Drupal Fit Community Spotlight: Dries Buytaert

We encourage users to post events happening in the community to the community events group on https://www.drupal.org.
christefano's picture

Dries Buytaert gives his State of Drupal address at DrupalCon Paris. (Photo by Celine Nadeau.)Dries Buytaert is the creator and project lead of the Drupal project. In recent years, he became the president of the Drupal Association in 2006 and co-founded Acquia in 2007. While Acquia remains his main focus, Dries donned the mask of the relentless crusader in the fight against spam and co-founded Mollom in 2008.

As if he weren't busy enough, Dries is a father of two, Stan and Axl, and recently moved with his wife, Karlijn, and children from his home city of Antwerp, Belgium, to Boston, Massachusetts.

After some chitchat about Boston, the thriving Los Angeles Drupal community and his recent Drupal in a tablet world post, we jumped into the interview.

Christefano: Dries, I'm really grateful that you put time aside for this.

Dries Buytaert: Yeah, no problem. I definitely want to help with Drupal Fit. To be honest, I don't think I'm the right person because I don't do all that much to stay fit [laughs], so I don't know how you want to go. If you want to ask me a few questions, or...

C: Sure, I have a couple questions I'd like to ask. First off, Drupal Fit is for people in our community who are dedicated to fitness in one way or another (either for themselves or others), and I really love that you're the mascot for Drupal Fit! You let us use Karlijn's photo of you so I definitely consider you dedicated to fitness as well, because you've lent your reputation and your image to the group.

So, that's what Drupal Fit is about.

Everyone has a different personal definition of fitness. What's yours?

DB: Good question. I mean... again, let's see where this interview goes. I want to try and help, but if nothing comes out of it [laughs], feel free to not use it.

C: Okay, let's give it a try.

DB: I haven't really thought about the questions ahead of time, but let me tell you a little bit about what I do. I mean, I don't really do any regular sports, unfortunately. I wish I did, and I used to do a lot of sports when I was younger but I stopped when I went to college and ever since I've been busy to do anything useful. So, what I end up doing is occasionally go for a run. I really like to ski. In winter I try to do some skiing. I also like to play tennis.

But all of those things just sort of happen. I've played tennis this year four times, so that sort of almost doesn't matter because it was only those three or four times. In terms of physical fitness, I need to do more.
I don't know if these answers help you at all.

C: This is perfect. People are interested in you, not only because you are an important person in our community, but these answers are great because they're a good counterweight to the Drupal Fit interviews that I've done so far. The other requests I've made for interviews have been responded to very quickly by people who are... obsessed with fitness, so their interviews were published first because they were the ones who responded first!

DB: Right.

C: So, I really want to talk with people who are interested in fitness but may not yet have reached their goals or have found the time or the techniques to get and stay fit.

DB: Okay, I think I know what I want to do in order to stay fit and I can talk a little bit about that. There are two categories of sports that I like. One, I don't like running. I don't like fitness. I don't like competing with myself, I guess. I'd much rather compete with other people.

I prefer things like playing tennis or squash, which is what I try to play, because it has these competitive elements. It's almost like fitness is a side effect [laughs], but it's a good side effect. It's why I play tennis, but also I play tennis because I think it's really fun and it keeps me fit. I need that extra element.

The second category for me is... well, I like sailing, as you might know, although I don't have a boat. I like sailing and skiing, and I like them for the same reason, which is part of a couple of reasons. One, they're both technical sports, and as an engineer, I like sports that have technical elements. Skiing is extremely technical and sailing is also technical. It's about the gear.

Secondly, both of those sports force me not to think about work or anything else that's going on in my life. It forces me to mentally relax in a way, because it requires you to pay attention to the skiing, and you need to pay attention to the sailing, and trimming the sails, and those kinds of things.

That's another reason why I don't like running or fitness. I've tried running many times. Every once in a while I'm like, "Let me try and do running again. Maybe I'll like it this time!" I never really like it because as I'm running, I'm thinking about all of those things, the problems that my brain solving, I guess, or thinking through situations.

On the few occasions that I can do sports I really like the fact that it's fun, that there's the game element, which is category one, and secondly, that it actually forces me to mentally do something else.

C: Have you heard of the MIT Sailing Club?

