The Lodgz Podcast: Recent Episodes
Juan Rodriguez
Welcome to The Lodgz Podcast, an interview-style gaming and esports show highlighting business professionals, streamers, content creators, and pro esports players. Hosted by Juan Rodriguez, Founder of Lodgz Financial. Every week Juan hosts notable people in gaming to share their career, journey and story of how they got to where they are today. New episodes drop every Thursday.
Arpit “Paradox” Manaktala is the Founder of Paradox Customs. He’s taken the industry by storm this year building custom PC’s for streamers, content creators, esports players, professional athletes and even those in the music industry. Since quitting his job in early 2020 to pursue Paradox Customs full-time, he has built a team of 5+ employees around him to produce some of the most impressive and creative PC’s in gaming.
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- Follow Paradox on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Chris Lamarucciola is the President of Parabellum Esports, a Canadian based esports organization. At its inception, Parabellum Esports was first known as Shattered Dreams (SxD). After two years of growing the team and its brand, SxD was acquired by YDX Innovation, a global leader in the commercialization of immersive new technologies. After the acquisition, SxD was then rebranded to their current name, Parabellum Esports. They field rosters in Valorant, Fortnite, Rocket League, iRacing, Rainbow Six and others.
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- Follow Chris on Twitter
- Follow Chris on TikTok
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Drew "Frozone" Bienusa is a Twitch Partner and Warzone content creator. He is ranked top 5 in the world for total kills and also ranks in the top 5 for total Warzone event earnings. This includes winning the Nickmercs MFAM Gauntlet main event in April and finishing second in the Toronto Ultra Warzone $100K event.
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- Follow Frozone on Twitch
- Follow Frozone on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
David is an investor in FaZe Clan, President of the NA Collegiate Gaming League, Podcast Host, ex-Deloitte Partner and Founder of his own private equity firm. After spending 10 years with big four firm Deloitte, David embraced his entrepreneurial spirit and founded two different venture capital firms. In 2018 he became an investor in FaZe Clan and quickly contributed by getting FaZe into a Super Bowl Commercial. David is also the President of the North American Collegiate League (NACL). NACL is a non-profit collegiate gaming league in 220 Universities across 20 different countries. David’s podcast, “Pandanomics”, is the NY Weekly #1 Podcast.
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- Follow David on Instagram
- Follow David on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Bobby Solez is a full-time Facebook Gaming Partner, content creator and entrepreneur. Recently, Bobby signed with Ford Models to their “Esports and Gaming Division”, where the world-renowned modeling agency is now representing talent within gaming and esports. He is also Co-Founder of NYC Console Kings, a video game truck that hosts birthday parties, fundraisers and other private events.
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- Follow Bobby's Stream on Facebook
- Follow Bobby on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Sweat is the owner of Sense of Quality, an internet and stream optimization service. He is partnered with Net Gear Gaming. He provides numerous services in addition to internet and stream optimizations including PC build recommendations, free tutorial guides for “do it yourself” optimizations and product reviews on affordable quality products for streamers and content creators. Sweat has worked closely with numerous CDL teams and other professional esports players.
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- Follow SweatPapi on Twitter
- Follow Sense of Quality on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Pavan Lakhat is a professional Madden player. He was the 2019 Madden Club Series Champion, winning $100,000. He is ranked #6 on the all-time Madden Championship Series money list with nearly $150K in tournament earnings. Pavan is also a streamer on Twitch and content creator on YouTube where he has over 3,000 subscribers. At the age of 20, he has a bright future ahead of him.
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- Follow Pavan on Twitter
- Follow Pavan on Instagram
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Mark Cai is a Junior at Arizona State University majoring in marketing & computer information systems. In addition, he is currently an esports brand partnerships associate at Powerspike. He’s grown relations for Powerspike with some of the top names in gaming including Loaded, Evolved, Cloud9, Misfits Gaming and others. If that isn’t impressive enough, he’s also amassed more than 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel over the last 7 years. We chat about all this and more.
