What’s up?! It’s Chris, “The Drone Geek!”
When I started “The Drone Geek” platform circa 2018, I wasn’t really sure what it would look like or what it would become. I knew only two things:
1. I love drones and drone tech.
2. My college education was focused on broadcasting and brand development.
I had the passion to put my heart and soul into this project and I had the tools necessary to giving it the best chance at success. So, I jumped in headlong and began fleshing out my vision.
2018 | Hit the Ground Running
While “The Drone Geek” started in 2018, my love for drones starts a year earlier when I was gifted a drone for Christmas from my parents. My parents have always been my biggest supporters and cheerleaders in life, and they continued that trend by extremely generously buying me a DJI Phantom 3 Professional. That combined with countless exchanges with my dad where he adamantly insisted the drone industry as a potential career path for me, my mind began to seriously consider the possibilities in front of me.
In 2018 I sold my beloved Phantom 3 to raise funds to purchase a newer model from DJI. I landed on the Mavic 2 Zoom thanks to its sleeker build and optical zoom function. Looking back on it, I still don’t regret that decision a bit, considering my knowledge of the inner-workings of cameras was pedestrian at best and I still managed to pick a quality machine. I flew the Zoom as much as I possibly could, taking it with me EVERYWHERE. From trips as short as down the street to as long as all the way across the Atlantic Ocean during my 10-day trip through France — it was always packed in my bag. As you might imagine, having my drone with me that often and seeing that many places with it meant I was collecting a ton of photos and video clips.
That’s when I decided it was time to start a few social media pages to share what I was capturing through the lens of my drone. So, I established “Drone Geek, Lancaster” a name that was inspired by a comment I received from a friend who called me a “real drone nerd,” and my home location at the time which was the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I began sharing to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, which created the foundation for what the platform is today.
2019 | Transitioning to a Bigger Stage
In 2019 I upgraded my drone from the Mavic 2 Zoom to the Mavic 2 Pro and began adding a more diverse array of equipment to my arsenal. Adding this equipment allowed me to take my multimedia content production to a new level, which emboldened me to start doing more with my YouTube channel especially.
YouTube started for me as it does many other drone enthusiasts-turned-YouTubers. I started slow by just uploading highlight reels from the videos captured by my drone. I then began to form an identity around them and build upon my story-telling skills with programs such as “Sky High History,” where I taught bite-sized historical lessons through the camera on my drone.
2020-Present | Perseverance in its Purest Form
Fast forward to 2020 and my attitude towards my drone content ramped up in seriousness. I saturated myself in the industry and began to create content that didn’t just highlight what I did with my drone, but content that would be helpful and important to every drone enthusiast that stumbled upon “The Drone Geek.” The big challenge here was accomplishing this initiatives in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. It wasn’t easy, but I used the time I had free from my job as a kiosk software marketer to continue driving content to my platforms.
Over the next two years I would do my best to be a content machine. Creating audio, photo, and video content via drones, about drones, and for drone pilots. In early 2021 I officially began a partnership with The Droning Company and publicly began working for them and their platform. After many conversations with CEO, Stuart Smith, the plan to partner rolled out in the form of title sponsorships of my flagship YouTube program and podcast, “Let’s Talk Drones.” Since then my relationship has grown with The Droning Company and I serve as their “resident drone expert” as well as an unofficial face of the company, representing them at drone events across the country.
And that about brings you up to speed with me. Consider this page a “living and breathing” piece of this website. It will change over time and include a complete summarization of The Drone Geek and everything that happens relevant to it.
If you’d like to support my vision and help me grow this brand, donations are welcome (but never necessary or expected) by hitting the button below. Please consider donating what you can and not a penny more. These funds will be channeled directly back into The Drone Geek brand to assist in creating better and more engaging content!