"I'm happy to be working in a team of people who are riding the same wave as me."

Who are you?

I'm Vikus. I was born in Vrchlabí, but I have lived most of my life in Jilemnice. Later, when I left my parents, my path led back to Vrchlabí, then to Horní Branná and Jičín. However, half of me is actually a bit of a Liberec guy now.

When I don't spend my free time at the computer, I usually spend it in the woods as an orienteer. Nowadays more as an organizer, but still as a competitor. Oh, and I also print maps for orienteering in the afternoons.

What was before UX Fans?

I've been around computers since I could slam my mouse on a desk in anger, so since I was about 3 years old. I've been dabbling in web development since I was about 11 years old. Gradually from completely amateur to professional level. However, I have always felt more like a web designer than a programmer.

Eight years of high school set me even further down that path, and I went on to study polygraphy. At the same time, somewhat voluntarily, I took over the family business for custom ad production. What more could you ask for - to study and to do business with my own father. :-) During this heavily punk period, I won my first commercial web development contracts. First as a web designer, but in reality more actually as a coder (a front end coder if you will). Later on I got a year experience as a coder (frontend, fullstack, whatever, ...) in a digital agency in Vrchlabí. And there I finally focused on web development.

What brought you to UX Fans?

Actually, it was the first introduction to React.js. I wanted to work in this technology and I couldn't do it in Vrchlabí in 2017. I'm also happy that I'm now working in a team of people who are riding the same wave as me. However, it was a bit of a coincidence that brought me to UXF. I knew someone who knew someone who knew someone who (you know)... and that's how the ad came to me. UXF was looking, then under a different name, for someone to fill the role of "Responsive Maestro".

This is the bridge to my current role in UXF. As a frontend developer, I'm responsible for coding - creating the user interface. You could also say that I breathe life into the visual elements of a website or app.

What is your role in UX Fans?

I am also briefing new frontend developers with the growing team. And since I've been in this field for quite a while (since HTML 4.01, CSS 1 and PHP 4 and other dinosaurs), I have the audacity to consider myself already a senior frontend developer. I enjoy tinkering with complex UI with pressure for good UX and accessibility.

Do you enjoy being part of UX Fans?

Absolutely. I've been on board almost from the very beginning. I love our corporate punk rock, and I fully identify with the company's philosophy. Despite the, sometimes annoying, seventy-kilometer trips to Liďáky, I still look forward to going to work after five years.