Dude with Computer

Hey, I’m Ryan.

My path into web development wasn’t exactly traditional. I didn’t study computer science or graduate from a coding bootcamp. I started out in the music industry, helping get products into music stores.

The funny thing is that many of our dealers weren’t really stores at all. They were people running businesses from spare bedrooms, garages, and small warehouses. One of my coworkers came up with a term for these businesses: "Dude with Computer."

It was a little tongue-in-cheek, but it stuck.

These were people with an idea, a laptop, and enough determination to build something real.

At one point, we had a warehouse full of B-stock gear that needed to move, and I somehow became the unofficial garage sale guy. I started writing our HTML email promotions because nobody else wanted to learn how, and it turned out I had a knack for it.

Around the same time, I was deep in the MySpace era, teaching myself CSS by pulling apart profile layouts to figure out how they worked.

In 2012, I decided to take programming seriously. I spent my weekends working through tutorials, building projects, and learning by trial and error. Before long, I landed my first software job, where I cut my teeth writing SQL and learning what professional software development actually looked like.

After that, I moved into front-end development, building websites and user interfaces for a tech employer in town and learning how design, content, and code all work together.

Eventually I found my home in full-stack development, particularly Ruby and Rails. For nearly a decade I built applications, maintained existing systems, and learned how to create software that could survive long after launch day.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I’d become the Dude with Computer.

Not the person selling music gear out of a garage, but the person helping side projects, small businesses, and growing brands build websites that feel bigger than they are.

I put a strong emphasis on maintainability. I want projects to stay current, evolve over time, and avoid the dreaded rewrite. A little planning, thoughtful architecture, and a few good tests go a long way.

With bham.diy, that philosophy turns into a system that can create clean, professional web experiences in hours instead of days. It gives smaller organizations access to the kind of thoughtful development and ongoing support that larger companies often take for granted.

If you’re building something of your own, I’d love to help.