Dan O’Hare Head of Esports and Talent

Posted by Admin November 29, 2021 in Uncategorized

In 2019, Dan ‘Skiin’ O’Hare joined Vexed Gaming as a professional player, and has since transitioned into a management position within the organisation, We caught up with him to discuss his career and what advice he would give someone looking to make a career within the esports space.

 

You joined Vexed back in 2019 as a professional in Apex Legends, how did you go from pro to working behind the scenes?

After being heavily interested in Esports for the majority of my life, getting to represent an Organisation and play professionally was a dream and I knew I wanted to continue in the field. After speaking to and getting to know the management at Vexed, I saw passionate people doing great things and quite simply I wanted to be involved and saw some fields where I could help.

I was always very upfront with my interest to help out, I always took on opportunities outside the game when they arose, for example talking about careers in Esports at Interactive Futures (a career fair in the tech industry). Shortly after I decided to retire from Apex Legends, I was contacted to see if I was interested in coming to work for the Organisation, which I jumped at.

What do you enjoy about working for Vexed Gaming?

Honestly, there are some amazing people behind the scenes at Vexed and they are an absolute pleasure to work with. Everyone has a similar passion and it just works, everyone contributes and offers their strengths to everyone else and it’s amazing to see and be a part of.

I also thoroughly enjoy helping players make their aspirations a reality, I remember how enthused and excited I was to join my first organisation and I love bringing players through the door and getting to know them and helping them where possible.

What kind of things have you learnt from your transition from player to management?

There is a substantial amount of depth to this industry and you never stop learning, there is only so much you see on the outside and from a player’s perspective, only when you get stuck in do you realise how deep and wide the workings can go.

Esports is great and it gives you an opportunity to use all the experience you have gained from all parts of your life, whether that be university/education, work experience and social events.

Any tips for aspiring professionals, that you have been on both sides?

• Be vocal and upfront, let the right people know you want to be involved – if they see promise in you for a role they have, they will consider you.
• Put yourself forward for things out of your comfort zone and learn, talk to people, listen to what they say.
• Take experience where you can get it, Esports is incredibly competitive and growing rapidly every bit of experience helps.
• Don’t neglect your education/work experience, I’ve found uses for almost my entire skill set since my transition into Esports and I probably wouldn’t be in this role without the experience and skills I have learned through various jobs and my education.