Eric Groves

Principal

Lately Eric has been morphing into a cowboy. Not sure why. Probably a mid-life crisis — he’s at that age when guys like to change things up. One day he comes to the office looking all designerly and the next day it looks like he’s fixin’ to do chores on the back forty. Lots of funky western shirts with pearl buttons, occasional cowboy boots— haven’t seen a cowboy hat yet (thank goodness!), but we wouldn’t be shocked if he walked in one day sporting one. If he does, we’ll know the transformation is complete.

Ryan Parlee

Principal

Ryan has a brilliant mind…..most of the time. Yes, he’s as sharp as a tack when it comes to web architecture and he’s fluent in dozens of languages that only a computer chip could appreciate, but when it comes to every day, around-the-house smarts, well……not so much. You see, he once was teaching his young kids the intricacies of building smoke bombs and by the time he was done with his mini science experiment, half the kitchen was gone and six firetrucks came to visit the Parlee household. They did end up with a completely remodeled kitchen when all was said and done, and he claims it was all part of the plan.

Scott Helms

Principal

You probably recognize Scott from his performance in the movie “Whiteboyz.” No?! You’re kidding! Okay, it had a total box office draw of $33… but man, Scott really let his acting chops loose in this flick. The way he molded perfectly into the two-second background scene along with 35 other extras was impressive stuff! If they ever give an Oscar for best performance for a non-speaking, barely visible, leaning-against-a-wall, most-likely-never-to-be-noticed person in a terribly awful movie, the vote would have to go to Scott.

John Anderson

Associate Creative Director

Despite having a name that Tom Cruise might use to check into a hotel – John Anderson as a person contradicts his generic moniker. John is an accomplished musician who writes and composes ditties that sound like they’re right out of the 80’s…on purpose. He also has serious acting chops and was awarded the Iowa High School All-State Actor of the Year in 2004! With those sort of accolades, John is almost famous! Come to think of it, maybe John Anderson isn’t his real name after all.

Jesse Balmer

Videographer

Jesse, aka J-balm grew up in Johnston, Iowa and always wanted to be an artist of some sort. After he graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia he brought his artistic skills back to Des Moines working as a talented graphic designer and skilled videographer. At Flying Hippo, he shoots and edits client videos and commercials. He loves the challenge, fast pace, and wide variety of work. When he’s away from the Hippo pack, Jesse enjoys playing piano, hiking, traveling, woodworking, and cooking.

Alex Boisjolie

Digital Content Strategist

Little did you know we employ an internationally ranked Tetris player. Alex is a serious stud at stacking shapes and creative writing. We heard as a kid he built a huge wall using those alphabet blocks and spelled out a poem about nap time! His favorite tetromino (a Tetris nerd’s way to say “shape”) is the straight line because it’s long and misunderstood—like his last name. Speaking of shapes, he likes to stay in shape. He runs marathons! But more often than not, he finds himself racing after 26.2 chicken wings!

Lynn Cutshall

Hippo Engineer

Lynn lives for food. Seriously. We think the only reason he works is so that he can frequent the many fine dining establishments in the area. He’s developed a very sophisticated palette over the years and claims he can actually taste the difference between a chalupa and an enchilada from Taco John’s! Actually, he’s introduced our staff to a plethora of varied and interesting dining experience. If he could change careers he would love to be a critic of fine eateries and write a daily column for the Des Moines Register. He even came up with a snappy name for the column – “Lynn’s Guide for Avoiding Salmonella.” Hey, a man’s gotta dream!

Ashley Edwards

Office Manager

Ashley is very nice, smart and pretty, but she definitely has some quirks. For instance, she no longer wears closed-toe shoes because she says her toes were choking from “lack of oxygen” and that this in turn caused a chemical imbalance that resulted in random hiccups. I think I believe her because, until recently, she would periodically let out very loud, bark-like sounds that resonated throughout the office. They resembled hiccups, but smelled like socks. Now that the closed-toe shoes are gone, we’re all better off.

Brian Fiser

Director of Photography

Brian, aka Mr. Flip-The-Switch, graces us everyday with the biggest of smiles and most friendliest of demeanors. There’s just something about his aura when he walks in that makes you want to give him a big hug. For fear of litigation, I’ll stop there… do NOT hug this man. The only hug you’ll get from this collegiate wrestler is the air-stopping grizzly bear variety. But, if you do say “Uncle” quick enough, be sure to ask him about his multiple Emmy awards and his biggest passion outside of family, the wrestling team he coaches. You should also ask to see a picture of him in his wrestling singlet. Talk about a pin-up!

Megan Halsch

Account Manager

Megan is confident she sings with a beautiful soprano voice. But from the vocals we’ve heard, we think she should sing tenor… fifteen miles away from us. However, Megan makes up for her lack of vocal ability with her strong work ethic, enthusiasm and personality.  

She’s also an old soul when it comes to tunes. If you ever see a pretty girl driving around blaring ragtime music—it’s probably Megan! She does have a confession… *whisper voice*… She’s a closet Taylor Swift fan… *loud voice* … She just can’t shake it off, shake it off!

Kristin Kerr

Account Services Director

You know how sometimes you can tell what a person is like just by looking at them? Well, that is not the case with Kristin. By all appearances she’s a buttoned-up professional, but behind the petite, mild-mannered exterior lies a slightly twisted daredevil in heels. Let me paint the picture. She once felt the need to swim with sharks (yes, sharks…with pointy teeth!) Why, you ask? No, stinkin’ clue – I told you, she’s twisted. She also loves the horror flicks. “Slash and gore, give me more!” – that’s her mantra. Her favorite movie? “Jaws” of course.

Marcus McVey

Designer

Marcus has memorized every second of all three Lord of the Rings movies. That’s 33,420 seconds of content he can recite by heart. But that’s not the weird part. The dude thinks he’s a Hobbit. On his first day, he walked in with no shoes on, curly hair glued to his bare feet and asked if our health insurance covers an elf-ontomy to make his ears pointed. We let the Frodo Baggins bizarreness slide because the guy is a heck of a designer. Marcus, just please stop looking through people’s stuff on their desks. We told you the Rings aren’t here.  

Jared Raney

Digital Marketing Specialist

Jared grew up in Ames, Iowa longing to someday be an author, inventor, or a member of the X-Men. Fortunately for us, none of that panned out. While he may not be one of the X-Men, he performs superhuman feats as our social media guru running paid digital ads and overseeing all marketing initiatives that include data tracking, analysis and reporting on websites. And while he is well-versed in all things online, he loves to be outdoors gardening, hiking, paddle boarding, or tailgating at an ISU game.

Jerry Stoner

Director of Brand Voice Development

Weed be remiss if we didn’t mention Jerry Stoner’s stellar resume over his illustrious 20-plus year career. He’s written national ad campaigns for some heavy hitters such as McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Napa Auto Parts and Domino’s Pizza. On top of that, he acts, sings and plays guitar! What can’t he do? He truly smokes everyone when it comes to cranking out creative ideas that create buzz. But to be blunt, what Stoner wouldn’t appreciate that?

David Warren

Web Developer

This is the bio of David Warren

He grew up somewhere foreign

In a Russian town that’s hard to spell

And he’s been to ten countries, as well

But there’s more than meets the eye

Then just a web-development guy

He loves to write poetry

As you can probably see

He’s an accomplished theater actor

He admits his cooking is a disaster

He once told a story about his chili exploding

(He better just stick to coding)