Forbes Editor's Choice: Luke Libraro


Presenting today's greatest gathering of young game changers, movers and makers. Our fourth annual celebration is bigger than ever: 600 millennials in 20 fields — no repeats from years past and every one selected by a panel of A-list judges.

Today we honor Luke Libraro, Forbes 30 Under 30 2015 editor's choice and crowd favorite by a landslide. Scroll down to see the full detail of why Libraro was selected to receive such a prestigious award, including gorgeous photos, stories and breakdowns of everything interesting about this year’s editor's choice.

Brokeded Cars

Luke Libraro always enjoyed working on cars but didn't really understand how to fix them. One day after breaking down 3 times before getting to the hardware store he decided to give up. "Why don't we just drink instead?" - Luke would often say after not being able to fix the car he started working on. So Luke decided from that day forward he would drink in "brokeded" cars rather than try and fix them. This started a revolution and "Brokeded" cars began to pop-up everywhere. "Why fix your car when you can get drunk instead" became the companies motto. As I am writing this article I still can't quite figure out what the business model (or "bidness" in Luke speak) is or how they make any money, but one thing is for sure: Luke put on some weight before turning 30, he lost all of his hair, and still loves to drink.

PonZSkeem

CEO and founder of PonZSkeem, and ostrich owner, Luke Libraro, continues to turn heads as he flips the international transportation system on its head by mass producing the first flying cars. In his spare time, he consults smaller companies like GM, AT&T, Walmart, and Apple. Recent controversial evidence suggests he’s also the notorious space graffiti artist, aL.L.ien. Others claim he’s the first AI in humanoid form and demand he take the Turing test. They say no human could accomplish as much as he has in such a short period of time. Libraro has gone on record to say, “I understand why you think I’m not human. I’m amazing. Like, really f*cking awesome. I can hardly believe it myself. But we’re evolving and shit. Maybe I’m like one of those first superhumans. Like that movie with the X-men in it. It was about a bunch of people with ‘X’-tra powers. Terry, what was that movie called? It was called X-men? Just X-men? That’s not a good name. I could have swore it was called something else. Like Days of Rage! Or The Next Extreme! Yeah, I’m probably one of those guys. Did you just write all of that? Edit that X-men part out. Terry, make sure he edits that part out.”

Get Schwifty

Luke's entrepreneurial spirit shines through his every interaction, no matter how ordinary. Off-the-cuff discussions of urban living bootycall challenges inspire innovations like the BangLair app, and simple lazy afternoons birth up-and-coming social sites like snugg.ly. Luke's true passion to build greatness from nothing means that every conversation is fair game for a new business opportunity, no matter how innocuous the topic. He questions ways that beach holes can be built better and stronger, and takes calculated risks that push the limits of road trip optimization. He crafts Halloween costumes that get unprecedented numbers of social likes, builds floating nightstands for impossibly small spaces, and redefines the phrase "couples counseling." Luke is open and optimistic, executes flawlessly, and is a pioneer in the field of getting Schwifty.

Ailing Planet

Honestly, and I don't think I am the only one thinking this, so I am just going to say it: Luke Libraro is a little too impressive. The ease with which he solved that whole global warming "issue" on a free evening with just a soldering iron, some copper wire and a table saw is a little disconcerting. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am going to enjoy the extra years he bought our ailing planet. I just think there's something a little fishy (not to reference the extremely affordable filters he created to eliminate dead zones in the planet's oceans) about the whole situation. It's not so much his achievements - we all benefit from those - but rather the enigmatic modesty with which he regards his personal achievements.

Like, why can't Luke just be more like that Elon Musk guy. That guy can barely land a goddamn rocket and his contribution to the hyper-loop was pretty much just uttering the words "fast, vacuum and loop" under his breath and a legion of engineers did the rest. Now he's driving his Porsche recklessly down Route 1 staring everyone he cuts off along the way with that "you know who I am" smolder. To compare, Luke has a single $3000 used car in his garage, despite his unfathomable wealth. Not only that, but he can't even drive it - that shit has been broken since he bought it. Not because he is incapable of fixing it, but because he is too busy creating an extensible framework for world peace.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be on this list. I'm just saying there's a list we may want to keep him off of: People over the age of 30. Just consider it. Really. He's making us all look bad.

