Take 10 with Jeremy McKenzie

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.