DB: No, is that in Boston?

C: Members of the MIT community have the sailing club, but non-members can do something similar across the river from MIT called Community Boating.

DB: Oh, very cool. Maybe that's something for next summer.

C: I haven't done it myself. Yeah, I think it's a summer program.

DB: Oh, good to know. It's very good to know.

My Drupal bike. Photo by Dries Buytaert, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.C: Do you still have your bicycle from Mission Bicycles?

DB: I do, actually, and when I was living in Belgium I would use it. I'd use it almost daily, not to go biking, but to run errands and stuff [laughs]. So, I guess that helped me to stay fit.

C: Do you do any cycling at all now that you're here in the States?

DB: I haven't done so, no. But in Belgium... I was living in apartments in about 15 minutes from the city center and so the place where we lived was very bikeable. I could get pretty much everywhere by bike, and so I used my bike all the time.

I guess I didn't think about it as a way to stay fit, but technically it was, of course. In Boston, we're actually between Winchester and Lexington, and it's not a very bikeable area unless you go biking for the purpose of biking. I haven't used my bike since we moved, because I don't really have the time to really go on a bike trip.

C: I've had the same issue. Depending on where one lives, it can be a challenge. Would you be interested in joining others for fitness-related events, either in the local Boston community, or at Drupal conferences?

DB: Yes, I'm certainly open to that. To be honest, I do care about my health and I do care about my fitness. For me, it's all about finding something that works for me, in terms of something that I like, and something that I can combine with my other duties in life.

It needs to be compatible with my family life as well as well as my travel schedule, because I travel a lot. So, certain sports are sort of by default excluded from my list because of all the travel. Team sports would be hard. I'm definitely open to ideas or clubs or events that I could participate in or join.

C: We're going to have a Drupal Fit BoF at DrupalCon Chicago, and you're more than welcome to come. I'd be happy to give you a report of what we come up with so that we can promote fitness-related events, particularly at conferences where people stay out late, go drinking, are sitting all day during the conference, or just standing around in the hallways.

It's a priority for me, but also, I'd like to see fitness-related activities take off in the local user groups. Is there a group event in particular that you'd like to take part in? You mentioned squash and tennis and sailing. Are there any team sports? Have you ever played Ultimate Frisbee?

DB: Never. I do like Frisbee a lot, but I've never played Ultimate Frisbee.

C: We'll have to do that sometime. It'll be difficult to do it at the Sheraton in Chicago, but maybe we could find a way. Maybe on the roof or something!

DB: I'm sure there's a park or something [laughs].

C: So, how do you stay motivated? Are there any tips that would have been good for you to have known in your past that might help others in our community?

DB: It's funny. Ever since I started Drupal, I've not had a single day that I felt like, "I'm sick and tired of Drupal, I'm going to take a break", or something. Every single day I've been passionate about what I do, and it's a priority for myself as well, because that hasn't been the case for other things that I did in life. I did spend time thinking about it, and I think it's just, for one, my role in the community has evolved over time — it has stayed fresh.

I guess what motivates me in life is a couple of things. It's learning, the ability to always be able to learn things, and Drupal has definitely allowed me to do that. And also, the combination of Drupal and Acquia... I mean, obviously, I'm still very much in Drupal, and I'm learning about technology every day through Drupal. There are a lot of mental challenges to be solved in Drupal as well, and strategic positions to be made, so that's awesome. At the same time, at Acquia, I'm also learning how to build a business.

I think the combination of Drupal and Acquia is actually a healthy one for me, because it increases my ability to learn things, which is something that I really like in life. Also, it's sort of a do-good thing, for lack of a better word. I definitely get a lot of motivation from the fact that young people can use Drupal to do really cool things, powerful things, or help other people. That's definitely inspiring for me and encourages me to do what I do.

C: Are you concerned at all that Stan and Axl will wear you out as they're running around or as they get older that they'll want to go on trips and have playtime and so on and that you might not have the time or energy because of your busy schedule?

DB: Yes, I do, of course. Family's really important. I try really hard to make time for them, and I think that's working. I work long days, but every day I try to take a break from 6pm to 8pm and spend time with them, or helping in the household with the housekeeping. But, every day I try to spend time with them. Every day I try to access with them as well.

