Hello
My name is Ronan Weber, I am 24 years old and originate from Cairns, Australia in Far North Queensland, now living in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am a Graphic Designer but I consider myself to be more than that. I have a vast knowledge in all things digital, print and software.
​
Here is my story...
MY STORY
Hello,
My name is Ronan Weber. I am 24 years old and originally from Cairns, Australia, in Far North Queensland—the gateway to the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. I spent 18 years of my life growing up there before I packed up and moved to the other side of the world to Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States of America.
​
Now, some of you might be thinking, “Why would you move to Indiana from Australia?” Well, here’s my story.
​
Growing up, and still to this day, I race BMX (Bicycle Motocross). Since I was 5 years old, BMX has been my life. While BMX isn’t the forefront of the sport in Australia, in the USA, it’s a world-class sanction. I wanted to live in the USA ever since I first got on a BMX race bike and decided to race professionally. After numerous conversations with my parents, we came to a conclusion, as they wouldn’t let me go without a backup plan. That’s when I found Marian University, home to the most decorated cycling team in the nation. I was accepted in early 2017 and moved to Indianapolis in 2018.
​
At this point, I had to ask myself: Was I going to college just to hang out and race my bike, or was I really going to study and explore what I want to do with my life after BMX? In high school, I wasn’t the smartest student; in fact, I failed 5th-grade math, so I never really enjoyed going to school every day. That all changed when I took a graphics class in 11th grade. In that class, I discovered a talent I never knew I had—Graphic Design.
​
​
I began my journey at Marian as a full-time college student studying Graphic Design, racing BMX professionally, and partying like a rockstar all at the same time. Eventually, juggling all of this for so many years started to burn me out. My racing began to plateau, and as I came to this realization, I went to Rock Hill to get some supercross training in before the 2020 season. However, on my first day there, I had a crash that resulted in my femur breaking in three places, leading to three surgeries and eight months off the bike. During my recovery, I put BMX aside and focused on my future career, landing an internship and pushing my schoolwork.
​
Once my leg healed, I returned to racing but reclassified myself as an amateur and raced just for the fun of it. I graduated from Marian with the Design Award for Excellence at the top of my class, and now I work as a full-time designer at Don’t Drive Naked here in Indianapolis.
​
Along the way, I created R9 Designs—my own freelance graphic design company—to showcase my work and help others bring their ideas to life. The "R" stands for the first letter of my name, and the "9" is my first-ever race number, chosen when I was a 5-year-old boy. Creation and design are my passions, and I’m thankful I get to help people every day by turning their ideas into reality. Because at the end of the day, creation starts with you.
