Fred Marks is a third-generation Jacksonville native, University of Florida graduate, and AI expert building with AI tools daily since December 2022. He is the founder of VibeBuilt WebCo, JAX AI Nerd, and VibeCode JAX. SCORE business mentor. Featured in the Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Gainesville Sun, and St. Augustine Record.
How I went from AI curious to obsessively building with it every single day.
One month after ChatGPT came out, I was hooked. Not just curious—obsessed.
By March 2023, I had 8 paid ChatGPT accounts. Why? Because back then you could only spend $20 per account, and there were message limits and 4-hour timeouts. I kept hitting the ceiling because I was building and experimenting so much.
I'd stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning—testing, creating, building. It was incredible. I was investing in myself, investing in understanding what was happening with this whole AI movement. And I've stayed on the edge of it ever since.
"Vibe coding" didn't become an official term until February 2, 2025. But I'd been doing it for years without knowing what to call it.
When the term dropped, I started experimenting immediately. By March 2025, I built my first professional vibe-coded web app at Ackerman Cancer Center—interactive dashboards, including mobile-first ones, that worked like private business intelligence software.
That's when I knew: this wasn't just a hobby. This was the future of how software gets built.
Started experimenting with AI—one month after ChatGPT launched
Had 8 paid ChatGPT accounts because I kept hitting limits
Stayed up until 2-3am most nights building, testing, creating
Actively building + experimenting with paid accounts on all the frontier models: Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, XAI's Grok
Started using DeepSeek—one month before the world discovered it
"Vibe coding" became an official term—I'd been doing it for years
First professional vibe-coded app at Ackerman Cancer Center
Looked for a local vibe coding meetup—couldn't find one
Started VibeCodeJax since it didn't exist locally
Teaching vibe coding camps for kids 12+
Born and raised in Jacksonville — 3rd generation from JAX. Graduated from The Bolles School and the University of Florida with a degree in business. Worked for high-profile Jacksonville businesses including CB Richard Ellis, Martin Gottlieb & Associates, and Ackerman Cancer Center.
Third-generation Jacksonville native. Grew up blocks from the St. Johns River, graduated from Bolles School and the University of Florida. Still here, still building.
I'm a single dad to a 5-year-old daughter. We vibe-coded her first unicorn game together—she described what she wanted (a unicorn that jumps over rainbows and collects stars), and we built it in one sitting.
That's the magic of this stuff: ideas become real things, fast.
I've been a Jaguars fan since day one—I was at the first Jacksonville Jaguars game in 1995 with my family. Through the good seasons and the bad (mostly bad), I've stayed loyal. That's just how I'm wired.
Fred appears in this television commercial for Ackerman Cancer Center, currently airing on Jacksonville TV.
While living in Sarasota, FL, Fred volunteered with SCORE—the nation's largest network of volunteer expert business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses plan, launch, manage, and grow. He was quoted giving advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Read Full Article"Bootstrap your business launch. Start the business from your home and use any and all cash your business brings in to help fund your launch into bigger and better things."
— Fred Marks, SCORE Counselor
"I am passionate about starting my own pet services business," Deborah posted on SCORE's "Ask an Expert" blog. "My credit is excellent (but) SBA lenders will only consider a loan if there is so much borrower cash infusion."
Even in good times, most bankers will not lend to start-ups because the risk is so much greater than financing existing, proven businesses. Lenders are not willing to take entrepreneurial risks, especially when the borrower does not have enough cash invested.
I asked SCORE Manasota's volunteer business counselors what advice and questions they have for Deborah.
Fred Marks adds, "Bootstrap your business launch." He is a counselor in Sarasota. "Start the business from your home and use any and all cash your business brings in to help fund your launch into bigger and better things."
Even though the credit markets are loosening up a bit, the few lenders that do finance start-ups want to see 20 percent to 30 percent of your own cash in the business.
After Tim Tebow's historic 2008 season, Fred created TebowDontGo.com—a fan campaign urging the Heisman Trophy winner to stay at Florida for his senior year rather than enter the NFL Draft.
Read Original ArticleA passionate Florida Gators fan has launched a website called TebowDontGo.com with the goal of convincing star quarterback Tim Tebow to remain at the University of Florida for his senior season.
Fred Marks, who created the site, hopes it will rally Gator Nation to show their support for Tebow and encourage him to stay in Gainesville rather than enter the 2009 NFL Draft.
Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and led Florida to the 2008 BCS National Championship, has been the subject of intense speculation about his NFL future.
