Who is Above AVL, and How Did We Get Here?
About us
My lighting, audio, and video journey began back in 2005, when I simultaneously agreed to help with a school play and run lights at my church. Not long after, I found myself working with all 3 disciplines at both places - lighting, audio, and video.
Armed with no knowledge and little help, I began to self-educate the best I could. I read manuals, books on theatre design, and heckled every single stage professional I could find...and soon enough, I began making lighting that actually looked decent, sound that got me "pats on the back", and video that worked!
Over the next few years, I began to get experiences working with bands, church events, weddings, fashion shows and corporate meetings as both a volunteer, and then into my first job in live event production.
This really began speeding up my trajectory to a professional. In 2012, I found myself in the early parts of my career and started a blog called "Learn Stage Lighting" as a simple collection of tips, tricks, and ideas that I had come across. It was the kind of information that I wish I had access to when I was new in the industry (and at that point, I really had only been in the professional industry for about 4 years).
That little blog took off, and I started getting inquiries for assistance, programming services, and asks for more. The problem was that I had a full time job - as a lighting designer and AV technician - and I also had an infant at home and a family to provide for.
This meant that Learn Stage Lighting either needed to die - or turn into something that could at least cover my time making it. In 2015, I created my first online course while on a corporate show that had a lot of free time to be in my hotel room....and over time, between online courses, Youtube revenue, and private teaching for manufacturers, I was able to work full-time at Learn Stage Lighting starting in 2020...not a bad year to stop doing live events!
As we grew over the years, a couple of things became very important. While I had seen other lighting sites (and still do to this day) that worked primarily off of paid posts or videos, I didn't want to do that. I wanted to make sure that my opinion was uncolored and that any hardware or software I covered was represented in as un-biased of a manner as possible.
Above AVL:
In 2020-2022, we had a few very frequent requests.
#1 was "Where to we buy the lighting gear you're talking about?" - as people needed a trusted source to purchase and wanted to benefit what we were doing.
#2 was "I wish there was a resource for audio and video like Learn Stage Lighting".
Between these requests and a manufacturer in the lighting industry that actually started sending me checks based on when customers reached out to them and purchased after interacting with Learn Stage Lighting, I made the decision to start getting into equipment sales, and a couple years later, Above AVL was born.
When it comes down to it, there are a few things we value at Above AVL that sets us apart.
In fact, I didn't want to get into gear sales.
When I started Learn Stage Lighting.com, I had one goal- to help ordinary people create extraordinary lighting. And for the first 6 or 7 years of Learn Stage Lighting, that meant I needed to stay away from selling equipment, because of the "Dealer's Curse". What do I mean?
The Dealer's Curse is a problem I see far too often in the world of stage lighting and AV.
It goes like this - you, the person who wants to purchase gear goes to the first dealer you know, or someone you look up, or are referred to. You ask that dealer "What light should I buy for (insert need here)". The dealer, if they are like many dealers, can't get every brand, or at least has 1 brand that will make them more money.
Because that's the brand they can get, they advise a product from that brand - whether it's the best for you or not.
And that is the problem we seek to fix. By obtaining dealer pricing for all of the major brands out there, we look at every gear need as a blank slate.
Our job is to connect you with the right gear to get your job done within your budget. Our pricing model is the same for every brand - we don't favor one brand based on the potential earnings from that brand vs another.
We connect great people with the right gear for their needs, not our pockets. Instead of squeezing out every penny from a sale, we offer the best solution to you to earn your trust and your future business.
It's about providing the right lights for your needs. We understand that everyone's situation is different. One person will need the pro-grade solution, and the next a cheaper, entry-level solution. Both get equal attention and care.
Our small, but growing team are people who are experts in audio, video, and lighting, and who really care. They're not commissioned-based on individual sales or adjusting prices to make extra money for their pockets. Instead, we use a simple algorithm to calculate your price and help you get the gear you need.
One staff member isn't going to give you a better deal than another, we simply offer our personalized cost to you based on your history with us, the cost of the items, and the shipping cost. We don't do sales, so you won't see a lower price on an item a week after you order - the only time we offer extra discounts are if a manufacturer offers them to us.
And we're not just here to sell you gear - though if you need some, we'd LOVE to be the place you get it! Above AVL is alive and constantly publishing new articles, videos, and other content to teach and inform - and that's never going to change.
We're here to teach, inform, and when you need it - help you get the gear you're looking for into your hands.
I hope you appreciate it!
-David Henry
Founder -
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved. Above AVL