TALK

This past summer, you had a unique experience, traveling to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to do broadcast and play-by-play for an international esports tournament. What was that like?

I absolutely loved getting to go to Riyadh. The food was great, the city was beautiful, and the festival was on a completely different level compared to things here in the states when it comes to esports right now. I think getting to travel to places like that is one of the main reasons I am all in on esports. Because getting to travel the world yelling at video games really is the best job in the world, and I would never take that for granted.

How did you get into esports and esports broadcasting?

I have been gaming for almost my entire life. The earliest memories I have are of playing Minecraft on my dad’s laptop when he wasn’t using it. I eventually moved on to the game that got me into competitive gaming, Fortnite. Esports in general, but Fortnite specifically, is a young man’s game, where you might see professional athletes pivot into retirement at age 30-40. Esports athletes generally hit their prime around age 16-18. This made it an obvious decision to try to pivot in a different direction from gaming, and when my esports production jobs started to pay enough, I decided to go all in and give broadcasting a shot.

Why did you choose your major?

Believe it or not, I actually started out as a mechanical engineering major. Once my esports work started to pick up, I realized that there are thousands of kids at home who wish they had the opportunities I was getting, and I felt like splitting my efforts between engineering and esports just wasn’t doing either of them justice. So halfway through my sophomore year, I switched to business management, where hopefully some of the things I learn will apply to my work in esports.

What would you say to people who might not understand the significance of gaming, especially competitive gaming?

Gaming is an outlet to so many kids. I know that for me it was the only way I knew how to cope with stress and anxiety. Pairing this coping mechanism with my spirit to compete was a healthy way for me to manage the stresses of school, especially when I got to college where I truly realized how lucky I was to find such a healthy outlet at a young age. The effort put into competing and performing at a high level consistently showed me that developing discipline for things that you are passionate about could push you to new heights you would have never thought possible. I was ridiculed and made fun of, even to this day, for pursuing gaming and specifically esports, but I know now more than ever that things will pay off as long as I stick with it.