1. The Origin Story

Let’s start at the beginning. How did GSAP first come to life? What problem were you trying to solve in those early days of Flash?

The banner ads I was working on had very strict file size requirements and I needed something that allowed me to create complex effects efficiently without manually building them on the Flash timeline. Most of what was available at the time seemed clunky, unintuitive, or slow. So I tried writing my own reusable framework. I was basically scratching my own itch.

2. Milestones & Magic

What were some of the pivotal moments in GSAP’s journey that shaped its growth? Was there a turning point where you realized, ​“Wow, this is really taking off”?

Sharing it online at first was scary. I felt insecure about it. I feared people would either expose how dumb I was or harshly criticize me. So sharing it in the first place was a huge milestone. Then, when it started growing in popularity, people complained that I wasn’t accepting donations. People literally got angry at me for not accepting money — they wanted to support me and help ensure that the project didn’t just die. They also wanted me to work on new features. Probably the biggest milestone was creating Club GreenSock — the funding mechanism that allowed me to commit and go ​“all in” on GSAP. Without Club GreenSock, there’s simply no way that GSAP could have ever gotten to where it is today. Creating, documenting, supporting, and maintaining a widely-used JavaScript library takes way more work than you may expect.

3. The Why Behind the Wow

In your opinion, what has made GSAP so successful and beloved across the industry — especially by both developers and designers?

I attribute GSAP’s success to several key factors:

• Wonderful supporters. GSAP users are the BEST! They spread the word and created beautiful things that show off what the tools can do. We did almost zero marketing.
• Right time, right place. When GSAP entered the scene, it’s what the industry was ripe for at the time. Flash people were visual-minded developers pushing the envelope and we were all starting to recognize how important coding skills were, even for designers.
• My design background. I wasn’t a code geek — I was just a normal designer trying to figure stuff out, so the API that felt natural to me would resonate with other non-geeks.
• Friendly, sharp forums community — with over 200,000 posts, our forums provide a wealth of solutions and give our users a sense of safety because they know if they get stuck, someone is there to help. The moderators are dedicated, kind, warm, and smart. We don’t tolerate condescension and there’s no such thing as a ​“dumb” question there. I’m incredibly proud of the GSAP forums community. It’s very unique.
• Track record & trust. GSAP has been around for so long that people have grown to trust our commitment. Nobody wants to build on a tool that might get abandoned in a year or two.
• Problem solving. GSAP is just a collection of tools that solve various problems that motion designers often face. I guess the industry likes what we’ve provided.

4. Longevity & the Weight of Time

GSAP has powered animations through Flash, the rise of HTML5, the explosion of touch and mobile devices, and now into the Webflow era. What have been some of the biggest challenges in maintaining the library across such rapid and constant technical shifts? How do you stay ahead of compatibility, performance, and evolving standards — and was there ever a moment where it felt like too much?

It can definitely feel overwhelming at times. But honestly, there are some core concepts that remain pretty consistent even though some of the technical implementations may shift a bit over time. It was a huge shift to go from ActionScript to JavaScript. Wow! And we did it during the IE8 era. Browser behavior was all over the board and we had to try to harmonize things. We sure learned a lot.

5. Plugin/Feature Favorites

If you had to choose, what’s your personal favorite GSAP plugin or feature, and why? Bonus points if it’s an underdog!

Oh gosh, that’s a difficult question. Personally, I’m a big MorphSVG fan. Not only is it a really cool visual effect, but it was also technically a big challenge. ScrollTrigger is by FAR the most popular plugin and I can see why. Flip plugin is another one that feels like an underdog because it requires a completely different paradigm, but from a technical standpoint I find it very cool. SplitText is a favorite too, partially because I just completely rewrote it from the ground up with lots of new features. And who doesn’t love a gorgeous text animation?

6. Forum Feels

Let’s talk about the GSAP forums. What’s it like maintaining such a passionate and vocal community space? Love it? Hate it? What’s your ​“minimal demo” therapy routine? 😄

HA! If I had a nickel for every time I had to ask someone for a minimal demo… 😂 Honestly, I absolutely love the forums. Not only because they are so warm and filled with clever solutions from various developers, but the people are fantastic. However, the forums have eaten up a massive chunk of my work life. The sheer amount of time spent there trying to help people is sometimes overwhelming. Thankfully several moderators have really stepped up and helped with the workload over the years.

