Ten years ago I was tasked with building iOS and Android apps for my full-time job. The catch? I had to turn hundreds of Rails-powered web screens into fully functional mobile apps, entirely by myself.
Our CTO suggested using Hotwire Native (called Turbolinks Native back then). The pitch sounded impossible: near-perfect feature parity with the web, with just a bit of native boilerplate. I was skeptical. I’d been burned by “hybrid apps” too many times to count.
But the day I tried Hotwire Native was the magic moment. Everything clicked. Using our existing Rails views, I shipped fully functional iOS and Android apps to the app stores in just a few months. One developer. Hundreds of screens. Two platforms. Done. If we’d gone fully native, it would have taken a dedicated mobile team a year, maybe longer.
I’ve been all in ever since. I’ve launched 20+ Hotwire Native apps for clients, built open-source components, spoken at conferences, and literally wrote the book on it.
Hi, I’m Joe 👋
I’m a Rails developer, consultant, and author of Hotwire Native for Rails Developers. I help teams ship iOS and Android apps that feel truly native without rebuilding everything from scratch.
In 2020, I got laid off from my job. Terrifying at the time… but it pushed me to go all-in on my independent business, something I’d wanted to try for years.
A few years later, when my second son, Miles, was born, the burnout hit hard. I realized I didn’t want a career that pulled me away from him or his older brother, Duke. I wanted to do great work and be present at home. That realization shaped the business I run today, one built around intention, family, and work I care deeply about.
What you’ll find here
This Substack is for you if you want to build better Hotwire Native apps, faster.
You’ll get clear, practical guides drawn from real client projects, weird mobile quirks, and everything I wish someone had taught me sooner.
And it’s for you if you’re trying to make all of this fit into a real life.
I share how I’m balancing work with raising two young boys: the wins, the mistakes, and the adjustments I make along the way.
