Travis Gafford
Yahoo! Sports
Los Angeles, CA USA
"When I was in college, this job didn’t even exist; I had to create it. So know that your dream job isn’t always what you think it is."
Career Roadmap
Travis's work combines: Journalism, Sports, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
At the time, I had no idea how I could ever get involved in esports. I played games, but was nowhere good enough. It took another pro player I had been talking to say, "You have a communications degree, why don't you interview players." With that suggestion in mind, I launched my podcast and blog shortly later.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Speech Communication and Rhetoric
California State University-Long Beach
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
He was always interested in PC gaming; during college, Starcraft 2 was released and became an esport.
2.
He would stay up late into the night to watch competitions broadcast from Korea, but he never dreamed he could be a part of that scene.
3.
After he graduated, he wanted to work for a gaming company in Los Angeles, but at the end of the interview process, he was denied the job.
4.
While he was still in a slump after losing out on that job, he mentioned to a peer that he was jealous of his job playing competitive esports.
5.
The peer suggested that even if he couldn’t become a professional player, he should use his communications degree to interview esports players.
6.
He started his own amateur podcast and YouTube channel focused on esports, and League of Legends, specifically.
7.
At the time, he was one of the only people producing League of Legends content, so when CBS decided they wanted to cover the sport, he was the go-to guy.
8.
Says that in retrospect, losing out on that first job was actually one of the best things that could’ve ever happened to him.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I'm really jealous these people get to play games for a living. I wish I could do something in esports!
How I responded:
At the time, I had no idea how I could ever get involved in esports. I played games, but was nowhere good enough. It took another pro player I had been talking to say, "You have a communications degree, why don't you interview players." With that suggestion in mind, I launched my podcast and blog shortly later.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I am the first in my immediate family to attend college/university.
After graduating, I had applied and gone through a long interview process for this job I really wanted, but I ended up not getting it. I was crushed. However, not getting that job opened up a world of possibilities that I had never dreamed of!