Integrator Insights: Getting Started in AV
If you’ve ever been asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” you probably never even thought to answer, “AV Integrator”. So, how did it happen? So many of us have gone from wanting to be doctors, firefighters, and football players to AV system integrators. We asked seven talented integrators to share their stories about finding AV.
Here is what they said…
[JO] In college I was a broadcasting major, and while working at the college radio station, I was always interested in the technical aspects of broadcasting and audio production. Some of the other students said I should work backstage in the campus performing arts center where I was introduced to the world of live sound, lighting, and theatrical production. I always found it really rewarding putting together a show or event, and now I get the same sense of enjoyment from a boardroom or classroom project.
[RJ] I grew up in the Seattle area, first working under the Direction of Bob Holden (Holden, Hamilton, and Roberts Studio), then later spending many years working for Morgan Sound under Charlie Morgan, and Steve Gregory, whom I think of as “The Wizard.” I did a lot of live audio production, remote recording for video, and arena touring, as well. When I moved to Montana, my longtime coworker, and current business partner, Alex Bruce, moved out here with me. We had the grand idea of starting our own company in a market that we felt, had a shortage of professional-level AVL services. Up until this point, neither of us had strayed far from audio, and we quickly realized our clients expected production companies to provide audio, lighting, and video. We drew straws, he ended up learning lighting, I ended learning video. He was in charge of live events; I was in charge of installations and integration. We’ve spent the last 12 years learning and growing from a two man show, to a company with 10 full-time employees, and a call list of 20 more.
[AF]I moved to Seattle in 2003, and went into the audio production program at The Art Institute of Seattle. While I was in school, I had a number of audio internships at venues like the Crocodile Cafe and Studio X. After I graduated I worked at a backline company for a few months and then began working at Morgan Sound in December of 2005.
[CS] I first discovered my love for audio in junior high school, and I used to run sound in my local church for years and eventually played a role in the technology decisions they made.
[MC] I started in the industry working in programming and production in a church for about 10 years until I decided I needed to make a career change. From there I got involved in audio visual systems which has been my main line of work for the past 21 years.
[IS] Since I was a child, I loved taking things apart and putting them back together. I guess I was always really interested in what made a system tick. When I was growing up my parents owned a restaurant and I put together their audio system. It was particularly useful for after parties that we used to throw in the restaurant. Once I started working within the AV industry in 2006, I fell in love with system integration and that is still where my passion lies today.
[AM] Well, I’ve been in the industry for about 16 years. I started off with a small company as a van driver delivering equipment and eventually worked my way up the ladder. Once I saw the power of IoT and AV and the automation that was beginning to evolve in the industry I got sucked in and I haven’t left since!
[JB] “Well, I’ve been working in AV mostly in churches since the mid-90s when I was a teenager. This was back in the analog days, I had to learn how to make stuff sound good without a lot of resources. Then for the last ten years, my wife and I have pastored a church in the Seattle area and throughout that time we innovated with our own technology and I ended up helping a lot of other churches in the area with their technology. People eventually started offering to pay us for our help and we slowly realized we could turn this into a business.”
If you work in the AV industry as well and want to share your stories about starting out, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to us on our social media channels.
Related Content
Want more LEA content delivered directly to your inbox? Enter your email address below to be subscribed to our monthly newsletter and keep up with all of the latest news and content from LEA Professional.
