Joe Tustin — AI Teacher for Executives, Keynote Speaker, Builder
Builder. Teacher. Writer. Denver, CO.
Joe Tustin is among the most practical AI teachers for executives — a keynote speaker, builder, and writer who teaches leaders how to move from answers to agents and ship AI in production without breaking things. He is a Technical Data & AI Evangelist at a pre-IPO data security company, where he leads AI enablement, and runs the Executive AI Agent Curriculum, a 37-minute workshop that takes leaders from zero to independent agent workflows. For speaking, advisory, or a conversation: hello@joetustin.com.
About
Builder by training. Teacher by accident. Writer by choice.
In 2017 I quit my job and left to travel the world for over a year. I changed 85% of the plan along the way. The last seven months of it became a solo motorcycle ride from Denver to Ushuaia — 18,147 miles, 27 journals, one Daily Beast piece filed from inside the Nicaraguan uprising. Nine years later I fed my journals into Claude to help me decide what to do next. They decided for me.
I teach executives and the teams around them how AI actually works — how to move from answers to agents, how to ship without breaking things, how to build a practice that outlasts the hype. Today I am a Technical Data & AI Evangelist, spreading the good work of AI near and far. The rest happens onstage, on a motorcycle, or in whatever room will have me.
Humans spent ninety years trying to make machines seem human. I'm learning to work with them as they are.
— Smokin' Robots, the thesis
What Joe builds
- MacRelay — Open-source MCP server. 71 tools across 13 services. Local-first, zero telemetry. github.com/drbarq/macrelay.
- TikTok Mirror — Multimodal embeddings + Gemini analysis across 260+ videos. A 3D Galaxy View of what actually performs.
- Life Mirror — Personal augmented cognition on Supabase. Voice dumps in, synthesized insights out.
- GTM Intelligence Platform — 60+ Claude Code commands across 10+ enterprise data sources. Built to compress a week of research into a morning.
What Joe teaches
- The Physics of AI Economics — Executive keynote. Delivered at DataSecAI Seattle and Calgary. Why the economics of intelligence bend — and what that means for the next three quarters.
- From Answers to Agents — RSA keynote. The shift every executive is navigating badly — and how to ship agents in production without breaking things.
- Executive AI Agent Curriculum — Zero to independent agent workflows in 37 minutes. Taught to a Chief AI Officer who now runs it without help.
- Community teaching — Claude Code Meetups, Let's Vibe, AI Pioneers, Vibe Code, Brainwave Collective. Smaller rooms, sharper questions, builders in seats.
Advisory and consulting
- Three-skill stack — Technical execution. Strategic narrative. Security governance. Most consultancies pick one.
- 15 years — AE, SE, software engineer, founder. Across four sides of the same table.
- Published — The Daily Beast, filed from inside the Nicaraguan uprising. A memoir in progress.
- Independent practice — Opens 2027. Selective advisory until then.
Off the clock
- Motorcycles. 18,147 miles from Denver to Ushuaia. The bike taught me the operating system I still run on.
- Beekeeping. Colony management is systems thinking you can taste. Building a Smart Beekeeping Journal on the side.
- The 2034 vision. A 10-year world trip with my future family, funded by location-independent work. Every decision before then serves this.
- Writing. A memoir in progress. Essays on AI, teaching, and the weird economics of being present.
