Episodes

Training for an Esports Future
May 27, 2023

Training for an Esports Future

Today’s guests are Nik Turner - consultant and lecturer in Esports & Education at Queen Mary’s College in the UK – and the founders of CTRL Esports: COO George Lewin, CMO Harry Lunn, CDO Ben Gregg, and CEO William Holman. …

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Unconventional Journeys and the Power of Determination
May 20, 2023

Unconventional Journeys and the Power of Determination

Today’s guest is Chris Tran, a SEA Esports and Gaming Expert with experience working at the top levels of one of the largest gaming esports organizations: RIOT Games. In this podcast conversation, Tom Leonard interviews Chris Tran, an expert in …

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Bridging the Gap Between Esports and Non-Profits
May 13, 2023

Bridging the Gap Between Esports and Non-Profits

Today’s guest is Marc Almanzor, Senior Manager of Gift Processing at MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF). Marc is the owner of Make Gaming About Fundraising. He is also a broadcaster on Twitch.TV. In this podcast conversation, Tom Leonard interviews Marc ...

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The Playbook for Running a Winning Esports Organization
May 6, 2023

The Playbook for Running a Winning Esports Organization

Grant Rousseau, the Global Director of Esports and European Director of Operations for Team Falcons, the biggest esports organization in the Middle East, recently appeared on the Gamer’s Change Lives podcast with host Tom Leonard. During the conversa...

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The Role of International Esports Organizations
April 29, 2023

The Role of International Esports Organizations

Today’s guest is Boban Totovski, the Secretary General of the International Esports Federation. Our conversation includes talking about the role of International Organizations such as the International Esports Federation. How do they: Encourage devel...

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Transforming Education Through Esports
April 22, 2023

Transforming Education Through Esports

In today’s episode we talk with Gerald Solomon, the Executive Director of the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) and founder of the Orange County High School Esports League. Gerald shares how he was inspired to use esports as a …

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Esports and the Law
April 15, 2023

Esports and the Law

Welcome to Season 3 of the Gamers Change Lives Podcast: Building a Business, Esports 101. In Season One we talked about jobs. In Season Two we talked about sources of funding for esports ‘Follow the Money’. And now in Season …

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Leading a Strong Esports Team: Lessons from West Point
April 8, 2023

Leading a Strong Esports Team: Lessons from West Point

This podcast is an not a government production. The views expressed do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Military Academy, United States Army, Department of Defense or the US Government. Today’s guest is Victor Castro, …

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Season 3 Introduction: Building a Thriving Esports Business
April 4, 2023

Season 3 Introduction: Building a Thriving Esports Business

Welcome to Season 3 of the Gamers Change Lives Podcast: Building a Business, Esports 101. In Season One we talked about jobs. In Season Two we talked about sources of funding for esports ‘Follow the Money’. And now in Season …

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Bonus Episode! Team Ghana Goes to Bali
Feb. 18, 2023

Bonus Episode! Team Ghana Goes to Bali

We have five guests today: Kwesi Hayford President of the Esports Association, Ghana with the team he took to the IESF World Championship in Bali in December 2022: Emmanuel Manu-Gyamfi (NELLmvp), Edmond Addo Mensah (shyBOY), Daniel Sungna Iddi (SPAMA...

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Divergent Thinking, Eliminating Judgement, and the Value of a Bad Idea
Jan. 21, 2023

Divergent Thinking, Eliminating Judgement, and the Value of a Bad Idea

Our guest today on the podcast is Jeremy Utley, the Director of Executive Education at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. The Stanford d.school. Our discussion included: Jeremy talks about ideas. Where they come from, and how to …

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Going Global: Navigating Media Strategies and Attending International Esports Events
Jan. 14, 2023

Going Global: Navigating Media Strategies and Attending International…

Our guest today on the podcast is Ronny Lusigi, the CEO of IndexG Esports in Nairobi, Kenya. Plus for the first time our podcast Executive Producer, Reginald Nsowah, is joining the conversation from Ghana. Our discussion included: Ronny’s talks about...

