Chad Hitchcock
Story Design
Chad (they/he) works as an Artifact and Archives Registrar in Flint Michigan. They started in the roleplay scene in 2015 and has been roleplaying, playing a TTRPG, and/or larping ever since. They love writing and roleplaying horror, suspense, and mystery themes, and they can't wait to terrorize you all in game!
RJ Smedley
Logistics
RJ (he/they) works in Die Design, designing specialized manufacturing tools for the automotive industry. He started running TTRPGs for his friends while in college. Back in 2022, he came out to Dystopia Rising, and has been coming back ever since. He's always looking for ways to uplift the community, whether it’s helping teach new players or being “LARP dad.” In his free time, he enjoys crafting, painting miniatures, playing TTRPGs, video games, and card games. Man, does he enjoy games...anyways, if you see him at game and have questions, he will be more than happy to help assist you.
Bradley Bowling
Operations
Bradley (he/they) has the privilege of returning as the Dystopia Rising Michigan Operations Director. He's been playing and running Larps of all shapes and sizes—from parlour Larps in game store basements and Discord based tabletop games to country-wide organizations. Working to bring Dystopia Rising back to Michigan has been a constant goal since the events that lead to the closure of Mourning Glory, and Bradley is incredibly excited and honored to be part of the team that gets to bring the Wasteland back to the Mitten.
Allison Hawkins
Marketing & Design/Owner
Allison has been told that she has an eclectic resume. She’s been a tech support specialist, a film archivist, a commercial talent agent’s assistant, and a youth minster—just to name a few roles. Currently, she works as a freelance writer and editor, serves as the administrative coordinator for the Midwest Independent Publishers’ Association (MiPA), teaches at Grand Valley State University, and is the proud owner/operator of Fourth Form Martial Arts Studio, where she teaches Uechi-Ryu karate to kids and adults. Allison is an entrepreneur who loves everything small business and a lifelong creative who loves everything storytelling. She’s beyond excited to be able to combine her passions and work with the team that helped her get back in touch with her inner theater kid.
Kendall Defrancesco
Community Management
Kendall (she/they) works as an early childhood educator and is pursuing higher education in psychology and child development. She started Larping in 2016 and three years later helped open the first DRMI branch. She has worn many hats, but her favorite part has always been fostering a community where people can feel safe, included and equally horrified (by plot). Outside of LARP, they love traveling, musicals, videogames and webtoons. She has carefully designed her life so she can always play make believe.
Chappy Chapman
Writer
Chappy (any) is a real go-getter EXTREME based writer-pilled teamworker who writes the most scrumdiddliumptus stories in town. Chappy is a professional Dungeon Master who has been in the TTRPG scene since school days and yearns for a future where everybody rolls initiative. Chappy enjoys long fights on the beach, drinking from a dice tower, and scrolling through Tik-Tok, wondering where it all went wrong. Horses are real, the nothing is fake, and writing rots your brain.
MacK Rennick
Writer/Assistant Story Design
MacK is a huge dork, and looks forward to serving the community that welcomed him when he was new to the area. His best friend says the word that describes him best is "Pedant", and this is the energy that he brings to his day job in software development and to Dystopia Rising. He's always prepared with a dad joke, which he hopes his daughter will appreciate someday. Hey, be honest, who is actually reading these profiles? I understand that people might skim them, or check for who has a specific position, but is anyone actually reading these? If you are actually organically reading this, please let me know. Tell me. It's not market research, it's just for me personally. Okay, back to boilerplate. His favorite food are rice bowls, and will one day figure out how to make them over a campfire.
Aaron Place
Writer
Aaron (he/him) is a graphic designer by trade, a part-time resale clerk by necessity, and a full-time dad by pride. Most of his days are spent raising his three boys and working with the Challenge Mountain organization, where he helps run the store and teaches individuals with mental and physical challenges how to ski, sail, and ride horses. His tabletop RPG journey began in high school with GURPS and grew to include the World of Darkness, Dungeons & Dragons, and a collection of wonderfully obscure systems. In 2023, he stepped into the world of LARP with DR: Michigan and quickly found something more than a hobby, he found a community. Aaron is excited to bring creativity, heart, and a touch of whimsy to the world of Dystopia Rising.
Sara Castle
Owner
Sara (she/her) holds a master’s degree in social work and works in the mental health field. She started larping well over 25 years ago, starting with parlor larps. She joined Dystopia Rising in 2016 in the Frozen North (Canada). She started working as a guide and eventually was training to become the logistics director of previous Michigan Chapter. She is dedicated to creating an inclusive and accessible game and community. She enjoys creative pursuits such as sewing, crochet, embroidery and any kind of crafting. She loves playing tabletop games, board games. She lives with her husband and her six cats plus any number of foster kittens at any given time.