There are these moments every day that I really try hard to be with them, and then of course on the weekends as well. And then after they go to bed, after 8pm, I'll go back to work. But in between that work schedule, I feel it's important for me to spend that time with them. I think I'm doing an okay job, except, of course when I'm traveling. When I'm not traveling, it's working out.

I learned it the hard way. It's a little sad in a way, but initially my people just scheduled meetings and stuff in that 6pm to 8pm timeframe, especially when I was Belgium. So, I really have to say now, "I'm going to block this in my calendar", so it's actually in my calendar as being busy. I've had to train them at work that I don't want meetings during that time.

I do take meetings if it's really important, but it has to be important if you want to compromise that time. People respect that and they happily scheduled the meetings after 8pm, which I was fine with.

C: Other than using your calendar, are there any other tools or practices that you use to help you stay sane?

DB: Let's see. Not really, to be honest. Nothing comes to mind at all. I mean, music is a big piece of my life. I can get emotional about music sometimes. Not like I'm starting to cry emotional, but it can bring peace or help me at times and that's useful for me.

You know, talking to people helps. That's always a good thing. I like to talk to people to solve problems rather than to try to solve them in my own head or on my own. None of this is unique, though, I guess that's what all people do.

C: What music do you listen to? Do you usually go into the zone with headphones or does the whole house shake?

DB: Both! It depends on what I'm doing. In general, I like to listen to the rock music, sort of the grungy rock, when I'm working. In general I dislike happy music a little bit. Joyful, happy music starts to irritate me after awhile. I like the more depressing music while I'm working.

At the dinner or at breakfast, I'll always put on some music and it could be some jazz music or it could be something more light and happy. At parties, I definitely like dance music, so it depends on what I'm doing. I like most kinds of music, most styles as well. I just like to listen to different kinds at different times of the day.

C: What would make it easier for you, whether it's music or something else to aid you, to have more physical exercise in your life?

Sailing on the Charles River. Photo by Dries Buytaert, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. DB: Music helps but I think being outdoors helps even more. I just like to be outdoors. Being surrounded by beautiful nature — in general, I think it's beautiful outside in Boston, especially this time of year — can really sort of grab me as a person and I can be really astonished by nature. It has an incredible effect on me. It makes me happy and makes me relax.

I like being on the ocean, not necessarily sailing but being on the water in a boat or even watching, staring at the water. It can really bring peace. If I could do one thing, I would live on the ocean. It's definitely a dream.

I'd like to be able to at some point in life.

C: When we need to replace the picture of you as our mascot, I'll see if we can get you on a boat and take a picture of that! We've been talking for a while now about a Drupal cruise. It would be a DrupalCamp but on a cruise ship. Would you be interested in hearing about that as details develop?

DB: Yeah, I like the water so being on a cruise ship sounds wonderful. If it's a sailboat, it would even be better.

C: Oh of course. There are some smaller ships that we could possible rent out that wouldn't be aircraft carrier-type cruise ships where it's hard to feel the water.

It seems that every time I take a vacation it's usually scheduled around a DrupalCamp in the city that I'm going to. Have you found that your travel also takes you to these types of events where your time off or time away coincides with work?

DB: Not really. I like to travel very efficiently so it usually leaves me a lot of time to explore the area, although I do like travel and even if I'm only somewhere in the city for half a day or a day, just being in a different place that I've never been before, eating in a restaurant that I've never eaten at or going to a bar I've never been to or meeting people I've never met is something that I really enjoy.

Even if it's short effective or efficient trips, whether it's to Greater Los Angeles Drupal or just the neighborhood, I still very much enjoy these short periods of being in a different environment.

C: That's wonderful. Is there a message you'd like to send out to the members of Drupal Fit?

DB: Good question. I think fitness is important. When I feel like I'm fit, either mentally or physically, I definitely perform better. We want the Drupal community to be fit so that we make better open source software.

C: I'm with you a hundred percent. Dries, thanks very much.

DB: You're welcome and talk to you soon. Thanks for the opportunity.

C: Stay fit, my friend.

Boston

Group categories

More Specifically

Group events

Add to calendar

Group notifications

This group offers an RSS feed. Or subscribe to these personalized, sitewide feeds: