Employee Spotlight: Ross Gayler

Kara Boatner
August 21, 2024

We're excited to introduce Ross Gayler, our new Software Developer at Sock Club. Ross brings a wealth of technical expertise and a passion for problem-solving to our team. With his knack for innovation and a keen eye for detail, Ross is poised to enhance our software capabilities and drive forward our mission to deliver top-quality custom socks. 

What is your background prior to Sock Club?

Ross: I've worked as a developer around Austin for the last 11 years, most recently at Auctane (formerly Stamps.com), mostly focused on API design/consumption and optimization.

What is your favorite thing about working at Sock Club?

Ross: I got to design my very own sock! But really I love how everyone has been very personable and fun. It feels like a great team.

What's it like working in your role at Sock Club for someone who wouldn't know at all?

Ross: Being a developer is a strange combination of being both creative but also as logical as possible. Writing code is somewhere between traditional writing and puzzle solving. Writing code is about forming a series of steps to do a task, and then trying to see how few actions/steps you need to do to finish the task.

It's definitely a different way of thinking!

Who or what inspires you?

Ross: I've always been really inspired by the story of Tony Lommi, the guitarist from Black Sabbath, who lost the middle two fingers of his right hand in an accident and refused to accept that his guitar playing days were over, and then formed one of the most influential bands of all time. Incredible story about always focusing on your goals instead of your setbacks.

What’s the last book you read? Why/what did you learn?

Ross: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership by James Comey, the former director of the FBI. It was a very interesting read because I tend to be more optimistic about people and his point of view was very much about handling the worst of people and dealing with them. I learned not to underestimate how far people will go.

What’s the first concert you ever attended?

Ross: Probably The Osmonds with my grandparents when I was 7 or 8.

What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?

Ross: Japan or New Zealand, both are so beautiful.

What is something people might not know about you?

Ross: Most of my friends growing up were cotton farmers, as were their parents!

When people talk about the impact you make at Sock Club, what do you want them to say?

Ross: He really helped streamline and simplify our development process.

What about your new position or Sock Club in general drew you to apply for the job?

Ross: I originally applied because I thought working on software for making socks would be a great chance to learn about a new industry and it seemed like a fun team. When I found out I'd have the opportunity to work on our 2.0 relaunch and really get in there and start fresh on a project, I was even more excited!

Thanks for taking the time to get to know Ross - we’re looking forward to seeing the amazing contributions he will bring to our team, and we invite you to keep an eye out for future opportunities to join the creative minds here at Sock Club.