Nadeshot talks about 100 Thieves and the Gap between Twitch streamers and actual pros. | Dunk Bait

LaJethro Jenkins and Nadeshot, Matthew Haag, discuss NBA and eSport similarities, the origin of 100 Thieves, and how Excedrin can help with headaches.

Find out more: excedrin.com/gaming

Video Transcript

LAJETHRO JENKINS: You ready, you ready, Nade? I don't know how you want to jump into it NADESHOT: Yeah. No, sorry, it's a weird time. We have so much going on today. We put out our first and NFTs yesterday and it's on a 24 hour auction and they end in 4 minutes.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: What's up. I'm LaJethro Jenkins. I'm here with Nadeshot. What's popping? How are you doing, man. You good?

NADESHOT: I'm doing well man. I'm doing really, really well.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: How did 100 Thieves begin and where did you come from?

NADESHOT: I competed professionally for about seven or eight years on a bunch of different teams. I was making videos on YouTube about my life, about gaming, about cars, sneakers, sports, anime, all these things that I was really interested in.

But a lot of people, when they work in the gaming community, they get siloed into just like one topic and that's the video game that they're playing. And it delegates their success and I didn't want that to be my career.

So I started 100 Thieves as an apparel company. I just wanted to have a brand that I really love and hopefully the people that follow me would really love.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: What inspired you to team up with Excedrin? You know as a gamer, I know like there's certain issues that gamers do. What inspired you to do that?

NADESHOT: I just really loved this Exedrin's approach into the gaming community. I've worked with a lot of brands in my tenure and I think that their awareness that they're trying to drive around mindful gaming is really, really important. And making sure that you're using certain routines to eliminate headaches or to avoid them at all costs.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: You all just had a merch drop.

NADESHOT: Yep. Well it's coming out, it's coming out.

LAJETHRO JENKINS OK. OK. OK. But I know y'all it includes NFTs.

NADESHOT: Yes sir.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: That is extremely interesting. How does that work and how did that come about?

NADESHOT: 100 Thieves, we're a very progressive company. We're not afraid to try new things and experiment. I mean, we work in the digital space. And within gaming and I feel like there's always a game developer or a company that works in tech and gaming that's breaking down walls and barriers and helps people think about things in a different light.

And honestly, NFTs are pretty experimental for us right now. I don't think anybody, even if they claim to be an NFT expert, really understands where this industry is moving and how it's shaking out. So I think that's what we're trying to provide.

If you're a fan of 100 Thieves or you don't know much about it, here's a staple of our brand that you can hold on forever as a digital asset.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: You talk about being a professional at one point. How big is the gap between like the recreational streamer and the professional?

NADESHOT: There's definitely a gap. You know it's like if you watch Kobe or LeBron play basketball, I mean, obviously they got a really good jumper and they are super athletic. But you don't see the time that they put in on their footwork and really understanding the offense, leading the troops.

And I think that's really what the biggest separation between professional and casual gamers is really understanding every nuance of the game. Understanding how your opponent is going to react to how you make your decisions and the way that you control the map. I mean everybody could have gun skill but really what it comes down to is decision making and you're map awareness and really understanding the ins and outs of the games.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: So I just got into gaming, as I told you, I'm trashed. All right.

NADESHOT: Oh, come on, man. Everybody says that. Everybody says that.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: My K/D is barely over one. So what will my regiment look like if I want to get better? Do I need a PC? Do I need a SCUF controller. What does my regiment look like if I want to get better at gaming.

NADESHOT: You know for me, when when you mention like SCUF controllers and equipment, you know all these professional gamers can tell you like you need the best of the best.

But man, when I was working in McDonald's and going to community college, I didn't have a dollar to my name. I was playing on a crappy TV with a controller that had a analog stick that was completely worn down. You just got to make do with what you have, you know.

LAJETHRO JENKINS Yeah.

NADESHOT: When I talk about barriers of entries I think one of the few is you having the money to spend on the best equipment that money can buy. But not everybody has that luxury.

So I would say really just finding the right teammates that can help you learn. You know there's so many tools now. Watching YouTube, watching other streamers, look at their tendencies. But there's so many resources that can help you play better.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: OK, eSports is huge. Like [INAUDIBLE] feel like SEC titles. You know, like title games. It's crazy the energy at them.

NADESHOT: Yeah.

LAJETHRO JENKINS: There seems, it seems that there's still a lot of room to grow. Like it still seems like it's growing exponentially. How much bigger can gaming get? Like what's the next step for gaming.

NADESHOT: Look at the draft classes that are coming into the NBA right now and the MLB and the NFL. I mean, these kids are getting younger and younger. And you got to understand it when they're not at practice and they're not, it's not game day, they're playing video games. It's a way, it's not only a video game where you go in and you try to win. But it also becomes like a social platform.

So when the boys that, when they're traveling, different cities, competing, they can still stay in touch with their homies back at home. And that's, I think that resonates me with the most, right, because our artists and our celebrities and our actors and actresses that are coming into their own stardom and their own fame, they all grew up with video games, right. And those individuals from those group are usually set in like pop culture in general. So now I feel like, when I brought it up earlier, mainstream really is coming to gaming.

The culture is different. Like video games are all inclusive and no matter where you're at in the world you participate, you could be with your friends, be kicking it. And I think that's the best part about it.

So I don't like to give out concrete predictions on where it can be. But I just think you need to look at where the trend is ticking. And I think it's this younger demographic, they're not watching TV anymore, it's all digital. And video games are a platform for them to be a part of that.