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- Follow Mark on LinkedIn
- Follow Mark on Twitter
- Subscribe to his YouTube Channel
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
During this episode we welcome the members of the Tampa Association of Gaming to discuss gaming & esports in Tampa Bay. Our guests include Derek Watford (Co-Founder of High Point Gamer), Chris Green (Founder of Game Drive LLC) and Marcus Howard (Founder of ProjectMQ). We discuss how to engage the Tampa community about gaming & esports, why Tampa is the perfect esports destination, how a future gaming facility can benefit the city, and the overall economic impact a strong gaming presence could bring to the local communities.
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- Follow Derek on Instagram
- Follow Chris on LinkedIn
- Follow Marcus on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
Last week Ford Models announced the creation of their gaming & esports talent management division. Justin Jacobson, entertainment & esports attorney in NYC, is the manager of the division. Founded in 1946, Ford Models has been one of the most prestige modeling agencies to date. Outside of working with models, Ford had already been working with digital influencers. Adding gaming & esports seemed like the perfect addition. Justin shares the details behind the new division as well as his role and what you can expect to see.
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- Follow Justin on Twitter
- Article on Ford Models entering esports
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Richard Huggan is the Managing Director of Hitmarker Jobs. Hitmarker is the industry’s leading job board for gaming & esports opportunities. They assist both hiring companies & candidates looking to break into the space. Richard shares about some of the roles he carries on a day-to-day basis, how the platform has grown as a resource for new hires & some tips he suggests to get into the industry. We also tackle the hot topic of volunteering/free work & what he believes is the best way to approach it.
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- Follow Richard on Twitter
- Follow Richard on LinkedIn
- Follow Hitmarker on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Bryan Reedy is the Founder of Gamer Advantage. Gamer Advantage creates blue light gaming glasses designed for gaming & everyday wear. Bryan shares how & why the company got started, what sets their blue light glasses apart from competitors, why blue light glasses should become a new “norm” for esports players & much more. He also provides great educational content around the impact of blue light & some of the negative effects it causes.
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- Follow Bryan on Twitter
- Follow Gamer Advantage on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Jadd Schmeltzer is the Director of Esports at CEI (The Center for Educational Innovation) in New York City. In 2018 Jadd approached CEI with the idea of creating an esports division. Since then, they’ve created programs in under-served middle schools & high schools that combine education & esports together. Their programs revolve around the game, NBA 2K. They’ve previously partnered with the NBA 2K League and Nets GC (NBA 2K League team). Jadd views their program as an opportunity to teach students about the careers available in gaming & esports, as well as create a “pipeline” of talent for the NBA 2K League.
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- Follow Jadd on LinkedIn
- Follow CEI Esports on Twitter
- Follow CEI Esports on Instagram
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Justin Varghese is the North American Marketing Manager for DreamHack, an esports broadcaster & podcast co-host of the DreamHack Download. Justin entered the gaming world back in 2014 when he began to broadcast esports events. He has worked events with Activision Blizzard, MLG & The Pokemon Company International. He shares about his journey from initially entering into the industry to eventually landing his role for DreamHack five years later. He also discusses what it’s like to market such an iconic event as DreamHack, how his team & him go about their strategy, how coronavirus has impacted the live event space & more!
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- Follow Justin on Twitter
- Follow Justin on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Ghost Wacke is a streamer & content creator for Ghost Gaming! We chat with him about his progress as a streamer over the years including this year, which has been his biggest yet. In 2020 he’s landed a partnership with G Fuel & been signed by Ghost Gaming. He shares how important Tik Tok has been in his growth & how he’s utilized it as a platform to help grow his stream & other socials. We also talk about some of the hurdles he’s faced as he’s grown over the years & what has kept him going.
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- Follow Wacke on Twitch
- Follow Wacke on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
Alex Gonzalez is the Sponsorship & Promotional Lead at RESPAWN Products. RESPAWN is a gaming furniture brand that produces gaming chairs, gaming desks, recliners & rockers. Alex handles incoming sponsorship & partnership opportunities with teams, brands, events, influencers & organizations. He also manages the company’s growth via social media activations & promotions. Previously, Alex was the COO for Red Reserve.
