OUR TEAM
Who we are
Michael Stevens (Co-founder of MWAVE)
Michael Stevens’ passion for home theater began at the age of 15. Every weekend, he would visit Sound Advice to listen and spend hours in their demo rooms. As a young adult, he worked at Circuit City where he purchased his first Dolby Prologic home theater consisting. In 2007, Michael, his wife and their 4 children purchased their first home which included a dedicated home theater. In 2018, Michael (aka Youthman) began creating content on Youtube in the form of Home Theater Tours, tips and product reviews and has since grown his channel to 130,000 subscribers.
In January of 2020, he made the move to full-time content creator and now travels the country creating content at AV trade shows, working with AV brands and providing inspiration through Home Theater Tours. In January of 2022, Michael Co-founded MWAVE – MidWest AV Experience with Ryan Charpentier.
Ryan Charpentier (Co-founder of MWAVE)
Ryan started Ascend Audio Video to break away from the snake oil and distrust that normally envelopes a business to customer relationships in the audio video world. He desires to establish a trusted partner that customer and clients could turn to for help and guidance when something was needed. Too many times and from too many people and companies are customers taken advantage of. Ascend Audio Video is different and hopes they can partner with you on your next audio video endeavour.
Rusty Mensch
MWAVE Event Coordinator
Rusty’s a tech fanatic from way back. As a kid, he’d take stuff apart just to see how it worked, and most of the time, he’d get it back together. “I started at Radio Shack when I was 17—it was awesome! They actually paid me to chat about cool gear.” Not much has changed; he’s still talking tech with anyone interested. He graduated with honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. “College taught me to think critically and solve problems using math and physics.”
Since 2003, Rusty’s been designing machine gun and rocket mounts for helicopters. He worked his way up, eventually becoming President for 8 years. Outside of work, he’s all about home theater and cars… and cameras, computers, web stuff, you name it. Rusty, a true Texan, lives up north of Dallas/Ft. Worth with his wife Kirsten, son Declan, and daughter Sydney. “We’re into dirt biking and water sports as a family.
“Boys never really grow up, do they? Our toys just get pricier. MWAVE gives us an excuse to share our toys, our passion and our knowledge with others like us. I’m grateful for this opportunity to contribute to our community, and I’m excited to see where it leads. My faith is at the core of every endeavor.”