meet the staff | Sub Cultured

Continuing our theme of Togetherness this November, our next interview pair is Jen and Colby. Read on to find out how Colby feels about his cheesy namesake, and why he cried a bunch in Disney World. (It’s okay–Jen might have cried, too.)

JS: Start us off with some basic stats! Who are you, where are you from, what’s your job class?

CS: I’m Colby! I’ve lived all over Texas, but currently, I’ve put down roots in Austin. I’m currently working as a software engineer for a company that does social media marketing for local businesses called Main Street Hub.

JS: What is it you do for/contribute to Sub Cultured?

CS: I’ve done video content in the past (and perhaps in the future WINKYFACE), but at the moment, I do monthly articles, cover video game conventions, and stream weekly on our Twitch channel.

JS: Were you always comfortable with who you are, geek wise?

CS: I spent most of my childhood growing up in a farming community, and there wasn’t a lot of nerdiness around, so I wasn’t quite sure that’s what I was? Everyone I knew played video games and watched Dragon Ball Z. That was just the thing you did. When high school rolled around, people started partying and I went in to theater, so I never really felt out of place with my interests. As a result I think I’ve always been comfortable, but only due to luck, and eventually flagrant disregard of strangers’ opinions.

JS: Everyone seems to have a ‘geeky’ property, like Star Wars or Firefly, that they hold near and dear to them. What’s yours and why?

CS: There’s a few anime I refuse to let out of my heart like Toradora, Gurren Lagann, and Kill la Kill, but the one IP that’s been around since I was a kid and I enjoy immensely is Final Fantasy. My all time favorite is Final Fantasy VI (III in America), but recently, I’ve been watching speedruns of Final Fantasy VII and really remembering how great it was.

JS: Between your FF love and your consistent game streaming, what’s your all time favorite video game?

CS: My default answer here is always Final Fantasy VI. One summer, I played the first 6 hours of the game every day for two full months. I just love the opera scene so much that I liked the experience of starting all over and getting up to that point and listening to the music. More recently, I’ve been really digging Metal Gear Solid V. And for really emotional material, Valiant Hearts is a wonderful game.

JS: On bad days, what do you do to cheer yourself up?

CS: I’m lucky in that I haven’t experienced depression to the depths that most of the people I associate with have, so I actually have a couple of things that I can do to shake off a bad day. I’ll usually induce crying, either by watching the season finale of House season 4 or some choice moments in Gurren Lagann. Beyond that, a good nap or dinner with someone I can talk to are also pretty helpful.

JS: Is there a superpower you wish you had? Any particular reason why?

CS: My current boss actually asked me this in my job interview and was surprised that I had such a detailed answer. I want to be able to teleport anywhere instantly that I can see. This includes through transparent glass, clear water, etc. With that, I can simulate flight and get anywhere I need to incredibly quickly, but I like that there are limitations. So if a super villain were to kidnap me, they’d really only need to blindfold me. I like the idea of really strong superpowers that are easily disabled if you’re not careful.

Also if you’re not paying attention, you could teleport to the sun. And wow, no.

JS: Are there people in the geek community that inspire you, be it a celebrity or a scientist? If you’ve met them, how was the experience?

CS: I actually really like this guy on Twitch named Vinny. He’s a streamer and musician that plays a pretty wide swath of games on his channel. He’s just a chill dude that seems incredibly genuine, tells stories well, and knows how to wrangle a chat. I met him very briefly at PAX East earlier this year and It’s one of the few times in my life I was suddenly and violently aware of how uncool I am in comparison to the person I’m talking to. Pretty sure I had no chill.

JS: You just got back from a Disney trip. How was it? Did you ride Small World? Did you love it?

CS: I gained 12 pounds in 8 days when I went to Disney World and Universal Studios. That should be an indication of how many desserts I ate and, by correlation, how awesome it was. I did ride Small World and no, I did not love it. I went to Disney for the first time as an adult and didn’t really grow up in a Disney house, so the IP nostalgia and old rides don’t hold as much wonder and joy for me. The Beauty and the Beast restaurant, Be Our Guest, was wonderful though. OH! And Celebrate the Magic is one of my favorite parts of Magic Kingdom. It’s a projection show they do on the castle. I’ve cried every time I’ve watched it (4).

JS: Semi-Related question: Mac and cheese: pro or con?

CS: How is this a question? My name is a cheese. Of course it’s a pro. It’s only a con if you have food guilt, which is stupid.

By the way, if you ever come to Austin, leave any food guilt at the border. We have a restaurant where everything is on a donut. You will not survive.

JS: Saturday mornings are made for cartoons. If you could reinstate Saturday morning lineups, what five shows would you air?

CS: Ooo yes. I’m in to this, providing “morning” is like 11am-1pm. Definitely Avatar the Last Airbender and Adventure Time. I’m not as up on American cartoons as I should be, so I can’t, in good faith, put Steven Universe or Gravity Falls on this list. Sorry guys. Hmm… I think I’d pepper in Big O since nobody but me really loves it and I’d like to change that. Also a nice throwback would be Reboot. It hasn’t aged well, but its endgame is strong. And finally, cap it all off with some mindless fun — Tom and Jerry.

JS: Perhaps this question reveals more about me than you, but it’s important to know. Blink 182 or Greenday?

CS: Fun fact, I actually saw both bands in concert together. It was called the Pop Disaster Tour and their opening band was Jimmy Eat World. Can’t get more pop punk than that. That being said, Blink-182 are my boys, even if they’re not truly together anymore.

JS: If people were inclined to find you on the internet, where can they look?

CS: I knock about on Sub Cultured with an article here and there and you can always watch me stream on our Twitch channel. Outside of that, I made an app called Canvas Clash that’s out on iTunes and Android right now and also wrote a short book on how to get in to mobile app development called Getting Started With Apps, which is out on Amazon.