How to Become a AAA Software Engineer and Life as a Gaymer ft. Dwanye Sands

like I said in the intro, we have a very special guest joining me today. He's a gamer. He's the founder of the Tech Journey and he's a software engineer at Ride Games. He's the one, the only, Dwayne Sands. Dwayne, how you doing? Good. How are you? I'm good. I'm glad to have you on the show. Like I've been excited to to get you on the show. I'm like, you're a really cool guy. You have a really cool perspective of video games. Your fighting knowledge is like really on point as well, and you're like a really diverse gamer just like myself. So I really am excited to have you on the show.

That's what's up man. I'm excited to be here. Thank you for the opportunity. It's good to

be here. Yeah. Dwayne, for the people who might not know, know you, can you introduce yourself

to the. Yeah, so I'm Dwayne Sands. I am a technologist, an activist, and an international baby. Yeah, I'm excited to be here. Yeah, I come with those international perspectives. It's always a nice talking to people who are interested in talking about this kind of stuff, so looking forward to it.

So when you say an international baby, can you elaborate for some people in the audience? Mom and dad

fell in love Galaxy far away, and they joined the military and left Long Island, New York and moved to Germany. And so I was born and raised in Germany until about preteens. Okay. And that's when I relocated to states and been back here since.

Okay. Okay. How many languages

do you speak fluently? I guess I speak about two. Okay. I speak German and English, and then I dabble other, other places, but I, I try to hold onto my German language. Takes a little bit of a practice, it, it pays off. Do you

get a lot of opportunity to actually practice? I

don't really get a lot of opportunity to practice, but when I do, I like really do, so usually it'll be that, like there's like some folks traveling from out of town and if they speak German and I catch on and usually we end up having some pretty, pretty lengthy combos. And I recently, I actually had some old family friends that visited us from Germany. Okay. Pretty good English was there to make sure there were. losses and translation.

Okay, that's what's up. So Dwayne, for every first time guest, we have a putting you on the spot question. It's where I ask you as a gamer, your top five video games of all time. So Dwayne, what is your top five video games of all time? Top

five. Okay. Tech in is, okay. One of those games. I'm gonna say titles like series. Okay. Series. Can't pick a specific one. the Tech in Tech in Series is really strong for me. Street Fighter is also very strong for me. I love watching Street Fighter and playing, and it just looks so cool. Let's see. Anusha Anusha was a game that I really loved growing up.

Really loved that game. Okay. Deep cool.

Demonn demons and the Samurai and like the dark like landscape and then God of War played the last one and really loved that game. It's just so deep. And God of war 2018. Yeah, that was one with the sun, right? Grace? Yes. Yeah, that was intense. That was so cool to watch. And it was also like one of those games that like pulls in your heartstrings. So like I love that emotional aspect. It's so cool. Man. I'm trying to think what the last one would be though. Cause that's only four and I guess the only thing that comes to mind then is like, super Mario Brothers. Okay. I love Super Mario Brothers growing up, like all of them. But I think am, Marios 64 was probably the one that really stuck with me. But yeah, I, those games, I love all of those games. If I see them any at any time, then I'll, I'll stop and play. I can't. I

gotcha. So what was your first like console growing up? First

console, growing. I had Nintendo. Okay. All the way. Yeah, all the way had the Nintendo and then from there the Nintendo, super Nintendo, like I, I did it all with Game Boys. Virtual boys had everything.

