John Stammerman

The internet intrigued me since the day I first logged on in 1994. I first entered cyberspace sophomore year of high school. My parents owned a computer for quite some time before that (actually had the first IBM PC), but the internet was a whole new world for me then. It was an AT&T dial-up account that launched me to the net. I remember thinking, “Okay I’m here. I see your fancy webpage. Now where do I go?” I had no way of knowing at that time, but this technology would take me to California to see Google, guide my professional career, and become a passion for the rest of my life.

I decided to become a web/graphic designer/developer. See what I did there? I combined two things that don’t typically go together.

During the summer of 1999 I participated in an internship program with a local Louisville start-up website design company where I really became proficient at HTML. Once the internship was over the company offered me a job upon graduation. I accepted and began my new position in May of 2000. The development side came pretty natural. I have a knack for picking up new things (like programming languages) quickly. It took me about a year to convince the owners to let me get a crack at design. Once I completed my first design I knew I was in trouble – I liked both design and development equally. In a business world that wants efficient moving pieces that contribute unique portions to the company as a whole, I was going against the grain by embracing two skill sets.

Now those type of individuals are called “hybrids” because we have the ability to span across areas of expertise. Over my professional career I’ve been able to use all of my experience in both design and development to become a UX expert to help my clients identify and prioritize the goals of their websites & applications to improve the overall experience for their end-users.

Then I decided to become a CrossFit coach. Do what? Me, a personal trainer?

100% true. In early 2018 I received my CrossFit Level 1 Trainer certificate and have been coaching beginner athletes and members at my gym, Fern Creek CrossFit.

I absolutely fell in love with my local CrossFit community and have used it to change myself for the better and make a positive impact on my family and friends. (Just don’t bring it up to them because I tend to talk about it a lot. 😏)

Coaching is in my blood. My father was a high school football coach for 20 years. He taught me to live vicariously through the success of others and the value of working in a true team environment. I try to bring that to my athletes every single day in the gym.

In the future I want to continue to do cool stuff that I’m passionate about. As Doc Brown says, “Your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.“

The great thing about technology is that it forced me to embrace change. The moment a new design is completed it starts getting old. Just when you master a programming language, new ones emerge. If you can’t adapt and grow, you’ll quickly get left behind. I want to be the jack-of-all-trades that can bring it all together. I want to stand at the crossroads of intuitive user interface design and efficient, effective application development.

I want to maintain and grow my health and fitness. I want basic human functionality (standing out of a chair, picking things up off the floor, placing things over my head) for as long as possibly can have it. I want to help others along their health and fitness journey.

Mostly, I want to stay hungry and stay foolish.