Making Awesomeness*
15 years. Yep, that’s a long time. In fact, it’s so long that it’s hard to remember “not” working for Adobe. But as of May 4th, I will be leaving the “big red A” to set off on a new adventure. I’ve accepted an offer to join Stremor, a start-up here in Phoenix as their VP of User Experience Engineering. In addition to making coffee, putting Ikea furniture together, and other typical start-up jobs, I will be putting my HTML5/CSS3/JS chops on the line building a real product! Sadly, I can’t tell you “what” it is yet – that’s all still hush, hush – but I can tell you that it’s so amazing, we’ve already got patents pending! Oh, and we’re also looking for great developers!
As I began debating whether to make the move, I got pretty sentimental about the last 15 years – so much so, that I almost chose not to go. Thanks to GoLive/Macromedia/Adobe, I’ve gotten to help build tools that literally have changed the (web) world. I’ve also had the good fortune to travel around the world more times than I can count and accumulated frequent flyer miles and hotel points that will take years to use up. And along the way, I also got to meet and work with some truly amazing people, including my incredible wife, Stephanie Rewis. I want to thank you all – my colleagues, friends, travel buddies, conference attendees, et. al. – for so many great memories. Chili crab in Singapore, tuk-tuk rides in Dehli, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge, dinner at Carnivores in Johannesburg, standing naked in a hotel hallway in Seoul (don’t ask), horizontal rain/ice in Helsinki in February(buuurrrr!), far too many beers at the Oktoberfest, sitting in the MacWorld green room with Steve Jobs, getting to fly with Paul McCartney – and so many, many more!
It’s been an amazing ride and I would be lying if I said that I won’t miss parts of it (expense reports excluded). I hope to still be asked to speak at conferences (hint, hint), and I will definitely be writing here and twittering there – it’ll just be less Dreamweaver and Adobe stuff, and more HTML5/CSS3/JS – and you’re all still invited to come hang out on Geeks4Sail. But, I’m also excitedly looking forward to the new challenges that come with change – and even better, I get to carpool to work with Stef (our offices are literally one mile apart)!
So, to my soon-to-be former colleagues at Adobe, I wish you all the best! Keep making great products! And to the rest of my readers, I’m not leaving you, so… um… carry on with what you were doing!
*Hat-tip to Leslie Jensen-Inman for the title of this post
April 18th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Congrats @garazi Enjoy the well deserved time at home.
April 18th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Congratulations. AZ is going to be weird with both Rewis’s in the state at the same time … for extended periods of time. Maybe it will go blue! Best of luck in your new adventures.
April 18th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Congratulations!
You better believe the next time I see you I’m asking about the hotel hallway story. :-)
April 18th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Congrats Greg – and I hope it is everything you want it to be!
April 18th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Congrats Greg, hope to still catch up with you from time to time. All the best in startup world – it’s a great time to be backing yourself.
April 18th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
@grigs – It’s a good one! Looking forward to telling you the story. :-)
April 18th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
I’m not sure if you ever knew but you were the first Flash preso I saw and it kickstarted my understanding of Flash+FCS ultimately leading to my career. :) With that said, I’m thoroughly excited about seeing what you produce seeing as you’ve been “teaching” this entire time!
April 18th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Congratulations! I’m so excited for you. Change is bittersweet but making awesomeness is, well, awesome! Sending big hugs:)
April 18th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Now who am I going to heckle at Adobe events?! Best of luck to you Greg, you won’t need it, your skills are kung-fu, but I’ll still send best wishes your way. Hopefully I’ll still see you out on the road every now and then.
…and yeah, I’m kind curious about the Seoul story as well…
April 18th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Serendipity is often times the spice of life. Assuming there was no possible way our little Scottsdale, AZ start-up could attract the likes of Mr. Rewis… I knew his talented wife was local to us — so I sought her out. While drowning my sorrows in tequila that she recently became deeply involved with another venture, she mentioned she has someone else in mind… never knowing it was the guy whose videos I watched on Adobe TV! I believe we have an idea that is very stunning, and with Greg aboard, it’s now possible that it will indeed be stunning. More importantly, I look forward to working with him!
April 18th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Sounds great! Congrats on the switch-up and enjoy yourself some rest!
April 18th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
My mentor is leaving! Crazy! Sad day for us at Adobe and me personally. But a good day for you. Your status and stories are legendary and I’m just glad I get to have one more cerveza (or ocho) with you in Mexico City!!
