Diagnosed at 41.
Ryan Perez is a cognitive architect and innovation strategist in Calgary. He founded Bow Tie Kreative in 2013 after twenty years in software. Autistic, ADHD and dyslexic — none of which he knew until 41. He had been building workarounds since he was about four, which he now describes as four decades of unlabelled field research.
- Keynote Speaker
- Author
- Neurodivergent Advocate
- Podcast Host
- Rapper-Poet
- Single Father
- Creative Strategist
Seven times, trauma became a project.
Not because Ryan is extraordinary. Because when systems fail you repeatedly, you either build a door or you don't get through.
- 1983
Born in Calgary
Born April 8, 1983. A childhood shaped by divorce, absence and the quiet work of figuring out where he fit.
- 2001
Found by mentors
Mentors recognized untapped potential — introducing Black history, martial arts, music and business, and celebrating difference instead of pathologizing it.
- 2006
Sharing stages & breaking stories
Shared the stage with Motown legends Martha Reeves and Funk Brother Joe Hunter. Collaborated on a hidden-camera investigation into racial profiling in Calgary nightclubs — his first viral moment.
- 2009
Becoming a father
Son Malcolm born. Ryan steps into stay-at-home fatherhood while building a creative life around it.
- 2013
Building the agency
Launched a creative digital agency — design, marketing and video — collaborating with top Canadian talent including Jully Black.
- 2016
The Hustle Zone
Produced the Hustle Zone podcast (13,000+ downloads), later Pathway to the Heart. Donated free websites to people with disabilities through the OneLove project.
- 2023
Burnout & homelessness
Severe burnout from untreated ADHD and autism cost Ryan his job and housing. From that place, he delivered a keynote at a Mental Health Summit — while unhoused.
- 2024
A name for it
November 2024: an official autism diagnosis. "My diagnosis didn't change who I was — it finally gave me the language to describe who I'd always been." By December, he transitioned out of homelessness.
- 2025
Author. Founder. Free.
Published three books simultaneously and launched SoulsMatter — a platform for marginalized, late-diagnosed adults. Every soul matters, but some have been told they don't.
240,720 nodes, because remembering things the normal way was never on the table.
An AI-powered knowledge system holding 240,720 mapped experiences and 17,336 connections. It exists because a gestalt brain needed its own operating system and there wasn't one to buy. It is also the clearest example of the thing he teaches: the workaround was the product.
Two books and a novel.
He fights systems, not people.
He does stand-up.
Which is relevant, because a room that's laughing is a room that's still listening when the hard part arrives. Two books, one novel, three podcasts, and a bow tie that has been asked about more than any of the above.
Put him in a room where something is breaking.
Keynotes, advisory, and audits. Calgary. Travels anywhere.