Ben started his pyro career at an early age. As a boy, he saved his pennies throughout the year just to be able to visit the fireworks stands during that one great week in July. While in elementary school, he was exposed to the world of rocketry and began constructing sugar and BP rockets. This led to the experimentation and construction of other pyro devices. Ben currently owns and operates FireSmith Pyrotechnic Tooling. Through this enterprise, he has designed and currently manufactures over 150 different tools and machines used to construct a wide variety of pyro devices.

Steve got his start pyrotechnically as a boy when he and his brother Bob used to mix and burn whatever they could get their hands on. This included toy caps, ammonium nitrate from the local citrus farmers, calcium hypochlorite tablets for the Doughboy pool, and sulfur from the Gilbert chemistry set. Steve had a lot to learn back then… Eventually, he acquired a copy of Weingart’s book, discovered American Fireworks News and then the PGI. Steve’s fireworks got a little bit better. In 1988 he had the crazy idea of starting a pyro club in the western USA and soon after the WPA was formed. Formerly a lighting roadie with some 70’s bands like ZZ Top, Chicago, and Styx, he still works in local community theater as a lighting designer, technician, and equipment fabricator.