Wayne is the Founder and Executive Director of the Safe Ride Foundation, the only nonprofit in Frederick that is fighting to stop drunk driving – and that’s only one of the organization’s missions!
According to Wayne, he’s basically wandering around the earth trying as many things as possible and hoping to look stupid in the process. “Always approachable, freakishly tall, just add water.” Oh. And he recently broke skateboarding Guinness World Records for the most Nollie Pop Shuvits in 30 seconds and the most done consecutively.
Extracurriculars
Wayne is always on the move. He prefers to “rest actively”, which means you can find him diving into any number of hobbies on a given day. The list includes skateboarding, basketball, learning to golf, singing karaoke, and playing as many as seven instruments. He learned to speak Slovak fluently so that he could communicate with his in-laws, and he continues to take lessons to improve! It’s not uncommon to see him step onto the stand-up comedy stage either.
Wayne does slow down to spend quality time with his wife and their golden doodle, named Noodle. Noodle is currently learning to speak English using audible word buttons (think Staples “Easy” button), and her parents couldn’t be more proud – or entertained!
Why we love Wayne
Wayne is an excellent connector of people, which is a key skill when it comes to somewhere community-focused, like Cowork Frederick. He currently has one of the longest-running memberships here, joining in the early days of Safe Ride 10 years ago. He’s seen a lot of people come and go, but always treats the old friends the same way he treats a newcomer. He is quick to introduce himself to someone and strike up a meaningful conversation in the process. He is a beloved part of who we are, to the point that his celebrations have become our celebrations as members keep up with the accomplishments of the Safe Ride Foundation. We watch him juggle an inhuman number of things, while still managing to find time for human moments.
Q&A with Wayne
How did you get into the non-profit world?
I built an app about 10 years ago that’s a lot like Uber, but we drive your car home for you. I turned that idea into a social good project that later became a non-profit organization known as the Safe Ride Foundation.
I don’t have a particularly compelling story for why it started, but I always share that I came up with the idea at West Virginia University, I was an athlete, I was in a frat, and surrounded by people that did really dumb things all the time. I saw a need that I felt like I was uniquely positioned to do something about, and figured, at 23 years old, that it would be a cool job. Turns out that was exactly the case.
What inspires you and keeps you going?
What drives me is a desire for respect and a fear of being a waste of potential. There were plenty of times throughout the saga of entrepreneurship where things got hard, sometimes even impossible. Sure I might not have known exactly what I was going to do, although I knew I wasn’t going to stop… and sometimes that’s all you need.
Cowork Frederick members tend to be a little unconventional. How does that apply to you?
Unique is a strong word, but I will say that like a true Gemini, I have way too many hobbies. I was a professional skateboarder for two years, I play seven instruments, I speak three languages, and built a monetized mobile app from scratch long before vibe coding.
Which of the guiding values defined by Cowork Frederick members speaks to you?
I’ll pick resilience. The people we look up to the most have failed probably ten times more than we’ve tried. I’d like to think I have a few examples of that myself, but adult life for me has basically been trying to create as many of those stories as possible.
Any tips for someone wanting to enter the same line of work/business can do to help ensure success?
I learned this from RuPaul of all people.
Wear a suit.
You want to make more money?
You like money?
Wear. A. Suit. Every. Day.
Why Cowork Frederick?
I found Cowork the same way that a lot of people do, I was looking for an office, discovered what coworking was, came in for a tour, decided I liked it, and stayed for a while. A while being 10 years (haha).
What makes Cowork Frederick what it is can be summed into one phrase: the people. I’m not here because of the building or the amenities, I’m here because I have a deep connection with the people that fill this building.
For those who want to learn more, how can you be reached?