Meet The Team

Click on a picture below to read more information about our team members!

Shane Richins

Rindy Richins

Call Vande Veegaete

Lindsay Bull

Joey Jensen

Reilly Raymond

Jonathan Larsen

John Diliberto

Chase Gosch

Cyra Clifford

Sarah Kaye

Cassie Combe

Madi Jolley

Christian Erickson

Ryan Nolan

Emery Richins

River Richins

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Shane Richins

Scales & Tails Utah Founder

Shane’s love of reptiles began as a child who loved to catch and chase snakes and lizards in Utah. His fascination grew with his raising of a pet iguana named Horse.

Shane wanted to know everything he possibly could about the natural world and now has collected a library of books and documentaries on the subject. He has spent time volunteering with a python breeder and Snake Farm & Animal World Zoo in Texas. Shane has also spend many hours working with Danny Conner’s Reptile Adventures and several venomous professionals to gain experience working with crocodillians and venomous snakes.

Shane loves sharing his knowledge and love of reptiles. Knowledge can clear up misunderstandings that many have about these interesting animals.

Rindy Richins

Business Manager

Rindy Richins was born in Moab, Utah. She was raised on a farm and grew up loving the outdoors. She has been a river guide on the Colorado River and presently teaches skiing part-time at Alta ski resort during the winter months. Rindy graduated from Southern Utah University with a Bachelor’s in Business Management with an emphasis in International Business. She uses her management skills to run Scales and Tails Utah as well as a seasonal wildland fire dispatcher during the summer months. She loves to travel and has been to Italy and Thailand as well as several countries in South and Central America. She has had a chance to swim with crocodiles, caiman, sharks and sting rays in her many travels. She became interested in reptiles more than a decade years ago when she met Shane Richins.

Call Vande Veegaete

Entertainer

Call grew up in Taylorsville Utah and was captivated by animals, particularly reptiles, from a young age. Call is currently a theatre major at the University of Utah but has a separate fascination for science. Call got his first job working with animals during high school and has been a passionate advocate for conservation and sustainability ever since. Call holds a special scaly part of his heart for snakes, especially his carpet python Juliet.

Lindsay Bull

Crocodilian Trainer

Lindsay grew up in Oklahoma City, moving to Provo, Utah for university in 2009. After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in English in 2013, she began working for Legrand North America, currently for the IP networking company, Luxul, where she does technical writing and manages social media and press. Hardly able to confine herself to a single job, she’s held side positions working for climbing companies since 2014 and currently works coaching recreational climbing classes for a local climbing gym. Lindsay’s passion for animals started as far back as her earliest memories, but she specifically recalls her infatuation with crocodilians beginning with an educational presentation on the reptiles one of her classmate’s fathers did when she was in kindergarten. Since then, she’s always loved the animals and hopes to help pass the interest in them on to the younger generations

Joey Jensen

Crew

Joey Jensen grew up locally in Utah, and found his inspiration for working with reptiles through a presentation done by our owner Shane Richins. Since that day, he’s thrown himself into his passion, spending hours watching nature shows with specific interest in The Crocodile Hunter and Gator Boys. He loves having the unique opportunity to work with all the animals at Scales and Tails and educating the public about them in a fun and hands-on environment.

Reilly Raymond

Reptile Educator/Guide/Receptionist

Reilly has an undeniable pull for making animals a part of her life. Simply (and cheesily) put, they are what makes her soul feel whole. She currently have a Hog Island Boa, Brazilian Rainbow Boa, and Lab/Aussie mix. They are her family. She has experience working with a wide variety of animals as well as an incredible thirst to educate the general public on how wonderful they truly are.

Jonathan Larsen

Reptile Educator/Guide

Jonathan has loved reptiles for a long time he has a soft spot for snakes specifically. That is why he choose to work with Scales and Tails and will even try to make a career out of it! He is currently attending Weber State University to get a degree in Zoology. He likes to play video games, watch movies, and play board games in his free time, but wants to dedicate a lot of his time to taking care of animals of the forked tongue variety.

John Diliberto

Show Lead

John Diliberto is from Denver Colorado. He worked in education in the special education program as well as running the drama club and directing for over 21 years and directed musicals for 11 years. He also volunteered and worked at the Wild Animal Sanctuary for two years which harbors over 550 rescued large carnivores, (lions and tigers and bears oh my!) He loves to travel (Italy rules!). His favorite sports team is the Colorado Avalanche. Finally, He has been married for two years to my lovely and supportive wife Allie.

