about.html

---
title: About
description: The story Stackacademy.tv. Find out more about me, Ray Viljoen, why I started Stacakacedmy.tv and what we aim to provide.
---

<h1>About Me</h1>

<p>I’m Ray.</p>

<p>At age {{ 'now' | date: '%Y' | minus: 1985 }}, I’ve changed careers more times than most people will in a lifetime.</p>

<p>Some of the more interesting include: apprentice mechanic at a<a
    href="https://www.facebook.com/SuperbikeSolutions/"> really cool motorcycle shop</a>, designer &amp; builder
  of commercial marine aquariums, manager at a health &amp; fitness club (and a restaurant, come to think of it)
  and of course, software developer. The list goes on.</p>

<img src="/img/about.jpg" alt="Ray Viljoen Coffee Shop" class="frame float-right">

<p>I love change and I’m always up for ditching the old and starting from scratch. This approach has turned me
  into a bit of a serial learner, and I now work as a remote developer for a UK-based software company, whilst
  living in a<a
    href="https://www.google.co.za/search?q=hermanus,+western+cape&amp;biw=1440&amp;bih=732&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj0svOxttjOAhXJzRoKHQi8AowQ_AUIBygC">
    small coastal town</a> in sunny South Africa. – Exactly as I envisioned it years ago.</p>

<p>I’ve always enjoyed <i>showing</i> people how to do stuff, whether that be teaching the local cub-scouts to
  build JavaScript robots, or simply showing my mom how to read the tube map.</p>

<p>In 2015 the idea of being able to help people learn new skills, coupled with a new-found interest in video
  production, got me very interested in the idea of producing my own online courses.</p>

<p>I had a ton of self-taught skills, a genuine love for programming and I knew how to learn – quick!</p>

<p>I published my first course a few months later and slowly but surely the positive feedback started coming in.
</p>

<p>I was hooked!</p>

<p>Online courses not only allowed me to teach <i><span>and</i> learn, but my content was bringing
  genuine value to people all around the world – and so Stackacademy.tv was born.</p>

<p>Stackacademy.tv is more than a website with a few courses, it’s where I want to help you learn something of
  value in
  the most concise and enjoyable format possible.</p>

<p>I’m constantly working on better ways to deliver my content and specifically design my courses to be more than
  verbose tutorials, but rather re-usable nuggets with a clear beginning, middle and end.</p>
<hr>
<p>Please feel free to <a href="https://stackacademy.tv/contact/">contact me</a> anytime with questions,
  suggestions or just to say <em>Hello</em>.</p>
<p>Always here to help.<br><strong>Ray Viljoen</strong></p>