I scammed my way into pilchuck glass school for the summer of '89. I then worked at dozens of sign shops trying to learn neon. It was very hard to get a mentor but I met lots of characters and criminals. I moved to Austin, TX in' 95 and started learning from Jim Austin at classical glass neon. I worked for him during the day and practiced at night. After six weeks his mom got sick and he asked me to do 90% of the glass coming out of his shop while he would do the classic glass units and more complicated stuff. It would take me all day to make 8 letters but I never gave up and eventually became a real live honest to goodness tube bender. I worked for more shops and then opened my own "Neon Cowboy" in 2002 and have been busy ever since. I like tight, technical pieces and words that have never been in neon. I also have lots of neon related tattoos and my house is covered in signs and neon.