Hi, I’m Dei 👋
I’m Deimantas (Dei) — a Chicago-based engineer, coach, and tinkerer. I split my time between building systems, shipping projects, and competing in high-level volleyball. I grew up between the U.S. and Lithuania 🇱🇹, and I’m always chasing new ways to learn, optimize, and have fun while doing it.
Volleyball
- Currently playing semi‑pro in the VLA with South Side Xtreme Performance (SXPs)
- Head Coach, Boys Varsity — Jones College Prep (Regional Champions, Spring 2025)
- This is the high school where I went to, so its amazing to be back as a coach. In 2019 I won the Chicago Public Schools City Championship and State Regional Championship here as a Junior on Varsity!
- Previously in college NCAA D3 player, later club and captain for Rocket League Esports.
I’ll be adding more details on my playing career, achievements, and clips soon. If you’re into volleyball too, you’ll like what’s coming.
Android and phone modding
I love messing with phones. Recently, I installed a custom ROM on my Pixel 9, rooted it, and configured SafetyNet pass. Over the years I’ve unlocked bootloaders, flashed ROMs, and tuned kernels on a bunch of devices.
- Pixel 9: custom ROM + root + SafetyNet pass
- Past devices: Motorola (unlocked/ROM’d), multiple Pixels, iPhones, and more
I’ll publish a step‑by‑step blog post walking through my current Pixel setup (with do’s/don’ts, Magisk modules, and how I handle bank apps).
How I got into tech
It started with an old Windows Vista laptop and a lot of curiosity. That turned into building and fixing PCs, exploring Android internals, and learning to code. I enjoy backend services, automation, and clean UX. Today I’m focused on systems work (Docker, Linux, networking), Python tooling, and web projects — and I still love “making stuff work” under pressure.
Where to next
- See my education and awards: /experience/school
- Explore projects: /projects
- Read the blog: /blog
Thanks for stopping by 🙏