The theme of fast cars as a passion continues this week, but this time it also extends to boats and motors of all types. Meet Sean Ripley, Zumasys’ Endpoint MSP Practice Manager who joined the company on January 1st as part of the acquisition of TCS Consulting.
Long before Sean found an interest in IT, he was found in his father’s shop in Anaheim, surrounded by performance vehicles. Growing up though the third grade in Anaheim, his father’s business serviced many of the Disney executives’ vehicles and, as a perk, Sean was a frequent guest at the Disney parks. After his parents’ divorce at about age 13, Sean went to live with his Dad in the desert community of Anza – a spot well-known for dirt bikes and off-roading vehicles. Although very different from the suburbs that he had been accustomed to, Anza became a fun place to grown up. Rather than walking or riding a bike to a friend’s house, Sean would just jump on his quad and cruise across the desert.
Although the temperatures could get extremely hot in the summer months, Sean and his family escaped nearly every weekend to the river where they had a waterfront home. Today, the same house is his favorite family getaway and it’s where you can find him at least twice a month. While he grew up borrowing boats to use, he now has his own boat that he tows out for the family trips.
Growing up around cars lead to his first career path: racing. For about five years, and prior to getting married, Sean was a full-time drag car racer, earning his way into the NHRA semi-finals. A very competitive sport, Sean placed 26 out of 250 and topped out at 185 miles per hour. It was a very fun, exhilarating, and expensive endeavor, but one that he will never forget nor regret.
After his drag racing career, Sean moved to Laguna Niguel and worked for Oakley in customer service while pursuing his business degree in college. Eventually, Sean went to work for several real estate development companies, including Shea Properties. It was in this role that Sean was tapped for his technical acumen, and where he realized that IT was the career path he wanted. While at Shea, he went to a group function after work, where he met his colleague’s roommate, Lindsay. A few short years later, Sean and Lindsay became husband and wife, and today are the proud parents of three daughters.
It was just prior to getting married that Sean was introduced to Keith Hermance, by Lindsay. Keith and TCS were the Managed Services Provider for Fish IP Law, where Lindsay worked. The two hit it off, and before long, Sean was onboard at TCS where he juggled technical responsibilities along with overall operational oversight.
While outnumbered, raising three girls has given Sean a great parenting perspective. His advice for other dads: “You can read every book [about parenting] but throw them out – you gotta figure it out on your own.”
Fast Facts:
- First car: 1985 Maroon Honda Civic – 4 door sedan. One of his dad’s customer’s abandoned car
- Second car: Chevy S10 with the extreme body kit – lowered 3 inches
- Favorite car he’s owned: 2003 Z23 with T-tops
- Favorite Band: Led Zeppelin
- First concert: Steve Miller Band
- Last concert: 3 years ago – Garth Brooks (wife loves country)
- Favorite vacation spot: The River and then Hawaii
- Dream job: Building high-performance race motors
- Adventure meter: Will use parachute to stop car, but will not use one to jump out of a plane