I first laid eyes on this world in Chengdu, China, under the name Ning Fei Gao. But, for the sake of simplicity, I go by Henry Gao.

Yet, “Henry Gao” doesn’t legally exist. So, don’t look me up in any directories.

I wasn’t cut out for chess. Same goes for the electronic keyboards. So my parents tried drawing.

And this thing clicked.

I get to go on sketching trips around China with my parents & teacher. For some reason, the drawing is at least as fun as traveling for me.

Everything changed, except the drawing. I continue adding new stuff to my artistic repertoire and go beyond pen & ink to tinker with graphite, watercolor, and oil painting.

I got into a gifted program for high school students with exceptional visual art talents. This helps me hone my sketching skills even faster

Studying architecture was the logical next step given my love for sketching. So, I pursue a degree in the space at an university in Otawa, Canada’s capital.

After graduation, I spent a year in the Netherlands on an intern architect's salary. I pour it all into one goal: 

Enrolling in graduate school.

Cornell University accepted my graduate school application, so that’s where I spend the next 3 years. With a few eventful stints in New York City and San Francisco.

I start a classic corporate career in San Francisco. Yet I also have a side hustle that nearly matches my 9-to-5 income.

I buy my first iPad and begin transitioning my paper-based workflow to digital. It’s all super exciting but also kind of scary due to the novelty of the approach and the lack of tutorials & courses.

It all happens on February 29 in Bali. One week later, the lockdown begins in California and worldwide.

I start sharing the iPad workflow I developed (and that my colleagues loved) on YouTube. And welcome my first daughter into the world.

My iPad drawing courses are so well received that I get to quit my 9-to-5 architecture job. We also welcome our second daughter into the world.

I start the iPad for Architects online community and reach 3,500+ paying students worldwide. The impact my courses (which I continuously perfect) have on people’s careers and lives brings unfathomable joy to me. And more students follow.