Michael Strickland, founder and CEO of Bandit Lites, is proud of his company - now the second largest in performance lighting. "Our goal isn’t to be the biggest; it’s to be the best," he says.

 

Lighting the Way

Michael Strickland, founder of the Knoxville-based lighting company Bandit Lites, turned a $25 idea into a multimillion dollar business and still had time to do his homework

Want to know how a 12-year-old kid revolutionized an industry while giving birth to what would become the second largest performance lighting company in the world? Ask Knoxville-based Bandit Lites founder and CEO Michael Strickland. He knows.

"I went down, and here was one of these bands, and I said, 'Can I bring some lights down, turn the roof lights off, and give you a light show?' What I was doing was thinking I could apply some of the theatrical knowledge to a rock concert, and they thought that was a great idea."

Michael was no stranger to the entertainment business. He had been starring in community theater performances since he was 4 and even became the youngest person to win the local best actor's cup at age 5. He dabbled in lighting during those early performances, but as he puts it, his knowledge of lighting techniques and technology was "just about zero." But never one to limit himself, Michael gathered his crew (a friend from school) and his supplies (lighting equipment "borrowed" from his junior high school's audiovisual department) and set out to light his first rock concert.

I try to use the word "we" rather than the word "I" because Bandit Lites isn't about me; it's about us. Michael Strickland

"I didn't have any knowledge back then," he admits, "but neither did the people I was working for, so anything and everything I did was correct. The color I used was right. The mood I set was right. There was no wrong for these people, nor was there any wrong for me."

The band asked Michael to name his price, so he quoted a modest $25. In 1968, to a 12-year-old kid, $25 was a heck of a lot of money," he recalls. "but they said sure, and the next month when another band came, I did the same thing. I went down to the theater and rolled two spotlights. I ran one, and my buddy ran the other. And whoever that first act was thought this was wonderful. They had never seen anything like this, so I impressed them as much as I impressed myself.

Word of Michael's success spread, and soon other touring bands began calling on Bandit to light their concerts. But not even Michael was ready for how quickly his idea would grow into a full time business

They had never seen anything like this, so I impressed them as much as I impressed myself. Michael Strickland

"We'd do a show one night for the Beach Boys, and they'd ask us to go the next night to another city. The first time they asked, I had to say no. "I was twelve years old," he says. "I couldn't drive. I had no way of getting there. But I was ready the next time. I hired a guy with a car. He had a trailer. And when they asked if we could do a show the next night in Asheville, I said sure. I still didn't think that after Asheville, he was going to say, 'Can you go to Charlotte?' "

Juggling the demands of high school, adolescence, and a fledgling company proved a bit difficult at times, but the the young entrepreneur pressed on - even through college and law school - despite the concerns of his parents.

"My parents were very supportive until I was ready to enroll in college," Michael says. "They, like my friends' parents, thought that at the end of high school, we'd quit this. And when the other friends said they were quitting to go to college, my parents said, 'Son, you can't go to school and do this.' But I convinced them that I could do both. They didn't much believe me, and they thought my grades would suffer, but they let me. They gave in, but they really hoped I'd settle down and become a lawyer. Today they're tickled to death I'm not a lawyer."

Michael believes in getting to know his employees individually. "we don't have a big turnover," he boasts. "It's a family business."

Thirty years and three continents later, Michael and Bandit Lites are continually reinventing how lighting is done. Bandit is the only multidimensional lighting company, with divisions that include live music, special events, television, movies, product sales and development, and even education. "We have a lot of interns, and we offer educational classes and seminars free of charge to anyone wants to come. That's our way of giving back," Michael says. And Michael - named Southeastern Entrepreneur of the Year last year by Ernst & Young, CNN, and USA Today - is responsible for several inventions and innovations within the industry,

including the time-based motor control system, Moto Data. But he's quick to shy away from taking all the credit for Bandit's success. "I try to use the word 'we' rather than 'I' because Bandit Lites isn't about me, It's about us."
With his having a client list that includes Garth Brooks, R.E.M., Jimmy Buffet, WWF Wrestling, and the Super Bowl half-time show, one may wonder if Michael has ever been bitten by the showbiz bug.

"Anybody who's behind the scenes really wants to be onstage," he answers honestly. "We're all frustrated actors. But does that mean today I want to be an actor? Absolutely not. If it fell in my lap would I do it? Who wouldn't? Everyone in this industry - behind the scenes - we're drawn to it like moths to the flame. If we can't be the star, we want to be near the star. We're drawn to show business." Teree Caruthers

COPYRIGHT ©, 2000 by SOUTHERN LIVING, INC.