26 years in Australian pre-hospital emergency care. A native Apple-platform studio shipping five apps from a Queensland shed. And an original-music project called Neon Stallion in the room next door. This is the bio — the whole thing.
Michael Blach has spent 26 years working the sharp end of pre-hospital emergency medicine across Australia, the past several years shipping native iPhone and Mac software under the Code 1 Studios banner, and every spare hour in between writing, producing and recording original music as Neon Stallion — all of it from Rural & Remote Queensland.
His paramedic career has taken him from fly-in fly-out mine-site emergency response through trackside trauma work with the Australian motor racing industry, from standby paramedic contracts with 1300Medics through to part-time phlebotomy shifts he keeps on the roster to preserve razor-sharp venepuncture skills. The through-line: hard shift-work in high-stakes environments where the tools you carry either work under pressure or get you into trouble.
Code 1 Studios exists because none of the off-the-shelf software fit that reality. Rosters, readiness, checklists, receipts, precious-metals tracking, image workflow — each app started as a problem Michael was solving for himself, then hardened into something other Apple-platform users could rely on too.
Neon Stallion is the third leg of the workbench. Original songs written, produced, sung and mixed in the same Queensland shed the apps ship from — a dark-neon-country sound built on real amps, real drums and stories dragged home from a 26-year paramedic career. Two studio albums — Boots on the Dashboard and No Maps Needed — plus seven singles are out now on Spotify and Apple Music. No label, no band, no co-writes. Everything comes off the same workbench, and everything gets tested at full volume through the Ute stereo on the drive to the next callout.
Currently
Down the mines for the coal, bauxite, aluminium, oil and gas industries — primary emergency medical response in some of the most isolated industrial workplaces in the country. Fly-in fly-out contracts across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Fourteen-day swings, 12-hour shift rotations, and everything a Queensland dirt road can throw at a stretcher.
Currently
Native Swift and SwiftUI development for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Five shipping apps built from the same workbench — ShiftKit, Bullion Keeper, Agent Image, ReceiptMe and LifeKit. One-person studio, offline-first by default, tested on real shift rosters before it ships.
Currently
Solo original-music project running alongside the studio. Everything — writing, production, vocals, mixing and artwork — done in-house from a Queensland shed. Two studio albums (Boots on the Dashboard, No Maps Needed) and seven singles released to Spotify and Apple Music. Dark neon country: spaghetti-western guitars, eighties-synth glow, drums that hit like a Ute door on gravel.
Previously
Trackside emergency medical coverage for professional motorsport events across Australia. High-speed trauma incident response, extrication, and pre-hospital critical care with the specialist trauma teams that follow the national touring calendar.
Previously
Event medical standby contracts with 1300Medics — on-site paramedic cover for concerts, sporting events, industrial sites, and film productions where the closest hospital is nowhere near close enough.
Previously
Regular part-time phlebotomy shifts — a deliberate choice to keep venepuncture and pathology skills sharp between paramedic rosters. Skills you don’t use are skills you lose.
Previously
Locum and rescue paramedic contracts through Corporate Protect Australia. Executive protection medical support and remote workforce emergency cover for clients operating well outside conventional response times.
Foundation
Nationally registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) as a Rescue Paramedic. Further education completed in clinical leadership to support progression into higher-duties and operational-leadership roles.
Paramedics live and die by their kit. If a tool takes three taps when it should take one, or hides critical information behind a modal, or forgets your data because it needed a cloud connection you don’t have — that’s not a UX problem, that’s a safety problem.
Code 1 Studios apps are built with the same standard as the medical kit in the back of the ambulance: if it can’t survive tired hands, gloves, a shaky truck, and a dodgy signal, it’s not finished. Every app is native Swift. Every screen is designed for one-handed thumb reach. Every data model works offline first and syncs when it can.
That’s the whole pitch.