Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Rubin.
Hi Scott, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
After growing up in Southern California, I attended UCLA for my undergraduate degree and then UCSB for grad school. I had always been interested in Greek and Roman mythology and found the Classics department to be a perfect fit for me, giving me the opportunity to study ancient history, mythology, languages, philosophy, art, and more. After school, I wasn’t entirely sure how I would “use” my education in real life, and held various jobs in and around Los Angeles. Meanwhile, my love for all things geeky was getting stronger and stronger. I grew up reading comic books and watching copious amounts of sci-fi, and as I got older added horror movies, role-playing games, miniature wargaming, and more. I’ve always been a toy collector and have written toy reviews for Figures.com since 2007 and, more recently, ActionFigureInsider.
In 2015 I was lucky enough to take my nerdiness to the bigtime on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel, co-hosting the shows Group Hug and Brick Battles and making money playing with HeroClix and Legos in front of live internet audiences! In 2017, I began hosting streams on Hyper RPG as well, adding Warhammer 40k to my repertoire, and during the lockdown, I did solo streaming from home and co-streaming with a friend; our unique content included reading Dune out loud, discussing comparative mythology, doing live toy reviews, holding hot dog eating contests, and more.
Another longtime interest of mine has been writing, and I’ve dabbled in everything from screenplays to adaptations of ancient comedies. When my wife was pregnant with our first child in 2014, we talked about how cool it would be if there was a baby naming book that talked about names and all the different characters who have had them. After we couldn’t find such a thing, she suggested that I write it… and so I did! After years of research and writing my book Naming Your Little Geek came out in 2020, and I’ve loved sharing it with the world. It’s a perfect combination of my love of geeky properties and my interest in the origins of words and names.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Lots of people have ideas for books, but few are completed (much less released into the world) because of how hard it is. I was very confident in my idea and the content I was painstakingly researching, but I was very ignorant about the world of traditional publishing. I basically did things backwards when it comes to non-fiction books, putting years of effort into completing an entire rough draft before looking into publishers or agents. At that point, I began putting myself and my work out there and spent the next few months staring at an empty inbox or filing the few “no thanks” emails I received. And then it happened; an agent expressed her interest in my book, and in a pretty short amount of time, she had landed me a deal with my publisher, Familius! Everything was on track for Naming Your Little Geek to have a big book launch featuring an event at a big pop culture convention, signings and appearances, and more. That was all planned for mid-2020…
While many others had it much harder, the COVID-19 lockdowns put a pretty big damper on the release of my book. Without the ability for me to do live events, it was hard to get the word out and introduce people to my work. In the following years, I was able to bring Naming Your Little Geek to places like San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon, Gen Con Online, and more. Connecting with other geeks and seeing them get excited about reading my book and using it to name kids (or anything else) has been incredibly rewarding and worth all of the struggles.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My magnus opus is the nerdiest baby naming book ever written, known as Naming Your Little Geek. Not only a huge labor of love, it’s the ultimate book for nerds looking to name anything! In fact, it’s been used by cool people to name children, cars, computers, Wi-Fi networks, RPG characters, plants, swords, and more. It’s also a fun read for anyone interested in geeky characters and their names and a must-have for fans of character guides. It’s available everywhere books are sold.
Be on the lookout for my follow-up baby naming book, Naming Your Little All-Star, coming next year. It follows the same format as Geek but collects names of athletes and sports stars from around the world, champions in everything from professional team sports to Olympic events!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I’ve done a fair amount of traveling, and all in all, Los Angeles is pretty great. Sure, it’s almost incomprehensively big, and the traffic can be a nightmare, but it also has just about anything you’re into, whether that’s entertainment, nature, shopping, or food. As a geek, I particularly love being able to go to pop culture conventions of all kinds throughout the year, from Anime Expo to Strategicon to Los Angeles Comic Con. My family resides in Burbank, which has a nice “small town” feel despite its location in one of the biggest cities in the world. Our town is home to numerous comic book stores like Emerald Knights Comics and Games and the best sweet treats at places like Dad’s Donuts and Sliders. It’s clean, it’s safe, and there’s a nice community for kids.
Unfortunately, the size and number of people living in Los Angeles make it hard to get around, and traffic is a constant annoyance; my kids are always aware of how long it will take to get somewhere “with traffic or without.” And it can be hard for people from other places to understand, but living in Los Angeles can be very lonely. It’s likely your friends and family live far enough away that it’s hard to get together very frequently, and conflicting schedules and the ever-present traffic compound that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/namingyourlittlegeek
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/norsemeat/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/norsemeat
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/norsemeat
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottrubin4478
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/norsemeat.bsky.social
Image Credits
Geek & Sundry
Albert L. Ortega
