Kyle Willis

I’ve been mashing the keyboard since I was a kid—starting with MySpace layouts for my friends’ hardcore bands. That was the earliest version of what would become a career.

After posting a few side projects on Twitter (instead of paying attention in high school Visual Basic class), I landed an internship at a top Chicago creative agency—right as responsive design was taking off. That was over a decade ago. I’ve been building ever since.

Today, I work as a front-end developer for a global beverage brand group, shipping high-performance, accessible websites for names like White Claw, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and Cayman Jack. The work spans international audiences, multiple languages, and tight timelines—code that runs clean across markets, devices, and time zones.

Over 10 years ago, I started THICKRIM, a small, independent studio that’s still running. We build fast, focused digital tools for the aftermarket automotive industry—helping custom shops, installers, and dealer programs modernize how they sell and operate. That includes full-stack websites, cloud-based platforms, and internal systems—built to last and made to scale.

From idea to paper to prototype to production, I ship with taste, speed, and a focus on tools that perform.

I live in the Chicago suburbs with my dog and my Jeep.