MEET ME IN THE LOBBY
In video games, "the lobby" is the waiting space before an adventure—a place where teammates commit to listening to one another and working toward a shared goal.
“Meet Me in the Lobby” amplifies the often-overlooked stories within the esports industry. This growing collection of oral history interviews highlights the life experiences, career journeys, and perspectives of individuals from marginalized communities. In an industry where white, cisgender men dominate conversations, this project cultivates a space for a broader spectrum of voices to be recognized and celebrated.
Ricky Jimenez is a Mexican American producer from Rowland Heights, California. He graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and since then has worked for popular gaming industry companies such as Zowie, Cloud9, and Evil Geniuses. He currently works for Riot Games as a producer for the VALORANT esports global marketing team. He is passionate about his family, building communities, and making gaming a diverse and inclusive space for all.
"Riot definitely has a lot of emphasis on diversity, but, you know, it still doesn't change the fact that a lot of these times when I walk in these rooms I'm probably either one of the only people of color or the only Mexican American in the room, and that's something I realized really quickly. I think, for me, that has kind of changed my perspective in terms of who I also recommend and choose to, kind of like, elevate in a way."
FULL TRANSCRIPT (to be uploaded)
A lifelong gamer born and raised in Southern California, Maya Ozasa currently works as a contracted Producer on VALORANT Global Esports at Riot Games, aligning her passions with her career. With a B.A. in Public Relations and Marketing, she has taken an unconventional pathway to get to where she is now — from collegiate esports and influencer management to producing content with tier 1 professional esports teams. Inspired by her own background and passions, she is interested in further elevating esports and gaming within pop culture.
“It's like people saying, “You only got an opportunity because you're a woman or because you've got those connections because you're pretty or you- you are a bitch because you're a leader because you're strong and you're confident”. Meanwhile, if a man was doing those things no one would second guess it or have anything to say. I think so much of it is just like gender roles, and it does make the hill a lot harder to climb. But that doesn't mean it's impossible.”
Francis De Leon is a filmmaker that grew up in Fullerton, California and is a content producer at Cloud9 Esports. He graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Media Arts Production. He started off his career by first working in entertainment. After shifting to esports, he currently combines his passions of storytelling and gaming to produce content that brings players closer to their fans.
“Diversity and inclusion isn't a big topic in esports because no one really talks about it, and when people do talk about it they're met with a bunch of toxic backlash from the gaming community, which is really cool... So that's honestly something that weighs on my mind heavily cause like I go into filmmaking cause I want to one, make people's days better with the work that I do. I wanna make people laugh, cry, and just give them a break from their daily life, but also I want to give voices to Asian Americans and Filipino Americans on camera and behind the camera, so the stuff that I do in esports is kind of like a stepping stone for me.”
FULL TRANSCRIPT (to be uploaded)
