The esports industry is booming with endless career options. Rbro has found a career path as a Fortnite manager. We spoke to him about what it takes to succeed.
In the professional sports realm, players need to have representation. The stress of handling their performances, brand deals, interviews, and more can be incredibly overwhelming. This is where a manager helps take the load off, and esports is no different. After sitting down with Pro Fortnite manager, 'Rbro', I was able to get a deep insight into what the esports management industry looks like, and how one can find their way into it.
Rbro has managed over fifteen Fortnite pros in his career and was previously the head of talent management for Team New Age. TNA is a popular Fortnite gaming organization partnered with PSG Esports.
Rbro has also managed various Fortnite pros individually, having multiple of them placed in the Fortnite Champion Series.
As the gaming industry grows astronomically every day, people are left asking how they can get their foot into the industry. After sitting down with Rbro, I was able to get his insight on how someone can find their way into the esports manager world.
To be a Fortnite manager, networking is king
Like the majority of competitive industries, people do not always get hired just for having a college degree. There are a lot of other factors that can be seen among people working in the industry.
Q: What is the importance of networking within the esports management industry?
A: The entire industry centers around who you know. Getting to know a potential client beforehand and creating a relationship with them is powerful. A lot of these players need to see that you can provide some sort of value to them. This will give you a much better chance of being hired. Finding others also striving for a similar goal can help a lot too. Creating relationships with people in this space is just as important as gaining clients.
Q: How did you go about making connections within the esports management industry?
A: I made as many connections as possible. I started getting myself out there through social media. This led to me being able to work with Epic Games employees on multiple different events, allowing me to meet quite a few popular pro players.
Q: What were some of the larger connections you made along the way?
A: I have met a lot of incredible people. One of them was the popular Fortnite Caster and Analyst, MonsterDface. Monster is the head of East Open. I linked up with him and wrote the script for a few of his YouTube videos, which focused primarily on competitive Fortnite tips.
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To be a Fortnite manager, make sure to find some type of esports management experience beforehand
You cannot just jump into the scene and expect to get hired by client after client. Experience within the esports industry plays a large hand when dealing with finding jobs. No professional player is going to hire you with zero experience on your resume.
Q: How did you get yourself experience within the industry before actually working?
A: I utilized a lot of discord servers. Discord has become the new wave for gamers to communicate and play tournaments together. Multiple servers on the platform have set their focus on competitive events in whatever game they revolved around.
Q: What servers were you helping out with?
A: I started off just as a chat moderator in various Fortnite scrim discords, such as East Open. I made a lot of connections there, helping me run into some of the pro players. I was just a casual gamer at the time who wanted to get into the scene.
Q: Were you getting paid for helping out on these servers?
A: No. The majority of your work that goes into these servers will go unpaid. The connections I made held incredible value and helped get me to where I am today.
Q: What process do you suggest for people trying to manage players across multiple different games?
A: There are players out there for every game. Whether it is Fortnite or Valorant, you will find people. The smart way of going about it is focusing first on the game you have the most knowledge of. Later on when you have gained some sort of clout, then you can move to multiple games. It is for someone to start out trying to manage multiple players across multiple games. Let moving to different games come later.
Focus more on the journey and less on the money
Q: How do Fortnite managers within the competitive scene make money?
A: It can take some time before getting paid. If you are starting out with small creators, then you better expect to not make any money. As they grow though, so will their income.
Q: Do you take any money from a player's competitive earnings?
A: No. That is not a proper income. As a pro-player, your earnings are always fluctuating. They could go months without making anything from competitive. I make sure to not even tough these earnings, allowing it to be all for them. Instead, I take a percentage cut from organizations and brand deals.
Q: What inspired you to start working with competitive esports players?
A: I noticed when starting out, that a lot of these young players were being taken advantage of. The starting age for competitive Fortnite players is 13 years old. A lot of these kids needed guidance when signing to organizations. That is where I felt like I could help.
Q: Anything extra to add to help inspire people trying to get into this side of the business?
A: Find your audience and stick with them. Remember, Jeff Bezos ran amazon as just an online library at first. Now, look where that company is at. Give yourself patience.
Do not be discouraged, it's a young industry
The best part about this industry is the fact that it is still incredibly new. We have barely scraped the surface of the potential of the gaming and esports world. The possibilities are limitless as of now.
Keep yourself motivated, and let your focus be a strong part of your steps forward. This industry needs new people every day, and who knows, you may be the Fortnite manager of the next 'Fortnite: World Cup' winner.
