RedRhinoAlpha.com is not only an opportunity for me to showcase my portfolio and display my resume, but a chance to share a little bit of who I am as an individual. Alot of what defines us is our interests and hobbies and how they play into our image and lifestyle. This amalgamation of passions and pastimes influences how I live and how I design. In more ways than one, I am a typical example of one of the most coveted and difficult to capture demographic groups, the 18-35 year old male, with a few unique twists of my own of course.

Born to the sound of “The Way We Were” by Barbara Streisand, makes me a child of the Original Star Wars generation, raised by MTV, Atari and Nintendo. My father was a Navy man, stationing us in many places around the world throughout my early childhood, until settling on the island of Guam in 1980. The only childhood I can remember is the idyllic and peaceful island lifestyle spent bodyboarding and surfing nearly every day. The slow pace and beautiful scenery made Guam the perfect place for a youth's imagination to develop while feeding heavily on science fiction and fantasy provided by comic books, video games, movies and (i'm almost ashamed to admit) Dungeons and Dragons.

Like Hawaii, Guam is a very interesting melting pot of cultures. That mixing and blending of many different people, languages and styles influenced my nature immensely. Being an island surfer kid, I was always drawn to the sound of acoustic guitars and ukeleles playing that mellow local beach music, but the aggressive surf gangs of the island brought on a passion for the punk and metal sound of electric guitars as well. Since Guam was a U.S. territory, mainland USA trends, although alittle late, always found their way to the island, most importantly to me, HipHop. The music, the breakdancing and the graffiti had a huge impact on how I wanted to express myself.

Now here I was just about finishing 6th grade, an 11 year old surfer kid with a Metallica t-shirt on, listening to RunDMC in the headphones, with a backpack full of krylon paint cans and Dungeons & Dragons dice and books, heading to the beach from his honors GATE classes to meet up with the older gang member boys he'd always surfed with since he was little. I grew up at odds with myself, without even knowing it. That nature has led me to find a solution, whether it be to a life, academic or design problem by always researching all sides, trying every angle and seeing how synthesis can be beautiful.

We had moved back to California by junior high and I maintained that eclectic mix of interests, hobbies and social circles throughout high school and college. Early on, made the decision to become a neurosurgeon and pursue a career in medicine, but along the way had always kept my artistic side going, whether it be by taking art classes as electives for easy "As", drawing portraits, varsity jacket artwork., etc... During college, while I studied biology I landed a job at a small multimedia firm where I learned how to use Corel Draw and Macromedia Director. I was soon hooked on creating computer art and developing interactive multimedia. After a small break away from art to focus on my Biology studies, I partnered with a designer friend and began a small design studio that catered to the local party, music and club scene.