15 People

Recently, I turned 40.

It happened on Sunday, February 1st (the same day that the Steelers won the Super Bowl).

Approaching this age has not been very easy for me (nor was it very difficult). The event creeped up on me like a fog, surrounding me with a deep sense of introspection. I deeply pondered the things I’ve done with my life, and the things I’ve still yet to do.

Along that journey, I began thinking of specific points where I took very acute changes in my direction. The strange road that has brought me to this very point in time. Those acute changes I can see in my mind as plotted points along a graph, with names attached to them – names of the people who have actually had a direct effect on my life’s travels.

These names are not just everyday influences. I get those all the time. I find influence in everything around me (I do have the eyes of an artist, after all). I have tons of friends that I’d love to add to this list. No, I’m directing your attention to the people who have been the catalyst to epiphanic moments that are forever frozen within my mould.

My Mother. Who, in her early 20s when I was very little, drove the two of us nearly 2,000 miles from California to Illinois – forever changing my life. I’ve no idea what things would’ve been like had that not happened, nor does it matter. I’m very happy with who I am right now, and changing this detail would mean to change my entire being.

My Cousin, Zeno Kidd Gamble. I had various levels of friendship growing up as a child, but I think that Zeno was the only one who actually saw the real me. He was unafraid of many things and was a perfect compliment to my insecurities. Plus, he was the DM when we played DnD. In many ways, he brought me out of my shell. Although we don’t talk nearly as often as we should, I still love him as both friend and family.

Charles (Chuck) Flagg. Mr. Flagg was my art teacher in High School (he was brilliant with pottery). I still have (and use) a set of coffee cups that he made for my wife and I. His was the influence that showed me that art was more than just drawings in a notebook.

Christie Cirone. She was my Graphic Design instructor during community college. I remember a few students not liking her, but I think she saw something in how I approached my ideas that really clicked with us. During that time, I was introduced to things like typesetting (on a real letterpress), rubylith, darkroom film developing, and scanning on an old Macintosh. Yes, those were the days.

Julie Peck. My friend. My love. My wife. She is everything I need, and more. Marrying her was the smartest thing I ever did.

Ray Lonsdale. Co-founder of the Dynamic Graphics New Media Studio, and the man who gave me my first job in the interactive industry. To this day, that’s the best job I ever held – I learned more there than any other position to date. I still hope of landing in an equally dynamic studio with with the knowledge and experience that I have now. Ray and I may have had our share of ups and downs, but I think its because we dream from the same palette.

Jeffrey Zeldman. In 2000, I had no idea who this man was, or what he was to become. It was at a Thunderlizard event (Web Design World) when I first saw him speak. Doug Bowman was there as well, but it was Jeffrey’s words that started turning the gears (Happy Cogs?) in my head right at a point when I was finally transitioning from CD-Rom development to begin my career in Web Design. We’re not friends (not even acquaintences), nor am I sure he could even put a face to my name, but the direct influence his words had at that single event cannot be denied on how strongly it impacted my life. I believe he began his talk with (as close as I can remember) “I shot a man during a card game last night…”

Connie Persampieri, Darla Ecklund, and Grand Gould. These three were the most powerfully direct influences on my creativity during a time when I was dealing with some internal demons. I was able to pour my emotions into what likely still the best work I’ve ever done because of the friendship I had with them. I still love them all, and miss the silly chatting we did that only art geeks could appreciate.

Bryan Veloso, Dan Rubin, and Jonathan Snook. My web geek peeps. These three probably have no idea how important they are to me as friends and role models. They are the bar that I constantly aspire to reach.

My children: Jesse and Sabrina. I learn the greatest lessons from these two tiny versions of myself. Patience, understanding, discipline, how to relax, and how to deal with crisis when they happen. I have become who I am because of my love for them.

These people aren't meant to be compared with each other, they are permanent bookmarks in the history of who I am. I thank them all because it’s how I acknowledge where I’m at right now. What I’m doing right now. A sense of perspective. These epicenters of change in my life. I only hope that I can somehow pay it forward and be as strong a turning point for someone else’s life (in a positive way, hopefully).