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- Follow Alex on Twitter
- Follow Alex on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
We'd like to thank RESPAWN Products for sponsoring this episode! RESPAWN aims to offer the gaming community the highest quality of ergonomic gaming furniture products at affordable prices whether you're a content creator, professional player or casual player. Visit their website here to check out their products.
During episode 50 we unveil what's new & in store for the Lodgz brand. This includes The Lodgz Podcast, as well as Lodgz Financial. You'll also hear from the only other member of our Lodgz team, Tre Tipton. Tre has served has the head of creative/graphic design for all of our brand images.
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- Follow Tre on Twitter
- Follow Tre on Instagram
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Lodgz Financial on Twitter
Darren Traub is an Attorney & Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in New York City. He serves clients in the entertainment, esports, fashion & lifestyle industries. In esports he represents all segments of the industry including leagues, teams, content creators, investors, promotions & more. Due to his extensive experience representing clients in the music industry, Darren plays a key role in finding music artists who are looking to enter the gaming industry. One way he facilitates is by pairing esports organizations & artists who make sense to come together to create an investment or partnership. Another way is by finding artists who are the right fit to perform during live in-game events. An example being Fortnite, where we’ve seen past in-game concerts from Marshmello & Travis Scott. Darren is an entertainment guru who has a heartbeat on the gaming industry. You won’t want to miss this conversation!
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- Follow Darren on LinkedIn
- Follow Darren on Twitter
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- Follow Juan on Instagram
Sara Machado is a recruiter in the gaming industry for Studiotypes - based out of London, UK. She specializes in recruiting for programming, art, production & design roles. She shares how her recruiting process works, provides some tips for those who are interested in these opportunities & how recruiters truly play a pivotal role for professionals in the space. Sara is also an ambassador for Women in Games. Women in Games is a not-for-profit that seeks to provide full equality of opportunity & conditions that empower all women to achieve their full potential. She talks more about the organization & how she was selected to be an ambassador. Sara also does some freelance writing about mental health & diversity/inclusion in the workplace.
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- Follow Sara on Twitter
- Follow Sara on LinkedIn
- Follow Sara on Medium
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
This episode is a recording of the EsportsBizz Latam roundtable discussion of “Future Esports Jobs”, that took place on May 21st. Juan served as the host of the panel which featured Matthew Benson (Founder of eFuse), Nathan Clauss (Managing Partner of New Level Recruiting) & Marcio Teixeira (Founder of Vaggas BR). The conversation surrounded topics & questions about the current job market within gaming & esports, future jobs, how to break into the industry & more!
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- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
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- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
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Sam Kulikov & Mark Josey are Co-Founders of the esports organization, Kansas City Pioneers. Sam is the Director of Marketing & Mark is their Managing Director. The Kansas City Pioneers are a premier esports org comprised of individuals, teams, & content creators who compete internationally in multiple games. Founded in July of 2019, the KCP are striving to become pioneers in gaming/esports in Kansas City. Sam & Mark chat with us about the origin story, how they’ve found the right players & staff, how they’ve created their branding, their mission & goals as well as many other topics around being a grassroots organization.
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- Follow The Kansas City Pioneers on Twitter
- Follow Sam on Twitter
- Follow Mark on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Twitter
Keisha Howard is the Founder of Sugar Gamers, Marketing Lead for LiveCGI, a 2x TEDx speaker & previously featured in VentureBeat. Her company, Sugar Gamers, is a passionate organization of trendsetters who are on a mission to make the worlds of tech, geek culture and gaming accessible to like-minded underrepresented communities. Keisha walks us through how she started her company & how they’ve made an impact in the gaming industry for the last 10+ years. This year, they played a key role in helping produce the Adidas gaming event during NBA All-Star weekend. The event brought in underprivileged youth from Chicago to have a field day learning about careers in gaming, tech, broadcasting, filmmaking & more. Additionally, Keisha shares about her role as Marketing Lead for LiveCGI. You may recognize some of LiveCGI’s tech if you’ve tuned in to the NBA 2K League. They produce the virtual studio where all the recent NBA 2K League events have been hosted from.
