Matthew is a recent graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in music performance and was a member of the Cowboy Marching Band drumline.  He spent the better part of the past ten years jet setting around the world as an open deck truck driver. (Check out my rig of tightly secured anchoring devices just off the shores of lake Michigan in Millenium Park, Chicago.) Matt can also be found moonlighting as a freelance writer for online and print publications, a music instructor for Fort Wayne area high schools, and an amateur dart player.  Okay, maybe the graduation wasn’t so recent, but rest assured, Matt has collected a unique set of skills through life’s twists and turns that coalesces quite nicely into being an enthusiastic oil analyst at Blackstone Labs!

We conduct a lot of tests here at Blackstone, but none have helped us determine if Luke is as young as he claims to be. When he’s off the clock, Luke can be found watching decades-old movie franchises, dusting off the cartridges for his Nintendo 64, or rocking out to some heavy metal. That guy in the car next to you pumping those Black Sabbath tracks… yeah, that’s Luke. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communication/Media, Luke puts his video editing skills to use sometimes on his small “gaming” YouTube channel. Where it is, we won’t say. He’s the father of two cool cats, Ori and Crump, a title bestowed upon him by his sisters.

Chris is a small-town green bean farmer. He’s also a Grace College alum, where he earned his Bachelor’s of English. Before becoming an analyst at Blackstone, he worked as a newspaper reporter and a bartender. He’s an Eagle Scout for life. He’s deathly allergic to gluten. His love for motor oil started at a young age, rebuilding classic cars with his dad, including a ’57 Ford F100 and a ’70 Chevelle. Blackstone is currently financing his latest project; the shell of a ’67 Camaro. He cooks, he gardens, he games, all to the tunes of the Grateful Dead.

Arryn went to school at the AFI Conservatory, becoming the first of her family to obtain a master’s degree. After graduation, she returned home and took up her oldest habits: keeping her dog away from the cat’s food and “discovering” decades-old popular video games. When she’s not working on scripts or analyzing what’s going on in your engine, she likes to take long walks or try new cooking experiments.

When Eric doesn’t have his eyes on oil reports, he has them behind acorn hats. And when he doesn’t have them behind acorn hats, he has them in a book, on a screen (probably watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for the 50th time), or on the road while riding his bicycle.

Eric also enjoys creative writing (mostly in Spanish), attempting to teach his cat to go on long walks like a dog, and attending live music events.

Senior analyst Suzi is all about learning and making things. She designs knitting patterns for her Etsy store Nebulous Knits, focusing primarily on plush toys and educational models. She keeps freshwater planted aquariums, way too many houseplants and enjoys gardening in the summertime. She also hikes year round and brings her scruffy little dog Buddy along whenever he can be coaxed out from his blanket fortress.

Raegan was a biology major and spent graduate school concentrating on microbiology and biochemistry, so she loves all things science. But she enjoys spending time in the great outdoors doing things like backpacking, kayaking, and camping, which is handy because she relocated from Indiana to California, where mountains and water are plentiful, and now works remotely for us as a senior analyst. Raegan developed an interest in car things after her brake pads/rotors needed done and she decided to do them myself with a little help from Youtube. Now she does her own oil changes for fun and taught her nephews how to change the oil. She spends a lot of time doing periodic table trivia (which is as nerdy as it sounds) and playing chess.

Although his picture features a machete, senior analyst Brian is possibly the most laid-back person analyst Blackstone has ever hired. When he’s not writing up your reports, Brian can be found visiting national parks, playing his French horn in a community orchestra, jogging around the Summit City, and vociferously supporting the local minor league sports teams. Before joining Blackstone, Brian was an enlisted Marine, playing in a Marine Corps band based in Hawaii. He then attended the University of Utah, where he assisted in research efforts at the National Center for Veterans Studies, eventually graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.