The LOTUS webpage has a ton of info about our equipment.  No need for me to write about that the stuff here as well.  Instead, this space is reserved to tell you about my personal experiences and contributions to the company.

I still meet players who aren't aware I'm the CEO & lead designer, and not just an endorser.  Every final decision regarding trumpet and mouthpiece design falls on me, although thankfully our team presents plenty of great ideas, so the weight's not entirely on my shoulders.  I lead the way with R&D and play-testing and spend a great amount of time strategizing our next moves with the team.  I also do whatever else can't or shouldn't be delegated, like writing the descriptions of our gear and building our (new) website.    

One of my favorite activities in the world is conducting research & development and feeling the thrill of discovering that an experiment we've tried did have the desired effect, and it's BETTER!  2020 brought some electrifying experiences in that regard. After Covid struck, the only traveling I did the entire year included two trips to Basel, Switzerland and one to Brescia, Italy -- all for mouthpiece design work.  I've always been proud of our gear, because it's always been awesome, frankly, but the updates we've made for our 2nd generation mouthpieces make them feel awesome for even more people, which brings me even greater joy and pride in the work our team is doing.  

It's also a really gratifying honor to have some of the players I respect the most fall in love with our gear.  Sessions where I get to meet with trumpet heroes for a fitting are so much fun!  It's a role I was born for, no doubt.  I can easily to identify what works for them, what doesn't, and most importantly: WHY.  They can speak to me in either technical or figurative, artsy terms, and either way, I'll know what they're looking for.  That's what led to many of the design changes and additions that went into our v2.0 mouthpieces, for instance.  I'm ecstatic to be in a position to provide that kind of service.  

The amount of hubris, dogma and sometimes straight-up ignorance that's paraded as "expertise" in the trumpet business is maddening to me.  Nothing makes it past my bullshit detector, no matter how well-wrapped in fancy technical jargon or hocus-pokus the claim may be.  I've personally fallen victim to trusting someone else's "expert" opinion about what equipment is best for me, and I'll never get back any of that time spent suffering or feeling disappointed in myself.  

The more people, and especially true artists, that I can spare from that same situation, the better!
 
I want my expertise to be of benefit to other people who may not understand instrument design (or its interplay with technique) enough to know which elements, measurements or modifications will give them what they're looking for; folks who either often fall prey to marketing claims without any bite to match the bark, or who err on the conservative side and just spend years in an unfulfilling relationship with their equipment.  This is a very passionate mission for me, and the number of successes on that front is happily growing all the time.  

In short, I LOVE MY JOB!!

And I hope you'll give me the chance to help you love your job even more.