The long version.

I've always been drawn to understanding systems - physical, digital, human. When I found out the New Zealand government had tested my IQ at 156 as a child, it explained the pattern I'd lived with for years: a mind that jumps disciplines, absorbs complexity quickly, and sees connections others overlook. Much later I learned about "gifted adults," which provided a name for why I've always gravitated toward breadth rather than boxes.

Education in curiosity.

At various universities I studied astrophysics, quantum physics, computer science, electronics, philosophy, Russian, and film. I followed whatever subject seemed to unlock a deeper understanding of the world. In parallel I explored hypnosis, fascinated by how perception and cognition can be shaped.

An embarrassing fall from a cliff (and then consequently winning Wheel of Fortune) in the early '90s taught me more about risk, chance, and resilience than any lecture ever could. Shortly afterwards came a formative moment: meeting Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits simply by refusing to accept that it was impossible. I tracked down the hotel, waited seven hours with a guitar, and he eventually walked through the lobby and signed it. That interaction became a personal principle: if you want something, find the unconventional path that makes it possible.

Film, storytelling, and computation.

My career began in film. After studying directing and editing, I worked at Television New Zealand, then returned as a tutor in editing and interactive media. I made short films, developed my storytelling skills, and worked in the film industry, for example on the feature Serial Slayer / Claustrophobia.

In 2003 I joined Weta Digital as a data wrangler and rotoscope artist on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and I, Robot. That period fused the two halves of my brain - storytelling and computation - and made it clear that technology is simply another form of narrative construction.

Somewhere along the way I also appeared as the Bearded Guard in Xena: Warrior Princess. Life has texture.

Building digital systems.

In 1997 I co-founded Digitalus Ltd, building web platforms long before "digital transformation" was a phrase. We managed major international sites and supported young entrepreneurs through the Young Enterprise Scheme, where several of my teams won regional and national awards.

A side project in 2006 unexpectedly became a global phenomenon: The Stoner's Cookbook, later rebranded as HERB. It grew to a massive online community and led to a published cookbook and more than 20 million followers. When I sold my shares, I gained the freedom to reinvent - again.

Reinvention, Europe, and the frontier of AI.

In 2016 I moved to Europe, studied machine learning and artificial intelligence, and shifted my work toward building automated systems and intelligent tools.

I joined The Reel Scene in London, collaborating with actors and coaches, and developed The Actors Gym platform during the pandemic. In 2019 I joined VeVe, the digital collectibles platform, where I served as Head of Customer Success and helped support a global community of enthusiasts.

Alongside this, I've been building apps, writing screenplays, and exploring the intersection of AI, sound, and narrative with pianist Joe Devereux.

My current focus is applying AI to real business problems: automation, workflow design, voice systems, data processing, and real-world solutions that save time and unlock capability. I'm also developing a real-time hieroglyphic detection and translation app as a long-running passion project.

The work I do now.

Today, I help individuals and businesses understand, implement, and benefit from AI. My strength is translating complex ideas into simple, actionable systems - drawing on decades of experience across software development, filmmaking, education, digital communities, and computational thinking.

I've never lost the curiosity that shaped my childhood. I simply direct it now toward creating tools, workflows, and learning environments that make technology feel human and empowering.

And when I'm not doing that, I'm studying hieroglyphs, writing science fiction, experimenting with sound and AI, or beatboxing terribly in France.

Back to school, and back to the sky.

In 2026 I enrolled in a master's degree in artificial intelligence with Udacity. Thirty years of building software taught me how to ship; the course is teaching me the maths and methods underneath the tools I use every day, and I'm building the coursework projects for real rather than as exercises.

Two open research efforts have pulled me back towards the physics I studied at university. The Vesuvius Challenge is reading the carbonised Herculaneum scrolls without opening them, and I'm starting to contribute on the geometry side: repairing the traced papyrus surfaces and tracing fibres with classical computer vision. I wrote about why in Reading a Library No One Can Open. The Roman Space Telescope launched on 30 August 2026, and I'm preparing for its microlensing data challenge: finding the faint, brief brightenings in survey light curves that give away a planet, including ones with no star of their own.

Neither is a client project. Both are the same skill I use in client work, pulling a faint, structured signal out of noise that a standard process would throw away, pointed at questions I have wanted to work on since I studied astrophysics at university.

A golden age for the curious mind.

Recently, I've been more productive than ever. I've released a suite of apps for iOS and Mac - utility tools that solve real problems I encountered in my own workflow. I built Pythia, a web platform for screenwriters that leverages AI to help craft better stories. I've been deepening my study of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, creating lessons and tools to make that beautiful writing system accessible to others. And I've discovered the joy of 3D printing, bringing spacecraft models and other designs from imagination into physical reality.

There has never been a better time to be a gifted adult - a multipotentialite, a polymath, someone whose mind refuses to stay in one lane. The tools that exist today would have seemed like magic even a decade ago. AI assistants that can help you code, design, write, and build. 3D printers that turn digital dreams into tangible objects. Platforms that let you publish apps to millions of users worldwide. The barriers that once stood between imagination and creation have never been lower.

We live in a world where anyone with curiosity and determination can become who they want to be. The question is no longer "do I have the resources?" but "what do I want to create?" And for those of us who have always wanted to create many things, across many domains - this is our moment.