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- Follow Keisha on LinkedIn
- Follow Keisha on Twitter
- Sugar Gamers Website
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Landon Gorbenko is a Mental Performance Consultant working with professional esports players. He specializes in training of mental skills, team dynamics & preparation. This includes anxiety/anger management, managing mental fatigue, optimal training zones & more! During this episode we specifically dive deeper into anxiety management & team communication. Landon talks about how players emotionally feel when competing in their first large LAN tournament. He shares how he works with them to prepare for pre-game & in-game. We also jump into the conversation of player/career longevity in esports. He answers the questions – Why are players careers so short & how can players careers be extended? We round out our conversation talking about career opportunities available in gaming/esports, including those in health & wellness.
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- Follow Landon on LinkedIn
- Follow Landon on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Nicolas Sabet is an Associate Attorney at K&L Gates law firm. He is playing a key role in developing the esports practice within the firm. Aside from his concentrated practice, Nic now advises owners, agents, players & others on applicable legal matters in the gaming & esports world. This recording is a previous Instagram Live episode Nic & Juan did together about the subject of “Young Professionals in Gaming”. Essentially, the two wanted to come together & have an honest conversation about how they’ve navigated gaming/esports as young professionals. Additionally, the two come from a professional services background (legal & accounting) & have experienced some symmetry in their individual path’s. This episode was specially created for any young/new business professionals who are looking to become a part of the esports industry!
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- Follow Nic on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
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- Follow Lodgz on Instagram
Dr. Drew Schwartz is a licensed Chiropractor in Cleveland, Ohio where he’s ran his Chiropractic clinic for seven years. Drew is the Founder of “For the Wellness Blog”, which is dedicated to improving the lives of esports athletes, casual gamers/streamers & day to day office workers. Specializing in ergonomics, he’s had the opportunity to work with area colleges, esports organizations/teams & corporate offices. Some of his clients/partners include Cavs LegionGC, Haworth & eFuse. You can check out www.forthewellnessblog.com where he writes informative articles & produces videos that can help you better your productivity & improve your “office” lifestyle.
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- Follow Drew on LinkedIn
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Luis Montejo is the Digital Media Coordinator at JAG Insurance Group in Miami, FL. Luis leads the content creation team at JAG where they create informative & creative content around the insurance industry. He also records & produces podcast episodes for “The Transition Podcast”, which highlights the transitions former college & professional athletes face from the field/court to the business world. Additionally, Luis works as a freelancer in gaming/esports. He’s done videography/photography work for ROK Esports, a large local tournament organizer in the Miami area. He’s also done occasional banner work for streamers & amateur players.
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- Follow Luis on Twitter
- Follow Luis on LinkedIn
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- Follow Juan on Instagram
Jordan Rodriguez is a multi-sport college athlete having competed in both basketball & football. During his senior year of high school basketball, he was a part of the all-city & all-area team in Huntsville, Alabama. Early in his senior year he was recruited by & signed with the University of Montevallo, where he was offered a full-ride athletic scholarship. After spending a year & a half at the University of Montevallo he decided to take a risk & pivot into college football. He departed UM and arrived in Dodge City, KS to play juco football for Dodge City Community College. Later, he received an opportunity to play Division 1 football for the University of Tulsa, where he was also offered a full athletic scholarship.
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- Follow Jordan on Twitter
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- Follow Juan on Instagram
Ivan Curtiss is the GM & Heach Coach of the Brooklyn NetsGC, the affiliate NBA 2K team of the Brooklyn Nets. Previously, Ivan played 2K competitively before the official NBA 2K League was launched. In 2016, he Co-Founded MPBA2K, which became & remains one of the most popular NBA 2K Pro-Am leagues. His first official role with the NBA 2K League was with BucksGG where he served as a Draft Analyst. Because he was so involved in the Pro-Am scene prior to working with BucksGG, this provided him an upper hand in scouting players. Curt later had an opportunity open up with the Brooklyn NetsGC as a consultant. But, he very quickly worked his way up to becoming the GM & Head Coach of the team.
