EPTWho am I and what do I do?
For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Bradley “Baldie” Baldwin and I currently reside in South Australia, Australia. I am a qualified Event Manager completing my degree in the field in 2011. Gaming has been a part of my entire life. I have a brother 10 years my senior and I recall many memories growing up of watching him playing various games, sitting in my chair next to him amazed at what was happening. Now at the age of 21, that passion still lies strong within me.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/xjrdl.jpg)
Picking the Seed
For a long time I have been reserved about expressing my love for eSports. People often asked me what events I wanted to run when I finished my studies to which I would reply "something big like a music festival." The issue was every time I said that I wasn’t lit up and inspired by it. Something was missing I couldn’t put a finger on it until I saw Blizzcon 2011. When the crowd roared with cheers as the GG landed (spoiler alert) from Nestea I realised one thing. THIS is what I want to live for. This is what I want to run.
My dream is to run the biggest eSports event in the world.
A Harsh Reality
It was one thing to realise running major eSports events specifically around Starcraft II was what I wanted to do, however being able to express that to people who for the majority think gaming is just about sitting in front of a computer for prolonged periods of time going "duuuhh" and losing brain cells was quite a big challenge for me. I’ve had a generous upbringing one filled with love and care. My dad however has always wanted me to follow his footsteps in engineering. After many conversations and a gracious heart, he eventually accepted I was going to choose my own path. However he never has been thrilled by the idea of PCs and games and how long I have historically spent on them. I can’t even count the amount of conversations I have had to have with him to attempt to get him to understand what I am doing.
Not having full support from Dad was one thing. The other was the fact I’ve always grown up with a natural desire to have people around me, to be accepted and to fit in. It all stemmed from my childhood filled with being bullied at school – as I am sure many of us had a taste of. As I am sure you could appreciate somebody who wants to fit in with the majority has a tough road ahead by being interested in gaming. In the end I had to put a stake in the ground and that I did. I told myself “this is happening.”
