TBD: Beyond the Basement

After an extended summer break Trev, Ben and Dan are back together, and more committed than ever to bring things 'beyond the basement'. There was plenty to talk about, but there was only one place to start. JLINGZ esports... the first move from Manchester United's Jesse Lingard into esports, and all brought together by our very own Trev Keane! So Ben and Dan took the opportunity to find out how it all came about. 

We also talked about NRG player benjfishy's mum, Anne Fish, and her recent move to becoming a content creator herself. The 58 year-old has over 430k followers on Twitch and now Content Creator for Galaxy Racer Esports. And talking about content creators, we run through the Misfits Academy and how their providing of opportunities for designers and creators could help open doors here in the UK & Ireland, with a template on how it could be done by teams here. 

Make sure you subscribe/follow to get notified of when episodes drop. We'll have more of these regular chats as well as interviews with top people from the gaming and esports industries.

This week Ben and Trev got together to chat about the latest developments in the esports and gaming space. Trev has been very busy working on the launch of ex-guest and now-ex Leicester City football Christian Fuchs on his NFT launch, whilst Ben has had his hands full with the arrival of a new baby son. 

They discuss the new financial release from David Beckham-backed Guild Esports and why the lack of revenue for this year isn't something they are worried about. 

A new campaign from Tourism Ireland to allow gamers to explore landscape and history through Assassin's Creed Valhalla is something that has made a lot of people take notice and our Irish duo discuss what they think of it.

If you enjoy our podcast, do listen to others we have recorded over the last few months, and subscribe/follow us on your platform of choice. We'll be back in another two weeks with a brand new episode.

T, B & D. 

This week's guest has moved through the worlds of advertising and Premier League football before moving into esports with FaZe Clan and now GameSquare. With Trev and Ben otherwise engaged, this time Dan sits down with Jan Neumeister to discuss this journey and all of this;

Find out more about GameSquare at https://www.gamesquare.com 

And make sure you follow us on your platform of choice, and give us a follow on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/tbd-beyond-the-basement

In this episode, Trev and Ben (no Dan this week due to the sniffles) get into the heart of what's happening in esports and gaming. Including; 

Warzone - banned 500k cheaters, what is 'Smurfing', how Rambo could get Ben back into playing the game.

Roblox - a golden opportunity for brands and Trev talks about how he competes with his son in the game.

Training camps for gamers - Guild (with David Beckham leading the way) are launching subscription training camps, and why Ben things this is a fantastic first move from the team.

Celebrity Esports - Another idea the guys love, one that includes names such as Jimmy Carr and Diversity. Grenade Energy and Primark are just two of the names already to have gotten involved, could more follow?

Thanks for listening! Next time we'll be back with an awesome video with someone who has gone from the advertising world into football and now into esports. Firstly with FaZe Clan and now GameSquare. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss it. 

Thanks, T, B & D.

The gang's back together, with Trev, Ben and Dan finally finding the time in their hectic schedules to chat about the latest news and developments in esports and gaming - with very much a sports hat on.

This time they dig into the Olympic Virtual Series, which was announced recently as a first step by the IOC in working with governing bodies in this field. But the mix of sailing, rowing, motorsport and cycling leaves a lot of questions as to the direction they are taking and how successful it will be.

We then launched into the rise of celebrity/gaming crossovers in recent times with Neymar Jr & Fortnite and Cristiano & Free Fire, and Trev asked the others who they thought would make good future collaborations. What makes for a good personality going into these games? And would Conor McGregor be a good representative for Ireland in gaming?

And talking of characters in games, could we see Sherlock Holmes in Fortnite or add in other historical characters to help young people understand more about their stories. One for the education sector maybe!

Dan reminisces about the way he used to consume football, and the vast differences this compares to what happens now. Shoot magazine and scrapbooking anyone? Whilst Ben muses over why he can watch COD on Twitch for hours whilst he skips through the 'boring' bits when watching rugby and football. 

If you enjoy this then do let your friends know and make sure you subscribe on your platform of choice. 

In this episode Trev and Ben spoke to the Chief Marketing Officer, Dan Parise, and Chief Revenue Officer, Paul Brewer from Rival. 

Rival is a platform that helps organisations leverage the popularity of gaming and esports. Connecting the massive global appeal of the sector with sports teams, leagues, brands and media properties. 

A fascinating chat that is one not to be missed. 

Find out more about Rival by visiting https://www.gorival.com

And make sure you follow us on your platform of choice, and give us a follow on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/tbd-beyond-the-basement

For interview no.5 on TBD we brought in one of the most well known people on the business side of esports, thanks to his stream of industry content on LinkedIn and also his podcast. Chris Smith has been involved in almost every aspect of the business, having started out being a semi-pro player, organised events and been a commentator, before setting up BIG Esports in 2017.

Chris has great insights and views on all aspects of the esports scene from; teams seeing themselves as marketing agencies, content creators becoming more involved in starting teams and the future of the recent influx in sports stars getting involved. He's helped many brands in Australia navigate this relatively new space and he was happy to share some of those stories too.

Lots to get through and one we're sure you'll enjoy. You can follow Chris on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithymayo) and check out his podcast at https://www.bigesports.gg/podcast

Thanks as always for tuning in and we'll see you again soon.

Dan, Trev and Ben.  

In this, our 4th interview, we welcome Dan Bravato to TBD. Dan is the President of SeventySix Capital Sports Advisory and has moved from the sports worlds into esports. Something we've seen a lot of in recent years.

From NASCAR to client side with Quicken Loans and then onto Fathead and Manchester City, Dan has a huge amount of experience in the business side of sports. But he wanted to take more of a 30,000ft view of the industry, and esports became a big part of that vision. 

His experience in launching Minnesota RØKKR, the city's official Call of Duty franchise, is fascinating. Especially in how they utilised social media to develop their fanbase thanks to the help of entrepreneur and US business celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk. 

There is so much to take out of this chat with Dan, we hope you enjoy it as much as do.

Thanks for tuning and do remember to let other know about our podcast, every little helps! You can find us on;

Trev Keane https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevkeane/ 

Ben Finnegan https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfinnegan1/

Dan McLaren https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmclaren75/

See you again in a couple of weeks time.

In the second of our series of interviews on the business side of esports & gaming, we chatted with Ben Feferman and he gave us some absolute gold on his experiences in the gaming and esports space, and where the opportunities lie.

He is the CEO of Amuka Esports, Canada's leader in gaming venues, online leagues, esports media and competitive teams. He is also the co-founder of Level SUX esports incubator, the country's first and only incubator for early stage esports startups, and still works in securities trading with his business Amauko Capital. A very busy man with many talents. 

This is an interview you really don't want to miss!

Thanks for tuning and do remember to let other know about our fledgling podcast, every little helps! You can find us on;

Trev Keane https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevkeane/ 

Ben Finnegan https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfinnegan1/

Dan McLaren https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmclaren75/

See you again in a couple of weeks time.