Okay. That's what's up. That's what's up. So Dwayne, you have a very interesting story and you are in the video game industry as a software engineer, riot games. How'd you get started there? How'd you get started in the video game

industry? How did I get started? It's funny, you look back and you're like, oh, I guess this was all planned, but it certainly didn't feel like it at the time. I had a ton of interest in, in, in fighting games and competition and stuff from very early on, like high school. And I was on the forums and stuff, like meeting people and traveling, and I found out that there were like things like community managers and stuff for video games, and that was the only link that I had to like, what would it be? Like what kind of jobs are there in gaming? But I put that aside and felt like it was too high of a bar to reach. And I just went along with, I graduated with the degree in computer science and I worked in the tech industry, and I started talking about my love for. And really expressed the outward, like in social media, things like LinkedIn and the recruiters from Li Wright games actually reached out to me. Were like, Hey, what's up? And I think this is the place for you. It sounds like it. And it ended up being that. So yeah, it was just, just all just worked

out. So how did it feel to get that, like that the, when they first reached out to you and you were like, okay, I might actually have a job in video games. How did that feel?

Man, it was a range of emotions. Like one was, Super excited, right? I was like, wow, this is it. This is the end all, be all. I get to work for a video game company. I always dreamed of doing that from a young age. It actually might happen. So I was super stoked about that. Uh, it was also scary, right? Because it was a huge company representing like cutting edge of like technological, like bar as professional. I was scared. Does my experience stack up or will I really be like, understood, will it work out? And then I was also a little. Skeptical too because there's a lot of articles that came out about right games like in the years preceding them reaching out and I was at games. Maybe you need to go sit in the corner and like figure yourself out. from a whole like diversity perspective, how you treat folks and how folks like her just regarded and all of that kind of worked itself out. Through conversations with folks there, that really showed me what kind of people actually are there. And I, I came to understand that they're an interesting group of people. They have great perspectives. They're excellent communicators and they, they're pretty like emotionally in touch and more or less operated at a really high level. So I took a chance and so far it's been

really good. That's good. That's good. How long have you been there so far?

It'll be three years in

March. That's really good so far. Really good experience too. So that's really good to hear. So what words of inspiration would you have to other people who want to get in the gaming industry or want to be like a software?

I'll tell you, they're so treated us two separately, right? Like software engineer and gaming industry. I'll tackle the gaming industry first, cuz that's like a broader thing. So the real thing is like when you work at a video game company, there are so many different ways that, that, that work can be done, right? Whether you. working as an accountant, or you are in legal, or maybe you are a person who does recruiting or you are focused on like marketing, like advertising. You might be involved in like music production. Maybe you are like a contracted, uh, photographer. Like there, there are a ton of ways that you can work within the gaming industry that are not just like solely tied to do you know how to write coach or make a menu load and make a character move on the screen. It's, there's so much, there's so much. What it takes like to run a whole video game company. And then from the software engineering perspective, it's like as long and as much as you get excited. About like challenges about learning because software engineers like are like a function or like an occupation that continually has to learn, right? The landscape is always changing under your feet and so you have to be nimble and as long as you are excited about that, that kind of world, then software engineering can be fantastic for you. It also pays off really well, pays really well. There are a lot of doors that open for you, like you can really like pivot and go a ton of different directions. Yeah, that's pretty much all I gotta say about.

Man, there's some good advice for the people who want to be a software engineer. I got a question for you, Dwayne. What kind of games are you playing right now? What kind

of games am I playing right now? So, I mentioned God of War and Anusha, so I'm playing God of War. Like sometimes I, I beat it, but I was trying to go back through. I was, I also play a ton of tech and tech and seven i, I play on pc, uh, in PlayStation five. The, I feel like the other game is Ghost of Sushi, Sushma. So love it. Absolutely. Yo. Ghost is so crazy. So

good. Have you played Eki Island yet? The expansion?

Yes. Yes. I, I'm playing that right now. And it's so hype, right? You're like, what is going on? It feels mysterious and you like the stories, man, the stories are so deep, right? You got eight different stories running, like simultaneously. You dip in and it's nice

and ha Let me ask you about ghosts. Have you actually like laid the black and white version yet? Have you turned off like the color grade yet?

