Meet the Team – Jerry

It’s time to meet Jerry, our Quality Assurance Officer!

What is your official job title here at Brain Host?

Operational Quality Assurance Officer

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I test any and all changes in daily operations. I also field any issues that arise throughout the day to ensure that business can continue to flow as efficiently as possible.

What’s unique about the Brain Host?

Brain Host is an international company with local values. While we may do business around the world, we have never forgotten where we are and what’s important in the community.

While working at Brain Host, what has been your best memory?

It has to be being able to participate in the Akron Marathon in 2011. The experience was amazing and it’s something that I’ll never forget. Being able to achieve a personal goal all while helping raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital was as much of a gift to me as the funds that were raised.

How would you describe working at Brain Host?

This has been my favorite and best job to date. I have never once gotten up in the morning and not wanted to come into work. I work with great people, and that means a lot to me when you have worked on the opposite end of that spectrum.

You used to work as a Brain Host Customer Support representative. How has the transition been to the Operations side of the company?

It’s a different pace working on the operational side of the company. It took me a week or so to get used to being on the opposite side of things, but everyone made it easy. The hardest part was changing my mindset from a supportive customer service mentality to a much bigger role in assisting here at Brain Host.

What is the number one activity on your bucket list? 

I would have to say to visit all 7 continents in the world. Big dreams, but it keeps me motivated.

What is your favorite TV show?

As of right now, it’s a tie. My favorite shows on TV are Dexter, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Archer, and The Walking Dead.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like to read, watch movies and hang out with friends.

If you could only listen to one band or artist the rest of your life, who would it be?

Deftones.

What’s one thing you could not live without?

Music.

Meet the Team – Blue

Today we’re going to meet Blue, our Media Producer.

What is your official job title here at Brain Host?

Media Producer

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I mostly make tutorial videos and custom videos for our affiliates.

What’s unique about the Brain Host?

The people at Brain Host are unique. I often feel like I am on all-star team due to the talent we have at Brain Host.

While working at Brain Host, what has been your best memory?

I really liked the talent show, we raised some money for St. Jude and we spotlighted some local talent.

How would you describe working at Brain Host and the company culture?

The people at Brain Host take pride in their work and they love to have a good time.

What’s your favorite project you’ve completed thus far?

I’ve enjoyed several projects. I really liked the St. Jude video. Basically I enjoy interviewing people and then telling their story. I like to say, “I mine the mountains that I call people and produce their stories which I call gold.”

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

There have been a few video people before me, so there are lots of old files. Occasionally I am asked to modify or find an old video and it can be very hard to find.

What is one fun fact about yourself?

I am part Cherokee, on my father’s side.

What is your one achievement that makes you the most proud?

Winning the 2009 Akron Film 48 hour film competition. The competition was “The Fake History of Akron” and we had to explain why marbles are found in the ground and why blimps are in the sky in Akron. The elements of the film were given on Friday at 6pm then we had to complete the film by Sunday at 6pm. We came up with an idea that the blimps are living creatures that breed in Akron and the marbles are petrified blimp eggs. 15 teams entered and we swept the awards with Best in Show, which was judged by a panel, and we took Audience Choice. It was tremendously hard, and now I can say that I am an award winning filmmaker.

Link to the film: http://vimeo.com/8006883

What is your favorite film?

Citizen Cane is my favorite film. My favorite directors are Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson.  Citizen Cane is a classic story that all filmmakers should watch as it pioneered camera and storytelling techniques. All you need to know about film making and storytelling can be found in Citizen Cane.

I love Tarantino’s style of storytelling and I love the dialog he uses. The beauty of Tarantino is that he has borrowed from other great filmmakers and gives it back to us in great real life films. Paul Thomas Anderson films are beautiful and he has a way of getting the audience to like genuinely bad people. The camera work in his films is off the hook, with many continuous camera shots. In the opening of Boogie Nights the camera starts in the air above a club, it lowers to the ground and continues into the club and you meet all of the characters in one continuous camera movement without any cuts. Most people don’t notice, but as a filmmaker I love it and respect how hard it is.

How did you first get into making videos?

The first video I created was in the 2nd grade. It was hand drawn and was done as a class project. It taught me to be a storyteller and that creating a film took some work. I remember watching the class view our little movie and I was hooked. The thrill of seeing others enjoy your work is one of the best feelings that I can describe. At the time it was one of the projects that I excelled in and I made the realization that I was a creative type.

What is one thing that people would be surprised to know about you?

I love to DJ and would someday like to do a show once a week. I was a DJ in college and spun vinyl.

What’s one thing you could not live without?

There are actually three. Computer, my wife and my daughter.

Meet the Team – Steve

Today we’ll be talking to Steve, our Director of Affiliate Relations.

What is your official job title here at Brain Host?

Director of Affiliate Relations

What’s unique about the Brain Host affiliate program?

Our program is a turn-key program designed to increase revenue on existing offers by adding one of several custom solutions including an Auto Blog, Dynamic Review Site and Dynamic Squeeze page site.   We position our offer as a free offer and don’t upset their existing upsell funnel.