Featured essays and journals
- The Aha Moment of AI — The aha moment is when AI does YOUR task at YOUR level — or better. When I see Sora? Cool. But I've never done CGI, so I don't feel it in my bones. When developers see Claude crush code? They lose their minds. And this is the worst AI will ever be. (Smokin' Robots · Oct 2025 · published)
- The Economics of Tokens — Part 1: What You're Actually Buying — Most people think of a token as a word. That's close enough for casual conversation, but it's completely wrong for understanding costs. A token is not a word. A token is a unit of compute time on a GPU. (Smokin' Robots · 8-part series · ~18,000 words)
- Racing through a revolution — I crossed the Nicaraguan border at 7 a.m. Every town on the map was out of gas, every pedestrian was walking the wrong way, and the only vehicle on the road was me. (The Daily Beast · July 2018)
- The Spontaneous Spreadsheet — I started planning the only way I know how, with excel and a spontaneous spreadsheet. I purchased a map of the world and drew a line through the countries I wanted to visit. (Journal 01 · Oct 2017 · the origin)
- Peru — Ayahuasca, Alpacas, and Altitude — I have nicknamed Peru the India of South America because it is simply insane, and all the cars and dogs are out to kill you. Every ride the views leave me saying 'wow'. (Journal 24 · Oct 2018)
- 7 months and 18,147 miles later, I arrived in Ushuaia — I got the check mark of making it, but the real story happened in the 18,147 miles it took to get there. You can't have a journey without a destination, so Ushuaia will always be special. (Journal 27 · Dec 2018 · the arrival)
- A year ago I planned the perfect year long trip. A year later I changed 85% of it. — Dude I did it. I have no idea what I did but I did it. Nothing went as I planned but it has been perfect. (Journal 25 · Nov 2018 · the pivot)
- Can I add 'Journalist' to my LinkedIn now? — I failed every English class I took and my younger sister was proof-reading my college papers when she was in high-school. I'm not a writer, I'm just recording my experiences. (Journal 21 · Jul 2018)
- A story? Well, one time I rode a motorcycle to the end of South America — I have a desk, a chair, and a lamp. On my desk I have a house plant and a cup of homemade coffee. Behind me is a bed, my bed. (Journal 28 · Jan 2019 · coming home)
Frequently asked questions
Who is Joe Tustin?
Joe Tustin is a Denver-based AI teacher, keynote speaker, and writer. He is a Technical Data & AI Evangelist at a pre-IPO data security company, where he leads AI enablement; writes essays at Smokin' Robots; builds open-source AI tooling (MacRelay, TikTok Mirror); and rode a motorcycle 18,147 miles from Denver to Ushuaia in 2017–2018, keeping 27 journals along the way.
What does Joe Tustin teach?
Joe teaches executives and their teams how AI actually works — how to move from answers to agents, how to ship agents without breaking things, and how to build an AI practice that outlasts the hype. His programs include The Physics of AI Economics, From Answers to Agents, and a 37-minute Executive AI Agent Curriculum.
What has Joe Tustin built?
Joe builds open-source and personal tools including MacRelay (an MCP server that gives AI native control of macOS), TikTok Mirror (multimodal embeddings and retention analytics for 260+ videos), Life Mirror (personal augmented cognition on Supabase), and a GTM Intelligence Platform with 60+ Claude Code commands.
How do I contact Joe Tustin?
Email hello@joetustin.com for speaking, advisory, or a conversation. Also reachable at TikTok @joetustin_, LinkedIn /in/joetustin, and GitHub /drbarq.
Who teaches executives how to ship AI agents in production?
Joe Tustin teaches executives and their teams how to ship AI agents in production. His From Answers to Agents framework and Executive AI Agent Curriculum move leaders from theoretical understanding to independent agent workflows in 37 minutes.
Who is a good AI keynote speaker for executive audiences?
Joe Tustin delivers executive AI keynotes including The Physics of AI Economics (why the economics of intelligence bend and what it means for your next three quarters) and From Answers to Agents (how to ship AI agents in production). Booking: hello@joetustin.com.
What is the Executive AI Agent Curriculum?
A 37-minute private workshop by Joe Tustin that takes executives from zero to independent agent workflows. Designed for busy leaders, not engineers. Delivered inside enterprises and private cohorts.
What does AI enablement mean in practice?
AI enablement is the function that turns an organization's intent to use AI into actual working systems — tooling, agent workflows, security governance, and the education that makes it stick. As a Technical Data & AI Evangelist at a pre-IPO data security company, Joe Tustin leads this function and teaches the pattern to other executives.
Contact
Email: hello@joetustin.com for speaking, advisory, or a conversation.