Every builder in the sport has a moment where curiosity turns into action, and for Ryan that spark led to a lineup of creative bots like ARES, BudgetBoi, Count3rPunch, and more. From learning through YouTube videos to refining designs that literally melted in the arena, Ryan has steadily worked his way up through multiple weight classes. In this interview, he walks us through how he got started, what keeps him building, and where he hopes to go next.
Q: How did you first discover combat robotics, and what made you decide to start building?
Ryan: BattleBots was how I discovered it, discovering antweight events and learning about the Viper and D2 kits were what made me say “I can do that!”
Q: What was the first bot you ever built, and what do you remember most about it?
Ryan: I built an antweight called Dispatch, I remember being 50g overweight and all my screws coming undone because I didn’t use loctite. Still drove it to 3rd place, it was fun.
Q: Who were the early influences or resources that helped you get started?
Ryan: Watching videos from Robert Cowan, I’d say I learned a lot of design from him. Carter Hurd too.
Q: How has your current bot evolved from its earliest version?
Ryan: I’ll use Count3rPunch. It’s based off my ant I debuted in late 2022. The overall concept is identical, just very minor changes and overall becoming more comfortable from TPU. I’ve even grown so fond of the chassis/drivetrain I just scaled it up for BudgetBoi.
Q: What’s one thing you wish you knew before building your first bot?
Ryan: To count hardware (screws, nuts) weight. It is not negligible, especially in an antweight.
Q: Do you prefer building, driving, or strategy — and why?
Ryan: Driving, easy. It’s very fun to see your robot perform as you imagined it would, and I have fun driving because I’m competitive.
Q: What’s your favorite fight you’ve ever had?
Ryan: I have to say the ARES vs Emulsifier rematch from March 2025. That was an absolute slugfest, both robots and drivers gave it absolutely everything they had. It doesn’t feel like either side had anything more in the tank, it was such an even matchup.
Q: What keeps you excited about the sport?
Ryan: Seeing the development of designs from event to event. I enjoy seeing robots iterate and dial in their concepts, and how builders earn their eventual success by sticking with their concept. Examples are Mako, Jackalope, Sir Slicey, Maximizer, Synthesis 30.
Q: What advice would you give to someone just getting started?
Ryan: Count screw weight and use loctite. Also be creative with your mounting, think about constraining the 6 degrees of freedom, you might come up with some neat mounts/fixturing.
Q: What are your goals for your next event?
Ryan: Win
But more seriously, all you can do is get your robot into the arena in 100% working condition.
That said, I want to win so badly.
Q: What future events would you love to compete in?
Ryan: Battlebots. I don’t see it as worth it in its current state, but if another season were to be renewed….
Q: Where do you see yourself a year from now as a builder?
Ryan: Hopefully I’m more comfortable with 12lb design, it’s still a little mysterious to me.