Eric "Unlocked" Schmiedl majored in physical security at the playground of his elementary school, where he taught his friends to pick a freshly-bought Master padlock while they were hiding from the teachers during recess. He sits on the board of The Open Organization of Lockpickers (US Division), a group dedicated to promoting locksport and critical thinking about security, and helped found the Boston chapter while he was at MIT. Schmiedl has spoken on securing the physical world at many conferences over the years, including DEFCON, Black Hat, SecureWorld, and LockCon.