Hi neighbors, my name is Ryan Hardtke. My family moved to Oakhurst in 2005 when I was only 5 years old. I live with my parents, Craig and Kim and my brother Kevin. I grew up here, attended Clarkston schools and made many memories over the years. 

FIGURING OUT WHAT WE LIKE TO DO

When it came to sports, I chose to work with a diving coach in middle school and prepared for the high school freshman team. For extracurricular classes at the high school, I took a few yearbook and photoshop classes. As I started to focus beyond the classroom, I started flying drones around my junior year because I enjoyed learning about new technology and as cameras improved, I started taking drone photos to show a different viewpoint of landscapes around me. 

PASSION UNFOLDS

It's no surprise that after graduating from CHS, I headed to Central Michigan University to study Informational Technology. While there, I started my business Limitless Metal LLC before earning my degree in IT and becoming certified in Cyber Security, which helped me get my day job. I have been taking photos using drones to capture different perspectives. In 2021, I got my drone pilot's license with the FAA, allowing me to go online and sell the photos I take with my drone. If we're lucky, we find work we like to do to pay the bills while being able to nurture a hobby we can turn into the work we love to do! You can read more about my business in this month's Resident Business Beat feature if you keep turning the pages.

FUN FACT

My family has always had birds and we babysat a friend's guinea pig and have had one ever since. Today, our blue and white parakeet, Kona and our guinea pig Nalu keep us company. They like each other, in fact, here is a photo of the two kissing! Both of them are less than 1 year old, and Kona has learned to say over 50 words, including full sentences! Like me, he  loves to play with technology, and has even learned how to use my apple watch to send texts in the family group chat. Really! We named Nalu after the Hawaiian word for "wave". She is quite the escape artist who loves to find ways to get out of her room to explore the rest of the house.  When Nalu was only a few months old, she managed to jump over barriers we would put up that were as high as 12 inches tall. You might call it an obstacle course fit for a guinea pig. 

TIME WELL SPENT

Our family enjoys celebrating holidays and special occasions together. We usually stay in Michigan and celebrate at home. I like spending time at the several county and town parks at different times of the year to capture different landscapes both from the air using drones and on the ground. Our Oakhurst neighborhood has been a great place to live. Because it is so large, I continue to meet people and find out that I have things in common with them. One of the coolest things about living here is being surrounded by so many families with different backgrounds represented. 

GIVING BACK 

My day job has allowed me to give back to the Detroit communities. I led two events with the non-profit Life Remodeled in 2024 and both involved assisting in cleaning up (1) the former Dominican High School (1940-2005), and (2) the Winans Academy of Performing Arts. Life Remodeled plans to turn this location into a technology-focused community center. I also led a team for a Life Remodeled 6-day project, where we went into the local Denby neighborhood in Detroit to clean up abandoned homes for the purpose of creating a safer environment for the residents of the neighborhood. More recently, I helped to coordinate a gift wrapping event for the Salvation Army's "Giving Tree" Program, where we wrapped over 1,000 gifts for 125 children in need.