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- Follow Curt on Twitter
- Follow Curt on LinkedIn
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During this special episode we host the winning team from the Lodgz Gaming Against COVID-19 Tournament! On March 27th the podcast hosted a charity tournament, specifically for professionals working in gaming & esports. We had 72 business professionals square off in Call of Duty Warzone. Collectively, we raised $1,188 & donated it to the Tampa General Hospital COVID-19 fund! To recognize the winning team, we had them join us on the podcast to chat a bit about who they are, what they do & their experiences in gaming & esports!
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- Follow Joshua Garr on LinkedIn
- Follow Joshua Keener on LinkedIn
- Follow Joshua Price on LinkedIn
- Follow LVLUP Arena on Twitter
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
During part two of the Roger Caneda story, we dive into his time as General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks NBA 2K team. While in Dallas, Roger created & launched the Mavs 20,000 square foot gaming facility, which made him a trailblazer in the league for others to follow. He led the Mavs social media campaigns & live activation's for fans & the organization. He managed partnerships with well known brands including HyperX, Alienware, ZipChair & others. All in all, he was a key executive member of the Dallas Mavericks NBA 2K team that laid the foundation for where the organization is today.
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- Follow Roger on Twitter
- Follow Roger on LinkedIn
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The official sponsor of today’s episode is Stream Elements! SE recently launched their newest initiative “SEMerch”. SEMerch is a new feature that allows streamers & creators to sell their own merchandise 100% free! You can create shirts, hoodies, mugs & more! To learn more & open your free merch store, click this link.
Roger Caneda is currently the Director of Esports for Visual Sound. During part 1 of the Roger Caneda story, we dive into his time with the Miami Flamingos, previously a professional gaming organization who competed in CS:GO. Roger initially joined the Flamingos part-time as their Director of Partnerships. He secured sponsorship's from companies such as Meta Threads, NVIDIA & Twitch. After a couple of months, he moved into a full-time position with the Flamingos as their General Manager. He shares stories & takes us through his personal experiences with the team up until their transition to a new team – Gale Force. During his time at Gale Force he was the Marketing Manager & served roles such as managing their pro players, housing operations, digital marketing strategies to grow their brand & acquiring P1 athletic visas.
Connect with the show
- Follow Roger on Twitter
- Follow Roger on LinkedIn
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
The official sponsor of today’s episode is Stream Elements! SE recently launched their newest initiative “SEMerch”. SEMerch is a new feature that allows streamers & creators to sell their own merchandise 100% free! You can create shirts, hoodies, mugs & more! To learn more & open your free merch store, click this link.
Jeff Eisenband is an esports & sports journalist. He's worked for companies such as ThePostGame, DraftKings, Front Office Sports, MSG Networks, the NBA, the NBA 2K League & others! Jeff walks us through his career in journalism including chatting about his time at Northwestern University, where he graduated with his undergrad in 2015. He shares how he navigated the journalism industry post-college. He provides insight & advice for others who are interested in a similar career path. As you'll hear from him on the episode, the success he's had in his career takes time & persistence.
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- Follow Jeff on LinkedIn
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Bryce Browne is the Director of Esports at Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park, California. After spending 4 years in the U.S. Air Force as a structural engineer, Bryce transitioned into the fitness industry. This transition came after spending two months bedridden due to suffering major back issues. After leaving the U.S. Air Force, Bryce received his personal training certification and began interning at Mamba Sports Academy, originally known as Sports Academy. Post-internship he transitioned into a full-time position & is now the Director of Esports! He's spent over 3 years at the academy.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Bryce on Instagram
- Follow Bryce on Twitch
- Follow Mamba Sports Academy on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow The Lodgz Podcast on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Justin Jacobson is an attorney & the Vice President of the Jacobson Firm in New York City! He's successfully negotiated various forms of deals with Netflix, RCA Records & Universal Music Publishing. He's worked with notable individuals including professional athletes, pro gamers, musicians & fashion designers. He is also the Founder of WorldWideJust - a platform that provides insight, analysis, news & content into the NBA 2K League. Justin is a trusted attorney with 10+ years of experience focusing in these sectors.
