Release The Geek

Blockchain technology, sports, and pop culture - on the face of it, there doesn't seem to be much cross-over of these two areas. The Canadian based Sports Technology Group (or STG), however, knows the value that can be unlocked for both professional athletes and sporting franchises & organisations through inspired applications of the tech. It’s estimated that even for an organisation no less esteemed the National Basketball Association spends over $600,000 on athlete administration every year - a figure which could be reduced dramatically by using blockchain tech to structure 'smart contracts' for athletes. Why should the opinions of STG be listened to? Well, not many organisation can claim to have the insight of no less than five Olympians, with over 100 combined years of data and technology expertise. Gary Boddington, CEO & co-founder of STG, was kind enough to chat to us about many things in this area of sports technology including how much has changed (and how much has stayed the same) when it comes to athlete contracts, the incredible applications of smart contract technology in relation to contract performance clauses, and what it will take for this tech to snowball.

Put simply, Cat Machin is here to fill your social feed with space art. But there's lots more going on that just the incredibly sought-after pieces that do a wonderful job capturing the beauty of stars, nebulas, super-bubbles, and other parts of the universe.

After a substantial career in the video gaming industry, Cat made a major life change - she left her job, learned art, and now has taken on a new mission - to bring the joy and knowledge of the cosmos to everyone. How successful has she been? Cat owns no less than the record as Australia's highest crowd-funded artist of all time and has a client waitlist that stretches around the globe.Cat was gracious enough to chat to us recently about many things including how her family were a fantastic geeky influence (despite the many gaming grievances Cat still holds); how stressful the video gaming industry can be; and how she managed to get her brother a tour of Space X - which is a wonderful story on its own.

Back in 2017, the team at Ominous Press brought us the original "Beast of the Black Hand", a horror/adventure graphic novel based on an idea by Paul Harding, set in the waning days of World War 1. With plenty of supernatural action - and they did it by smashing their goals in a successfully funded Kickstarter project. Now, the creative team is back for more horror, espionage, amd diesel powered adventure.

Beast of the Black Hand writer, and friend of the show, Ron Marz joined us to talk about volume two of the multi-part epic: Beasts of the Black Hand Vol 2 - The Viking League. We chatted about about many things including how Ominous Press manages to get its Kickstarter projects consistently funded; what amazing news perks are on offer for Volume 2; and how sometimes the best names you can come up for characters are ones based on real life characters.

When it comes to art, South African artist Loyiso Mkize is a multi-threat. A successful stint as head illustrator for the world's biggest-selling monthly comic books in the world - the proudly South African Supa Strikas; creating South Africa's first superhero comic book series, KWEZI through his own visual arts company (LM Art); projects for Archie comics, MTV Shuga, Disney and Standard Bank; plus multiple solo and group exhibitions around the world all add up to an impressive, and growing art CV. His experience has also led him to be named as a judge for the biggest online Art Tournament in Africa - the VX Art Tournament. Pulling from our 'found recordings archive', Loyiso was a guest at Fan Con back in 2018 and was kind enough to chat with us about many things including his path to art geekdom, the origin story of South Africa's first superhero and much more.

The world is … well … doing it tough right now. Here’s a message from the RTG team that we hope might help.

Spencer Williams, and his wife Lara, are board game geeks of the highest order. With a shared passion for board games, the Williams created the "Married With Board Games" podcast which talked about games that can be played as a couple and as a family, especially games with a co-operative element. The world of content creation can have some substantial negative aspects to it - crummy attitudes, hate and negativity can make online experiences tough to navigate. Recently, Spencer has expanded his content creation strategy to address this particular topic with the "Lighten Up Initiative" - to quote from the website, its 'board game media with a lighter touch'. Spencer was kind enough to chat to us recently about many things including: his path to geekdom growing up in Texas and the origin story behind the 'Lighten Up Initiative'

The comics industry is currently calling itself into account - again. Multiple reports of predatory behaviour are being brought to light and with it the opportunity for voices in the comic book community to be heard about a range of issues - including the topic of diversity. While strides have been made in terms of representation in the industry, there is still a great deal that can be done.In 2018, I was fortunate enough to moderate a panel at Fan Con Comic Convention in Cape Town about diversity in comics, and it's a great time to revisit the discussion. On stage were convention guests Cape Town based artist Danelle Malan, and comic book industry veterans Loyiso Mkize and Declan Shalvey who were gracious enough to share their feelings and insights on the topic.

Declan was a guest at Fan Con in 2018 and was kind enough to chat to take time out and chat to us about many things including his path to geekdom, going to his first comic book convention, the importance of diversity in the comic industry and who his favourite Trek captain is. And an apology - we spend some time nerding out about 80's X-men comics.

Matthew Dow Smith is an American comic book artist and author. He's worked on a range of titles for publishers DC, Marvel, Dark Horse among others including Hellboy, Sandman Mystery Theatre, Dr Who, The X-files Starman, Beasts of the Black Hand and the X-Men. He's also releasing his new work "Johnny Chaos" in weekly installments on Twitter (which you can find via @matthewdowsmith), and has just announced the formation of his own studio Skeleton Tree Media.Matthew was kind enough to spare some to chat about many things including his path to geekdom, what would be a good starting point for the Cthulhu mythos for a new fan, why he's started his own creative studio now and the clever logic behind why he's releasing Johnny Chaos the way he is. We also discuss the current state of accountability in the comic book industry and why there needs to be increased representation. Plus we also geek out extensively over Doctor Who - you were warned.

Declan Shalvey was a big comic book reader as a kid, with lashings of Star Trek thrown in through a caring mother who also supported his artwork: up to and including the drawing on the walls at home. From such humble beginnings, Declan has become a renowned artist and writer who has worked for DC, Marvel, Boom! Studios, Image and others. He's also the co-creator (along with Gavin Fullerton) of Bog Bodies - an original graphic novel featuring Irish gangsters stranded in the Dublin Mountains - which also comes with a companion soundtrack. Bog Bodies is now available, and you should definitely head over to bogbodies.com for more information.

Declan was a guest at Fan Con in 2018 and was kind enough to chat to take time out and chat to us about many things including his path to geekdom, going to his first comic book convention, the importance of diversity in the comic industry and who his favourite Trek captain is. And an apology - we spend some time nerding out about 80's X-men comics.

If you ask Ben McKenzie what his trade is you'll get a multi-pronged response: performer, writer, and game designer, but all carry large swaths of geeky interests. His "Man in the Lab Coat" persona shares his enthusiasm for science to comedy audiences; he was the head writer for the Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown video game, now available on Playstation VR, and along with Elizabeth Flux he co-hosts a podcast that is effectively a Terry Pratchett book club. The Pratchat podcast is a six(ish) year mission to read every Terry Pratchett novel, one a month, discussing the book with a special guest.Back in May 2018 during a visit to Supanova in Melbourne, Ben was kind enough to chat to us about many things including his path to geekdom, the origins of the Pratchat podcast, how there are more opportunities for geek content than ever before, and what it means to be a "TRUE" fan and how nerdom should be celebrated (a hint: it definitely should include more 'nerd dates'). Plus we find out why the Stegosaurus is the BEST dinosaur, and the reasons are quite compelling.