The website encourages fans to sign petitions and show their appreciation for everything Tebow has done for the program, hoping the outpouring of support will influence his decision.
When rumors swirled that Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan might leave for Kentucky after back-to-back national championships, Fred created KeepBillyDonovan.com to rally Gator fans.
Read Original ArticleATLANTA — Gator fan Fred Marks, a commercial realtor in Tampa, has created www.keepbillydonovan.com with the goal of persuading UF supporters to do all they can to make sure coach Billy Donovan turns down Kentucky's impending job offer to remain at Florida.
A third-generation UF alum born and raised in Jacksonville, Marks was a college roommate of one-time Gator football players Carlos Perez and Max Starks, and Starks will be in Marks' upcoming wedding. Through the company he founded, FMI Sports LLC, Marks also has worked to get Starks, now a Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive tackle, endorsements and marketing deals.
The site became operational on Sunday, and Marks said he hopes it will encourage fans to call the University Athletic Association to express their desire to see UF do all it takes to hold on to Donovan.
"Billy Donovan IS Florida Basketball," Marks wrote in an e-mail.
Fred's BlackOutBonds.com campaign—protesting Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record—was featured in the Chicago Tribune, one of the nation's largest newspapers.
Read Original ArticleFred Marks might not be a typical fan, but he looks and sounds like most baseball fans. What makes Marks a little different is that he couldn't sit still, couldn't remain silent.
That's why he started a Web site called blackoutbonds.com.
Marks wants baseball fans — the ones who don't like the idea of Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's career home-run record — to wear black to games in which Bonds plays.
Fred Marks, a commercial real-estate salesman in Tampa: "I had the life-size poster of Bonds in my room, and my dad and me would go to Giants games in San Francisco, and in Atlanta. I was a lifelong fan."
The Tampa Bay Times ran a full Q&A interview with Fred about his BlackOutBonds campaign and his journey from lifelong Bonds fan to leading the protest movement.
Read Original ArticleFred Marks, a University of Florida alumnus and Tampa resident, developed his passion for sports, baseball in particular, while growing up in Jacksonville. He left his heart in San Francisco. "Barry Bonds was my idol," said Marks, 25.
As Bonds nears baseball immortality as the game's home run champion, Marks is no longer a fan. He has launched a Web site, BlackOutBonds.com, imploring fellow enthusiasts to wear black shirts or black hats to Bonds' games as a silent but poignant protest.
"My father's my hero. What I've learned is it's not about 755, it's about who somebody is. As a kid, I was fooled by the stats. As I grow older, I understand it's less about the 755 or the bank account and more about the quality of the human being."
The Orlando Sentinel, one of Florida's largest daily newspapers, covered Fred's KeepBillyDonovan.com campaign during the coaching saga.
Read Original ArticleThe Orlando Sentinel covered the aftermath of Billy Donovan's brief departure to the Orlando Magic and how Gator fans like Fred Marks had rallied to keep the coach at Florida.
Marks' KeepBillyDonovan.com campaign had galvanized UF supporters across the state, and the story of Donovan's return was covered extensively by Florida's major newspapers.
The Gainesville Sun — the paper of record for UF sports — ran its own story on Fred's KeepBillyDonovan.com campaign during the 2007 Final Four in Atlanta.
Read Original ArticleATLANTA — Gator fan Fred Marks, a commercial realtor in Tampa, has created www.keepbillydonovan.com with the goal of persuading UF supporters to do all they can to make sure Donovan turns down Kentucky's impending job offer to remain at Florida.
A third-generation UF alum, born and raised in Jacksonville, Marks was a college roommate of former Gator football players Carlos Perez and Max Starks, and Starks will be in Marks' upcoming wedding.
The site became operational on Sunday, and Marks said he hopes it will encourage fans to call the University Athletic Association to express their desire to see UF do all it takes to hold on to Donovan.
Fred Marks referenced in a Gainesville Sun UF football game notebook — his second mention in the publication.
Read ArticleFred Marks was referenced in the Gainesville Sun's UF football game notebook coverage, marking his second appearance in the publication following the KeepBillyDonovan campaign coverage earlier that year.
Fred Marks mentioned in a feature published by the St. Augustine Record, a Northeast Florida newspaper.
Read ArticleFred Marks was featured in the St. Augustine Record, a Northeast Florida newspaper serving the historic St. Augustine area and surrounding communities.
Fred Marks' third mention in the Gainesville Sun, this time in a UF football game notebook covering the 2009 season.
Read ArticleFred Marks received his third mention in the Gainesville Sun, this time appearing in a UF football game notebook covering the 2009 Gators season.