About Me

Hi, I'm Mal!

I do a wide (huge) variety of things that interest me, but at the end of the day I'm a graphics and technical solutions guy that absolutely enjoys working with independents, developers, and small businesses who are chasing their dreams.

On the side when I can: I specialize in helping others achieve their small business goals by streamlining operations, enhancing their brand, and crafting practical solutions that keep them running smoothly. I often work with creators, influencers, private developers, food trucks, mom n' pop shops, and anyone between! Also, if something doesn't exist and you need it, we'll make it exist somehow.

At my core I enjoy being a supportive person and I will do all I can to work at your highest standards towards your goals. 🌟

Where I Am Now?

I am residing in Bellingham, Washington! I'm from Arizona, but I've been all over the place. Whatcom county is kind of where I roam these days. Occasionally I can be found as far north as Vancouver, B.C. or as far south as the Mexican border. I enjoy the Pacific Northwest and this is where I've made my home for now. 🌧️

What Is It I Do?

I love to help small business owners and independents battle with the corporate juggernauts in their area, not by outspending them but by outworking and providing similar -or- greater quality than them - Not only that, but getting their name out into their community and raising awareness of their presence.

Whether it's advertising, product development, media, full branding, CCTV systems, point-of-sale setups, conferencing, or adapting to new technology, I provide real solutions with complete transparency. I connect local businesses with their communities and help them not just survive, but thrive.

Quality does not have to be / is not locked behind premiums like most would believe. If you know where to look and how to communicate, you have access to outlets that reach far beyond, to lengths you would not expect.

When small business wins, the community around them wins, and that's why I help where I can.⭐

How I Work (and Think)

"Apes Strong Together." -Caesar, King of Apes 🙈🙉🙊

I believe in the power of community above all else. In today's brutal and often failing economy, community isn't just nice to have, it's the only thing that actually matters.

When we build networks of mutual support, share knowledge freely, and lift each other up, we create something resilient that cannot be replicated by AI or corporation. I've seen firsthand how a connected community of small businesses, independents, and skilled individuals can weather economic storms that would sink any one of us alone. That's why I approach every project not just as a transaction, but as an opportunity to strengthen the web of relationships that keeps us all afloat.

If I am supporting you then I believe that your success is also my success, and together we're stronger than any challenge the market throws our way.

A Few More Things About Me

When I'm Not Working, I'm Still Working!

I stream both work and gaming occasionally on various platforms, mostly on MAL+ here. I currently only stream now on my private streaming node, which is located at live.mal.plus - I'm not a huge fan of streaming on Twitch.tv, Kick, Facebook, and the others, though I have before.

I am actively in game development teams as well, so there's always that going on to some extent. (More at some point on that!)

Currently Learning/Exploring/Playing

I've been very slowly getting back into World of Warcraft so I can play with my wife and our guild. I'm a long time veteran player and raider in the game, all the way back to 2004. I took a year long break and came back to be a filthy casual player.

I also play League of Legends where I am the most anti-toxic player on Earth. I'm tilt-proof and the words "Stay Positive!" are often typed from my fingertips. I've fortunately gotten very decent at the game over the last few years and enjoy a pool of champs, mostly supports.

I run around in VRChat as well, mostly when my wife is on. She does commissions for various other players and develops worlds for her friends. During the pandemic she was eager to learn Unity and dove pretty hard into that. I myself, develop avatar assets & world accessories for it as well, but mostly at her request.

Other than those things: All the rest of my time is spent helping people launch their dreams, playing with my beautiful ESA (Border Collie) Tater, hanging out with my wife, and working a 7-to-5 weekday job all at the same time. I enjoy working on personal projects that require a lot of focus, and I crave challenges, so most things with high difficulty curves intrigue me. I do game development, run servers, and am currently writing a warehouse inventorying system in Javascript + Py! (Unrelated to the one in my Extras section!)

Want to know more? Contact me! I also do 3D Printing, metal fabrication, part replication, custom parting/tooling, and product prototyping + development.

I wasn't kidding when I said I do a lot of stuff. 👍

Wanna Connect or Hang Out?

🗒️ Name: Mal Smith
🗺️ Location: Bellingham, WA (USA)
📧 Contact Me: [email protected]
🖥️ Discord: Ikadar
🔗 LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/that-guy