10 things about Archer, Florida’s Ryo Heene

Ryo Heene is a resident of Archer, Florida, United States. Aside from Florida, he has lived in other states in the country including Colorado and New York.

BIOGRAPHY

Heene is a Japanese-American drummer. He is Richard Alan Heene Jr. and Mayumi Iizuka Heene‘s second child.

Richard is a scientist and an inventor born in Virginia, USA and Mayumi is a former rock band guitarist born in Gifu, Japan. Ryo is Bradford Heene‘s younger brother and Falcon Heene‘s older brother.

Ryo’s family owns Craftsman Tiny Homes, which specializes in building affordable, custom tiny homes with a focus on craftsmanship. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He and Bradford appeared as toddlers in the 2003 film “Box Time: Playhouse”, which was written by their father and directed by Rupert Hitzig.
2. In 2008, he, his brothers and their parents appeared in the ABC show “Wife Swap“.
3. He and his brothers were homeschooled after their family was involved in a balloon controversy in 2009.
4. In 2010, he, his brothers and their parents moved from Colorado to Florida.
5. In 2011, he founded Heene Boyz, one of the youngest heavy metal bands in the world.
6. In 2019, he, his brothers and their parents moved from Florida to New York.
7. In 2014, he and his brothers released a song titled “Balloon Boy No Hoax.”
8. In 2016, he and his brothers recorded “The Youth of America for Trump”, a song that supported Donald Trump during the U.S. presidential election.
9. In 2020, he, his brothers and their parents moved back to Florida.
10. On November 10, 2024, he turned 24.

TIMELINE

Ryo is the drummer of Heene Boyz. Bradford is the guitarist and Falcon is the vocalist of the band.

2000s

• On December 31, 2002, his brother Falcon was born.
• He, his brothers and their parents appeared in a “Wife Swap” episode aired on ABC on October 3, 2008. They were voted by the viewers to be featured again in the reality show’s 100th episode on March 13, 2009.
• On October 15, 2009, his younger brother Falcon earned the named the Balloon Boy because of the controversy involving his family and a homemade helium-filled gas balloon shaped to resemble a silver flying saucer released into the atmosphere above Fort Collins, Colorado.

2010s

• He, his brothers and their parents left Fort Collins on August 30, 2010 and moved to Spring Hill, Florida on September 2, 2010.
• He and his brothers performed at the Holiday Matsuri Convention at an Embassy Suites in Kissimmee, Florida from December 14-15, 2012.
• On September 20, 2015, he, his brothers and their parents appeared again on “Today.”
• He and his two brothers starred in the musical “American Chilly,” which premiered at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida on October 28, 2015. It was written and directed by their father.

2020s

• On May 30, 2020, he, his brothers and their parents moved from New Hampton to Archer.
• On July 15, 2025, Netflix released “Trainwreck: Balloon Boy”, a documentary about his family.