John Coyne

Life was a much simpler time. Disco was hot and so was a small valley town in California called Bakersfield. Located at the southern end of the San Joaquin valley, Bakersfield was known at the time for oil, agriculture, and country music. Oh, and summer time heat. (frequently in excess of 100 degrees F) A Navy veteran was working days as an electronics technician at a TV sales & service shop called Booth's on H st, downtown, and nights & weekends as a disc jockey on a local radio station. It was at Booth's that he met his bride, who also worked there, just a year or so earlier. In October, John Martin Coyne Jr. Was born. John's father, John Martin Coyne (Marty) was over the moon to have a son. They were going to name him "Brion Keith", after Marty's brother, but since John's mother, Callie Sue (Sue), saw how proud Marty was of his boy, made sure he was named after his father. (Side note: John Coyne Jr. Does NOT use the nickname Marty)

From a very early age, young John was labeled by teachers & daycare operators as "gifted", "bright", and "highly intelligent". John had a mind like his father, that allowed him to watch things happen and figure out quickly how they work. This will serve John well in his adult life, but as a child, being told all these things, gives a bit of arrogance to a young child. John wasn't the most emotionally balanced child, and unbeknownst to him or his parents, suffered from what we now know as 'neurodivergence' (ADHD). This didn't help John make many friends really until Junior High. He had one or two, but definitely wasn't in the 'cool kid' camp. Along the way, John would learn electrical systems by hanging around with his father. John tore apart his first radio at the ripe age of 8. Well, he tore apart his first radio at 6, but didn't figure out how to put one back together until 8, presumably because he was grounded (no pun intended) until then. He wired his first electrical panel at the 'mature' age of 12. While other kids were playing with cars & trucks, baseball, etc., John was knee deep in anything having to do with electrical or electronic systems. John also had a knack for music, spending a bunch of time with his dad at the radio station. This would also serve John well in adulthood.

In the late 70's and 80's, John dug deeper into technology. he was heavily involved in the new "personal computer" revolution, by way of computers in school. From Atari, to TRS-80, to IBM, he was constantly behind a keyboard. John learned from watching his dad wire up radio communications systems (HAM, AM/FM, etc.) how to wire twin ax cable, and his networking skills were born.

in 1993, John and some of his friends were hanging out at home, and his bestie came out of the bedroom and declared his intention to move to Seattle. John was 19 years old at the time, and said "Sure, I'll go" - the move north was quick. Once to Seattle, John worked in the professional theater in Tacoma, WA (Tacoma Actor's Guild) and taught technical theater at Gig Harbor High School. (odd that the technical teacher was only a year or so older than some of the students)