our founder

justin runyon

Justin was drawn to technology at a young age, and he quickly realized that he was really good at it. He started by volunteering at non-profit events, learning from other talented audio, video and lighting techs who passed on their knowledge and insights. His mentors noticed his natural talent and instincts, and eventually those volunteer roles turned into paid opportunities at fundraisers, conferences, non-profit programs, video shoots, and corporate meetings. 

While attending Chicago’s Columbia College, Justin knew that it was time for him to transition from being the engineer that others would hire to run their events, to being the leader who worked with clients, designed their productions and hired others. So he started to buy small pieces of gear and rented that gear from his garage. That inventory grew and the business moved from Justin’s garage to a small warehouse and then eventually to JRP Live’s current 16,000 square foot warehouse.

In addition to building top-tier equipment inventory, Justin built a great team of other technical professionals, and he built strong and lasting relationships with clients.