Interview with TJ Walker, founder of Boombox
TJ Walker is the founder and Head of Production of Boombox. A production agency trusted by A-list brands who dominate their categories in two things: Sports & Gaming. This focus and clear niche has made them a leader in the industry, working with RedBull, XGames, Crankworxs, Riot Games, F1. We sat down with TJ to understand the state of the industry and learn a thing or two about live event broadcasting and production.
Origin: Let's start with gaming and esports. Many of Origin's readers might not be super familiar with this world, can you paint a picture of the work you do and the scale of these events?
TJ: Right now you might be thinking to yourself: “What does gaming have to do with the outdoor space and brands in it?” There's actually a ton that brands from different industries can learn from the gaming space and how it markets itself and interacts with its consumers.
There's an increasing crossover between mainstream sports and gaming, and thankfully the attitudes aren’t not as condescending as it was 10+ years back when people in the sports or outdoor worlds used to kinda look down at their contemporaries in a gaming space. (Full Disclosure – I started out as an Action Sport snob, even though I grew up playing games a ton, and fully acknowledge the hypocrisy of it all).
First thing we should establish is that it’s never to be referred to as EGaming and that there’s a massive difference between gaming and esports:
“Esports” as the name kinda implies, is competitive gameplay and includes a metric ton of different games, from Call of Duty to real-time strategy games like League of Legends, to card games like Magic the Gathering (there’s A LOT). Watching esports is like watching ski or mountain bike racing at the highest level; people who play want to see the best in the world do what they do. Basic human nature right?
Gaming is waaaaaaaaaaaay broader. Whether you're playing or watching, it’s all about entertainment and frequently picks up strats for your own play. The closest parallel I can think of in the outdoor space are creators and the content they produce. A lot of the gaming content Boombox produces currently actually isn't around the elite of the elite (although we still do a ton of that). Instead it’s focused on streamers, some super niche, others pretty mainstream like a Ninja, who are really good at making what they do really entertaining and educational.
Origin: You've worked with A-List brands all over the world on massive action sports events. Tell us a few that stand out to you and how Boombox integrates within these events? How do you help define what you do?
TJ: The strength of many of the events we produce livestreams and content around (like Crankworx or X Games) is also one of their greatest weaknesses: the ephemeral nature of it all. In basketball there's a regular season. In action sports there’s a bunch of one off Super Bowl style events for each discipline. From a broadcast and content standpoint, it’s a fun challenge as Boombox hasn’t had an entire regular season to work with a Red Bull or an X Games to prepare. We have a short pre-production window and then we literally have to show up and blow up. From a spectator POV, the one off nature of an event like Crankworx Whistler, means it's all about the festival vibes and THAT’s what makes it special.
Origin: What do you see as the future of live events? What trends are you seeing right now?
TJ: For Crankworx, what sets us apart is the fact that amateurs can compete on the same day on the same courses as the best in the world. This has obviously been a winning formula in the running space forever, but it's interesting to see the trend in the two wheel world kinda drifting away from that. We’re seeing different starts for the pros and amateurs in many gravel races, the Enduro World Series has separated the pros and the amateurs onto different days. Definitely has me scratching my head in sports where you need the foundational bottom of the pyramid, the amateur participant base, to care about and invest in the pointy end of the pros.
Outside of the Outdoor/Action world I'm really intrigued by the Savannah Bananas. They've gone a little viral, but if you don't know, they're a minor league baseball team in Savannah, Georgia and they are thinking completely differently about how they're presenting their sport (new rules) and how they're interacting with their fanbase (focus on entertainment). There's a ton to learn from these guys.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the evolution of the WWE is impressive. Look at something like WrestleMania, it's gone from a one off event/broadcast, to a Super Bowl style week with multiple nights and festivities.
Maybe the common thread is thinking differently about what your event can be and asking yourself: What’s Habit? What’s Tradition? Embrace Tradition. Challenge Habit.
On a broadcast streaming front, we're smack dab in the middle of the 3rd wave. The first wave was traditional linear sports broadcasts. The 2nd wave was where streaming opened up a new way for us all to consume content around the sports we love that weren’t on traditional TV. The 3rd wave is combining the interactivity of streaming with the professionalism of the traditional broadcast from that first wave. Here at Boombox, we call it Polished Scuff. I believe the evolution is going to be in tone of voice, access and viewer interactivity.
As part of the 3rd wave, from a brand/property perspective, we’re constantly considering how we have to leverage our livestreams in a completely different way than how the NFL might. The NFL has multibillion dollar broadcast deals that they need to protect. Most events in the Outdoor/Action Sports spaces where we play don't have that luxury. So the game is get people to tune in for the streams and increasingly, how can the streams be used as fodder for different material down the line – like social, extended YouTube highlights or docu-series. We're obsessed about how we take the raw material of a live stream and give it post event impact.