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- Follow Justin on LinkedIn
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- Follow the Jacobson Firm on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
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A very special thank you to our sponsor for this episode, Label-Aid. They are a custom label company who have become a premier manufacturer of labels, decals & graphic overlays. Visit their website here, to learn more about their products & offerings.
Rob Gonzales is an on-air personality with experience in numerous roles including hosting, commentating & broadcasting live esports events. Last year he hosted some of the biggest esports events of the year including the Fortnite World Cup, E3 (Apex Legends), DreamHack Atlanta (Rainbow 6) & others! He's been the host of the HyperX Esports truck as well as been a content producer for Team Liquid. Rob provides an inside perspective into the life of an on-air personality in today's gaming & esports industry.
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- Follow Rob on LinkedIn
- Follow Rob on Twitter
- Follow Rob on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
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A very special thank you to our sponsor for this episode, Label-Aid. They are a custom label company who have become a premier manufacturer of labels, decals & graphic overlays. Visit their website here, to learn more about their products & offerings.
Gabriel Causse is the Esports Partnership Manager for Magic Gaming, affiliate NBA 2K League team of the Orlando Magic. Originally from France, Gabe moved to the United States in his early 20's to begin a new adventure. Shortly after graduating from the University of Colorado he spent over 3 years with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, a tier two professional soccer team. In 2018 Gabe made another transition into his role with Magic Gaming in Orlando, FL. He was the first Esports Partnership Manager in the history of the NBA 2K League, awarded partnership of the year & local activation of the year by the NBA, has created numerous well respected & strategic partnerships for Magic Gaming, as well as been Forbes featured.
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- Follow Gabe on LinkedIn
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A very special thank you to our sponsor for this episode, Label-Aid. They are a custom label company who have become a premier manufacturer of labels, decals & graphic overlays. Visit their website here, to learn more about their products & offerings.
Chris Smith is the Founder of BIG Esports, a gaming & esports consulting firm & agency located in Australia. Chris has spent 10+ years in the industry sitting in various different roles including playing as a semi-professional player, esports commentator, event organizer & now on the business side as the Founder of BIG Esports. I chat with Chris about his diverse career, some of the influencer marketing campaigns in gaming he's put together, PR for pro players & streamers, how he has evolved as a podcast host & more!
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- Follow Chris on LinkedIn
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Erin Ashley Simon is many things - TV Anchor at Cheddar Esports, Co-Host of the Grass Routes Podcast, Forbes featured & ex-D1 athlete, to name a few. She started her journey in media at the age of 16 when she started her blog, Box of Mess, where she highlighted top tier high school basketball players including Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers, Michael Gilchrist & others. This started her career in journalism which led her to roles at Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal & now - Cheddar Esports. She is a trailblazer for women in gaming & esports, as well as a leader on diversity & inclusion.
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- Follow Erin on Twitter
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Kieran John is an entrepreneur, YouTuber & Esports Agent at DULCEDO Management. At the age of 14 he grew his YouTube channel to 80,000 subscribers & over 5 million views in just two months. A couple of years later he founded Elusive Esports Agency which represents professional players, streamers, organizations & some of the most popular content creators. Though Elusive is still actively running representing different people in the industry, Kieran has taken his experiences & knowledge from an early age to currently focus on being an Esports Agent for DULCEDO Management.
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- Follow Kieran on LinkedIn
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Derric Franklin, also known as "Famous Enough", is the GM & Head Coach for Heat Check Gaming. Derric walks us through his life story beginning from his time served in the U.S. Army. He shares how he originally made a splash in the NBA 2K community & what his name, "Famous Enough", means. He also shares about the responsibilities his role carries, his NBA 2K League finals appearance in his 1st year as head coach & his experiences so far with the Miami Heat organization.
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- Follow Derric on Twitter
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Chris Kissack is from the Isle of Man, UK & serves as the Head of the SMP Esports Division. Prior to joining SMP, the company did not have a presence in the esports space. Chris approached the company in August of 2019 & was successful in persuading the company to splash into the esports scene. We chat about his role & responsibilities, the importance of educating others in the financial industry about esports, the difficulties of tax planning as a traveling pro esports player/team & more!
