Becoming the first American man to win an Olympic medal in luge has opened up a world of possibilities for Chris Mazdzer.
“There are some endorsement deals coming my way,” the silver medalist told Cheddar. “This has completely changed my life. It hasn’t changed who I am, but it changes what I can do.”
Mazdzer points out that Olympic athletes can work long and hard without ever seeing much financial rewards. He, for example, had been training for 21 years, juggling practice with bartending and working weddings just to make ends meet.
He says, “Some athletes work two, three jobs, just to keep doing what they love doing.”
To raise awareness, Mazdzer donated $5,000 -- about a third of his winnings -- to athlete-mentoring organization Classroom Champions. He’s also raised over $35,000 more in matched contributions.
He’s also planning for a future after sports.
“I want to go into financial planning, but I also want to go into...life fulfillment planning,” he said. “If you can manage how you view money and if you can manage how you feel about what you’re trying to do with your life…then you have the chance to be completely at one with yourself.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/olympic-luger-chris-mazdzer-makes-history).
Cloud9 has been dubbed the most valuable esports company in the world by Forbes Magazine ー a title that is thanks, at least in part, to the organization's powerhouse VP of marketing, Eunice Chen. Chen is an esports vet who has worked for industry stalwart Riot Games and even runs her own tournament production company, Heroeshype. In an interview with Cheddar Sports, she said, "there are always different ways we can break into new markets in esports and beyond."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019.
Chris Park, CEO of esports organization, Gen. G joined us to talk about his move from MLB and the gold standard for esports.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 18, 2019.
Rapper, producer, and entrepreneur Soulja Boy told Jimmy Mondal and Cheddar Sports about his next venture: esports.
Marty McFly's self-lacing sneakers from "Back to the Future" are here at last. Kind of. Nike on Tuesday launched the Adapt BB, its first mass-market "smart" sneaker, that uses elastic mesh and a small internal motor with Bluetooth connectivity to allow the wearer to tighten and loosen the fit of the shoe via a smartphone app.
Samsora shared his thoughts on his recent tournament placing, his new team, and his main character for life, Peach.
Bungie, the famed developer of Halo and Destiny, has parted ways with parent company Activision-Blizzard. The industry-shaking fracture follows several leadership changes at Activision over the last several months, causing investors and gamers alike to wonder how the split will affect the gaming industry.
After a tumultuous season and a disappointing 5-9 record, the New York Knicks Gaming team was at the bottom the 2K league barrel. But the squad was able to pull off not one, but two miracle runs to qualify for the NBA 2K League playoffs. Now the question becomes: can the team trounce their competitors a second time? According to Jeff Eisenband, host and analyst at the NBA 2K League, it's unlikely.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Jan. 14, 2019.