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Pitching to Brands, the Power of Mentorship, plus Women in Esports
Jan. 7, 2023

Pitching to Brands, the Power of Mentorship, plus Women in Esports

Today’s guest is Rebecca Longawa. Highly regarded as a maven in the esports industry, she a global speaker and founder of the esports consultancy firm, Happy Warrior. Our discussion included monetization in esports, mentorship and networking, plus wo...

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Review and Gratitude for 2022
Dec. 23, 2022

Review and Gratitude for 2022

What a year we have had in 2022! Our first episode on February 15 started our journey talking about how esports can create jobs around the world. We have been fortunate to have had so many guests who generously gave …

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How to Bring Esports to Brands
Dec. 17, 2022

How to Bring Esports to Brands

We have two guests today: Nick Smith and Romain Tixier – Co-founders of GosuRabbit a next gen marketing agency based in the UK. Nick is in the UK and Roman is in Lyon, France. Our discussion included: The story of …

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Deep Dive Into Venture Capital Investing in Africa
Dec. 10, 2022

Deep Dive Into Venture Capital Investing in Africa

Our guest is Mohamed Karar. He is a Venture Partner at Launch Africa, one of the most active early-stage venture capital firms in Africa. Once Mohamed, talking to us from Cape Town, South Africa, learned what a venture capital partner …

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Government Support for Youth Through Esports
Dec. 3, 2022

Government Support for Youth Through Esports

Our guest is Soufiane EL FILALI. He is Marketing & Communication Director at La Fédération Royale Marocaine des Jeux Électronique – FRMJE (The Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games) Our discussion included: Soufiane describes the journey of e...

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Community Initiative and Sponsorship Tactics
Nov. 26, 2022

Community Initiative and Sponsorship Tactics

We have two guests today: Kieran Sanford. Co-Founder of ForG4MERSake in London, and Baba Dioum, the Manager SOLO Esport in Dakar Senegal. Our discussion included: How Kieran and Baba each came to esports from different paths. They each talk briefly …

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Connecting Brands with Gen Z Through Esports
Nov. 19, 2022

Connecting Brands with Gen Z Through Esports

Our guest is Tushaar Garg from India. He is the Founder and CEO @StreamO as well as the Founder and CEO of Irony Esports. Our discussion included: Tushaar talks about how large the market is in India, for those playing …

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Esports Growth Strategies, Education, and Events
Nov. 12, 2022

Esports Growth Strategies, Education, and Events

Our guest is Frank Sliwka, Global Esports, Gaming & Digital Entertainment Opinion Leader, Keynote Speaker, COO, and Hon. Professor from Singapore. Our discussion included: Frank’s introduction to esports while watching the excitement of gamers, bring...

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Creating the Ultimate Venue for Games Culture
Nov. 5, 2022

Creating the Ultimate Venue for Games Culture

Our guest is Jon Satterley from Melbourne Australia. He is CEO & Co-Founder at Fortress Australia. Our discussion included: How a passion for heavy metal music and the world of entertainment led to the creation of a cathedral to games …

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A Deep Dive into Esports Sponsorship
Oct. 29, 2022

A Deep Dive into Esports Sponsorship

Our guest is Malph Minns from the UK. He is Managing Director at Strive Sponsorship. Our discussion included: The difference between esports sponsorship and that of traditional sports and other entertainment industries based on Malph’ s extensive exp...

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Esports Investing: The Investor’s Perspective
Oct. 22, 2022

Esports Investing: The Investor’s Perspective

Our guest is Dave Harris from Australia. He is Managing Director at Guinevere Capital. He is also an Investor and former Chairman of EXCEL Esports and a Founding Partner at League of Legends Circuit Oceania. Our discussion included: How investing …

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The Business Side of Streaming and Esports Events
Oct. 15, 2022

The Business Side of Streaming and Esports Events

Our guest is Christian Bishop, Director of Twitch Properties - Gaming & Esports. Our discussion included: Christian’s esports journey from venues, esports arenas, production companies, tournaments/leagues, teams and now on the platform side. “Going t...

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