The Beginning
I’m a child of the 70s. A Gen Xer. I watched Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Tron, Knight Rider, Revenge of the Ninja, Automan, MacGuyver, Sidekicks, and the movie Hackers. I read adventure books about computer programming. I honestly believe that those shows that I fondly remember helped shape me and I grew up to be who I am today! A cybersecurity professional, an ukulele enthusiast, and into fitness & martial arts.
In my adult life, I ran across something online… It said:
“Find 3 Hobbies You Love. One for Building Wealth, One for Building Health, and One that Builds your Inner Self”
and I adopted it as my own goals.
Building Wealth 💰
My Cybersecurity Career 🔐
In the early 1980s, technology was a hobby rather than a defined career path. My introduction to computing began with a Commodore Vic-20 at home and at computer camp where I learned BASIC on an Apple IIe, and was influenced by the creative thinking of MacGuyver and the cool cyber parts from Tron and Automan. I had some Micro Adventure books that had some programming in them. I was captivated! While I maintained my typing skills through high school, I didn’t see a future in information technology… yet!
I used to impress myself with how fast I could type!
My professional development began in the Marine Corps, where I worked on aircraft systems. It was during my service that I assisted in transitioning from manual paper record-keeping to digital computer forms. As soon as I could, I bought my own computers. I learned on the computers at work and in the barracks. We used to play gorilla.bas, and I’d go into the game and make some tweaks since I knew BASIC… besides, the game was well documented and instructed on how to make changes. My friends and I also really got obsessed with DOOM! We’d often go to the bookstore and I’d memorize cheat words for DOOM from the books I couldn’t afford to buy. We sometimes would skip going out on the town to stay in the barracks and play!
During my time in the Corps, I saw the release of the movie Hackers; although the field of cybersecurity was not yet formalized, the film’s portrayal of hacking inspired me to pursue the more complex, offensive and defensive sides of technology.
I grew through a lot of just figuring things out. When I joined the AZ Dept of Corrections, one of my first unofficial jobs was helping admin assistants with their computers. Then helping the Captains. Then helping the person who actually had the job of helping all these people. I got recognized by the CIO and was promoted after he witnessed me have my work crew pull 100 pair of cable and splice it all up, and create thousands of cat5 cables to T568B spec. Saw me help install fiber for the telemedicine program, climb up on roofs to move satellite dishes, and drop into manholes to splice new connections. I figured out the huge meridian phone switch that came with a literal library of books on how to program it, and helped people with their AS/400 access using books I borrowed from the library. This was all before I had access to the Internet!
I studied late at night learning how hackers do things… got into some light stuff to mess with coworkers and do proof of concept demos to show why patching is necessary. I remember reading the Cuckoo’s Egg, the Master’s of Deception, and being really entertained by them.
Once I got promoted, I went to school. I started at DeVry Institute of Technology but had to drop after a couple years due to the enormous workload prepping for Y2K. My buddy, Herb, and I built all the networks and computers for every Parole office and most prison complexes in Arizona… traveling constantly, pulling cable, installing computers, and teaching everyone how to use dial-up internet. All while having a new baby at home; I also had to drive way out to take care of some of the prison complexes, as they purposefully build prisons far away from civilization.
Eventually I went back to school and earned my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, picked up many certifications, and gained a broad range of experience across many different positions and companies.
Most recently, I served as Vice President of Information Security, slowly transitioning my GRC and BISO role that I helped create and mentor, while running full steam managing Threat and Vulnerability Intelligence, Insider Threat, Detection Engineering, Incident Response, Vulnerability Governance, Application Security, Security Data Analytics, and Business Continuity.
I’ve had the pleasure of doing some speaking engagements. I have to tell you, I love it!
I do try to keep up on the latest and greatest. In the last few years I’ve made large investments of my time to understand artificial intelligence. There is a lot that it is capable of, some of it unnecessary but fun, some of it displacing jobs, and some of it genuinely advancing human capabilities and helping solve huge problems.
Building Health 🏃♂️
Running, Fitness, & Martial Arts 🥷
It started young, in fourth grade I was signed up for Sil Lum Hun Gar Kung Fu. It was close to home and really cool. I was taught some of the animal styles of fighting. Eventually I stopped going as I grew older, but the learning remained.
I was pretty thin growing up and around 15, I wanted to change that. My mom got my friend and I a gym membership at the YMCA and we started lifting weights. Not long after, I early-signed up to join the Marine Corps and needed to get into Marine-ready shape. Running wasn’t my strong suit, but I did the minimum to meet requirements. After bootcamp, I settled into a routine of lifting regularly and keeping running to the bare minimum needed to pass my PFT… physical fitness test.
I had a really good gym buddy for a while and we started lifting super heavy. Over the years I got into getting huge, eventually benching in the mid 400s and leg pressing over 1,000 lbs. Powerful feeling. But I had my fair share of injuries and eventually had a shoulder injury in 2014 from heavy bench-press. When that happened, I started gaining weight, so I took up running.
I started a test run in 2014 and found out I was even worse than I thought. I committed to consistency and got better day after day, month after month, year after year. I am not fast, but I was averaging 6–10 miles a week, even in Phoenix heat. My son and I started doing Spartan races and Rugged Maniacs. I made the goal in 2019 to run a half marathon in 2020, and did it.
I’m back to both lifting weights and some cardio/running. I was planning a visit to the Philippines and found myself noticing everything Filipino-related, so I took up Filipino Martial Arts. Come to find out, it’s really cool. FMA is a combat-centric efficient discipline. Unlike many traditional martial arts that prioritize empty-hand forms, FMA begins with weaponry, specifically sticks and blades, under the principle that weapon proficiency scales directly to unarmed defense.
As of lately, I’ve even created my own web app to track my workouts. I find it better than using the Garmin app.
Building Inner Self 🎵
Ukuleles & Music 🎸
I think my love of music started with Sesame Street and the Muppet Show… I still remember songs from the guest singers. My mom had a little ukulele that I loved, but it was broken. In high school, we were forced to learn the recorder. I still have mine! Later, I convinced my mom to let me learn guitar. Guess what?! I still have my first guitar!
My love for the ukulele deepened in 2015 when my wife and I were in Hawaii and we heard Jake Shimabukuro play. I was impressed. I have met him a few times and every time, I walk away inspired to play more and play better. Now I play almost every day.
I also play the guitar and dabble a bit with the keyboard. For a little while I was also playing with the Arizona Old Time Music Society, playing guitar with them. I challenge myself with 100-Day Projects, like learning to play “Bohemian Rhapsody” on uke. That discipline keeps me grounded and gives me something creative to strive for.
I run the Phoenix Ukulele Group on Zoom and help with in-person meetups; we have built an amazing little community, not just from Phoenix, but from all over.