Chase Gosch

Entertainer

Chase has been working with animals in various capacities for almost a decade. From volunteering at Utah’s Hogle Zoo, the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, and the Tracy Aviary, to working full time at Advanced Veterinary Care in Millcreek, UT. He knows his way around many different species. He also has experience entertaining many people as a magician and variety entertainer.

Cyra Clifford

Entertainer

Cyra grew up in North Idaho surrounded by lakes, trees, and mountains. Which lead to some interesting animal encounters, like a close call with a moose. She developed a love for animals before she could walk and has fostered that love her entire life. She’s made sure she always has at least one animal everywhere she’s lived, whether it’s a cat or dog in Idaho and Texas or sneaking a beta fish into her dorm room when she was in college in Hawaii.

Since she’s been in Utah she has worked with CAWS, fostering and caring for cats and kittens until they find their forever home. This love of animals along with her creative side for acting led her to Scales and Tails. Her older brother always had a fascination for reptiles and shared that fascination with Cyra, leading her to get her own snake which turned into 3 snakes over time. Outside of work and animals she enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family. She’s a creative at heart and is passionate about everything she does.

Sarah Kaye

Entertainer

Sarah is a Utah native having grown up in in Salt Lake City. She’s had a passion for animals her entire life. It all started with her neighbors dog when she was young and progressed to show jumping horses, reptiles and birds! Sarah is a student at the University of Utah with a degree in environmental science and an emphasis in conservation and land management anticipated in December 2022. Sarah began her work at Scales and Tails to learn about exotic animals and their care while helping to educate the public on their importance as part of our ecosystem. Sarah has a passion for education and outreach that gets to shine here at the shop and at shows!

Cassie Combe

In-House Educational Specialist

Cassie was born and raised in Utah, She went to vet tech school at Mountain Edge Veterinary program for 2 1/2 years graduating with a Veterinary nursing certificate. Then she worked as a Vet Tech for 3 years. She has experience working with a wide variety of animals and wants to educate anyone who wants to learn more about these amazing animals! She loves to dedicate her time to taking care of the animals so they can live a great and happy life!

Madi Jolley

In-House Educational Specialist

Madi Jolley has always been very passionate about animals. She knew from a very young age that she wanted to dedicate her life to working with and loving all the animals that she could! Madi has been a volunteer at Utah’s Hogle Zoo for 5 years and counting! Also she currently owns her own “zoo” at her home which includes, 1 Golden Retriever mix, 1 Pit Bull mix, 3 Corn Snakes, 2 Ball Pythons, 1 California King Snake, 3 Leopard Geckos, 1 Bearded Dragon and 1 Nile Monitor! All of whom she loves very dearly! Madi has a fiery passion to educate the public about conservation and the magnificent animals that live on this planet!

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Christian Erickson

Entertainer

Christian has been fascinated by reptiles as long as he can remember. When he was 8 years old he talked his parents into getting him a pet snake and he has been hooked ever since. He is currently a student at Salt Lake Community college with ambitions to attend Utah State University and complete their veterinarian program. He wants to specialize in exotic animals and loves the experience he is getting at Scales and Tails to help him reach his goals.

Christian is passionate about helping people overcome their fears and misconceptions about reptiles through learning. When he isn’t spending time with reptiles, Christian also loves to go on motorcycle rides and spend time outdoors. He and his wife currently have a pet corn snake named Severus and a chameleon named Mango.

Ryan Nolan

Entertainer

Ryan grew up in England for 15 years and then moved to Utah and has been here for the last 8 years, He has a passion for driving nice cars and fixing up old cars. He also loves animals. He’s had cats, rabbits, dogs, hedgehogs and currently still has two dogs and two hedgehogs. He’s always been fascinated with lizards and reptiles of the sorts. He’s happy working for Scales and Tails because he’s been able to interacted with so many animals he wouldn’t have been able to in the wild.

Emery Richins

Owner’s Daughter

Emery is the second youngest of the Scales and Tails crew. Born into the life of reptiles and birds, she is an avid animal enthusiast who likes to teach other children her age about these amazing creatures. Emery loves to show people around the shop by giving tours and demonstrations with snakes, tortoises, and alligators. Emery is the daughter of owners Shane & Rindy Richins.

River Richins

Owner’s Son

River is the newest edition to the Scales and Tails Family. While not old enough to really help out yet, he is typically there cruising around exploring the animal world he now lives in. River is the son of owners Shane & Rindy Richins.