John “JohnnyBoi_i” MacDonald- “Being from Europe meant there were limited opportunities to cast Rocket League”
Scottish Rocket League commentator and content creator John “JohnnyBoi_i” MacDonald has been featured in the top esports competitions around the world. An ever present voice in the Rocket League community, he is also a well known Twitch streamer and YouTuber who arranges his own show matches between some of the best professional esports players.
We caught up with “JohnnyBoi” to find out how he started and made his way to RL stardom.
Code Red: When did you first come into contact with video games?
JohnnyBoi: Sega Mega Drive at the after school club, must have been 23 years ago.
When did you first hear about esports, and what made you realise you wanted to pursue it as a career?
I can’t recall first hearing about esports but the first event I watched was an IEM World of Warcraft Arena event in 2010. I was immediately hooked and got heavily into the SC2 esports scene that same year and League of Legends the following year.
When and why did you join Code Red?
Almost 4 years ago now. My wonderful co-caster Shogun signed to Code Red and only had good things to say so I signed on as well!
Who supported you the most with your career choice?
There are too many people to list but pretty much everyone from the pre-RLCS tournament scene. Of course I have to give a shout to my countrymen Markydooda and Scrub Killa for helping me a lot in the early days. So glad they both went on to be World Champions.
What are some of the challenges you faced at the beginning of your journey?
Being from Europe meant there were limited opportunities to cast Rocket League events so instead I focussed on my own content on Twitch and YouTube.
Who were some of the people that inspired you?
Tastosis are a casting duo that I will never get tired of listening to for their ability to make every game feel unique and fun to watch. My favourite League of Legends caster was always Kobe so to be nominated alongside him for Esports Colour Caster of the Year 2021 is surreal. And from Rocket League I always looked up to FindableCarpet.
Why did you choose Rocket League as your game?
Honestly, I thought the game looked too simple before I played it. As soon as some friends persuaded me to give it a try, however, I realised that although the concept is simple, the execution is ridiculously complex. The level of freedom and creativity the game gives you kept me playing and motivated me to try my hand at colour casting so that I could share my knowledge and excitement for the game with others.
Can you describe to someone who is not part of the industry, the life of a Rocket League commentator and content creator?
For content creation I work from home and choose my own hours. So as someone who has always done my best work later in the day, or even at night, this suits me perfectly. Commentary is the complete opposite with very exact timing for shows. Events mostly take place on weekends which leads to a lot of work at times when your friends are out having fun!
What is the feeling of having your work recognized & being nominated for the Esports Awards?
I was totally caught off guard with the Esports Personality of the Year nomination. Seeing my name in a list of such incredible people from the industry just motivates me keep doing the best I can with the opportunities I have. Congrats to my main co-caster Shogun on his Play-by-play Caster of the Year nomination as well. To be the best in either casting role you need to work as a team and when I heard I was nominated for Colour my first thought was they better be nominating Shogun for PbP as well!
What led you to start running your own tournaments?
The main game mode for Rocket League Esports is 3v3 but I have always been equally interested in the 1v1 game mode and as such many of my tournaments have been 1v1 events. Providing opportunities to players from minor regions has also been a goal of mine through tournaments.
What was your favourite esports event?
As a fan, RLCS Season 5 World Championship in London. As a caster, Rocket League Summit 1 in LA.
What does the future hold for you?
The RLCS 2021–22 season is about to start so I will be extremely busy casting that while also continuing to push out content and tournaments on my own channels.
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
PC or Console? PC
Xbox or PS5? PC
Favourite food? Tapas or KBBQ
Favourite player (from any game)? oKhaliD
Favourite team or org (from any game)? Sandrock Gaming
What games are you playing at the moment? Rocket League, Chess, random steam games
If you were on a desert island and only had one game to play, which game would that be? Satisfactory
What’s one thing you’re excited for over the next year? LANs coming back for Rocket League Esports
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John “JohnnyBoi_i” MacDonald is currently represented by Code Red Esports.
