Hello there, Hi. I’m Thomas Patrick Levy. You can call me Tom or Thomas. I don’t care, really. Want to read more about my name? That’s cool, skip to An Exhaustive History of My Name. I’m a founder, a product developer and manager, a software engineer, a WordPress critic and enthusiast, a poet, and an amateur strongman.
Founder, Product Manager, and Software Engineer
I’m a self-taught software engineer and developer with over 15 years experience creating software and software products. I mostly work in and around WordPress but not exclusively.
I founded codeBOX, LLC in 2013 and for almost a decade served as the CTO, product wwner, and lead developer of the company’s primary software product, LifterLMS.
I’ve been using WordPress in some form or another since 2008. Initially I disliked WordPress because I insisted I should build everything from scratch. As I sought to build things from scratch I found myself reading WordPress code for inspiration. After a number of years of study I admitted to myself (and others) that I admired WordPress. Like anything, it’s not perfect but it’s my preferred platform for most things these days.
I’ve been involved in the WordPress community since 2015 when I attended my very first WordCamp in Los Angeles. Since then I’ve been a member of the organizing team of WordCamp Los Angeles from 2016 to 2018 and am currently a member of the WordCamp Phoenix organizing team. I’ve spoken and volunteered at a number of WordCamps. And I’ve been a meetup organizer for a WooCommerce meetup in Phoenix since 2021.
Writing Little Poems and Things
I’m a writer but I accidentally stopped writing when I started to realize I could make money doing nearly anything else. In my past life I wrote two books and had countless poems published in mostly online publications that no longer exist. You might be able to find a copy of my full-length poetry collection on Amazon or you can read my full publication history on the Poetry page of this site.
I think that I’m interesting because I have somewhat seemingly conflicting interests (you know, like you and everybody else in the world) and I listen to really cool music.
This is my website. Tom Weights is my internet strongman slash weightlifter identity. I think Tom Waits is pretty great and I like lifting weights.
Strong(wo)man, Weightlifting, & CrossFit
In 2012 I was working as a frontend developer at a doomed startup, you know the kind that has an X-Box and a pingpong table in the breakroom, the fridge is stocked with craft IPA, and they buy you pizza 3 nights a week. I worked too many hours and I was 250+ pounds. One of my co-workers was always swinging a kettlebell around and he told me about CrossFit. I did a free workout and, well, because it’s a cult I was hooked. I no longer really pay attention to CrossFit but I’ve wound my way into Strong(wo)man and on most days you can find me in my garage or on the driveway lifting something weird and heavy. I’ve lost (and gained) a lot of weight over the last decade in strength and fitness sports. I know a lot about food and nutrition and I love to talk about it. So, if you’re interested let me know and I’ll talk, a lot.
An exhaustive history of my name
I use my full name online because in the late 2000s, when I was concerned with my online presence, a doctor named Thomas Levy dominated Google searches for our shared name with his articles and interviews about intravenous vitamin C. When I made this decision I cared about googling myself and I didn’t realize using my full name online would result in more than a decade of people calling me patrick. It’s like you all have a middle name why is it so confusing that I use mine? I was only ever called “Thoams” one time but I go by that name too now because, well, it’s amusing. I also didn’t realize that people would ask me, quite frequently, if I go by Tom or Thomas. And that no matter how I respond I’d feel like a liar. So there, that’s my name. Thomas Patrick Levy. You can call me Tom, Thomas, Thoams, or Patrick. I’ll almost always respond. Call me Tommy at your own risk unless you’re related to me or we’ve shared a bed.