Welcome to Growing Up Geek , an ongoing feature where we have a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing as much as be the nerds that we’re. Today we’ve Hacker Extraordinaire (and host of his own show ), Benjamin J. Heckendorn !
As a child growing up in Richland Center, WI, I sometimes needed to be extra creative find things to occupy my time, and my creativity naturally gravitated toward all things technology. Soldering, erector sets and deconstructing toys were the epicenter of my young life. Taking things apart to determine how they worked was essentially a rite of passage for me to becoming the geeky man i’m today.
I got my first taste of programming in elementary school on a set of even-then old Apple II’s, but i truly got into it wholesale when, at age 11, I got my first computer – an Atari 800. While still ancient for the time, I did a number of programming on it and learned numerous fundamentals which are useful to just today.
During my teenage years, i began to veer off the technology path a chunk and dipped my feet within the pool of independent film making. i purchased a camcorder and just started filming movies, using two VCRs taped together to edit whatever footage was captured (little did i understand how useful this skill can be later in life!). Excluding film making throughout my young adulthood, I dabbled in lots of tech-related hobbies, but never forgot my love for gaming, electronics and programming.
At age 22, I had my first “real job” as a graphic artist and that i was ready to use my layout and design skills to construct my first mod — I hacked an Atari 2600 gaming system to make it smaller, portable and complete with a graphic arts-inspired enclosure. I created a “Geocities” site concerning the project to share with friends, and that i quickly realized what percentage other “geeks” there have been with interests in obscure hobbies. At this day and age, the “geek culture” hadn’t really caught on so i used to be very surprised by the extent of interest I received within the mod — anywhere from 50-75 emails an afternoon!
After a segment on TechTV in 2004, where I mentioned the method of creating portable units, i used to be offered a book deal from Wiley Publishing, Inc., and my book Hacking Game Consoles was born.
In retrospect, modding the Atari 2600 was probably the very best idea i’ve got ever had; it certainly opened many doors for me career-wise, and it taught me to maintain pushing forward on what i used to be really enthusiastic about, a lesson I’ve come to understand greatly throughout my life.
After the book, i used to be lucky enough to eventually turn my addiction to games right into a career, entering the company working world in 2004 building game prototypes for a number of companies. It was then that i spotted being a geek was an extremely positive attribute that allowed me to apply my unique skills to assist people with limited accessibility.
My newfound career allowed me to try another build I’d always desired to try: a pinball machine. I combined my fascination with the mechanical aspects of pinball and my appreciation for the work of thespian Bill Paxton and thus, the Bill Paxton Pinball Machine was born! I spent many grueling hours building that machine, but I loved the challenge and learning how pinball machines work — and it is usually fun to inspire others. i’ve a number of ideas for future pinball machine builds, but my fellow pinball junkies will just must be patient if those pan out.
That brings us to the current. Last year, I launched into a brand new journey as internet television host of element14′s ” The Ben Heck Show ,” a web-based show devoted to educating viewers at the underlying technology powering all of the featured mods. With my interest in modding and element14′s collaborative engineering community, it was an ideal match. I’m doing what i like and it complements element14′s ongoing commitment to assist like-minded individuals collaborate and exchange ideas to inspire new and innovative designs. Season One was a glaring success, and that i attribute that to the keenness and interaction of the show’s viewers.
As I embark on an all new second season of “The Ben Heck Show,” set to move live to tell the tale October 10th, I plan to dig even deeper into my inner “geek” and hopefully try my hand at some new and fascinating hacks and builds, like using embedded systems and products i am not accustomed to not to only teach the audience what they are often used for, but teach myself besides. i used to be fortunate to attain early on that so that it will do something, do it. Never let fear be an element and dissuade you from accomplishing big things. The trail to becoming the individual i’m today was a winding one, full of twists and turns galore, but deep down I always knew that “geek” is not just who I actually have become, but what i used to be born to be. And so my story goes: toy-destroyer turned video gamer turned programmer turned movie maker turned author turned electronics hacker / modder show host. It has been the ride of an entire life, and that i wouldn’t trade my journey to “geeky” adulthood for the arena.
Ben Heck was a contributor to Engadget , a staple of our DIY coverage and a massive friend and asset to the whole hacker community. He even allow us to inside his kingdom for an Engadget Show shoot . Nowadays, he are located on Twitter ( @benheck ) and schooling us all as host of ” 0 The Ben Heck Show 0 .”
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