There are a number of things that I look forward to whenever a new person joins the Foster Made team, but the Introducing post is always toward the top of my list. I don’t know when or how this tradition started, but I enjoy the exchange between people and the little glimpse into the lives and personalities of my coworkers. I consider it a true honor to be able to ask the questions and it is with much enthusiasm (!!!) that I now introduce the freshest member of the Foster Made team, Brian Larson.
A: I'm from Minnesota just outside of Saint Paul in Mendota Heights and I didn't make it far because I currently live in Minnesota just outside of Saint Paul in Mendota Heights where I have a local reputation of repeating myself.
The “Minnesota Nice” thing is real and yah you betcha we take great pride in this. Unfortunately I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that the whole “Minnesota goodbye” is also still alive and well ‘round these parts.
A literary hub indeed! While most of my actual reading is either on a screen or nose deep in a Berenstain Bears book with a weird three-year-old named Walter I’m actually an avid audiobook listener and currently in the middle of Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
I guess I first learned design literally cutting, copying and pasting to make gig posters for my band back in the days of AOL, CD-ROMs and 56K dial-up. I got into web design and development after going to school for “multimedia” and really fell in love with Flash and Dreamweaver. Funny fact: I remember buying and watching a Lynda.com training video on Macromedia Dreamweaver 2 and it was on VHS!
Well first off, hands down the talented people and jaw dropping client work! I also look forward to discovering how my design and marketing background can differentiate my role as a web developer.
How to practice mindfulness more frequently and for longer periods of time in any waking moment. Pretty lofty eh?
My main creative outlet is music. I’m a former lead singer of a rock band, do the singer/songwriter thing on acoustic guitar and I play drums as well. If you had to peg me for one of these though my strongest is singing.
Goofin’ with my awesome wife and three kids (Vivian, Franklin and Walter), hot yoga (certainly missed these days) and running. I’m also a big fan of stand-up comedy.
Everybody Knows this is Nowhere by Neil Young and Crazy Horse (even though it’s only seven tracks), The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, and beer with beer on the side.
OK I just looked at Spotify not knowing what I would find and it’s Hate by Design by Killswitch Engage. Whew, it could very well have been Lisa Loeb’s Stay from the last time I played drums. Oops.
Listening to music while running outside with Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World being two band favorites that come to mind. Often I’ll sing along and aloud to some songs which I fully realize makes me look ridiculous and troubled.
As long as the cat size can be newborn kitten size then the cutest would be our dog Tuffy. He’s a mix of Papillon and long-haired Chihuahua.
Posted in #Company under *New Team Members, *Business, *Development