April 18th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Time to hoist sail and set course in a new direction, eh? Congratulations, sir, and may the wind be off the port beam, may the painkillers be topped with fresh nutmeg, and may the hangovers be brief. Oh, and good luck adjusting to the loss of airline status ;)
April 18th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Greg, congratulations on your decision! New is always better, right? ;)
But I hope to see you anyway on some conferences :)
April 18th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
Wow, it just seems like yesterday we met through mutual friend mr. Jason “Warpspeed” Levine. We had a nice couple of beers in Amsterdam and we talked about the early days of GoLive and the music from that time. Man… the tour will never be the same without you. Glad I was just in time to get the Evangelist team of the CS5.5 Evolved tour to sign my card. I wish you all the luck and I know you’ll kick ass.
Greetzz MacMickey
April 18th, 2012 at 11:58 pm
All the best Greg! January is marked in my calendar…
April 19th, 2012 at 8:05 am
Aw, congrats Greg! Hope you’ll still be able to come out to some events and ‘not be a stranger’ – looking forward to hearing about all of the exciting things you’ve got up your sleeve!
April 19th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Congradulations!
I’ll surely keep following you… but I’ll miss your Dreamweaver tutorials and shows… Like I said to Jennifer when she asked about our favorite presenter (on Adobe Ambassador on LinkedIn), you were my favorite one.
I’m a trainer (and do the Adobe launch events here in Canada) and I really like your style and the humour that you put in what you do!
Looking forward for more on HTML5/CSS3 and JS!
April 19th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Best of luck, Greg — Looking forward to seeing “the next big thing” from you :)
April 19th, 2012 at 9:50 am
Congratulation to you, Greg, Hope you have a great job. I will miss you when I try to start working with Dreamweaver ;)
April 19th, 2012 at 9:50 am
Congratulations for that change in career! I will always remember the first day we met in Cologne for Adobe Live, and all the travels together thereafter… You have been an inspiration and got me up to speed for the Evangelist gig. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I will miss traveling and presenting with you. I hope our paths will cross again soon.
Take care my friend.
Rufus
April 19th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Greg, always making BIG THINGS happen! I still plan to heckle ya (and cheer ya on) at Adobe MAX, and can’t wait to see what you’ve got rolled up your sleeve next. Steph, be sure to sing extra loud in the car on the way to work ;)
Much love and blessings to ya both!
April 19th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Greg, best of luck with the new gig! I’ll really miss seeing your presentations, both online and in person, but if I was in your shoes and could trade-in a gonzo travel schedule for more time with Stephanie and an exciting new job, I’d be wondering why I didn’t make the decision sooner.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Congrats! Aren’t you too old for a startup? :p
April 19th, 2012 at 11:54 am
Hey Greg,
Change is often a good thing in life — and you are probably doing the right thing right now! ;)
I wish you luck! :-)
April 19th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Wow Greg! Believe me, it’s hard to let go, but reward doing new things is big at same time! Wish you all the best of luck. I was fortunate to be one of these colleagues you met somewhere arOund the globe:-) I hold great memories on things like Adobe Live, MAX etc! These never leave us!
April 19th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Very sad news for us, Greg. Whole Germany will miss you, we cannot imagine the Adobe Masters Tour without you here. All the very best, and let us know whenever you need more beers at the Oktoberfest. (I will have 15 years too, soon, let us know how it feels without).
April 19th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
[...] Incidentally, and since we’re on the topic of touring…it is with great sadness that I must inform you that my dear friend, colleague, long-time road warrior and official “road spouse” Greg Rewis is leaving Adobe. After 15 years he has decided to get back in the development game at a very promising start-up in the Phoenix area. You can read all about it HERE. [...]
April 19th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
WELCOME ABOARD Greg!
April 19th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Congratulations, Greg! I’m sure you will love it…and not that building awesome demos doesn’t count, but it’s great to have you in the ranks of the product builders.
April 19th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Congratulations Greg. Onward and upward!
April 19th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Congratulations Greg!
April 19th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
CONGRATS and well deserved!!
April 19th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
DW lost its most important partner, whatever stage you are, we will listen and support you carefully Mr Rewis.
Nobody goes nowhere, ‘Galaxy’ waiting your new exciting news and presentations…
April 19th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Awesome, Greg! Congratulations!
April 19th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
Sh*** who will be up with us on stage in the upcomming events? Hint to the “big red A”: I would apply for Greg’s job if you as me :-)=)
Hey Greg, one promise: the next beer at the Octoberfest is on me!
