Amanda Solomon of X1 Esports and Entertainment: 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In eSports
Balance Your Mental and Physical Health — Often, pro gamers feel like they’re always ‘on,’ meaning it’s important to find a balance between your mental and physical health. Beyond the obvious physical health demands that accompany sitting behind a screen all day, the often not talked about mental health issues are just as critical to address.
The eSports market size is now more than a billion dollars. Teens and even children as young as 6 can now earn hundreds of thousands of dollars competing in eSports. What does one have to do to succeed as a player in eSports? What are the challenges and opportunities that pro gamers face? What does the eSports lifestyle look like? How is it similar to traditional athletics, and how is it different?
In this interview series, called 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In eSports, we are interviewing professional gamers, eSports coaches, esports tournament organizers, and executives from gaming companies who share lessons from their experience about the “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In eSports.”
As part of this series, we had the pleasure to interview Amanda Solomon.
Amanda Solomon is a board Director at X1 Esports and Entertainment. She was most recently granted the title of CEO for Tyrus TV, a talent management and consultation group. Amanda currently serves as a Board Member for Women in Games International, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to making the gaming industry a more equitable place for women. She has a deep understanding of the influencer marketing landscape and is a trusted consultant in brand integration. Amanda utilizes her platform and fierce spirit to advocate for women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC individuals in gaming and Esports communities.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to ‘get to know you.’ Can you tell us a bit about your background and your backstory?
I built my first business at 17 and sold it when I was 22. I then drove into very corporate software sales, but after a few years, I realized that wasn’t the life for me. After that, I got into talent management for gaming and esports talent and haven’t looked back since.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this particular career path?
I remember being in the sales pit in my VERY corporate office, and my boss came in, saw that I was on discord (a commonly used comms app for gamers), and got in trouble. It was at that moment that I realized I didn’t want to sell my soul for a company and an industry that was so rigid and let every recruiter who had been in my DMs know that I wanted to make the switch to gaming.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you first started? What lesson did you take out of that?
I remember one time near the beginning of my career with Tyrus, we were waiting for a pro gamer to arrive for a scheduled meeting. As I was walking to the board room, a man stopped to ask me where the bathrooms were. I told him that if he wasn’t a part of the office that he needed to go down to the lobby to use the restrooms. It turns out this man was the client we were waiting for, and I sent him all the way down to the lobby restrooms because I didn’t recognize him at first. Thankfully, he’s still one of our longest-standing clients and was very gracious about accepting my apology for the misunderstanding.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
Not to be cynical, but I think the best life lesson quote I have is, “Life isn’t fair.” And while that may sound harsh, it has really helped me to continue pushing throughout my career. Every time I came to a roadblock and wanted to give up or saw someone else succeeding while being less qualified, experienced, etc. I would always tell myself that life isn’t fair, you don’t get handed anything, and you have to put in the damn work.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting new projects you are working on now?
Unfortunately, I can’t talk about most projects until they are done, but there are some exciting things in the works to keep an eye out for from Tyrus!
What would you tell a young person who aspires to follow in your footsteps and emulate your career? What advice would you give?
My advice would be not to take no for an answer and pull up a chair to every table you can (figuratively, lol). Don’t wait for someone to give up a leg up, and don’t expect a raise or a promotion. Instead, always be hungry for more and ask for what you want. And remember, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
A big focus of mine is to continue promoting diversity and inclusivity in the gaming and esports space. We continue to see this aspect be a struggle, and I use my success with Tyrus to ensure that we see diverse faces at the forefront of brands. We want to ensure that we put pressure on brands to make the changes we need to see. If we keep seeing the exact same faces for Samsung, Logitech, and LG campaigns, it’s going to tell little kids out there that there isn’t a place for someone like them in the gaming industry.
The truth is that none of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person that made a profound difference in your life to whom you are grateful? Can you share a story?
I have been given some incredible opportunities. One of the most notable was Justin with Misfits Gaming Group. I didn’t really know him very well, but he was such an advocate for me within the company to get me the job that I wanted and was always pushing for me to do more and be better. I’m extremely grateful for his allyship.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Many of our readers may be familiar with gaming, but they haven’t been exposed to the culture of professional gaming. What does the esports lifestyle look like? What is life like for a professional gamer?
The esports lifestyle is quite similar to what you’d imagine an NFL player is. They wake up, eat a healthy breakfast, work out, then get to training. However, their training is behind a computer for 10 hours running through drills and perfecting their skills for the next competition, rather than on a field.
What are the unique opportunities that pro gamers have?
The unique opportunities that pro gamers face is being able to work with incredible brands such as Honda, Bud Light, Red Bull, etc. They also have the chance to make a LOT of money between these brand deals, paid salaries from esports organizations, and prize pools in the hundreds of thousands (depending on the game).
What are the unique challenges that pro gamers face?
Since this is a relatively new industry, many people don’t see pro gaming as a viable career path. However, Tyrus is actively working to change that narrative. Another unique challenge that pro gamers face is sitting behind a screen for long periods of time, meaning that daily exercise and movement are critical so they can stay healthy and ready to go when it’s game time.
How is professional gaming similar to traditional athletics? Can you explain with a story or an example?
As mentioned above, the training experience is very similar to traditional sports. Like athletes, pro gamers need to prioritize training to hone their skills and prepare for competition.
How is it different? Can you explain with a story or example?
The training itself is very different from traditional athletes. Whereas traditional athletes need to train their bodies physically, pro gamers need to hone their craft digitally through consistent practice to increase their skills.
With traditional sports, young people get recruited by talent scouts who work for professional teams. Is it similar with eSports?
Yes, this is absolutely the case! Many exceptional pro gamers have been discovered in this way.
If a young person reading this wants to become a professional, paid gamer on an eSports team, where do they start? What are the steps they need to take to get picked up by a team?
I would say the first thing they need to do is find their passion. In order to be a successful paid gamer, you need to have the perfect mixture of passion and skill and be able to bring that into your gaming at all times.
Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. Can you please share “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In eSports”?
1. Balance Your Mental and Physical Health — Often, pro gamers feel like they’re always ‘on,’ meaning it’s important to find a balance between your mental and physical health. Beyond the obvious physical health demands that accompany sitting behind a screen all day, the often not talked about mental health issues are just as critical to address.
2. Be Authentic — Especially for streamers, it’s important to be authentic and relatable! You want to be the reason why people stay tuned, so be yourself (don’t imitate others!), and your supporters will follow.
3. Stay Determined and Focused — Just like with traditional athletics, it’s crucial that as a pro gamer, you stay determined and focused. This means showing up to train even on the days you might not feel as motivated to do so because you know it will benefit you in the long run.
4. Have a Strong Support System — Similar to how a traditional athlete has a coach, trainer, nutritionist, and a slew of other professionals at their side, pro gamers must have a strong support system to help them achieve success. Whether it’s another gamer friend who keeps you accountable when it comes to training or a partner that’s always bringing you food and reminding you to stretch, all of these relations are necessary for a pro gamer’s success.
5. Train Hard and Never Give Up! — I’ve seen so many gamers lose out on opportunities because they gave up when faced with challenges. The ones who are able to train hard, push through those obstacles, and never give up end up being some of the most successful pro gamers I’ve heard of to date.
Wonderful. We are nearly done. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would love to sit down and have a casual lunch with my future self. If I could speak to myself in 10 years and see what I’ve achieved both personally and professionally, that’s what I would choose.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
