Rocket League eSports Community Organizer and Leader Stephen “Shalthis” Perry in ICU after suffering stroke.
Additional information about this article can be found on the GoFundMe page by his wife Amy.
In the esports world, much of the talk is always about the prize pools, the players, organizations, the wins, the losses, and the games themselves.
But if you really want to know what makes esports so very special all you have to do is look around and get to know the people. It’s the human element that defines the community, the culture, and the connection that bonds us all to the games we love.
Every community has that one person who is the glue grinding day in and day out for the scene helping the community around it.
That person who spends sleepless nights of their own time slaving away trying to help any way they can. That person who always is happy, helpful, a leader, and without a doubt the kind of person who exemplifies what makes esports great.
Stephen “Shalthis” Perry is one of those guys, and now he’s fighting for his life after suffering a stroke in his brain stem while visiting his family on vacation.
Rocket League has a truly unique and wonderful community, and to be honest it’s one of the most welcoming and supportive communities I’ve ever experienced in esports. A big reason why it is that way it is…is because of the volunteer efforts of Stephen.
When I first started to do my initial article discussing Rocket League’s potential, Stephen was one of the first people I noticed in the community. He was working tirelessly on team profiles, power rankings, casting the grassroots pro scene, and hosting a weekly esports show on Rocket League all while connecting with people and helping anyone and everyone he possibly could. He is about as selfless of a human being as I’ve ever seen, and even in my first email to Stephen regarding something in Rocket League he was nothing but kind and professional.
He even took the time to put together a history of the Rocket League eSports video series for people like myself that wanted to know how it all got started.
Stephen is the kind of person who gives the community nothing but energy, excitement, and above all a positive outlook on the future, and now as it currently stands he is unable to breath on his own without the use of a ventilator.
To give you just an idea how truly supportive he was of the community, and a little insight into Stephen himself, I invited him to come watch Yahoo eSports Correspondent Travis Gafford’s “Esports & Chill” show with Twitch eSports headman Nick Allen on Twitch.TV.
Stephen, despite having previous obligations, showed up in the chat. When Nick Allen barely glazed over the topic of Rocket League and the upcoming RLCS much to the disappointment of the Rocket League community members there, Stephen piped up in the chat “Well we can still talk about the Pro League”.
Even when other people were disappointed Stephen still was there being positive and encouraging.
That consistent support and positive outlook is something all of us can admire, and now with him facing the absolute worst it’s all our turn to be there and support Stephen as he and his family go through this trying time.
Stephen’s wife Amy has set up a GoFundMe page linked at the start of the article and here as well. Even if you don’t know him, or don’t play Rocket League I implore any and all of you out there to share this, help if you can, and support someone in the esports community who has done nothing but be there and given his support to it every single day.
Long after the auditoriums empty, the confetti swept up, and the games are over, the only thing we are all left with is each other, and somebody who exemplifies what we all love about esports needs us all more than ever.