Do as good in you new job as you did on your (soon) old and we will hear from you again, soon.
Gratulations to you from Germany.
P.S.: Stef can you handle him every day? Sure?
;-)
April 20th, 2012 at 2:57 am
Hi Greg – the Emerging Countries in EMEA will miss you big time. Good luck with your new challenge. Let me know when you come to Munich and I buy you a drink.
April 20th, 2012 at 8:18 am
Congrats, Greg! The water is fine here on the non-Adobe side of the fence ;-)
April 20th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Congratulations, Greg! I sure look forward to hearing more about your hush-hush work in the future. I will miss seeing you on all those wonderful Adobe TV videos. I’d say good luck, but I have a feeling you won’t need it.
April 21st, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Congratulations Greg! That sounds really exciting and it seems like you and Stef are both embarking on a great adventure.
Hope to see you one of these times I’m down in Phoenix!
Good luck!
Mark
April 22nd, 2012 at 6:27 am
Congrats on taking a big step out! Excited to hear what comes from this on your blog…
May 1st, 2012 at 7:23 pm
Greg congrats on the new gig! I remember first seeing you speak on Macromedia Dreamweaver with Mike Downey at a hotel in Bethesda, MD! How much has the web has changed! Look forward in watching you push the web forward!
May 2nd, 2012 at 10:26 am
Congrats and best of luck in your new gig.
I know you’ll nail it big time.
Thank you Greg for all your awesome videos…you’ve helped me out enormously. You’ll be missed.
Happy sailing!
May 4th, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Through the past several years, you’ve been an amazing rock star, co-author, boyfriend, best friend, fiancé, husband, father and partner.
Through all that, Adobe has been a huge part of some of the best things and fondest memories — as well as causing some of the greatest stress. The continued wear and tear of going all over the world — but now as less than a handful of experts — has been harmful and extremely stressful to your psyche and physical self. As of this moment, all that is over.
It is bittersweet. It should have stayed great and there are surely many amazing memories. But what lies before you now is greater. While I expect it to cause you some great stress (what doesn’t), it will come from fighting with technology that’s “not quite where you want it”, all while having a team that believes you’re right where you need to be—with them. A team who values the information and amazing creativity stored in that crazy, gray head of yours. (Made gray, of course, by shining with brilliance. ;))
You have the opportunity to create something that hasn’t existed before. That’s where you belong. That’s where you always belonged—sorting out the options… evaluating the possibilities… brainstorming ideas… making decisions. You’re one of the greats. You have the chance to do great things again.
As you and I both know, we’re gambling on things that also might not work out through no fault of our own. Our teams could break down for any reason… someone could beat us to the punch… we could produce something that doesn’t get the attention it should… etc, etc. But the excitement and possibility of being successful and creating something new is even greater then the fear of failure. And so we take the chance. And whatever happens? That’s okay. Our eyes are open and we’re in this together.
I know we’re both going to be a bit nuts in the beginning, but I fully intend that this is the beginning of the rest of our lives… with the ability to actually live it like real people do—together.
And so, with this, I wish for the most amazing success to flood in to you from the universe… all the good things. And I want you to know that I will always be at your side, as your partner… and that I love you more than life… no matter what happens to either of us.
I’m the luckiest,
Stef.
And so he sails…
May 6th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
[...] Jason Levine and Rufus Deuchler. Sadly, 15-year road warrior, evangelist and mentor Greg Rewis has moved on and won’t be joining us. Still, we’ll be sure and toast in his honor at his [...]
May 6th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
Greg,
You will always be a legend…. GoLive, FireWorks, DreamWeaver, Flash… Macromedia and Adobe… you’ve been at the center of it all for so many years. Meeting you and Stephanie at SxSW was a major thrill for me. My best wishes to you as you embark on “the next big thing.”
Looking forward to hearing more from you in the years to come,
Thomas
June 27th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Congrats my brother! You are honestly the one face that transcended both Macromedia and Adobe (MickeyLive is rolling over right now); after all you were the guy they asked to demo the products to the Adobe board when they acquired us at MM.
I know you simply did not have the room to include “Don’t tell Mama – NYC donttellmamanyc.com/ but I have many great memories there with you. They should dedicate a booth to you for the dollars and customers you have brought to them over the years.
The first patent always seems to take the longest but if I got mine I know you and Stremor will get yours and I look forward to seeing and trying your wares one day soon.