Our next Creators United interview focuses on a prominent Dota 2 and general eSports shoutcaster, the great Devin "HellbirD" Rigotti. We spoke to Devin about his thoughts on the current state of the South African gaming industry, the much-debated eSports scene, and the improvements that he wishes to make to them in order to grow their potential. Find out his aspirations, favourite dinosaur (I'm still not sure what it is), and the choice behind his now recognizable handle.



What inspired you to be a content creator?
I was once a competitive player. I was asked to do some work with an analyst as a shoutcaster, and the next thing I knew, I was knee-deep in the scene.

Who are your inspirations, and why?
TobiWanKenobi, who's the best shoutcaster in the world, in my opinion. I plan to overtake him some day.

What type of content do you create?
There's a lot, but namely shoutcasting, panel hosting, and written content where I can. In general, I do a lot of gaming-related content. Not just eSports, but generally I like to talk about gaming at large.

What would you do to further your field in the South African entertainment industry?
Focus on eSports, or just give it its time in the spotlight. Currently there is a lot of misunderstandings about the world of eSports, how to market it, and where money is spent. Both as a local scene that is worth watching, and taking them overseas. Locally, the level needs to be good enough so that it's able to compete internationally. The real catch is how do you make local eSports viable enough to make it international?

What prompted you to participate in the Creators United?
Candice (laughs). But seriously, Nexus apparently has nice milkshakes and with Creators United, I would like to do some good with my time in whatever way I can.

Have you ever worked with any charity events before?
I've done quite a few, but one that stands out is Cause Gaming, like a LAN event where all the profits went through to fight cancer. I've done a couple of other ones, like Gaming Against Cancer, and smaller LAN events. Though nothing of a major scale.

When you’re not a content creator/superhero, what do you do in your daily life?
I work as a regional manager, working for a software solutions company. I manage the Cape Town and Johannesburg offices, which means I fly a lot.

What are the greatest difficulties you’ve faced being a content creator?
There's an enormous amount of fighting in our scene. Most of the time, we've been guilty of it, including myself. We tend to fight amongst each other, either through greed or jealousy. I believe we need to break those barriers if we ever want to get somewhere.

How did you feel when your content was appreciated for the first time?
I'm often very blown away by the eSports supporters. Generally it also comes from places you don't expect. It means a lot. You don't really expect to have fans, mainly supporters at this stage. But it really does feel uplifting, like I just wanna buy them all lunch to show how grateful I am!

What is your ultimate goal as a content creator?
Esports and gaming have a very short memory. People get forgotten all the time. I've been around for a while, so my want is to be remembered. The reason for it is because I feel like I have a lot of people's memories on my back, and I don't want them to be forgotten either.