Meet D. Ryan Mowry | Artist (Filmmaker/Digital Painter/Brewer/Fermenter) & Product Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Mowry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I am an artist at heart who has been working in the corporate world for many years now. I have been working on “side hustles” for years, but now I am working to make my newest venture a full time business. In my day job I haven’t had much opportunity to use my creative side, so I have always had side outputs for my creativity: For years I wrote movie reviews for no-budget and low-budget movies, while also making my own low-budget flicks. I then was working to open a brewpub in San Antonio, TX, where I recently relocated from, followed by a hot sauce company. In both cases I was able to iterate on recipes, creating a full lineup of beers and sauces, both of which were highly acclaimed. Now I am here in Aurora, and I am ready to bring together the various ventures I have worked on over the years into a few different ventures. First, I am making a new short film for the first time in a long time (here’s me on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2038084/), Mile 173, under my new production company “Dr. M’s Delicious Elixirs” and in association with Denver’s Ghoul’s Night Productions. I am also working towards combining my love of fermented hot sauce and fermented hop sauce to make two sister companies, Horrifying Hot Sauce and Horrifying Brewing Company. In addition to the years of recipe creation, I am also a digital artist and use my original art for the labels on both of these companies – the art for HHS is here as well https://www.instagram.com/horrifyinghotsauce/. My designs are also available on t-shirts at both TeePublic (https://www.teepublic.com/user/dryanmowry) and Threadless (https://dryanmowry.threadless.com/) as well… I’m wearing my “Mikey Loves Bill” shirt in my pic!

Now I am beginning my search for funding and a location in Aurora that can hold Horrifying Hot Sauce and Horrifying Brewing Co., but in addition I am looking for space to show movies! I am, have been, and always will be a huge film nerd who will take any opportunity to tell you the virtues of having your movies on physical media. I love all genres, but I have a special affinity for horror… hence the theming. So my idea is to be able to have a place where I can show obscure movies from my collection in addition to have a small retail space where we could carry high-end boutique movie releases as well.

Phew. That seems like a lot. But I’ve always had a tendency to bite off a lot. Here’s hoping I can find the right people and places to put these ideas into reality soon!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While I have been working in the corporate world for more than a dozen years now, in my heart I have always been an artist. When I was little I loved to draw and create – as a little kid I actually created the Carolina Panthers (except my team was the South Carolina Panthers because I spent a few years there growing up) years before they became a real team, and my color scheme was teal and black! I made electronic music for many years under the moniker “SCG,” (plus a few others) which I would explain as a cross between DJ Shadow and Aphex Twin (https://soundcloud.com/dryanmowry).
I also started making movies way back in 1999, when I shot my first short, “knuckleheads.” on the streets of Kaiserslautern, Germany. Not long after I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with my film-making partner following a bit later, and we started SB-Films. Under this name, I made a handful of short films, and completed one feature length campy superhero comedy called “Defective Man!” We made this movie literally over the course of nearly 5 years, and for less than $5,000, and it premiered the weekend before I got in a U-Haul and moved to San Antonio, Texas, for my new corporate job. In New Mexico I was also fortunate enough to work on a few other independent films, anything from an extra up to the Assistant Director on a film that included Gunnar “Leatherface” Hansen! While in Texas, I made one more short that I am extremely proud of, CLUSTER (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61unt0y9N4), which is my “art horror film,” it’s a visual metaphor for debilitating pain.
Along the way I also picked up homebrewing (in 2008), and was working to build a brewpub (Brazen BeXar Brewing) with my partner, Manny. I created many successful recipes, and we had even begun some very preliminary talks with the city of Helotes, TX about finding space for our brewpub there, when unfortunately life got in the way. But I later took that love of fermentation and put it to use with ferment hot sauces, which I released to great acclaim. I paired those sauces with my newly found (2019 or so) love of digital painting and my lifelong love of movies and especially horror movies to make my next venture, Horrifying Hot Sauce, which has been on pause since the move from Texas began.
I also have taken my ideas for art – mostly pop-culture or horror stuff, but a little bit of everything – and put them up on both TeePublic and Threadless and have had a pretty decent response to them. People really seem to like my Sho’ ‘Nuff, UHF, and especially my “Psycho Goreman Does Not Care For Chonky Bois” shirts!
So now I am in a place where I am ready to marry a bunch of these loves into something that is, well, ME. I have begun work to put all of this together and make Horrifying Hot Sauce / Horrifying Brewing Company a Aurora business. I want to find a place in which I can make and sell sauces, beer, art (t-shirts, canvases, etc.), and then just to make it a little more complicated, I also want a space to show movies and have live music. I have been showing double features to friends for years now, and I would love to expand that to a place where anyone interested can come have a beer and watch some movies with me! And since we’re gonna be showing a lot of small and cult titles, I want to partner with some boutique disc makers because as you might have noticed from my pic, I am a huge proponent of physical media. So come watch a cool flick, and if you like it we might have it for sale too!
Now that we have finally made it here to Colorado and have settled in for the long haul, this combination of things I love has become my next planned venture and I am actively working through business plans. Anyone out there who has any ideas or advice, I’d love to hear it! Thanks!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I only moved to the Denver area last summer, but there are a few spots I’ve found so far near me that I am really enjoying. A Bit Twisted Brewpub was one of the first places I found once moving here, and it was a nice transition as it is a bit of a Texas / Colorado crossover. They make great beer and BBQ, and their wings are wonderful as well!
Lady Justice Brewing is another I have found that I enjoy. From their beer selection, to their murals, to their overall guiding principles, this is another place I just really enjoy going to.
Launch Pad Brewery is another I’ve enjoyed; coming from an Air Force family, it just feels very familiar and reverent and I enjoy their beers as well. Plus, there’s a New Mexican restaurant next door, so I get some “home” there as well!
And finally, the Alamo Drafthouse. This is literally the only theater group I have visited for the last many, many years, and I was so glad to find they had a presence here as well. Yes, it’s cool to get a beer or food delivered to your seat while watching a movie, and yes, the Drafthouse shows excellent movies, but the very best part of the Drafthouse experience is the pre-show. Show up 30 minutes early. Trust me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There have been a few different resources that have helped me to get the knowledge I have so far, and I am looking forward to finding similar resources here in Aurora. First, my family. My wife has been so, so, SO supportive of my film obsession for more than 20 years now, from being in my first sketch comedies to being my assistant director when I directed a movie over the course of five years, to just having to watch so many things with me every year. Also, my son is amazing as well, and I can’t wait to eventually collaborate with him on some sort of art – probably a video game he will code and I will be flabbergasted by.
Back in San Antonio I participated in a program that was amazing called Break Fast and Launch. I see that the local Aurora SBDC offers similar classes. I learned so much about food business in my cohort back in San Antonio.
And finally, I have to shout out Drew Roberts at Ghoul’s Night Productions, as we’re not only making a film together, but he has also been great at helping me meet people here in town who can help with my crazy plans.

Website: https://www.doctor-ms.com and coming soon for Horrifying Brewing Co. / Horrifying Hot Sauce

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d.ryanmowry/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryanmowry/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100089997318830/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61unt0y9N4

Other: https://dryanmowry.threadless.com/ https://www.teepublic.com/user/dryanmowry https://www.facebook.com/HorrifyingHotSauce https://www.facebook.com/BrazenBexarBrewing https://www.instagram.com/horrifyinghotsauce/ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2038084/