First licensed in 1985 while on active duty with the U.S. Army in Hawaii, Chris later spent time living and working in Eastern Europe shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was there that he met his wife, Inese, while working for a startup company to bring western-style supermarkets to Latvia and the Baltics. During this time his licensed had lapsed and upon return to the U.S. Chris was relicensed as W6HFP (for HF Portable).

Currently Chris is involved (more than) full time in the Buddipole business, running the day-to-day operations and helping to design new products. His interest in Amateur Radio is centered around HF portable while hiking and traveling. Other interests include fly-fishing, lightweight backpacking, international travel, and scuba diving.