I really believe that GSAP wouldn’t be where it is today without the warm, friendly forums.

7. The Webflow Partnership

Congrats on the huge news! What made this the right time for an acquisition, and why Webflow?

Thanks! We certainly weren’t looking for GSAP to be acquired but when we were approached by Webflow it became obvious pretty quickly that it was a wonderful match. They’re one of very, very few companies in the world who we thought could pull off a solid GUI on top of GSAP. They have similar goals and they really impressed us with their vision and also their commitment to keep GSAP free and open to the entire web, not just Webflow users. They bring skills to the table that we couldn’t dream of, plus it made so much sense for Webflow to leverage GSAP under the hood to make their product even better. In short, it would have been silly to say ​“no” to the acquisition. GSAP users benefit and Webflow users benefit.

8. Making GSAP Free

Opening up all the plugins is a huge deal. What went into that decision, and what do you hope this unlocks for the wider creative community?

It was such a nice gesture for Webflow to make GSAP totally free! The two main barriers to adoption — cost and the commercial license — are now gone! 🥳 I always hated hearing from folks who just couldn’t afford it or get the expense approved by their boss. Plus there was confusion around commercial licensing. As the author, it feels wonderful to know that the tools I worked so hard on have been set free to empower anyone in the world. This is a pivotal moment in the history of GSAP. My hope is that the ​“Free GSAP Era” ushers in a whole new crop of beautiful online experiences…and makes developers giddy.

9. The Future of Web Animation

What do you see on the horizon for web animation? Are you hopeful about WYSIWYG tools? How do you see AI, community, or even ​“vibes” shaping what comes next?

The future is bright. I see WYSIWYG tools as having an important place, but certain things will always be more efficient with code. The key will be knowing when to reach for each tool. Visual tools that give you ​“escape hatches” into code easily will be ideal.

AI is here to stay. It just boosts what designers/developers can do but it will always be important to have a solid understanding of how things work. I see too many developers who rely heavily on AI and other tooling to do it all for them, so they can’t effectively troubleshoot. They flounder when it comes to structuring logic. That’s no bueno.

10. Shoutouts

Who are some key people behind the curtain that you’d love to recognize? Contributors, moderators, early adopters, unsung heroes — shine the spotlight!

Cassie Evans has been not only a joy to work with, but vital to GSAP’s growth in recent years. The rebrand was her baby. Cassie’s vibe and skillset are a perfect match for GSAP and our community. Rodrigo is the hero who runs the forums and makes sure every question gets a thoughtful response. Carl Schooff is another key contributor from the early years through today. He has such a heart for giving people ​“aha!” moments, teaching how to skillfully leverage GSAP’s powers. A heartfelt thanks to Zach Saucier, Tom Miller, Blake Bowen, Manfred Kempener, Craig Roblewsky, Mitchel van Eijgen, Paul Slawik, Jonathan Marzullo, Pedro Tavares, Esther Eisner, Chris Coyier, Chris Gannon and all the forums moderators.

11. Final Thoughts

Any closing words for the animation and dev community? Or maybe even a weird fact about GSAP’s past we’d never expect?

Fun fact: a passionate GSAP fan in Brazil had the GSAP logo tattooed on his body… and then we updated the logo 😳

Parting thought: the future is bright! We’re excited about what’s ahead.

🌟 Bonus Quickfire:

- Code editor of choice?
Lately I’ve been digging Cursor! Historically, GSAP was coded mostly in WebStorm.

- Coffee, tea, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere?
I don’t drink coffee or tea. I do, however, have Breyer’s ice cream almost every night. I’ve done that for over 30 years. Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Chip 🍨

- Last animation you were really proud of?
Honestly, I just love the animations on gsap.com (though I personally had little to do with crafting them). These days I’m more proud of technical accomplishments that allow talented motion designers to do their magic best, like crafting a special easing algorithm for keeping an element inside the viewport while animating along a curved path.