Richard Lewis Interviews OnFireAnders

Richard Lewis sits down with long time friend and top CSGO commentator OnFireAnders to discuss his big health changes (and why the esports lifestyle is challenging for staying healthy), fighting for day rates/fees to take into account health concerns for constantly travelling talent, his "break up" with Semmler, other games he would want to cast, the future of CS, and some of his personal projects (as much as he could share).

Timestamps:

  • 1:04 - When Richard and Anders first met
  • 1:18 - "I am thinking about getting into commentating full time"
  • 2:00 - Richard "Everyone has been wanting to talk about this big fitness kick you have been on"
  • 3:42 - Anders "I'm just so far from the point I remember being... I can't even deal with this right now"
  • 4:30 - Anders "Doing things with my son was just going to be so hard"
  • 5:00 - "I want to push [esports] forward to making it more invest-able for the outside world... and my weight was going to be a problem"
  • 13:40 - Anders "I will always be able to find excuses for why I shouldn't be better... I think most people feel that way... it's taken a lot of internal work on my part to address this"
  • 15:00 - Life is *hard* as an esports freelancer
  • 17:00 - Why is being a freelancer hard for you?
  • 17:30 - The high of positive feedback that drives you early on eventually fades "What's to stop a tournament org from just never hiring me again?"
  • 19:30 - "I have to constantly remind myself of fortunate I am"
  • 21:00 - Richard "You have been doing fewer events, has this been your decision?"
  • 24:00 - There are long term health concerns with excessive travel for events that should be taken into account for day rates
  • 30:20 - "We have done a remarkable job in counter strike of being competitive and still friends"
  • 32:30 - Anders on his "breakup" with Semmler
  • 37:30 - "I could see in his face, the old Semmler had returned"
  • 39:45 - "There's this weird trend, where if you want to praise one community member, you have to shit on another"
  • 49:00 - Anders on what other games he might cast
  • 49:30 - "I think I could solve some of the problems Overwatch has"
  • 50:20 - "I have some fundamental problems with how Dota is being cast... my ideas might be completely wrong though"
  • 57:00 - "At the most fundamental level, Counter Strike is kinda like a 5 on 5 rock paper scissors game"
  • 59:00 - Why to be positive about the future of CS
  • 1:03:00 - What can you tell us about Sky Box?
  • 1:14:00 - Giving talent recommendations for your own show
  • 1:16:00 - What is coming for you next?