Collegiate tournament
Co-founder and CEO of Cxmmunity Ryan Johnson (@ryanranitup) is making strides when it comes to representation in the esports scene with the help of the Kickback Program.
What is the origin story of Cxmmunity?
The whole idea behind Cxmmunity is Georgia was one of the first states to make esports an official high school sport. As this was happening, there were minimum requirements to get in. You basically needed about $30,000 to start an esports program at your high school just to get the computers, the chairs and the whole nine yards. Once we got word that some of these high schools couldn’t afford to buy a computer lab, that was the baseline for why we began Cxmmunity. We said to ourselves, ‘Look, this is happening in Atlanta. This same problem is going to be happening in every major city throughout North America. So, who’s going to be the organization to kind of advocate and create programs and systems so people of color can grow in this new and emerging space as well?’ The answer was Cxmmunity.
Cxmmunity Media co-founder/CEO Ryan Johnson.
How did you get involved with esports and gaming? What inspired you to create The Kickback?
My whole life I was an only child, and online gaming was a huge outlet for me. I knew attending an HBCU [historically Black college and university], there wasn’t any type of program like The Kickback for my own personal experience. Outside of basketball practice and homework, the only thing that myself and my friends did was play video games, like NBA 2K and Call of Duty. The click moment was when our co-founder, Chris, and I were in the game office talking with some friends. They said, ‘Yo, my school could beat your school in Call of Duty.’ Chris and I responded, ‘I bet you they can’t.’ From there, we found four other kids at each of our alma maters and created a scrimmage. Two schools turned to four; four turned to six; six turned to 15; and 15 turned to 30 within a matter of 16 months. That was the big aha! moment.
Can you give an overview of what The Kickback is?
The Kickback is more or less the celebration of gaming culture in the same way I look at it like sneaker culture with a sneaker con or basketball culture around the NBA Finals or March Madness. Gamers love sneakers, fashion, hip-hop and music. I said to myself, ‘How can we create something that highlights all of these various different elements but showcases it through the lens of esports and gaming?’ That’s essentially what The Kickback is. The three elements of our little tag line are engage, educate and entertain. We wanted to create these daylong experiences that allow students to understand different career opportunities, academic opportunities and internship opportunities, and showcase the competitive side. We want students to think, ‘If I study hard, if I game well, I can get scholarships.’ We’re trying to give that visible pipeline of what that actually looks like.
What made you want to host the inaugural Kickback here in Atlanta?
This is where our company started and where the first high schools that we partnered with are. Our partners from Ripper Box are also from Atlanta. Those are just a few foundational reasons, but also Atlanta is the home of culture. Atlanta has music culture, sports culture, fashion and an amazing education system. A lot of people don’t realize that Georgia is actually one of the top three states in North America when it comes to gaming, with over 110 gaming studios in Atlanta. There’s just so much here in the city, so why not also make Atlanta the capital of gaming? I feel like almost every cool thing that happens in the country has some sort of tie with Atlanta.
It’s reported that 83% of minority teens play video games, however, only 14% of Black and Latinx creators make up the professional industry. How are Cxmmunity and The Kickback helping to change this statistic?
Most students of color spend most of their free time playing video games. The whole idea of our organization is how we can help people turn their passions into professions. We had to start teaching students, teaching parents, and teaching educators and facilitators the careers that exist behind the screen and beyond the controller. We work with partners like Microsoft, Comcast and Verizon where we create after-school programs, weekend programs or summer camps with the focus in STEM and education in esports. We are teaching students about the marketing and production of esports, human resources and legal. We are teaching students what content will help them go viral and what content could get them sued. While there are a ton of people of color that play video games, not as many of those people work within the industry. But before you can work in a space, you have to know what that space is. The Kickback is here to show the very tangible steps that you can take to get to where you’re looking to go, and here’s an organization that’s willing to support you, provide resources and provide access to help you get there.
What is the future of Cxmmunity and The Kickback? Do you have any short-term or long-term goals?
Short term for The Kickback, I want to start partnering with actual school districts versus individual schools and making this a field trip because esports falls under a lot of school districts’ pillars for STEM and/or computer science. Long-term-wise, you’ll see local events, you’ll see regional events and you’ll see national championship-style events the same way that you see traditional sports. We’re also working on some scripted TV initiatives that will be coming out sometime early next year. So, there’s a lot of things that are going to be coming out that I think are just going to make this much more of an understandable ecosystem in the industry, especially for folks that have never been in it before.
What part of The Kickback are you looking forward to the most?
The most exciting part for me is the morning and getting to speak one-on-one to the kids. My favorite part is when the kids’ eyes light up when they realize someone that looks like them is doing something that they want to do. I met one student that had started a Call of Duty team in Chicago. He told me, ‘I started my Call of Duty team, but we didn’t have the $500 to enter into the local tournament to then, maybe make a thousand dollars so I could keep the team going,’ which led to them canceling the team. He asked me what I thought he should do next, and I said, ‘Get your team back together.’ Now, myself and this student are working on different initiatives for the team and I’m pretty sure Cxmmunity is going to sponsor his team. Those are the moments that I carry with me and enjoy the most. I think the concerts may be the most fun, but the things that actually mean the most to me are, like, those small moments when a young person has a goal or aspiration and they know how to get to where they want to go, but they haven’t found that support system, and just being that support system. I’ve found this part of the journey has been super fulfilling.
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