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Some say that all things in life are cyclical. Backblaze pioneered DIY server architecture on a large scale with the Backblaze Storage Pods<\/a>. This, in turn, spurred Facebook to start their Open Compute<\/a> Project. This led to them having top-notch data center teams. And now, that leads to Chuck Goolsbee joining the Backblaze team after running a data center for Facebook in Oregon. What’s Chuck going to be working on? As Backblaze expands we need more places to store your data, and Chuck is tasked with building out our network of future data centers. It’s not an easy task, but Chuck feels oddly intrigued by it. Let’s learn a bit more about the newest addition to our Data Center team, shall we?<\/p>\n What is your Backblaze title?<\/strong> Where are you originally from?<\/strong> What attracted you to Backblaze?<\/strong> What do you expect to learn while being at Backblaze?<\/strong> Where else have you worked?<\/strong> Where did you go to school?<\/strong> What\u2019s your dream job?<\/strong> Favorite place you\u2019ve traveled?<\/strong> Favorite hobby?<\/strong> Of what achievement are you most proud?<\/strong> “Star Trek” or “Star Wars”?<\/strong> Coke or Pepsi?<\/strong> Favorite food?<\/strong> Why do you like certain things?<\/strong> Anything else you\u2019d like you\u2019d like to tell us?<\/strong> Driving race cars and inching towards 90 mph on skis? Never too late to have a happy childhood is right! Thanks for sharing your backstory with us, Chuck. If you’re curious about what Chuck will be working on…<\/p>\n
\nDirector of Data Center Infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\nSpent my childhood in Illinois, Montana, and Texas, but have lived most of my life in the Seattle area. Currently living in central Oregon.<\/p>\n
\nBackblaze needs data centers. I live and breathe data centers. Prior to coming here, I was at Facebook for almost five years, starting up and managing their Prineville, Oregon data center. Prior to that, I built and managed a series of co-location data centers in the Seattle area for a company I helped create named Digital Forest.<\/p>\n
\nMove fast and build data centers.<\/p>\n
\nSee above. Most interesting job? I spent about 15 years as a professional, on-ice hockey official (referee & linesman) in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. I was paid to travel and work games ranging from kids through college up to professional ice hockey. I started doing it in college for extra money (I played hockey at the time) and kept with it for years afterward. I tell people that no job better prepares you for on-you-feet decision-making, and staying cool in a crisis better than hockey officiating.<\/p>\n
\nI graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor of fine arts in graphic & package design. I went there to study with a rather mercurial professor named Frank Cheatham. He was amazing, and brutal at the same time. About 90 of us started his program, and only four of us graduated. About a year after I started my professional design career, my whole world changed when the industry started going digital with the introduction of PostScript, Aldus PageMaker, Adobe Illustrator, et al. That changed everything, and began my journey to here.<\/p>\n
\nThe guy whose perpetual subtitle reads \u201cProfessional on a closed course. DO NOT ATTEMPT.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAnywhere with fresh powder and no lift lines.<\/p>\n
\nSkiing all winter, playing with cars when there is no snow. I try to ski between 750,000 and one million vertical feet every winter (that\u2019s 229km\u2014305km for the more rational, non-imperial types out there). In the off-season I compete in the 24 Hours of LeMons race series, and try to keep a few old cars running\u2026 with very limited success. (OK, mostly outright failure.)<\/p>\n
\nHard to pick\u2026
\nRaising two sons to reasonable and responsible adulthood.
\nSeveral top-ten finishes in highly competitive endurance auto races and TSD rallies.
\nSeveral successful data center builds.
\nHitting 89.7 MPH\/144KPH on skis.<\/p>\n
\nWhy not both? (just no Jar Jar please!)<\/p>\n
\nCabernet Franc.<\/p>\n
\nMedium rare steak, with saut\u00e9ed green veggies and a Cabernet Franc.<\/p>\n
\nI generally like things that require my complete, 100% focus in the moment I am doing them. Skiing, driving, whatever. I learned this while playing hockey. I was a goaltender, so if you lose focus for even a nanosecond, you lose. Maintain focus, and you can do just about anything.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s never too late to have a happy childhood.<\/p>\n