We’re thrilled to share today’s Humans of Uprise story with you! Meet Ramon Go and Chris Sewell. Chris is Uprise’s founder and managing director, and Ramon gets to benefit from having a solar nerd around the house with the 26 panels on the couple’s rooftop! Read more to learn how they met, what they love about DC, and — of course — what they love about solar power.
The Power Of A Non-Pizza Dinner
Ramon, a pain physician and anesthesiologist, grew up in Hawaii, and attended medical school in Philadelphia. He’d planned to move back west, but then visited some friends in Washington, DC for Thanksgiving and fell in love with the city.
Meanwhile, Chris had been living in Baltimore for work, but decided he wanted to move down to DC as it “just had more happening” and was a “big little city.” The couple met in 2011 on OkCupid, back before it was an app.
“I was working like 80 hours as an intern,” Ramon says, “and I was just trying to be selective on how to date and who to save my free time for and Chris worked out.”
“That gives me too much credit,” Chris says. “I think I just fed you a lot, and so you kept coming back.”
“Yeah, I was starving.”
“I made him a few meals and that was it. Like a little alley cat.”
“I was so tired all the time. I’m just like, oh, free food. A non-pizza dinner?”
DC Highlight: Diverse and LGBTQ+ Friendly
Besides having friends in the city, Ramon appreciated DC’s diversity and international feel, which reminded him of Hawaii’s multiculturalism. “People are from everywhere,” he says, “and have different experiences and a lot of culture to share.”
Chris adds, “I like that it’s expected. There’s one of everybody, every language. Everything is here. All the foods and all the different cultures, and everybody just assumes that’s what life is like here because that’s what life is like here.”
Diversity was important to the couple as they considered where to raise their son, Calvin, who’s now five years old.
“We could see raising a family here. That was something we always said to ourselves,” Chris says. “We always wanted to have a kid, and then we did have a kid, and we like that he’s growing up around all these different people and cultures.”
They also found that DC was friendlier for LGBTQ+ people than Philadelphia and Baltimore were at the time. Ramon says, “When I was interviewing for jobs, they were very LGBTQ affirming and welcoming. It was just such a refreshing environment to be in.”
“We’re not just the gay family on the block, like we probably would be in other places,” Chris adds. “I like having a strong gay community here; it makes you feel…”
“Empowered and affirming,” Ramon says.
“There’s something about it where I feel like I’ve got a home here, like I’m safe here,” Chris says, “and that was always pretty big.”
Bonus DC Highlight: A Great Place To Start A Small Business
Chris also found that the District was a great place to launch his own solar company.
“There’s a lot of support for starting a small business,” he says. “They want local small businesses here. They put their money where their mouth is. And with our culture here, our neighbors and friends, people want to try and buy from a local company. So it’s a good place to start a business.”
Solar Power: Changing The Way We Source Electricity
Chris has been obsessed with solar energy for around 13 years. “Solar is the one thing that’s different about producing electricity,” he says. “Everything else is just copper in a coil, and you turn it on and get electricity. Solar is actually different. It’s scalable, and it’s going to change the way we do things. I’ve always wanted to combine finance and construction and build solar for people and help them save money immediately. And that’s what we do now.”
And Chris knew that as the founder of a local solar company, it was important for him to have solar power on his own roof. “It’s easy to tell people, ‘You should do it,’ but if you don’t have it on your roof, it seems hollow,” he says.
Besides having a solar power-obsessed husband, Ramon’s Hawaiian childhood impacted his decision to go solar. “Growing up in Hawaii, we had solar on our roof,” he says. “You’re very conscientious of the environment because you have limited resources, especially water, and oil prices are a very tangible thing because everything has to be shipped. We were always aware of resources. So I always wanted to have solar. Part of it is being a good steward of the environment, and it also helps that it lowers your electric bill. I definitely wanted that because I’d never lived through real winter before. I didn’t know it was so expensive. We just had our windows open in Hawaii if it was too hot or too cold.”
After solar was installed on their Ward 5 home, Ramon definitely noticed a difference in their first electric bill. You may have seen one of the couple’s Pepco bills; the Uprise sales team often uses their dramatic first month after going solar as an example!
“There are so many things you could do for the environment,” says Ramon. “This is one small thing I could do that also is very beneficial to my wallet, ultimately.”
You Can Save Money With Solar Power Too!
Are you ready to change the way you consume electricity, and do something for the environment? If so, you’re in the right place. Reach out online or call us at (202) 280-2285. We’d love to help you start your solar journey.
And be sure to check out our other Humans of Uprise stories here!