I always hope that so many people will visit the site that it'll wipe out an entire village's power supply.

  Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

I'm a replanted redneck from North Carolina. I've been living in San Diego, CA since '94 and love it here.

I listen to Lynyrd Skynryd, Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, grunge and any classic rock.

I have three beautiful children; Shea, Sage and Phoenix. They inspire me every day. I love it when they teach me something new about life.

My personal site is D5ive. I'm the Senior Art Director at Digitaria in San Diego.

I've been doing this design stuff since '97 after I graduated from a city college here in San Diego. I started off as a print designer, which I give credit to not knowing HTML.

  What do you do for inspiration?

Number one I get away from the computer. I like hanging at coffee shops and taking long walks at sunset with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.

Surfing and playing with my kids is a big one. I also love drawing, painting, and quilting.

I feel that stepping away from this little box is vital in helping open up a designer's creative thinking. Doing a Google search for inspiration doesn't cut it.

  Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

NewsMap

Mullets Galore

SurfLine

  What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Having children.

  What software couldn't you live without?

Pen, paper and my trusty scanner.

  What projects do you have in the pipeline?

A new Transfer CD design.

Just finished up TaylorMade Golf and starting up a site for their new golf campaign.

Also, working on the new Digitaria brand and site.

Plus, I'm constantly working on my fine art. Trying to make a big push this year, but not pushing too hard.

  Who do you rate as being the top 3 design companies?

Whoever did SuicideGirls.com is my favorite. I love those kids at WeFail and their skills with 3D Studio Max and Particle Illusion.

  What effect on traffic do your new designs have?

I always hope that so many people will visit the site that it'll wipe out an entire village's power supply.

  Who is your target audience?

Well I try to impress everyone. I really want everything I do to "WIZZ!" "BANG!" and "ZIPPP!"

  What area of web design lacks the most?

Concept, typography and sarcasm. So many designers just don't get this. They think you can just hop on the computer and start throwing some type and colors together.

Never paying any attention to kerning, leading or a basic idea. Then just drop it into Flash, tween it out and this creates something meaningful.

  What did your very first site look like? Is it still online?

It was a masterpiece! A prodigy. It sucked like most first sites do. I think it was for this candle company and it had a flickering flame animated GIF on the first page that took me hours to do.

  Have you written any books, if not do you plan to?

No. But I want to write a book called "Flasturbation 1.5.3: How to make everything zip and blink".

  What was the toughest thing you ever did with Flash? How long did you spend on it? Is it still online?

Well, I'm not a Flash wizard. I think the toughest project I did was "Broadcom In Your Life". It took me a few months to concept, design and build it.

Another tough project, which took a long time to complete was the O'Neill site. I have a friend at O'Neill that approached me about this project. So from the start it was a very personal thing for me.

The project went pretty smooth with Mike Hansen and I working together. But the build of the Flash was difficult at times due to trying to get the right mood with the motion and making sure it didn't go too over the top.

Complementing the design aesthetics and the brand was the most important in directing the motion.

  Do you think Flash is here to stay?

Hope so. But more importantly, I hope they get rid of "auto-kern".

  What are your views on design/graphic school. Do you think someone can get into the field without educational experience in a school environment?

I think it's all about the work and the person's personality. And a willingness to work 12-15 hour days and on weekends.

  How have you learned so many Flash/design skills and techniques and can you offer any advice for newbies?

HAHA! I don't think anyone would be that impressed with my knowledge in Flash. Anyone have any advice for me?

  What is the most expensive thing you've bought in the last week?

Well I almost bought an iPod yesterday. But I flaked out. I think the most expensive was renewing my LegoLand passes for my kids and I.

  What type of overcoat do you wear when Flashing, basically are you a labels man?

I still wear my Navy boots and jacket from over 12 years ago and my jeans are from Target with rips in them.

And I had some chick that wanted my camouflage hat at a bar the other night. She said she would give me her number for my hat. I kept my hat.

  Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?

Turn off "auto-kern" for God's sake!!!! LEARN TO KERN!

  It's been a privilege, thanks very much.

Thank you. It's been a bigger privilege and honor to be interviewed with such top Flashers in this industry.