Meet The Team

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

Shane Richins

Rindy Richins

Jeremy Westerman

Tyson Garcia

Call Vande Veegaete

Jackson

Lindsay Bull

Marcy Hoffman

Reilly Raymond

Joey Jensen

Emery Richins

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Shane Richens

Scales And 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 Richens

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. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a Bachelor’s in Business Management with an emphasis in International Business. She currently uses her business managment skills to run a local chiropractic clinic as well as Scales and Tails Utah! 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, caimen, sharks and sting rays in her many travels. She became interested in reptiles ten years ago when she met Shane Richins.

Jeremy Westerman

Entertainer/Educator specializing in Reptiles Manager

Born and raised in Utah, Jeremy is familiar with all of Utah’s native wildlife. Having set his sights on learning about the whole world’s fauna he studied wildlife ecology at Utah State University and worked at Utah’s Hogle Zoo.

He spends most of his time outdoors; hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, caving and camping and of course, looking for critters where ever he goes. Jeremy loves to teach and share about the animals he loves, and learn about all the fascinating animals in the world.

Tyson Garcia

Entertainer/Educator specializing in Reptiles and Birds Assistant Manager

Tyson has loved all animals from a very early age but has always held a special affinity for reptiles. Every chance he gets, he spends all the time he can with animals, learning everything he can and sharing his knowledge with everyone.

Tyson graduated from Weber State University with an Associate’s Degree in Engineering and spends his free time with his family and his baby Ball Python, Kaiser. Tyson loves to read, write, and teach people about the awesome animals he works with.

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

Marcy Hoffman

Show Lead

Marcy is an avid animal enthusiast, with a deep rooted passion for all wildlife and the conservation of it. She works hard to educate the public about animals, specializing in reptiles. In her free time she devotes herself to the deserts here in Utah, field herping and studying native wildlife, specifically rattlesnakes, she has been dubbed “the rattlesnake lady” from locals in a town that she frequents. Marcy has been enthralled with reptiles as far back as she can remember, catching her first snake at three years old!

Reilly Raymond

Show Lead

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.

Joey Jensen

Crew

Joey is an avid animal enthusist!

Emery Richens

Owner’s Daughter

Emery is the 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.