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I work with new and existing affiliates to set up offers and maximize revenue.

What do you like best about your job? 

I really like to hear when an affiliate has success.  I also love it any time that an affiliate refers someone directly because you can hear and feel the excitement when you are working with them.

How would you describe working at Brain Host? 

Brain Host is a great place to work.  I’ve never worked with a better or more talented group of people.  This place has a sense of family that isn’t found at too many work places these days.  It’s refreshing.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? 

This job has many challenges, but the one that comes up more often is when an affiliate needs something custom and they launch the next day.  If not for the excellent staff and systems we use, those deadlines would be daunting, but even in a pinch we get it done as a team.

What is one fun fact about you? 

I’m not only an employee, but I use Brain Host.  Okay yes, that was stolen from the Hair Club for Men commercial, but hey, it’s true.  Another fact about me that most don’t know is that I sponsor a couple of cars at a dirt track in Oregon, where I moved from!

Interesting. How did you become a sponsor?

I became a sponsor of Dirt Track Modified Cars when I went to the local dirt track in Medford, Oregon one night for something to do.  The lady I sat next to was the mother of one of the drivers.   She introduced me to him and I created a website for him in exchange for my name on his car.  I got to know quite a few drivers from there and have been sponsoring them ever since.

What is the number one activity on your bucket list?  

If I could pick one item to be on the top of my bucket list it would be to go to the very edge of space or beyond and feel weightlessness.   As a certified diver, neutral buoyancy is cool, but you are in water with gear, it would be so cool to be able to do that in air.   If not that then it’d be driving a car on a NASCAR track.  I love speed and racing.

What is your one achievement that makes you the most proud? 

I think the one thing in my life that I am most proud of is hiring someone that everyone said not to because I believed in her.  She was the best employee I ever had and I always strive to give something back; in her case it was teaching her to become more than she started with.  This is important to me, as someone in my life once did that for me, and if not for him I wouldn’t be here sharing my thoughts.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

I like to scuba dive, read books, fly quad line kites and go to NASCAR races.

Where is your favorite place to go scuba diving?

My favorite place was diving off of St. Thomas.  We found a ravine that was filled with nurse sharks and got to interact with them.  Some of them were as long as 9 feet and seemed to be as inquisitive about us as they were to us.

Where is the one destination that you would love to scuba dive at?

I would like to dive in Belize, as last time I went there the weather wasn’t conducive to diving, so I missed that chance.  Crystal clear water makes for a fine dive.  I’ve been to the depths of a Titan Missile Silo in Texas, to offshore oil rigs, to diving in quarries. They are all fun.

You mentioned you like to fly quad line kites. What exactly is quad line kite flying?

Quad line kites are kites that are flown with four lines allowing for a lot more control than a one line or two line kite.  I like to fly revolution kites as they are the best out there.  You can fly them any direction, up, down, left or right and even hover in the air.

How did you first get into this unique hobby?

I first got into kite flying when I did a website for a friend of mine who was in a kite club.   He invited me out to the coast to see them fly and I was hooked.  You start flying two lines and then you get up into the more expensive kites, and then on to quads.   I got lucky in that one of the members of the kite club has a kite store.  I did the site for him and traded for three of the best dual line kites out there.  Then I met John Baressi who is world famous for flying anything with line.  He taught me how to fly quads though I will never be as good as him.

If you could only listen to one band or artist the rest of your life, who would it be? 

If it was just one band it would have to be Pink Floyd, they never get old.  Styx and Journey come in a close second though.

What’s one thing you could not live without?

Internet access.   Every day I think of something that I want to know.  With the Internet it’s all there.   I can’t imagine going back to a world where knowledge was so readily available.

Meet the Team – Denny

Today we’ll be talking to Denny, one of our front end web developers.

What is your official job title here at Brain Host?

Front End Web Developer

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I handle client side front end (X)HTML structures, the foundation of every web site, by converting graphics / projects from our talented graphics and marketing department into usable online documents that provide style and interaction that the reader will ultimately use.  I also work with the programming maintenance team, tackling various daily projects and tasks.

What is the main project you are working on now? Can you tell us about it?

I am currently integrating a templating system into something launching very soon exclusively at Brain Host!

What has been your favorite memory while working at Brain Host?

A few weeks ago, the development team invited me to a couple hours of fun at the local Laser Quest.  Not only was it my first time shooting a high tech laser weapon, it was also my first time wearing a high tech vest with flashing shiny lights while running through a foggy maze. What a blast!

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Primarily focused on building websites for individual clients as a freelancer in the past, I find the most challenging aspect of my current position at Brain Host the sheer volume of projects.  Working for Brain Host is fast paced, exciting and proves to be challenging because it requires me to both stay focused on project delivery as well as time management skills.

What sets Brain Host apart from other web hosting providers?

