Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen is a scene veteran now facing what might be his biggest challenge yet. Cadred caught up with the perpetual smiley face for a personal interview to see how he's doing before his first ever GSL.
The interview starts off with a personal tone as Grubby tells us about his holiday experience. It continues as Grubby is asked about how he keeps happy with the job and makes sure not to burn-out:
Do I want to miss a DreamHack? An MLG? An IEM? And all the other great tournaments? The answer is usually, “hell no!” - and that did cut into my training time. On the other hand, I got a lot of tournament experience, exposure and enjoyment out of that. Burn-out has not been a problem for me, I keep it interesting for myself. If I only played played played it might happen, but I also stream, commentate, debate, etc. In WC3, if I felt the risks of a burn-out I'd go off-race or play ranked FFA.
The interview quickly picks up with questions about Grubby's recent GSL Code A invite. He also comments on the difference of being a foreigners versus playing in Korea, and takes examples from Naniwa:
I would have been happy and hopeful just to play a Code A Qualifiers. I didn't expect a Code A seed, much less even something more lofty like the Up&Downs. [...] We booked my ticket to Korea within 2 hours of getting the email that I had an Up&Down seed if I wanted it.
The environment seems to be the real difference. Because Korea is just one country there is a higher concentration of progamers living and training together. I'm sure if Socke, MaNa, HasuObs, Feast, TitaN and I lived together we'd also improve much more rapidly. So Naniwa is trying to help fate along a bit by placing himself in highly competitive environments, and anyone else can do the same but you obviously need more money to live out here in Korea than a local.
The environment seems to be the real difference. Because Korea is just one country there is a higher concentration of progamers living and training together. I'm sure if Socke, MaNa, HasuObs, Feast, TitaN and I lived together we'd also improve much more rapidly. So Naniwa is trying to help fate along a bit by placing himself in highly competitive environments, and anyone else can do the same but you obviously need more money to live out here in Korea than a local.
As the interview ends, Manuel talks about the ups and downs of being a personally sponsored player - the way he deals with his obligations to the sponsor while still maintains a clear head while playing. He talks extensively of his career and work outside the game, such as booking flights and doing promotional work at events:
When I was younger, I used to be quite distracted from the main tournament by having to do promotional work at events, but it's something I really grew into. It makes me feel more relevant, which makes me feel more satisfied – knowing I'm providing great value to my sponsors rather than just receiving a charity check – and satisfaction leads me to feel better about myself in general. That leads to me wanting to perform better in the tournaments.[...]
For the rest, being personally sponsored means I am personally responsible. I don't have a problem with that. It's not much different than any other independent entrepeneur in non-progaming branches or business. It means both freedom and also being never truly off-duty. But then I even felt that way when I was still in teams. I've never been lazy in that way, I don't think.
For the rest, being personally sponsored means I am personally responsible. I don't have a problem with that. It's not much different than any other independent entrepeneur in non-progaming branches or business. It means both freedom and also being never truly off-duty. But then I even felt that way when I was still in teams. I've never been lazy in that way, I don't think.
Source: Cadred.org
