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In 2010, I was at a music festival near Nelson, British Columbia. I had wandered off to a nearby riverbed and was collecting rocks—just doing my thing. As the clouds started rolling in, I began heading back to my campsite in the Kootenay Mountains. On the way, I ran into this guy named Tyson. We started chatting and taking in the view together, and I handed him one of the rocks I had picked up.
We kept walking, and he ended up dropping the rock—not once, but three times. After the third time, he laughed and said, “Maybe this one wants to stay with you.” Right where the rock had landed, we noticed a watermelon that had been split open on the ground. We crouched down and saw it was covered in these little black ants, just chilling—totally still, sucking up the sweet juice like they were in some kind of trance.
In that moment, with the valley stretching out in front of us and the bass from the festival pulsing in the distance, we both just kind of looked at each other and smiled. And it hit me: all of us dancing and vibing at that festival… we were just like those ants, completely in tune with something sweet, something bigger than us.
We're all just "Ants on a Melon"!
These days, it’s still a small, hands-on team. My friend Toymaker Chris has been working with me for over three years now. He and I handle the day-to-day—answering emails, packing orders, and keeping everything running smoothly. Together, we also design all of our products, the website, and our mobile apps. Once we finalize a design, I work closely with our global network of contract engineers—from places like Kathmandu and Indonesia—to bring each product to life.
We’re also lucky to have Maia on the team. She’s our Community Outreach Manager and Content Creator, and she’s been working with me for over nine years. Maia manages our social media, connects with the flow arts and festival community, and helps create content and demo videos. She’s also a super talented costume designer and performer, and a huge part of what makes AOAM shine creatively.
Light up the night.
Be the one they remember