Rustic Precision Blog

Unknowingly, Chris Schille discovered his true passions in life when he moved with his parents to a piece of bare land in rural Northern California in the mid ’70s. There his parents built their own passive solar home, planted a huge organic garden, and joined a community striving for a precursor goal to sustainability: self-sufficiency.

Living in a sparsely populated community on the fringe of the Sinkiyone Wilderness, he developed a lifelong obsession for the outdoors and the natural world. The mountainous terrain also made him an extremely strong distance runner.

Chris graduated from Brown University as an NCAA Division I All American in track and cross-country, with a BS in mechanical engineering. His first job out of college for a software startup near MIT inspired him to return to California for a master’s degree in computer science, at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After obtaining his degree, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and spent seven years in the software industry. Finally, admitting that he was not made for office life, he talked his wife into purchasing property in the area where he’d grown up.

With minimal prior experience, the two of them designed and built their own experimental, passive solar “micro-castle” from a melange of earth-friendly materials: strawbales, cob, chainsaw milled beams, and sustainably harvested lumber from a local mill. Subsequently, Chris applied what he’d learned about sustainable building materials and practices to homes for friends and clients in the area.

When he was younger and faster, Chris was ranked 7th in the U.S. at 10,000 meters by Track and Field News. His Ivy League cross-country course record, and many Bay Area records, still hold. He won numerous road races, including an unprecedented string of four victories at the Emerald Across the Bay 12k (formerly Houlihan’s to Houlihan’s.)

In September of 2001, Chris shattered his lower leg in a wilderness backpacking accident. Three surgeries and six years of rehabilitation later, he returned to competitive running as a masters athlete. He finished 17th at the U.S. cross country nationals in 2006, and 12th in 2007.

In early 2008, Chris obtained his contractor’s license and started his own construction and remodeling firm, Rustic Precision. He lives with his wife and daughter in Cupertino, California.