Nah, I don't think. Don't think you were, I'm

not there yet. I'm not there yet. So in the settings, they have an option to where you can do it as a classic, like the old, cool old school, like Japanese Samurai movies, you can turn that off and like Cho film. Yeah. And play it like that. And I was, I've only tried that for ab 10 minutes, but I'm so used to like color and everything like that, that the black and white and like the shading kind of throws me off. So I had to go back to color. But it looks absolutely. That's like a game that I was, I knew how good it was because like I read reviews, I saw like people raving about it before I got involved into it. But it is fantastic the way like the wind guides you into like your next like objective. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, phenomenal. Like I love the story too. I'm like, that's a game. I can't wait to get a sequel for.

It's just the art direction, dude. The art direction is crazy. Like the immersiveness? Yeah. Like you were talking about the wind and stuff like that. Mm-hmm. horses. Oh, good. Like when you take damage and like what that looks like, the fight sequences, stuff's on fire. Things are exploding. Like they've really thought about everything.

Every single thing. Oh, and one of like the standoffs, like when you go to the enemy and it gives you that option to do those like standoffs to where you're doing the old school. Like who go, who's actually gonna draw and strike their swords like first. Yeah. And oh my goodness, so good. Like the drama and the tension there. Cuz if you strike too early, like they'll completely have the advantage. But if you strike too late, they'll also have the advantage. So you have to pick that perfect time. Pull your sword out, man. It's good. That's an

amazing game. Also, I like fighting and stuff. I got my criticism there. I'm like, why do I always have to wait for them to strike? I'm like, if this is a standoff, maybe they're just gonna stand there too. Oh, we gotta, I gotta have some foot seats over here, Simian in and out. I feel like they could bring that in the next game.

Yeah. Make it a little bit more like fast paced as well, or like the first one to strike basically gets the advantage, so to speak. Exactly. Yeah. So you said you had a PS five, you also have a pc, like what's your PS five story? Did you, were you able to get into that launch? Did you wait off a little bit? Did was it hard for you?

I didn't get it quite at launch. It was hard to find. I feel like I got some advice from people cuz I was just like trying to go to target.com or Amazon or whatever. And I ended up learning about all these different Twitter accounts that you can follow that were explaining, like giving you heads up when like new inventory was dropping and so you like get the alert at 3:00 AM and you just have to magically be awake, keep click the link and hope that there's something there. And so that's how I got mine. But yeah, I wish they had more, more. I feel like that's a sad story, dude. Man,

it is. But I was roughly the same way. I got mine. I think I got mine like two weeks after launch is when I was able to get mine. So, that day when they announced the price and then when they announced like pre-orders already, I like scrambled. I ran to my computer from upstairs. I was like, I was chopping my wife legitimately thought the house was on fire because the way I was like, I gotta make it, man. I gotta make it. I'll explain. Yeah, exactly, exactly. I was like, get the credit cards ready, get the credit card ready, man. My dog was just like, oh, it's about to go down. We're about to go for a walk. And I was like, nah, son. Get off the way. Get off the way. Hit him with that Heisman real quick. I'm like, man, there is no time for games. This is serious business. I was able to get my like two weeks after launch. Oh that like Russian. Yeah, pay it off. But

I had a big love for PlayStation since early on, and I remember when PlayStation two launched and I was in high school at the time, dating myself here, PlayStation two launched and I totally skipped school that day and waited outside of Comp U S A. and I got my PlayStation too. I was like the last person in line to get there. It's like we had to cut off and then I took it home and the discreet didn't work. No, you were kidding me. I just, I had to send it in. I didn't get it back till Christmas and all my friends already had theirs. They were like, wow. Oh, you finally got yours. I was like, shut up,

y'all. Oh my goodness. I've been ready to fight I've been ready to fight. Yeah, I was. Man, that sucks. So let me ask you, you grew up being a huge Nintendo gamer. Like what made you switch over to the PlayStation side and not have a switch? Right now? I blamed

my, my good friends from high school chow and FU two brothers and they lived in like neighborhood right next to mine. We went all, went to school together and they were cool and we just started talking and they were like, yeah, come over and play games. and it was always PlayStation big catalog. They would always let me take games home and playing there all night. And so I just started to love PlayStation and also Teching. Teching was an exclusive on PlayStation for quite a while.

so that, so you, you had to go where Teching went, huh? Exactly.

