◆Kent, UK
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ABOUT

My Journey into Technology

How childhood curiosity grew into Linux, cybersecurity, infrastructure, open source, community support and family life.

I learn by operating real systems.

My speciality is joining the layers together: Linux, virtualisation, storage, networking, security controls, monitoring and self-hosted applications.

1337 Systems is the name I use for my personal homelab, technical notes and infrastructure projects. It represents my own hands-on work and learning rather than a product catalogue or a commercial platform.

I enjoy the work that sits between “the service is down” and a properly evidenced explanation of why. That can mean tracing a route through pfSense, reading a systemd journal, checking a container filesystem, identifying a failing disk, or proving that a security rule is blocking a rotating set of reply addresses.

I am autistic, have ADHD and dyslexia, and I work best with clear systems, written evidence and practical problem solving. Those same habits help me document infrastructure carefully and notice details other people can miss.

My approach
Build it securely. Observe it properly. Understand the failure. Make the fix repeatable.
MY JOURNEY

Where the obsession started

I am a millennial, so my earliest memories of computers came from that brilliant in-between era: old family PCs, DOS games, floppy disks, CD-ROMs and learning by trying things until they worked.

01

Early computing: my Compaq LTE 5250

My first proper computer was a Compaq LTE 5250. Mine had a 120 MHz Intel Pentium processor, 16 MB of RAM and an 810 MB hard drive — close enough to 1 GB that it felt enormous to me at the time. Its 10.4-inch active-matrix colour display ran at 800 × 600, and the modular MultiBay made removable media such as floppy disks and CD-ROMs part of the experience.

By today’s standards those numbers are tiny, but the machine was amazing. It opened up my world. DOS games, floppy-disk installs, exploring folders and changing settings showed me that a computer was not just something to use; it was something I could understand, change and learn from.

Processor
Intel Pentium · 120 MHz
Memory
16 MB RAM · expandable to 80 MB
Storage
810 MB hard drive
Display
10.4-inch active-matrix TFT · 800 × 600
Removable media
MultiBay with floppy and CD-ROM support
Era
MS-DOS and early Windows computing

My dad encouraged that interest and pushed me towards technology early. That support gave me the confidence to open things up, ask why they worked and keep experimenting even before I had the language to explain what I was doing.

Kyle's beige Compaq LTE 5250 laptop with its screen open and floppy drive fitted
My Compaq LTE 5250. The machine that turned early curiosity into a lifelong need to understand how computers work.
02

Discovering Linux and security

One of the moments that changed how I saw computers was watching my brother use BackTrack 2 instead of the normal family Windows setup. I did not understand everything at the time, but I could see it was different. It made Linux, networking and cybersecurity feel like a world hidden underneath the desktop.

That early exposure became the start of a long-running interest in Linux distributions, command-line tools, live environments, security testing and understanding how systems behave beneath the interface.

BackTrack 2 Linux desktop with the black dragon wallpaper and application menu open
BackTrack 2. The distribution I first saw my brother running — the moment Linux and security stopped being invisible.
03

Learning by building

I learned fastest when I had something real to fix. I used an IBM ThinkPad X31, installed Linux on it, repaired laptops and built my own gaming PC around the age of ten. That first gaming build used an AMD Athlon-era platform, a GT 240 graphics card and more RAM than the older machines I had started with. At that age, it felt like a beast.

I also started learning scripting and automation through practical problems. One early example was experimenting with a cron-based MAC-address rotation workflow while learning how Linux networking tools behaved. The important part for me was not shortcuts — it was understanding how the system worked and how small commands could be combined into something useful.

BackTrack 5 R3 Linux desktop screenshot
BackTrack 5 R3. The red BackTrack image sits with the Linux learning chapter because it represents the period where I moved from curiosity into hands-on Linux and security experimentation.
04

Oriel High School: Linux, open source and finding my people

At Oriel High School, I made friends in the library through computers. A group of us would boot Linux from portable hard drives in USB caddies and use our own environments to experiment, learn and play around with open-source tools. We still needed the normal Windows environment for some school internet access, but Linux was where the learning happened.

We also had an after-school computer club where around seven of us talked about projects, open-source software, file sharing on the local network, games and what we wanted to build next. Looking back, many of us later discovered we were neurodivergent. That helped explain why we got along so naturally: we understood each other, enjoyed deep technical rabbit holes, and could spend hours discussing systems without getting bored.

Oriel High School building
Oriel High School. This is where the school library Linux group and after-school computer-club memories fit into my story.
05

Crawley College: learning security responsibly

At Crawley College, I kept building practical projects. One experiment was a portable server running in a virtual machine on my laptop so classmates could share files, collaborate and communicate. I used it as a way to understand remote access, self-hosting and network boundaries.

While studying, I also noticed security weaknesses that could have affected systems on the college network. Rather than misuse them, I reported them responsibly to staff, demonstrated the risk in a controlled way and explained why the configuration should be changed. Those experiences helped shape how I think about security now: curiosity matters, but responsibility matters more.

Crawley College building at night with illuminated signage
Crawley College. Where I learned that finding a security weakness matters less than reporting it responsibly.
06

Today: homelab, open source, downtime and family

Today, I still learn by operating real systems. My homelab is where I test Linux, Proxmox, Docker, storage, monitoring, identity, VPNs, security tools and open-source services in a way that feels close to real enterprise infrastructure. I enjoy downtime too — gaming, music, family days out and anything that lets me reset before diving back into the lab.

Outside technology, I love my partner and our two little boys, and we have a third child on the way. I enjoy spending time with them, taking days out to relax, and teaching the boys practical life skills. Through 1337 Systems I also try to give back locally by helping families and small businesses with IT support, usually only asking people to cover parts where replacement components are needed.

Home lab servers and network switch in the loft
The lab. Part of the homelab environment in the loft — the servers, switching and cabling where most of my hands-on learning happens.
ABOUT ME TODAY

Family and life outside work

I love spending time with my partner and our two little boys, and we are excited to have a third child on the way.

Outside the lab, family time matters most to me. I enjoy teaching the boys practical life skills, encouraging curiosity, and helping them understand how things work in a patient, hands-on way.

I also value simple family days out where we can switch off, relax and make memories together. That balance keeps me grounded and reminds me why reliable, helpful technology matters in real life.

Family play time in a ball pit
Family play time — being present, having fun and making memories.
Two children spending time outdoors in the garden
Teaching practical life skills and encouraging curiosity outdoors.
A family day out by a castle and lake, believed to be Leeds Castle
Family downtime — days out, fresh air and time away from screens.
OUTSIDE WORK

What I do in my spare time

Linux systems

CachyOS is my main daily driver, and I regularly work across Debian, Ubuntu and Red Hat family systems. I test kernels, troubleshoot PipeWire/SOF audio, graphics acceleration, Flatpak behaviour and desktop integration.

Android experimentation

I work with /e/OS, Magisk, Termux, ZRAM, rooted tooling and ARM64 containers to understand what mobile Linux can do.

Family technology

I build privacy-conscious, child-appropriate systems with selective DNS filtering, per-user nftables rules and recoverable application controls.

Gaming & downtime

When I'm not in the lab, I unwind with World of Warcraft and a few self-hosted game servers (Minecraft via Crafty, and others) for friends and family — usually with the cat supervising.

A tuxedo cat on the desk in front of a World of Warcraft session
Downtime — World of Warcraft, mechanical keyboard, and the cat keeping an eye on my DPS.

The same curiosity that drives the lab spills into how I relax: tinkering with game servers, running things myself rather than renting them, and keeping a home that is comfortable for both people and a very nosy cat.