Bios

Batt Anderson-Producer, Director, Writer
Batt Anderson spent much of his teenage years forcing neighborhood friends to serve as actors in his experimental video projects. With his troupe in search of more conventional lifestyles, he left his native Ohio in his early 20’s with a road trip to the Pacific Northwest, which initiated his love for travel. Alternating between higher education and reckless road adventures, Batt began a photo-journalistic project to reveal the underbelly of American cities and countryside. The project never came to fruition, but did inspire the more ambitious mini-DV feature, Batt’s directing debut, "20 Questions." And during the filming of this feature length documentary, with magical "Uncle Joe," Batt rediscovered an odd talent from adolescence- hoop running. He has since turned his talent into a new extreme sport and popularized it on a Thanksgiving episode of The Late Show with David Letterman. During the process of completing "20 Questions," Batt has produced two spin-off video shorts that have been shown on Real Network’s Take 5 program, and the Real Guide.

Joseph Mair-"Uncle Joe," The Wandering Van Man
Joe Mair was born and raised in East Canton, Ohio. As Joe would say, being born "proud and free," he took early to travel and adventure. Striving to live “as far from the traditional and conventional life as possible," Joe hit the road in the early 70’s, and is still wandering the United States. Under the convictions of "studying reality" and "perfect integrity," Joe realizes his vision through his wandering ways, and with pride declares that he "is a part of every place he has ever been."

Heidi Mair-"Aunt Effie"
Like Uncle Joe, Heidi Mair was born and raised in East Canton, Ohio. As the youngest in a family of seven children, five of which were brothers, Heidi quickly established herself as an adventurous, positive, yet powerful force in her family. In admiration of her oldest brother Joe, at a young age Heidi served as an apprentice in some of his earliest business schemes, including a Venus Fly Trap store, developing the frozen French-fry (a process that Joe claims to have invented), serrating kitchen knives, and hand re-treading tires. When Joe began his wandering lifestyle, Heidi’s pursuits became more traditional, but no less ambitious. She obtained her master’s degree in Anthropology at the University of Oregon, and since that time has dynamically balanced career, marriage, and extensive national and international travel.

Rebecca Mair-"Upsouth Slipforce"
Rebecca Mair was born in Taiwan, and moved to Canton, Ohio at the tender age of one. No sooner did she move to Ohio before she began to travel throughout the United States (with the assistance of parents), touring various Buddhist temples and retreats. By the age of 6, she had become a fairly accomplished classical pianist, playing frequently in temples and coffee shops. Her interest in music gradually brought her to jazz, which she performs and sings in various Seattle area venues. Rebecca has also emerged herself into the area theater scene, and has held leading roles in five recent productions.

Eddie Sams-Sound Editing and Scoring, Co-Editor
Eddie Sams is a composer and sound engineer who has worked on numerous and varied projects on a national level. His expertise includes but is not limited to; recording classical music concerts, scoring and sound editing for film and cartoons, editing for film and streaming media, and recording, production, and session work for local Seattle bands and musicians.

Brian Riley-"Shave," - Composer/Producer
Born in Ohio and later relocating to Boston, Brian has been writing, recording and producing since he learned to press record and play. Enjoying life and dancing with his muses, Fact and Fantasy, he channels his creative energy mainly into his Jack Energy short stories and poetry and songwriting/producing for his band, Shave Librarian. Brian plans to publish his Jack Energy collections this summer. Always a very visual artist, he has recently embarked on a series of Fireworks/Flowers paintings. At any given moment ask Brian what he is thinking and he will likely reply, "beautiful thoughts"

Pete Miller-"Pete the Poet"
Pete Miller is a published poet from Seattle via Connecticut. Inspired by Uncle Joe and the Odyssey 2000 crew, he quit his current job and is currently traveling through Tanzania, India, and Cambodia.

Bonnie Dane-Titles, Graphic Design
Bonnie Dane is an award winning graphic designer and artist whose professional work is featured on product labels available internationally. Her specialties are font design and product branding.

Vance Naegle-Map Animations
Vance Naegle was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has been a professional artist and animator in the computer game industry for over 12th years. He has contributed to several award winning game titles, and has earned several awards directly for his artistic contributions. He is currently a Freelance Artist in Eugene, Oregon.

Sal Orange-Script Consultant and Map Animations
Sal Orange is a former magazine editor, and the author of many magazine articles and books. He's also the recipient of poetry awards and scholarships. He currently works as a designer of Nintendo videogames, with over a dozen game titles to his credit.