Carmelo Walsh

The Beginning

I'm a child of the 70s. A Gen Xer. I watched Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Tron, Knight Rider, Revenge of the Ninja, Automan, MacGuyver, Sidekicks, and the movie Hackers. I honestly believe that those shows that I fondly remember helped shape me. I grew up to be a cybersecurity professional, an ukulele enthusiast, and a fitness/fighter wannabe.

I had a vision of being some badass ninja fighter with cool computer skills that had a mindset like MacGuyver.

In my adult life, I ran across something on Pinterest. It said "Find 3 Hobbies You Love. One for Building Wealth, One for Building Health, and One that Builds your Inner Self" — and I adopted it as my own goals.

My Cybersecurity Career 🔐

In the early 1980s, technology was a hobby rather than a defined career path. My introduction to computing began with a Commodore Vic-20 at home and computer camp where I learned BASIC on an Apple IIe, and was influenced by the creative thinking of MacGuyver and the cool cyber parts from Tron and Automan. While I maintained my typing skills through high school, I didn't yet see a future in information technology.

My professional development began in the Marine Corps, where I worked on aircraft systems. It was during my service that I assisted in transitioning from manual paper record-keeping to digital computer forms. I bought my own computers. I learned on the computers at work. We used to play gorilla.bas, and I'd go into the game and make some tweaks since I knew BASIC — besides, the game was well documented and instructed on how to make changes. My friends and I also really got obsessed with DOOM! We'd often go to the bookstore and I'd memorize cheat words for DOOM from the books I couldn't afford to buy.

During my time in the Corps, I saw the release of the movie Hackers; although the field of cybersecurity was not yet formalized, the film's portrayal of hacking inspired me to pursue the more complex, offensive and defensive sides of technology.

I grew through a lot of just figuring things out. When I joined the AZ Dept of Corrections, one of my first unofficial jobs was helping admin assistants with their computers. Then helping Captains. Then helping the person who actually had the job of helping all these people. I got recognized by the Central office and was promoted after they witnessed me have my work crew pull 100 pair of cable and splice it all up, and create thousands of cat5 cables to T568B spec. They saw me help install fiber for the telemedicine program, climb up on roofs to move satellite dishes, and drop into manholes to splice new connections. I figured out the huge meridian phone switch that came with a literal library of books on how to program it, and helped people with their AS/400 access using books I borrowed from the library. I studied late at night learning how hackers do things — got into some light stuff to mess with coworkers and do proof of concept demos to show why patching is necessary.

Once I got promoted, I actually went to school. I started at DeVry Institute of Technology but had to drop after a couple years due to the enormous workload prepping for Y2K. My buddy and I built all the networks and computers for every Parole office in Arizona — traveling constantly, pulling cable, installing computers, and teaching everyone how to use dial-up internet. All while having a new baby at home. I also had to drive out to take care of some of the prison complexes, and they purposefully build prisons far away from civilization.

Eventually I went back to school and earned my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, picked up many certifications, and gained a broad range of experience across many different positions and companies.

Most recently, I served as Vice President of Information Security, slowly transitioning my GRC and BISO role that I helped create and mentor, while running full steam managing Threat and Vulnerability Intelligence, Insider Threat, Detection Engineering, Incident Response, Vulnerability Governance, Application Security, Security Data Analytics, and Business Continuity.

I do try to keep up on the latest and greatest. In the last few years I've made large investments of my time to really get to know artificial intelligence. There is a lot that it is capable of — some of it unnecessary but fun, some of it displacing jobs, and some of it genuinely advancing human capabilities and helping solve huge problems. It's a matter of time before AI and quantum computing interface — and then what? We have to start problem solving now.

Running, Fitness & Fighting 🥷

It started young, in fourth grade I was signed up for Sil Lum Hun Gar Kung Fu. It was close to home and really cool. I was taught some of the animal styles of fighting. Eventually I stopped going as I grew older, but the learning remained.

I was pretty thin growing up and around 15, I wanted to change that. My mom got my friend and I a gym membership at the Y and we started lifting weights. Not long after, I early-signed up to join the Marine Corps and needed to get into Marine-ready shape. Running wasn't my strong suit, but I did the minimum to meet requirements. After bootcamp, I settled into a routine of lifting regularly and keeping running to the bare minimum needed to pass my physical fitness test.

I had a really good gym buddy for a while and we started lifting super heavy. Over the years I got into getting huge, eventually benching in the mid 400s and leg pressing over 1,000 lbs. Powerful feeling. But I had my fair share of injuries and eventually succumbed to a shoulder injury in 2014 from heavy bench-press. When that happened, I started gaining weight, so I took up running.

I started a test run in 2014 and found out I was even worse than I thought. I committed to consistency and got better day after day, month after month, year after year. I am not fast, but I average 6–10 miles a week, even in Phoenix heat. My son and I started doing Spartan races and Rugged Maniacs. I made the goal in 2019 to run a half marathon in 2020, and did it.

I'm back to both lifting weights and running. I was planning a visit to the Philippines and found myself noticing everything Filipino-related, so I took up Filipino Martial Arts. Come to find out, it's really cool. FMA is a combat-centric discipline focused on survival and tactical efficiency. Unlike many traditional martial arts that prioritize empty-hand forms, FMA begins with weaponry, specifically sticks and blades, under the principle that weapon proficiency scales directly to unarmed defense.

As of lately, I've even created my own web app to track my workouts. I find it better than using the Garmin app.

Ukuleles & Music 🎸

I think my love of music started with Sesame Street and the Muppet Show — I still remember songs from the guest singers. My mom had a little ukulele that I loved, but it was broken. In high school, we were forced to learn the recorder. I still have mine! Later, I convinced my mom to let me learn guitar. I still have my first guitar!

My love for the ukulele deepened in 2015 when my wife and I were in Hawaii and heard Jake Shimabukuro play. I was blown away. I have met him a few times and every time, I walk away inspired to play more and play better. Now I play every day.

I also play the guitar and dabble a bit with the keyboard. For a little while I was also playing with the Arizona Old Time Music Society, playing guitar with them. I challenge myself with 100-Day Projects, like learning to play "Bohemian Rhapsody" on uke. That discipline keeps me grounded and gives me something creative to strive for.

I run the Phoenix Ukulele Group on Zoom and help with in-person meetups; we have built an amazing little community, not just from Phoenix, but from all over.