Born in Kansas City in 1979, the younger of 2, Derek Kilgore grew up in a typical middle class blue collar family. His parents worked to give everything they never had to their children, instilling a very strong work ethic and at the age of 14 he was hired by Time Warner Cable to be an assistant for the local cable access channel. By age 15 he was producing and directing live television shows. In 1996 the cable access channel became Metro Sports, a local sports network. This opened a new opportunity for Derek in animation and graphic design. In 1997 Derek started at Avila University focusing in Media Production, where he met Benjamin Meade. In 2000 he was hired on as fulltime Art Director of Metro Sports where he remains to this day. In 2001 Derek graduated from Avila University. Derek has since worked on several of Ben Meade's films including Vakvagany (2001), Das Bus (2003), Bazaar Bizarre (2004) and American Stag (2006).