Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Morrow.
Hi Michele, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
20 years ago, I moved to Los Angeles – West Hollywood to be exact. When I drove into town, all the streets surrounding my new apartment were closed off and I didn’t know why. Turns out, it was the day of the annual Gay Pride Parade. After a two-day road trip from Seattle with a U-Haul hitched to my Wrangler and my roommate following close behind, we got the best intro possible to our new neighborhood. Well before the time of social media and without access to the Internet, we had no idea what we were driving into. With nowhere to park, I pulled up to the front of the building where a group of adorable, scantily clad men emerged out the front gate, took one look at my U-Haul and laughed at my predicament. No one could believe I was moving in on the day of Pride – so embarrassing! They laughed, introduced themselves and then helped move some boxes inside so we could go enjoy the festivities of our new neighborhood. 20 years later, I feel like that arrival story is a metaphor for my life: bad luck saved by good luck against the backdrop of Los Angeles. I’ve seen many different sides of LA, especially through the eyes of jobs I took on the way to the career I have now. To save money on rent, I worked at my apartment building in West Hollywood as a leasing agent and remember when a bunch of drunk guys pulled our fire alarm just so they could catcall the firefighters. I was a personal assistant for many years, often tasked with throwing huge holiday parties including a wedding in Italy. I worked as a bartender and waitress at nightclubs like Skybar, which I could probably write a book about in and of itself. When auditioning paid off, I was cast in indie horror movies with a few roles on tv. Around this time, I started selling music-centered artwork and eventually became commissioned under my series “Recycled Rock”.
After suffering a serious accident, life slowed down. I found myself focusing on art. And, crucially, I started playing video games again. I’d never stopped playing, but I was certainly behind. As a kid, I got my Nintendo at ten and grew up playing couch co-op with friends before my high school and college afternoons filled solving Myst. I fell in love with the medium all over again. Video games helped me heal and gave me a much needed escape and social life while coping with pain. Soon after, I was asked to be a weekly gaming columnist for HelloGiggles.com thanks to an intro from a friend, later contributing for Nerdist.com. Writing about games led to on-camera hosting, reporting and reviewing video game and pop culture content. Game companies started hiring me as a live broadcast host for fan conventions and for several years, I found myself moderating various panels for San Diego Comic Con. Eventually, I hosted the first video game/esports tournament to air live on ESPN2 and later for tournaments on TBS. I now live in Laurel Canyon with my husband and two fluffy cats, Samus and Zeus. As a huge music fan, I wanted to live in Laurel Canyon forever so it’s truly a dream come true. I love our house and spend a lot of time remodeling and decorating, which I often post about on Instagram. I try to design environments here at home to help us feel motivated and creative, especially during this time of Covid.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nope! Definitely not. The accident I mentioned was a nightmare and I’m glad I was able to finally get necessary medical treatment. I worked through trauma and fear, along with the standard anxiety we all face. Being a woman in two male-dominated industries certainly comes with its own set of challenges. I took disappointment way too hard for way too long, as I think many women do. I’ve had deals go south, projects disappear and braved difficult conversations. Every single one of the obstacles or challenges I’ve faced made me who I am today and I always strive to grow from any setback.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Having already come from the entertainment industry, I wanted to work toward a way where I could create something that would represent gaming in a scripted format. Based on my own experiences, I wrote a treatment and co-created a 6 episode comedy for YouTube Originals about a team of underdogs trying to make it as pro gamers. It’s called “Good Game” and I also played Ash in the series. I’m very proud of it. During quarantine, I started a new weekly podcast with my friend and pro gamer, “missharvey”. It’s called “The Game Diaries” and much like VoyageLA, we focus on the human side of things. Because video games are one of the most powerful mediums in the world people have met, fallen in love and even had kids. We’ve heard stories of hope, loss and rebirth — all because of games. There’s tons of inspiring stories which exist due to the games we play, and we want to share those stories. Each week we trade off writing “diary entries” about people who’ve impacted gaming. We also read listener love letters devoted to the games that changed their lives.
What’s next?
We just launched The Game Diaries podcast a month ago and there’s a lot of future plans being made in growing it. At some point, we’d like to do live shows. I’m working on an art project, launching 2021, and hopefully set-life can get back to normal soon — I miss filming. Other than that, I’m looking forward to Covid being over. I can’t wait to hug friends and go to loud rock concerts again.
Contact Info:
Image Credits:
Kaelan Barowsky Eric Blackmon YouTube Red Originals
