About

Hello, my name is Jared Thompson. I am so thankful to live in Manitou Springs, Colorado and to be a part of the amazing community here. I enjoy contributing to our community by collaborating with local businesses and non-profit organizations. I have served on the board of directors with the Manitou Music Foundation and the Pikes Peak Bulletin. I enjoy taking photos of local events, people and our surrounding geography and sharing that content with the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and our community.  I am an acrylic painter and love creating fantasy artwork purely from my imagination and also bringing classic characters to life in my paintings.

I have worked in motor-sports and the automotive racing industry most of my life (for more info on that go to jaredthompsonmotorsports.com) I always enjoyed graphic design and website building projects that I have been involved with over the years for things involving racing and performance driving. One year after my son Asher was born our family decided to have one parent leave full time work to be a care giver and stay home, so I became Asher's full time person. It is the best job I will ever have.. I started Manitou Creative as a way to work for the local community and to stay involved in fun art projects that can benefit non-profit organizations and local businesses.

I have earned a Bachelors of Science from the University of California at Davis in Managerial Economics and I was the student commencement speaker at U.C. Davis in 2012 for the graduating class of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. I was also a student member and primary driver of the U.C. Davis Formula Hybrid SAE racing team.

I have played the tenor saxophone and guitar since my early teens and enjoy sitting in with bands from time to time in Manitou Springs. I spend most of my free time with my family, hiking, trail running and enjoying the great outdoors. I have competed in the Pikes Peak Ascent 4 times now and I have raced the complete Garden to Peak series in 2021, 2022, and 2023.