Esports Careers Podcast

This week Drew sat down with Aaron Mullenix, former recruiter at Riot Games. Aaron got his first opportunity in esports/recruiting from a friend who wanted Aaron to replace her position as a Recruiting Coordinator. At the time Aaron was not interested and actually was not a fan of League of Legends.

It wasn't until his roommate (who was also working at Riot Games) spoke highly about the company and its culture that Aaron reached back out and interviewed for the position. Aaron was hired and put on the esports recruiting team.

Aaron talks about his experiences recruiting at Riot Games, how they hired for positions that never existed before, and his drive to help job seekers find their dream job through informational YouTube videos.
 
Check out Aaron's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AaronMullenix

Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg
Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky

This week Robin sat down with Ben Goldhaber, Co-Founder and CEO of Juked. Juked is a new social network for esports fans with the mission of bringing esports fans closer together and removing toxicity from esports communities.

Ben was the first gaming hire at Justin.tv, responsible for building out gaming vertical which would go on to become Twitch. While at Twitch, Ben managed partnerships with a variety of esports leagues and events, and also served as director of content marketing.

Topics in this weeks episode include how he landed his first role at Justin.tv, his experiences while at Twitch, what inspired him to start Juked, what he values when hiring people onto his teams, and much more.

Follow Ben: https://twitter.com/FishStix
Check out Juked at https://juked.gg/

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky
Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg

This week Drew sat down with Chase Sommer, Esports Coordinator at Wake Technical Community College. Chase formerly lead the esports club at the University of Iowa and was able to leverage his experience for role at Wake Tech. Since its inception in December 2020 Wake Tech Esports has made leaps and bounds and is quickly gaining traction as a leader in the collegiate esports space.

Chase talks about his experiences in collegiate esports, some of the pros and cons of working in the collegiate scene, and his thoughts on North Carolina becoming a major hub for east coast esports.

Chase's Socials
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasesommer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SommerChase
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTmqyXRSyc4FQbso4nR-v0g/featured

Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg
Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky

This week Robin sat down with Jared Tendler, a leading expert in the mental game of performance. Jared worked with Team Liquid for four years; he was a key driver of many of their championships, including The International 2017 (DOTA2), the Intel Grand Slam (Counter-Strike) and four League Championship Series titles (League of Legends).

Jared covers his background working with pro golfers as well as poker players, and how that lead him to working with Team Liquid. He discusses some of the unique challenges he encountered working with esports athletes, how he measures success, and how he thinks newcomers in the field should approach the industry.

Jared's Socials
https://twitter.com/jaredtendler
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qUodHHEgytCXH-9xGffCA
https://jaredtendler.com/

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky
Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg

Robin sat down with Justin M. Jacobson, Esq., a top esports and entertainment attorney and talent manager. Justin is an Adjunct Professor of Esports at University of North Carolina Wilmington and has recently authored "The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming".
Justin shed light on his experiences managing esports talent as well as working with different esports organizations as a lawyer, his new book and personal thoughts on the formalization of esports education, the intersection of traditional entertainment and gaming + esports, and advice for anyone looking to break into esports as a talent manager or lawyer.

Justin's Socials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/justinjESQ
www.jacobsonfirm.com
www.esportslaw.biz

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky
Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg

Robin touched base with Ethan "Sully" Tran, a 16 year old esports commentator who has quickly made a name for himself in the industry. Sully talked about how he got into casting, his families reaction to his success, and the plights and negativity he's faced as a teenager in a boomer dominated field.

Sully's Socials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SullyCasts
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrEjdy30xQhTg-4E6EdpEg

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky
Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg

Drew got the chance to chat with Nick "Inero" Smith. Current LCS Head Coach for Golden Guardians. But Nicks journey to his role was a bumpy one. His plight began when he got an opportunity to go oversees and coach for mousesports for only 250 euros a month. After visa issues he returned to the US and ran into more issues while working for Dream Team. After a few more rocky attempts Nick found solace with the franchise team Golden Guardians which he's been with ever since. Listen to this weeks episode to hear more about Nicks journey and his advice for promising esports coaches.

Nick's Socials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inero
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/inero/

Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg
Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky

Looking to pursue a career in esports? You've come to the right place.

This week Robin sat down Carson Giles. Carson is simultaneously the Director of Marketing at University of Colorado's Esports, the Head of Social Media Content for the Apex Spark Series, Social Media Manager for the Intercollegiate Game Network, and a current sophomore studying business. Topics include how he got his start esports, his formative learning experiences at Dreamhack Atlanta, and his dedication to forging an esports career once he graduates.

Carson's Socials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarsonGilez
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carson-giles/

CU Gaming & Esports https://twitter.com/BoulderEsports https://www.instagram.com/cubouldergaming/
Apex Spark Series https://twitter.com/ApexSparkGG
Intercollegiate Game Network https://twitter.com/UniGameNetwork

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky
Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg

On our first episode of 2021, Drew had a chat with Lily Lewis, Marketing Partnerships Manager at CLG. Lily's first day at CLG was actually the day they all started working from home due to COVID-19. We discussed her unconventional path into esports, why she believes you should work outside of esports first, and how she's making a difference in her role at CLG.

Follow Lily: https://twitter.com/lilyolewis

Drew’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dweebgg
Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderscoreSilky