Welcome to the team, Mike
WELCOME TO THE TEAM, MIKE
We thought it would be fun for our clients & partners to learn a bit more about the people behind UNBXD. Today we want to spotlight Mike, who has joined our talented web development team.
Tell us about yourself:
I’m originally from Durban, South Africa and moved to The UK in 2005. I became interested in technology in my teens. This prompted me to go to university where I achieved a BA in Media and Communications and BA Hons in Digital Media (Cum laude). I then went on to work in the TV and entertainment industries as a freelance camera-operator and audio-visual technician. During this time, I was also working as a freelance web developer. Ultimately, I decided that web development was what I enjoyed the most. I haven’t looked back.
I started off building websites in 1998 (Invisible table layouts and font tags because CSS wasn’t a thing yet. Oh, and we were using Internet Explorer v5.5. I feel so old right now). Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a variety of interesting projects for different agencies/businesses. It’s been fun, interesting and challenging and I’m looking forward to the next stage with Unbxd.
What Motivates you outside of work?
I’m putting my hand up to being a complete and utter workaholic the last few years. My work has been all-consuming and was really linked to my identity and sense of self (The freelancer’s curse, I think). Starting a family changed that. Now it’s my son; he motivates me. I’m trying to slow down, be more present and mindful of myself and the world around me. I think Covid has given a lot of people the space to realise how important this is.
Things I like to do when not working: Hang out with my son, read (technology, science, crime), eat curry, Netflix (Nordic noir), pretend today is the day I’m going to do some exercise (It’s really going to happen today, promise promise).
What are you looking forward to at UNBXD?
I’m looking forward to working with more people on more projects! I love the creative/development process and, without wanting to sound too trite, helping clients to realise the vision for their online presence. I’m also looking forward to the new technical challenges which invariably come with each project. Us developers are always up for a challenge, so having a space in which we can consistently learn new technologies and techniques is really important. I feel Unbxd is a great place for doing that.
