Donnie Toms – Co-Host
donnie@pyrounleashedpodcast.com
Donnie has loved fireworks since he was child growing up in Missouri. The 4th of July was the holiday each year that he was most excited for. The entire family always got together each year to celebrate and shoot off fireworks. Like many others in the midwest, fireworks were a seasonal staple.
As an adult Donnie briefly lived in Arizona where fireworks were essentially “nonexistent,” and when he returned to Missouri in 2017, his passion for pyro became a high priority.
For a few years, Donnie would put on an annual 4th of July PyroMusical for friends and family. The show grew to be much larger than just close friends. PryoMusicals grew to include DMX lighting and Flame effects. To Donnie, it was an entire production or artistry.
In 2020 Donnie found KCAP (Kansas City Area Pyrotechnicians) and that forever changed his pyro journey.
In 2023, Donnie and KCAP competed at SkyWars in the Pro Division Championship, where they won and became SkyWars Champions. In that journey Donnie learned a lot about collaboration and project management. He had a team of KCAPers helping with this show. Unknown to them during this expedition did they realize they would become the World Record Holders for the largest show shot on Cobra Firing Systems.
Soon after SkyWars Donnie and David joined forces to create Pyro Unleashed Podcast where they wanted to focus on the people behind the scenes in the Fireworks Industry.
David Anglin – Co-Host
david@pyrounleashedpodcast.com
Growing up, his dad always shot fireworks in the backyard, and at 17 when he was ready to join the workforce, he went straight to a career in pyro. David got in contact with RKM and started full-time shortly after he turned 18.
He shot his first pyromusical for them at the Elkhart, IN fairgrounds in 2017 using his father-in-law’s scripting software. Today, he enjoys scripting pyromusicals with his buddy and RKM partner in crime James Keomongkhon. The dynamic duo were the masterminds behind RKM’s Pro display at Sky Wars 2021.
His RKM team is family – both literally and figuratively. David actually met his wife, Amanda, at MoPyro’s club shoot (known today as Sky Wars) in 2015. Amanda’s father was a lead shooter for RKM at the time. David jokes that he remembers calling “dibs” when he and James first saw her. He and Amanda hit it off, got married in 2017, and now their one-year-old son Zachary is fascinated by fireworks like his parents. “I’ll be scripting shows and he’ll be watching, and his jaw will drop.” So, yeah, David’s got a future pyro on his hands. Must run in the family!
David also competed in 2023 at SkyWars in the Pro Division Championship. This is what brought David and Donnie togther was their involvement in this event.
Soon after SkyWars 2023 David wanted to branch out and start a podcast focused on the fireworks industry. Donnie and David connected and realized they had similar desires and thus began a brand new friendship.
