OK, so that isn’t exactly true. And I have never been employed by Disney (at least not directly anyway). But I think you know where I’m going. Themed Entertainment has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents saved up all their hard earned money and took me on a plane from Birmingham, UK to Orlando back in 1990 when I had barely turned one.
It was Marty Sklar’s book “Dream it! Do it!” that finally convinced me to dive into the industry and I’d been working in AV and Engineering about 3 years at that point. Every cable tie I placed, every rack I built, every pencil stroke that I made was with the same strive for perfection, the same endless pursuit in attention to detail, the same passion and the same love for progress that the Walt Disney and the Imagineers were so famous for.
I applied for what felt like a crazy job with a fascinating company in the industry. The company I applied to was Holovis. And what a ride so far it has been.
But when I am not working, what am I doing? Well, I have an amazing family - an incredible wife, an inspiring and wonderful daughter and a fluffy (and daft) dog (his name is Einstein). It is the absolute best team I will ever be a part of. We enjoy spending time in theme parks - funny that.
Music is a huge part of my life. A drummer in bands and an avid listener of the greatest music that there ever was. Dropping the needle on my record player and kicking back to Led Zeppelin III will never get old.
And I finally, I love story telling. In all forms. In books, films, theatre, immersive environments and of course, music. My daughter said to me once on the way home from her dance lesson while we were rocking out and singing songs; “Dad, all the music that you listen to, all the singers are telling a story, all the music you listen to is a story.” I pondered that for a moment and then I responded, “well, yes, little one. I guess it is. But, isn’t that the best kind?”
She nodded back, smiled, and we carried on singing.