The skill level at Brain Host and its leadership is nothing short of amazing.  Every facet of this company has talent.  From customer support to the programming department, to marketing, copywriting, video, graphics, sales, accounting, every base is covered with the finest group of talented people I’ve ever worked with.

What sets Brain Host apart from other companies in general?

Brain Host is a great place to work.  What’s the saying? “Find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That rings very true here at Brain Host. I think I can speak for everyone here; everyone enjoys a pleasant culture here.  Plus, the dining area has several old arcade games, a ping pong table and the famous white board where employees have fun asking and answering questions on their way to the coffee machine. Being the elder of the company, I make the most trips to that little machine

What’s your favorite movie?

One of my favorite recent “epic movies” is Lord of the Rings, but I’d say the one that leaves the biggest impression on me is Star Wars.  Yes, I viewed the original release in a movie theater in 1977.

Word on the street is that you were in a band. What type of band were you in?

Yes, several actually.  While never in anything of great popularity, I played in many cover bands with some of the hardest working guys I’ve ever known throughout the 80′s and 90′s.  My bands played everything from classic rock to modern metal, all while keeping nearly 50 songs in rotation at any given time. While most original acts perform around an hour, my bands played for 3 hours and usually 25 to 30 songs a night. I kept a full-time job, rehearsed 3 nights a week, and played just about every weekend.

What instruments do you play? How long have you been playing them?

I love drums, but mainly I play lead guitar, and I have played both since Star Wars first released on the big screen.

What made you get into playing music?

My love for music started when I was 8 years old playing drums for a Christian music group, then eventually lead to electric guitar when I first discovered many of the popular classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Lynard Skynard, Kiss, Cream and the radio station WMMS.

What’s your favorite band?

My favorite semi-current band is Tool.  Tool has a great musical quality to them that keeps you guessing and I enjoy their weird time signatures, musicianship and almost hypnotic quality.

What is one thing that people would be surprised to know about you?

My father was not only a veteran of the Korean War, but raced cars and owned several small airplanes.  He used to fly my entire family (5 brothers and sisters) on vacations to various locations.  Some of my first cognitive memories consist of flying in planes and doing loops when my Dad was feeling frisky.

What do you spend your time doing outside of work?

I own a home with my beautiful wife Amy.  We have two children daughter Sydney (6) and son Braven (31/2).  We enjoy reading, the outdoors, hiking when we can, gardening, splitting wood (for our wood burning stove), and spending as much quality time as we can together laughing and enjoying life.

Meet the Team – Travis

In this Meet the Team post, we’ll be talking to Travis, one of our developers.

What is your official job title here at Brain Host?

Officially? “Developer” – but I’m lobbying for “Code Monkey.”

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I work with the rest of the programming team to develop software products and online tools for Brain Host’s customers.

What is the main project you are working on now? Can you tell us about it?

We’ve been working on some upcoming changes to Brain Host’s online ordering. I don’t want to jinx anything before launch day by going into detail, but our users will be happy with the updates.

While working at Brain Host, what has been your best memory?

Flying to Boston for the Certified ScrumMaster Course in September with two other developers. It was a great time and we came away with shiny new certifications. The trip was especially memorable because I’d never flown before.

Wow, your first flight! What did you think?

I was a bit nervous, of course. Nobody told me about how much pressure you feel on takeoff. After that, though, I couldn’t stop staring at the clouds and at the night lights over Boston on our way in.

How would you describe working at Brain Host?

Everyone at Brain Host works hard, but no one escapes their day without laughing. That’s especially true for our merry band of programmers.

Which programmer is responsible for causing most of the laughter?

Jeff. I think he wakes up with an agenda every day to be as ridiculous as possible. Everyone will agree with me on that.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Keeping on top of new technologies and practices. Programming is an ever-evolving trade, but that’s what makes it so fun.

What is one fun fact about yourself?

I minored in Japanese in college. I’m woefully out of practice, but I can speak a dialect of gibberish fluently. I’ve always been a language person. I had a semester of German, dabbled in Spanish and French, won awards for English in high school, and now I’m a programmer. Japanese has the benefit of lacking god-forsaken gender nouns. You don’t have to hurt yourself with guttural noises to speak it, and the written language is much more interesting than adding a tilde hat to an “n”. It’s great fun to learn.

What is your one achievement that makes you the most proud?

Making it as far as I have. My career started by tinkering on a keyboard in middle school; ten years later, I work alongside sharp professionals at a rising web hosting company. Sometimes, people even confuse me for a professional myself. I never imagined my first web page would lead to coding for hundreds of thousands of people.

The programming room has a lot of funny wall décor – what’s the story behind it all?

You see, the giant dog stickers represent learning from past mistakes, while the professional wrestling posters represent perseverance. They encourage us to pound code into the mat and lay the smackdown on bugs. It’s really all about creating a work environment to best channel our potential. What’s funny about that?

What is your favorite TV show?

Dexter on Showtime. Everyone loves a good antihero.

What are the five things that you could not live without?

Caffeine, electricity, broadband internet, a computer… Should I list “family” here? I think that’s probably the right answer.