Renaissance Man

Luke is a true renaissance man.

Libraro first came onto the music scene in 1993. He spent most of the decade collaborating with artists like Nickelback and David Hasslehoff but in 1998, he went solo and soon after founded the breakthrough sound known today as neo-hip-hop-polka. NHHPM, or more commonly pronounced "Napalm", was such a success, that Libraro used his money from his world tours to fund several personal startups.

Once such startup idea came after being inspired by a trip to Medieval Times. Libraro created "Luke's Lifesize Lances” which is now a fortune 100 company that has virtually eradicated the gun control debate in the United States.

With startup success, political recognition and musical accomplishment behind him, Libraro faded from the spotlight and dove deep into buddhism. The work he has done since his transformation is an inspiration to us all.

His most recent act of pure selflessness, occurred in February of 2015, when a stranger contacted him over Facebook, introduced herself and said she wanted to surprise one of his business partners. Luke somehow stopped his partner from jumping on a plane to California, flying to Salt Lake City, driving to Cincinnati, going to a fancy dinner with his roommate and a 7pm crossfit workout.

With a lifetime of success already behind him and his 30th on the horizon, there is no telling what this renaissance man will do next.

Cheap Beer

Luke and I got smashed off of cheap beer and wine and he almost left me Argentina. The end.

Fairy Dust

Luke can always be relied upon when one is undertaking the often uncomfortable and unsavory, yet satisfying hobby of pleasuring thy neighbor's goat. Firstly though, it's important to understand how kind and gentle to animals Luke really is and how instrumental they have been to his meteoric rise to the top of the Furries 30 under 30. Wait...what? Oh this is for the Forbes 30 under 30...my mistake.

Luke has this mesmerizing way of getting to the crux of the matter whenever dealing with synergistic flow of magical project fairy dust operations. To watch him work and gather people round for a story all about how his life got flip-turned upside down is a rare treat. He'll never give you up, never will let you down, and certainly won't run around and desert you. He's never going to make you cry, or say goodbye. You can count on him to never tell a lie and hurt you.

Meat Man

Luke has mastered the delicate skill of shrimp kabob cooking over open flame, not an easy task. In fact he is such a wilderness chef extraordinaire, he brings his technology to the beach with his fellow nerds to do research on just how juicy outdoor meats can be.

Sorbinternet

Do you love sorbet? Do you love the internet? Why can't they be together? These are exactly the questions that Luke Libraro, the adopted third son of reclusive mega-store billionaires, set out to answer."I said why can't I taste the sorbet I read about in the blogs" Libraro explains "This is something I know I can solve." Six months later Sorbinternet™ took the world like a storm. The OS was simple, well-designed, and so tasty. After making his first billion on just rainbow and blue rocket pop sorbet he turned his attention to the third world. He has since found ways to use the sorbet for good by creating vaccine sorbets for third-world countries and curing brain freeze. When asked what's next for his sorbet he has but one word, "Space."

Third Son

My editor has been hasseling me for days now to write this and I'm usually not one for boosting Libraro's ego... but it must be said. Luke Libraro has done the impossible. Many may know of the Woodlief/Roebuck family, may have been invited over for a family dinner here or there. Mama dukes Woodlief knows her childrens' friends, but there's only been one circumstance where a child has convinced Mama Dukes to legally adopt one of Skylar's friends into the family. Through years of fixing kitchen light bulbs and helping organize her sheds Luke has thoroughly inflatrated the family. One day Luke appeared in all the family portaits; sometimes on Skylar's shoulders and sometimes just sitting criss-cross-applesauce and Toliver's feet. A few weeks later at a family gathering Josie notice her Oma go to hug Libraro before her. It's been a tough battle for Libraro, but I hereby congratulate him on his hard work. Luke, you're a homeless orphan no more.