Born: November 22, 1983
Height: 5’10″ Weight: 180lbs
Hometown: Salem, Oregon USA
Nickname: Berto

Software Engineer

I attended Oregon Institute of Technology and was educated in the field of Software Engineering Technology. The most advanced project I completed was the development of an artificially intelligent path finding system for a real-time-strategy game engine. This was my junior project and I collaborated with two other students who were working on different parts of the engine. It rocked and we got very good marks for it. You can find out more about this work by reading my technical documentation of the technologies used.

Ice Engineer

When I worked at Bill Collier Community Ice Arena and Sun Valley Resort, I learned a great deal about ice maintenance. The construction of an ice rink, building ice, maintaining ice, removing ice and keeping related equipment and machinery running. My demo video features me driving the zamboni and there is no movie magic to it. That’s me, I am driving that machine and the video is an honest snapshot of my life during this time. I kept the ice and I put in my time watching from the side when I was wishing I could be right out there with the other skaters.

Once I started getting work as a performer, I found myself working two jobs. I would perform in a show and also be responsible for the ice. Portable ice is a little different than a fixed ice rink but all of my experience translated well.

Professional Ice Skater

Almost by accident, I fell in love with skating. Sophmore year in college, 19 years old, I was lured by a girlfriend and some peers into taking a 1 credit physical education course on figure skating. With an open mind and putting machismo aside, I quickly found myself taken by the sport. The Bill Collier Community Ice Arena offered me a job where I then learned the operations of an ice rink and how to teach basic skills while honing my own skills on the ice.

Eventually I would make it to Sun Valley, ID where I worked during the Summers as maintenance for the ice rink. It was there that I saw my first ice skating show. Enthralled by the environment, I decided that “I could do that” and learned all I could about skating in a show. I never stopped practicing and I got very into personal fitness and health sciences.

At the end of my college career I took a shot at performing and put out a demo video. Days after publishing the video, I had gone pro and went across the world to perform in my first show, REVERIE: Cirque On Ice. All this with no competition experience or testing accomplishments. All it took was a little passion, lots of practice and loads of good fun.