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- Follow Chris on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
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- Follow Juan on eFuse
After finishing his MBA at Ohio State University Tom joined eFuse to begin his role as the Director of Operations. The web & mobile application, eFuse, provides validated opportunities for those in the gaming & esports space. We also chat about the inaugural Call of Duty League season - our individual high level overview of the league, some predictions & what we're excited about! Lastly, we chat about how influential streamers & esports players can better connect with fans through story telling.
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- Follow Tom on eFuse
- Follow Tom on LinkedIn
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- Follow Juan on eFuse
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After 10 years in corporate America, April decided to shift her focus and pursue a career in the VR industry. We chat about her experience as a participant of the Oculus launch pad program, her AR app she created - ‘WAR of the AI’ & how she’s been working to enhance the viewing experience for esports fans.
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- Follow April on Twitter
- Connect with April on LinkedIn
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- Connect with Juan on LinkedIn
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Will Hershey is the Co-Founder & CEO of Roundhill Investments. Roundhill aims to develop products that enable investors to participate in the esports industry via public markets. We chat with Will about Roundhill Investments, the “streaming wars” between different live-streaming platforms over exclusivity with content creators, the future of Fortnite & mobile gaming.
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- Follow Will on LinkedIn
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Cris Reed is an esports startup advisor, podcast host & content creator. Our conversation focuses mainly on content creation on platforms such as Tik Tok & LinkedIn. Cris also provides insight & advice to startup founders & entrepreneurs including pitching to VC’s & his thoughts on raising capital.
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- Follow Cris on LinkedIn
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Sam Speaker is the Founder of GamrPod - the first fully equipped gaming & streaming soundproof studio! Sam joins us to chat about all the details of the company, including how it got started, plans for the future & their recent sponsorship from Logitech. Tune in to the final episode of 2019!
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- Follow Juan on Twitter
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Austin Alderman is a Streamer Success Manager for Stream Elements. Stream Elements is a platform that provides community & revenue growth tools for streamers. Austin shares his unique story of how he landed his job at Stream Elements & how others who are looking to work in esports can learn from it. We also chat about his role with popular streamers, specifics of the company, the overall esports industry & more!
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- Follow Austin on Twitter
- Follow Austin on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Tim Anselimo is an NBA 2K League Player for Cavs Legion GC & ESPY award winner of 2019 for “Best Esports Moment”. We chat with Tim about his process of entering the 2K league, his career to date, his ESPY award winning moment, health in esports & more!
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- Follow Tim on Twitter
- Follow Tim on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Betts Waller (aka "Forrest Dump) is a partnered streamer on Mixer with 107K+ followers. We chat about the challenges of becoming a successful streamer, the opportunities a streaming career has provided him & the different partnerships he’s secured, including most recently with G Fuel.
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- Follow Betts on Mixer
- Follow Betts on Twitter
- Follow Betts on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone! This episode is a solo round. I talk about the progress of the podcast, updates & tease upcoming guests in December. I also talk briefly about my entrepreneurial journey thus far & how the last 6 months have gone.
Andrew Chen is the Co-Founder of Tap Esports Center. TAP Esports Center is a premier gaming facility located in Philadelphia, PA. They have 40 high speed gaming PCs & over 3,500 active users registered. Andrew joins me to talk all about their facility & about their rapid success in a short period of time!
Connect with the show:
- Follow Andrew on LinkedIn
- Follow Andrew on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Perry Bunn is the Founder & President of Auburn University Esports. He joins us to chat about everything esports related going on at the University! He’s played a key role in growing the organization, which now has numerous competitive esports teams in different games. They have about 150 competitive players & 500 general members.
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- Follow Perry on Instagram
- Follow Perry on Twitter
- Follow Auburn Esports on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Marcus Howard is a public speaker, author & influential advocate for indie games. Marcus founded ProjectMQ, a multimedia search engine for the world’s best independent video games. We chat ProjectMQ, the Tampa Association of Gaming & esports in Tampa, FL.
