The Founder

Founder

Born in Lamy, New Mexico and raised in Santa Fe, the founder of Back Road Bass grew up in a household that balanced academia and artistry. His father, a self-made wood sculptor and international real estate investor, and his mother, a Georgetown graduate Professor of English at Highlands University for 25 years, provided a unique foundation for his worldview.

His formative years at Santa Fe Waldorf School introduced him to regenerative farming, permaculture, alternative energy practices, and sustainable living. Family journeys shaped his perspective—traveling east with his mother on Amtrak rails exposed him to graffiti subculture, while visits to Rome to see his maternal grandfather's grave at the Cemetario Teutonico in the Vatican offered profound cultural experiences.

In 2001, his family relocated to a remote cabin his father built on Ambergris Caye, Belize, where he completed his freshman year through distance learning—an experience that embodied the freedom his parents valued. Upon returning for his sophomore year in 2002, he immersed himself in Santa Fe's youth culture, becoming the unofficial videographer for local bands at Warehouse 21, a community hub in the rail yard district.

His junior year marked a turning point when he designed his own art curriculum, studying artists and styles that interested him most. Simultaneously, he worked as assistant to the director at Skeleton Art Gallery, where exposure to artists featured in Juxtapose Magazine expanded his artistic horizons beyond traditional schooling.

Despite receiving full scholarship offers to his top five schools, he chose Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Before beginning college, he embarked on a solo trip to Europe in May 2005, where he discovered drum and bass culture, finding parallels with graffiti art and community building through shared passion.

At Antioch, his education took an unexpected turn when he befriended Haley Borenstine, who taught him to create live electronic music using turntables, samplers, and loopers. This hands-on experience proved more captivating than formal education, eventually leading him to drop out and return to Santa Fe. There, he briefly took metallurgy and sculpture classes at the College of Santa Fe before deciding traditional education wasn't compatible with his learning style.

In 2006, his parents purchased land at Moon Dance Ranch as a retirement home and family homestead, with sustainability at its core. The family spent years developing the property with minimal environmental impact while maintaining completely off-grid operations.

Personal tragedy struck in 2011 when his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, passing away in June. Two weeks after her funeral, a family inheritance dispute forced him and his father to sell their Santa Fe home and relocate permanently to the ranch. His father's health declined rapidly, culminating in a cancer diagnosis in 2014, at which point the founder became his part-time caregiver.

While working at Santa Fe Brewing Company, where he rose from packaging lead to delivery driver and keg room manager, he developed his vision for establishing a community-centered venue focused on arts, music, and culture. A near-fatal car accident in March 2017 left him with a traumatic brain injury, leading to his demotion and eventual departure to California, where he worked on biodynamic cannabis farms.

In November 2018, he returned home to become his father's full-time caregiver until his death on Christmas Eve 2021. The loss triggered a period of depression and alcohol abuse that nearly claimed his life multiple times before achieving sobriety on November 10, 2023.

Upon regaining his health and clarity, he formulated plans for Back Road Bass—a venue embodying his creative endeavors, lifestyle, and beliefs, designed to foster community through shared appreciation of arts, nature, and music.