Rich Figel was born in Japan and grew up in New Jersey. At Montclair State University, NJ, he was an award-winning journalist for the college newspaper and became a newspaper reporter before moving to New York City, where he worked in marketing and publishing. In Hawaii, he became a commodity options broker, then a real estate agent before resuming his writing career. He wrote weekly columns for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin about addictions and recovery, based largely on personal experiences and research. His first screenplay was a dark comedy about rehab, and became the inspiration for a TV pilot he wrote in 2016 called “Triggers.” Rich has also written two feature screenplays that have been optioned, and three feature scripts that were Nicholl Fellowship Quarter-Finalists. His scripts range from low budget horror to medium budget thrillers and big budget family adventure specs that have also been read by major studios. He currently produces a monthly half-hour show for Oceanic Time Warner Cable called “Career Changers TV,” which is about local entrepreneurs and business opportunities in Hawaii.