. And it sucks watching all these big corporate moving companies (the Walmart of moving) take over the city with BS prices that are either exploiting their workers or are just a total farce. They low-ball bid, then hit you over the head day-of with extra charges.
I had one guy work for me once and he was from another company. We were moving this real old dude who was so frail he could barely walk. His bed frame wouldn’t fit in the elevator so we had to bring it up five flights of stairs. I think we charged the dude 80 bucks extra — so the two guys who humped it up those stairs got an extra 40 bucks each.
Well after we were done the new guy from another company was furious:
“40 bucks that’s it? At my company we woulda charged at least 200 bucks.”
He never worked for me again.
It was kinda like a date where you start talking about music or politics and just realize you’re so off. Mutual understanding.
The Whole Point
So yeah, this little post was written by me, and not some big SEO company— but hey, I’m a mover, not an English major. I lift couches, not commas.
But with us you get a personal touch.
You get reliable, trusted local movers who actually care.
You get me. My name is on the damn truck (well it’s a van).
FOH with all these lame branded moving companies who give moves away free to TikTok stars. TF is that? Of course their move went well, it was free and a commercial.
Give me the real people — because we’re the real deal.
Anyway… love ya, New York.
—Lou
Owner, Lou Moves You
Your boutique, non-corporate, punk-born, van-grown NYC moving company
(aka one of the last affordable movers in NYC that isn’t a scam)
Lou’s Top 5 Sandwich Shops in New York (no particular order)
Panini shop off the Graham stop: https://www.paninishoppe.com/
Defonte’s in Red Hook: https://www.instagram.com/defontes1922/
Lioni’s out in Bensonhurst: https://www.lioniheroes.com/
Sal, Kris & Charlie’s in Queens: https://sal-kris-charlies-deli.foodjoyy.com/
L Mo’s off the Morgan stop (my all-time favorite deli): https://l-mos-market.wheree.com/menu
