User:Ryanbarthel

Ryan Barthel is a web designer based in the Houston area... Sugar Land to be precise.

Ryan was born in New Orleans and grew up in the suburb of Metairie, Louisiana. His family moved to Wichita, Kansas when he was 13 and lived there for seven years. Ryan then moved to Sugar Land, TX. After a short time, he flip flopped back and forth between Sugar Land and New Orleans. In 2005 Ryan moved to Chalmette, another suburb of New Orleans, where his dad and step mom lived. Ryan was only there for a few months, and then, unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina hit. It was a complete disaster! Chalmette was devastated and his dad and step mom lost everything. He stayed for a couple of years to help and try to get things back together. He still has some family in New Orleans and admits he misses the Cajun meals and being around family.

As for his schooling, Ryan attended the Art Institute of Houston for Computer Animation & Design. He received much support from his mom, who lives in Katy, TX and graduated in 2002 with honors and won 1st place in the portfolio show that year. Originally he wanted to do animation work for a company like Pixar, which is part of the reason why Ryan had a short stint in California for two years with a couple of friends. He loved the weather, but it was a little too far from home for everyone. Ryan eventually had an opportunity to utilize his knowledge and skill of animation for web design.

Ryan was saved when he met Jack Arnold. He offered Ryan a design job with his web company in Houston. Ryan worked with Jack for 3 years, and quickly learned all about the web and the opportunities it possesses. He developed a love and passion for the web and social media and later decided to start his own company. Ryan teamed up with John Sanchez to form Holla, a web company based in Sugar Land, TX. It's a great experience and he loves forming relationships with new people and clients.