Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Gonzales.
Daniel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I studied Opera in College intending to switch majors but ended up sticking it out because my dad told me “just get a degree” and you can figure it out afterward. I realized I didn’t love Opera and spent time figuring out things that I loved. Things that made me happy. Why wouldn’t ANYONE avoid trying to do the thing that makes you happy all the time? So I ended up on Soccer. I played my whole childhood and believed if I set my mind to it, I could find success. I found out that my Grandparents’ homeland of The Philippines was finding a surge in popularity in Soccer due to some international success of the Philippine Men’s National Team. I emailed some folk, got two responses back, bought a ticket there and played for a year before being betrayed by my body (tore my hipflexor). Lots of experiences on and off the field, but it was a difficult and shady place in terms of payment, and I truly learned the socio-psychological pressures of financial instability. With that, I made it a priority to head home and find a good-paying job with my music degree. Back home, I was able to find a job working in the DC Area as a defense contractor doing cybersecurity. It paid well and better than any music job I could have found. I quickly found out the apathetic pace of the government was not for me and would spend much of my time trying to leverage my performance background.
Along with soccer, my whole life I had spent playing video games as well. A college friend of mine had a brother playing professional video games, which included not only astronomical prize pools but ambitious productions. Those productions, like traditional sports or competition shows, had hosts, commentators, and personalities driving the show, both the live on-field action and side content for crazed fanatics of the game and teams. It was then when I started getting involved in Esports. Creating leagues for players to play in to announce over and use as my own performance reel. Great – I ran leagues, social, admin, called the action, and still had my full-time gig. But it wasn’t enough. There was the competitive itch and desire to continue to grow on the largest scale. I had been announcing the game League of Legends, which had become a global phenomenon at the time due to its insane popularity in Korea and China and its introduction to the western world by hosting its grand finals at the Staples Center in 2013. I compiled the highlights, built a resume, and shot it off the Riot Games, the company that owned League of Legends and produced the esports broadcasts in house, in hopes of finding a gig.
After five months of interviews, I did and became the first Asian-American and Latino-American host on the North American Broadcast. It was short-lived though, as a shift in scheduling and format led them to cut production days, thus not needing as many talents as they were carrying. I had moved to LA for the job, so I decided to stay and bounced around gigs within the esports scene – Golden State Warriors Esports, hosting gigs for mobile games, and even a couple of weekend stints back at Riot. I even host a reoccurring gaming tournament with Snoop Dogg and my friend Hollywood Gene called GGL – The Gangsta Gaming League. He’s amazing. I now currently work as an EP, writer, and talent at VENN, a video game tv channel and content house. I think through my experiences, I realize early on, I was trying to bring the mainstream to esports but instead work much better as a vessel to bring esports to the mainstream.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh, jeez haha. I’ve always thought if you put your mind to it, you can make it happen. I did it with Soccer. I did it again with Riot, but man, losing that spot before truly making it mine was rough. I thought I had found the exact thing I wanted to do, where I wanted to do it, and how I wanted to do it for the next five years and lost it in five months. I wasn’t sure where to go after that, I really didn’t have a Plan B. The GSW Esports job kept me in the gaming space, and I thought that would be good enough, but it felt bad. I wanted to keep performing, and that job had me managing. Lots of props to great managers out there, but it’s not for me. The freelance life is also just a tough cycle of “man I know there’s work out there for me” to “dang I have work this is great” to “oh no work is over what do I do now?”. An acting coach of mine from DC told me that it took her years to trust and believe that if she was doing the right things in her craft and was good enough, the work would come and the bills would get paid. Through her wisdom and (thankfully) going through financial hardship during the soccer years built up some resilience to the fear. I remind myself that I HAD that comfy job in DC, but the soul-draining nature of it wasn’t worth it and that my desire to create and impact through communication and gaming is worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Host, Shoutcaster, and On-Camera Talent in the Gaming and Entertainment industry. Gaming Events are on the rise, and like any production, you need engaging and organized personalities to make it happen. I’m that guy. More recently in my career have moved more into a hosting role, and that’s allowed me to be more flexible in terms of the types of work I accept and games I work in. Imagine a baseball broadcast. MOST OF THE TIME, those broadcasters don’t change sports. If you’re a baseball guy, that’s what you’re doing. If you’re a football guy, that’s what you’re doing. However, if you’re a host, you can dig into the facts, history and refine your communication skills to setup the experts to speak on the product. Whether it’s Madden, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Fortnite, knowing enough about the game and having multiple communication skillsets in your toolkit to bridge the gap between hardcore fan, interested enthusiast, and first-time viewer is a unique and difficult skill I’m proud to say I possess and get to refine.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Haha, I’m a TedTalk guy. It’s interesting to see who calls themselves experts, the topics of said experts, the delivery of the speakers, and trying to identify the commonality between successful TedTalks. Also, Masterclass. Robin Roberts sharing her journey as a host and doing it the “right” way is heartwarming. She mixes both her love for people and her craft with her competitive nature and background. Go watch it and learn what she means by “Make your mess your message”.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/dgonsays
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/dgon
Image Credits:
Colin Young-Wolff Peter Pham
