He was a hero of mine when I was in engineering school but i only see pictures of him mostly at the time and thought of him (probably due to his specs) as an archetypical geek. However, reading about him more and listening to his talks over time has really made me appreciated how well rounded, low drama, and high impact he is.
I'm a 40 years old guy who taught himself and got his first gig last year and he's also my hero. I'll sound "kids nowadays" but it's surprising how many young developers never even heard of Carmack.
I read Abrash's Black book when I was in my late teens and early 20s. It offered some insights into how Carmack operated. That's what made me a fan but I thought of him as a "rockstar" rather than a professional. That's the important bit that changed over several years.
