The Story of MG: From Hobbyist to Creator of the OMG Cable

DEF CON Innovator

Photo by Alessandro Bianchi on Unsplash

Early Years and Big Influences

MG was raised in Wisconsin by parents who worked in medicine. They built their own home from the ground up, which made MG love doing things himself. As a kid, he was fascinated by magic tricks and sleight of hand. One story he often tells is how he brought a fake cigarette to school. It looked so real, with a glowing tip and smoky powder, that it got him suspended. This early act of rebellion hinted at MG’s independent streak.

His true interest showed up in middle school. He discovered Quake, a first-person shooter game. It opened his eyes to computers. He loved figuring out how to play multiplayer mode. That meant understanding modems, dial-up internet, and game mods like Team Fortress. He started changing player skins making them bigger or glowier to get an edge. It sparked his curiosity about tech tricks.

To make gaming better, MG started overclocking his computer’s CPU. That meant pushing it past normal limits. He learned about water cooling and combined skills from shop class with knowledge of computer parts. He even studied chemistry to avoid corrosion in his cooling systems.