In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray sits down with Paul Puey to explore the backstory behind his journey into technology and eventually Bitcoin, rather than a quick summary of his career. Paul recounts growing up as a Filipino immigrant in Silicon Valley, discovering programming on a Commodore 64, and building his first entrepreneurial project, a direct mail database for his father's real estate business. He shares how a college graphics class sparked his passion for building interactive software, leading him to work at Chromatic Research and later Nvidia. Paul describes how severe repetitive strain injuries forced him out of traditional engineering, and how alternative treatments, including chiropractic care and rock climbing, helped him recover. Throughout, Paul emphasizes that he has always been driven by a desire to build things from nothing, a trait he believes defines many engineers, artists, and entrepreneurs. The conversation sets the stage for discussing how these formative experiences eventually led him toward Bitcoin and building Edge.
Paul Puey traces his path from a Commodore 64 in the 80s to Silicon Valley engineering and eventually Bitcoin.
Do you remember where we first met?
I believe it was Miami, at a conference, January 2015. It was during an after party, just chatting at the bar. It's interesting because I usually remember first meetings clearly, but I don't recall many of the times in between. It was during the bear market, so there was a bit of gloom in the industry back then.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in the Philippines and migrated to the US when I was five. My parents left because the economy was struggling and we were under a dictatorship in the late 70s and early 80s. I grew up in California, mostly Silicon Valley, and consider it home even though I spent a little time in Delaware too.
What was your first computer?
A Commodore 64, when I was about seven years old. I started as a gamer with an Atari 2600 before that. Eventually I asked my mom, who was actually a programmer, what the commands meant when loading games, and that curiosity led me into learning BASIC programming on the Commodore.
What did you build as a kid with that early programming knowledge?
Around sixth or seventh grade I built a database on the Commodore for my dad, who was a real estate agent, to manage mailing lists and print labels for flyers. I called it Miracle Mail Outs. I even hired friends and cousins to help stuff envelopes. It was my first entrepreneurial project.
What was it like taking your first graphics class in college?
It felt like magic, like learning tricks from a magician. Before that class I had no idea how images moved and rotated on screen. After one semester it clicked, it was math, trigonometry, and physics. I built a networked Tron style game, and on demo day everyone wanted to play it instead of just watching.
What happened after college that led you away from traditional engineering?
I graduated from Berkeley in electrical engineering and computer science, worked briefly at Chromatic Research, then spent about seven or eight years at Nvidia. I loved the work, but I developed severe repetitive strain injury, tendinitis and carpal tunnel, from being a workaholic engineer, and it eventually forced me to leave engineering entirely.
How did you recover from those injuries?
Traditional medicine did nothing for me, just cortisone shots and no real guidance. A chiropractor and later a massage therapist recommended strengthening and stretching, and even suggested climbing. I was skeptical at first, but climbing helped almost instantly. That period pulled me completely out of engineering for a few years.
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