Team Member Spotlight: Ryan Benhard

Ryan has acquired quite an array of nicknames over the years, with almost the entire office referring to him as Benhard. Other honorable mentions are R Gordon, Benny, Benihana, and a personal favorite, ‘The Dude.’ Every kid remembers what they wanted to be when they were growing up and for Benhard, that was being a naval aviator with the ultimate dream of being able to fly jets. Not a bad thing to aspire to if you ask us. However, some physical issues would throw a wrench in his plans and eventually lead him to the electronics industry. (But we’ll touch on that a little later.)

These days Benhard’s favorite hobby is roller skating, whether that be with his wife or with the local OC Skate Crew. He’s also big on making music and can play 9 or so instruments including guitar, piano, bass, and drums (someone’s an overachiever). In his spare time, if he’s not jamming out or roller skating, he’s outside playing basketball with his kids or in the kitchen cooking. His favorite thing to cook? Shrimp and Grits.

He’s also a proud father to two Chihuahua Terrier mixes who just so happen to be brother and sister. They get their namesake from two incredible wizards, Gandalf (from the Lord of the Rings) and Lily (as in Lily Potter from the Harry Potter series). If you can’t tell who’s who, check out those collars to tell the difference. (Nailed it!)

I wanted to be a naval aviator and fly jets but I had some physical issues that would prevent me from flying so I decided to become an engineer so I could build jets instead of flying them. After working at Lockheed Martin for a time, I decided to pursue my music career instead. Later, I founded a production company recording music, producing music videos, and getting into feature length films. After some years I eventually landed back in the electronics business.