Meet the Team

Tom Shank

Chief Custodian

Maintains day-to-day functionality of physical spaces through cleaning, waste removal, equipment reset, and basic facility maintenance. Frequently addresses issues before they are noticed. Often fixes problems that were not formally assigned. Last to leave. First to arrive.

Frodo Shank

Endurance Division Lead — Race & Gym Operations

Oversees endurance training systems, race execution, and day-to-day gym operations.Manages expedition-style race coverage, training documentation, obstacle analysis, and seasonal planning.

Ensures that physical training environments, equipment, and workflows remain practical, adaptable, and grounded in real use rather than theory.

Kurt Shank

Geology & Field Research Lead — The Dirt Project

Directs soil and rock collection, basic microscopy, sample cataloging, and regional geological context development.Focuses on curiosity-driven fieldwork intended to build intuition about land, time, and material processes.

All samples are personally collected, labeled, stored, and revisited as part of a longitudinal record.

Neil Shank

Astronomy Division Lead — Shank Gym Observatory / Night Sky Archive

Responsible for observational astronomy, astrophotography capture, and imaging workflows conducted both at home and in the field. Maintains a place-based archive documenting the night sky above race venues and training regions.

Jane Shank

Deep Time & Context Research Lead

Provides historical, paleontological, and environmental context for regions passed through during expeditions.Research spans geological epochs, human timelines, and land-use history.

This role exists to slow interpretation, widen temporal perspective, and prevent shallow conclusions.

Patti Shank

Audio & Signal Engineering Lead

Manages listening systems, signal chains, archival media formats, and playback environments. Oversees vinyl, FLAC, and CD archiving with an emphasis on fidelity, repeatability, and signal integrity.

Robert Shank

Database Operations Lead

Responsible for the structure, integrity, and maintenance of all internal databases.Designs schemas, manages versioning, enforces naming conventions, and ensures that data remains searchable, cross-referenced, and durable over time.

Focuses on continuity and retrievability rather than scale.

Devi Shank

Information Technology Lead

Maintains hardware, software, operating systems, storage, backups, and workflow tooling.Responsible for system reliability, security, redundancy, and long-term sustainability across computing environments.

Prioritizes local control, resilience, and independence from external platforms.

JRR Shank

Editorial & Publishing Lead — Post Illusion Press

Handles long-form writing, zines, and cultural analysis that fall outside race reports and field documentation.Manages drafting, revision, and publication without reliance on metrics, optimization strategies, or monetization.

This role exists to think slowly and publish selectively.

Freddie Shank

Design & Visual Systems Lead

Creates visual systems including badges, diagrams, maps, overlays, and reference graphics.Focuses on clarity, orientation, and documentation rather than branding or persuasion.

If something looks official, it is incidental to function.

Lucky Shank

Human Resources & Morale

Ensures that the project remains voluntary, sustainable, and mentally healthy.Monitors burnout, disengagement, and mission drift. Holds final authority on whether initiatives continue, pause, or quietly conclude.