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- Follow Marcus on LinkedIn
- Follow ProjectMQ on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Co-Founders Cody Dierickx & Jon Ortiz join us to chat about ROK Esports in Miami, FL. ROK Esports is a pop-up style tournament organization with the goal of becoming a future esports bar. Averaging around 200 attendees per event they are making some noise in south Florida. Tune in to hear about their entrepreneurial journey, what games they feature at their tournaments & their sponsorship with Primus Gaming.
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- Follow ROK on Instagram
- Follow ROK on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Jenny Simile is a Mixer streamer with 25k+ followers & 138K+ views of her channel on Mixer. She’s the first streamer to join us on the podcast! She shares how she got into streaming, how she has grown her channel & why building a community is important. Update - since the recording of this episode, Jenny became a partnered streamer on Mixer!
Connect with the show:
- Follow Jenny on Mixer
- Follow Jenny on Twitter
- Follow Jenny on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Phil Wildman is the Founder & Managing Director of GG Insurance Services in London. Insurance for esports teams, players & businesses is vital. Phil breaks down real/possible insurance situations within the gaming & esports space & why risk management is so important.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Phil on LinkedIn
- Visit their website
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Derek Watford is the Co-Founder of High Point Gamer in Tampa, FL. Derek is a thought leader in the space, playing a key role to grow Tampa as an attractive esports city. His company, High Point Gamer, focuses on brand building, events & community engagement. His long track record in gaming brings valuable information to parents, kids & organizations.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Derek on LinkedIn
- Follow HPG on Twitter
- Follow HPG on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Shawn Smith is the Co-Founder & CEO of GYO Score Esports Data Analytics. Esports, because in its infancy, currently lacks the traditional “pipeline” & “path” traditional sports offers to players hoping to reach the collegiate level. Shawn & his team are working to solve this absence in esports through their platform GYO Score.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Shawn on LinkedIn
- Follow GYO Score on Twitter
- Follow GYO Score on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
Adam Nelson is a US Army veteran, experienced individual in the tech & IT space & founder of Philly Esports. Philly Esports is a "pop-up" style competitive event organizer located in Philadelphia, PA. Adam chats with us about his esports business, their mission/goals & the challenges of entrepreneurship.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Adam on LinkedIn
- Follow Philly Esports on Instagram
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
- Follow Juan on eFuse
Joe Armao is the Vice President of Sports & Entertainment at Iberia Bank in the New York office. Joe chats with me about the role gaming played in his upbringing, his career in banking & of course, esports. He also covers something I believe strongly in - the importance of relationships in business.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
- Follow Juan on eFuse
Our first guest joins us on the podcast! Herb chats about his background story, expertise in esports & the influence LinkedIn has played in his life. Topics covered include current state of esports, gaming facilities, esports infrastructure & more.
Connect with the show:
- Follow Herb on LinkedIn
- Follow Herb on Twitter
- Follow Juan on LinkedIn
- Follow Juan on Twitter
- Follow Juan on Instagram
- Follow Juan on eFuse
Hey podcast! If you're a streamer who lives on your own & makes your own living, this is a great episode for you. I share 3 budgeting tips you can use to create extra cash to put into your stream. At the end of the day, it's about the sacrifices you make.
How does esports stand in relation to traditional pro sports? I provide real-life comparisons between the two. This episode is fact heavy, loaded with great information of esports and pro sports. The punch line - there is a life after esports.
Happy Monday! Today's podcast is all about bookkeeping & financial organization. This is something every streamer should be dedicating time towards. Whether you do or don't have bookkeeping in place right now, this is a great episode to catch!
Hey podcast! In this episode I focus on how streamers can grow their audience & build a community. I share some Instagram & Twitter tricks that are easy to apply. I end the episode with a hot take on streamers use of Linked In. Hope you enjoy!
What's up podcast! Tune in to hear all about our Fortnite World Cup Experience in NYC. The episode begins with our coverage of the FaZe clan meet & greet at Stadium Goods. I transition to our World Cup experience & current state of Epic Games.
What's up guys! Tune in for the official first episode of The Lodgz Podcast. I talk about my upbringing, basketball's impact in my life, my gaming history, the creation of Lodgz and my goals for the Podcast series!