Amplified Lifestyles Principal and General Manager, Jeremy McKenzie started his career in 1995. As with many of his colleagues, he approaches custom residential integration as a craft. Jeremy has engineered, installed, programmed, and directed a comprehensive selection of platforms through the years. He takes pride in the process, not just the outcome, and values client and team relationships. When not working, he explores the vast Western landscape on his motorcycle or enjoys live music venues with his family. 

AL: Do you have a favorite affirmation or quote?

JM: Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. 

AL:  What motivated you to become a partner in Amplified Lifestyles?

JM: From the beginning, the group’s guiding principles and goals aligned with my own. With 20 years of experience in the industry at the time, I had a lot to offer to the team in my role, and I was ready to commit to having Amplified become a part of my personal identity and daily life. I wanted to bring my total effort and attention to help build a great environment to work in and a better option in the market. 

AL: What have been the challenges and opportunities that you have found as a partner at Amplified Lifestyles?  

JM: The greatest challenge has been growing the company while working to maintain what makes Amplified special: how we conduct ourselves and support each other and our project partners. The most significant opportunity this has afforded me is the ability to work day-to-day with such dedicated and incredible people. To see people learn and grow in this industry and enjoy what they do. It is a tremendous blessing.

AL: What would be your dream project?

JM: For Amplified, the ultimate reward comes in a job well done. Regardless of the size and scope of work, the dream job is any project we complete with a satisfied client, a happy build team, and ongoing relationships with both. Many of us got into this industry because of the awe you see on a person’s face when they experience their first great Home Theater; it all grows from there.

AL: If you were not in home technology design, what would you do?

JM: I would have ended up somewhere in mechanical engineering, likely in the automotive or motorcycle industry. I am fascinated by complex mechanical devices, emphasizing internal combustion engines (which appear to be on their way out!). I often relax on the sofa with a technical manual.

AL: Song you can listen to on repeat?

JM: Right Where It Belongs by Nine Inch Nails. Moving but not too heavy.

AL: If you made a documentary, what would it be about? 

JM: Something so compelling to me is the nature of how we as people express and feel love for each other. It is incredible how some people can be so giving and selfless, putting their needs, wants, and interests aside to care for someone they love in the face of great tragedy or perhaps due to sickness or injury of the other. A parent who dedicates their life to caring for their special-needs child, or a spouse who does the same for their partner, it is incredible to see people flourish in the face of such tremendous adversity, and at the core of it is the power of love.

AL: What are three things you can’t live without?

JM: My wife Jennifer, a motorcycle, and extra toasty Cheez-its!

AL: How do you recharge?

JM: Riding motorcycles is a spiritual experience for me. It is a part of who I am, and I will ride until I physically cannot. It offers a wide variety of soothing and intense experiences, from cruising along a deserted highway in the vastness of the Nevada desert to scraping the ground at the apex of a corner, pushing the physical limits of man and machine.

AL: Best advice you’d give your teenage self?

JM: Don’t worry so much about school and whether you leave it with a direction. Hard work, dedication, and moral character will take you wherever you need to go; doors will open when you are ready for the opportunity.

In March, Amplified Lifestyles welcomed veteran Senior Technology Advisor Robert Gilligan to the team. Robert brings over twenty years of experience in audiovisual, automation, and security technologies.  He is adept at collaborating with interior designers, architects, general contractors, and lighting designers to find the best technology solutions that blend seamlessly into their high-end residential projects.

AL: Congratulations on joining Amplified Lifestyles! What attracted you to the company?

RG: Thank you! I’ve previously worked with many Amplified team members at a company that pioneered the home automation world. Tim Johnson, Amplified’s award-winning chief engineer, was my mentor and taught me almost everything I know about incorporating high-quality A/V systems into an estate home’s aesthetics. So, this feels like both a homecoming and the beginning of something exciting and new. I firmly believe that estate-level projects are best served by locally owned and operated firms, so I’m thrilled to join Kevin Cook, Casey Webster, Jeremy McKenzie, and this fantastic team that’s performing at the top of their game.

AL: What drew you into the world of home technology design? 

RG: My background is in recording studio engineering and special event production, like symphony galas and tech conferences. As luck would have it, the company I worked for at the time was doing a significant private event for a client in Atherton. We needed to tie in our event audio systems into the audio system of the house. I was thrilled to learn that the technologies we used in the live and studio production worlds were starting to be incorporated into Silicon Valley estate homes! This discovery coincided with my eldest daughter being born. It quickly became clear that the event world’s schedule was not family-friendly. 

So, I needed to take stock of my skills and find a way to leverage them for a career that would allow me to stay in the Bay Area and be home for dinner. These were the early days of home automation, with only a couple of companies providing those systems. So, I cold-called Engineered Environments, who were creating a dedicated Service Department for the company. Randy Stearns, the firm’s founder, took a chance on me and thought I would be great at leading that new team. The rest is history, but as I’ve grown in my career, I always keep coming back to that critical issue of customer service.

AL: How have you seen technology solutions change over the last 20 years?

RG: The primary change has been the transition of all A/V Home Technology systems to function over data networks rather than proprietary wiring or controls. This change enabled mobile app-based controls of these systems so homeowners could have complete control over their environments at a fingertip or voice’s reach. I think the next 20 years’ focus will be on leveraging these technologies into systems focused on health and well-being as much as entertainment. (Though I still look forward to the day when we have full, 8K holographic smell-o-vision!)

AL: Who is your ideal client?

RG: We’re fortunate to usually be introduced at the beginning of a project with the other design consultants. My ideal experiences are with clients and project design teams that are both inquisitive and decisive. They want to learn about Home Technology options but are self-aware enough to know what they want. My best experiences are with clients and design teams who are also empathetic to the rest of the family and staff’s needs. With the technology systems we design, everyone involved uses the audio, video, data networks, lighting and shades, surveillance, and access control systems. So, proper planning for multigenerational users and staff becomes a beautiful game of 3D chess.

AL: If you were not in home technology design, what would you do?

RG: My default answer to that question is always Astronaut! However, I’d more likely be involved in the production of films or music.

AL: What are some of the podcasts you listen to and why?

RG: The Daily, The Moth, and 10% Happier usually are in rotation to keep me informed and inspired. Still, I tend to listen to new music when I’m not on the phone, which is most of my waking hours. I’m constantly on the lookout for the next Radiohead or Beyoncé.

AL: What’s your current TV obsession?

RG Schitt’s Creek and The Mandalorian got me through the Pandemic. (That’s an interesting Venn diagram that describes me more than any Rorschach test could). I’m also planning not to watch anything on TV for the next year 🙂

AL: Song you can listen to on repeat?

RG: That’s constantly changing, and I tend to get obsessed with whole albums. The current rotation is “Razzmatazz” by IDKHow and the new Foo Fighters album “Medicine at Midnight.” I can also enjoy anything by Sarah Vaughan or Elbow at any time.

AL: Favorite app?

RG: The popular home automation apps from companies like Lutron, Savant, Sonos, and Nest are always at my fingertips. Still, apps like Calm and Noom helped me navigate the personal challenges of the last year. (And with all due respect and appreciation, I look forward to using my Zoom and Amazon apps much less in the immediate future!) 

AL: What’s inspiring you in life right now? 

RG: The reconnection of human relationships, both personal and professional, I’m currently talking to my friends and industry partners to schedule face-to-face get-togethers (when everyone is vaccinated and feeling safe). These calls fill my days with hope and optimism for the future. We’ve all just gone through an experience that will fundamentally change the way we think about home. I can’t wait to engage in this conversation with our fantastic design and building partners to help leverage technology to improve the quality of our client’s lives.