I had that. That was just my world. I was like, I live in PlayStation Landing. That's where

I'll stay. I gotcha. I gotcha. I'm surprised though Smash didn't bring you like back to the Nintendo side.

Man, I'll tell you this. I love the SMASH community. Like how? Like excited they are about the game and they are like diehards. But me understanding how to play smash. Like I think I am terrible. Like I know how to block and I can do a little dashing back and forth, but don't ask me to attack. I don't really understand what I'm doing.

I feel you. I feel you. so recently the Smash Clone came out, multiverses, have you checked that one out on PS five?

Yeah. I, I've seen it and I've played a little bit. I look Bugs Bunny Yeah. Yeah. Bugs

Bunny is my man. Okay. Okay. Shout out to Bugs. I've played probably like 10 hours or so. I mostly play Wonder Woman and. I put in some work with LeBron James. I was really surprised with the, like how fluid he felt. So gotta been playing that a little bit, but it's not quite smashed to me. it's almost there, but it's not quite, it's almost like when you go to the store and you're buying, ingredients for the meal you're making and like the high brand thing and the great value like right there, not the dis great value, the difference, you can tell there's a difference there.

Yeah, it's uh, it's not tricks. It's, I don't know. It's treats, Yeah, exactly.

Exactly. still a solid game, but it's not quite to that level yet, but, so you just told us what kind of games you're playing. I got a question for you. One of your big monikers online is that you're a gamer, which is a dope name by the way. I really like that. Can you tell us how that originated and why you identify as such?

Yeah, so I think what you mean when you say gamer, you're talking about the G A Y nr. Yeah, exactly. Gamer. Gamer. Yeah,

exactly. You gotta excuse my Texas draw there, man. I'm a south boy. So that wide split into that gamer. It's all

good, man. I got friends all over the country, all the slang. I get it. So the thing is, I felt like it was a later realization, right? There's these terms like blurs and gamers, and so I'm black, I'm also queer and identify as gay. And so one of the things is, With the gaming community for so long, I felt like there were parts of myself that I either needed to like hide completely or drum up almost as like almost, oh, and there's the gay guy, right? And it's like this whole thing. And so I, I learned to basically, one, to love myself. Mm-hmm. two. Understand that is like part of my identity. It's a part of my identity that I really want to express outwardly in a way that feels authentic. Right? And it's, I love games. I also happen to be queer and I, I guess it's an attempt one to find community. Cuz if you don't name something right, it can be difficult to like find it out in the world as well. It won't reflect back to you unless you're willing to really express it of yourself. So that's really where that comes from. There's a whole community like wrapped up in that. all kinds of opportunities to like hang with people that like really understand me on a deep level and also share games like together. And so I've tried a couple times to build some community really along the lines of being a black gamer, G A Y M E R. Yeah. And that I've had some success. Mm-hmm. I've had some success, but I really do it in an attempt really just to make that more intentional.

Community is something we need in life. That's really cool that you're doing that.

Yeah, for sure. I felt they said if you wanna be part of a community, right, you need to. Really be active. And so that's my way to be active is really just to increase visibility.

Yeah, that's what's up. So can you tell the audience, like in your view, like why diversity matters in games? Because I'm the same way. I feel like diversity is something that like is really important to me in video games. Can you tell the audience why it's important to you as well?

Man, we could talk about this for days, for sure. Yeah. I'm gonna try to, I'm gonna try to condense this down. Diversity is a really big topic for me. Really. I'm really interested in the human condition, like leaving the world better than you found it. And I, I, there's a lot of, like, a lot of reasons for me to see in the world if there's room for growth for us as a people socially, and that's all human beings. Video games is something. I feel like everyone, really, not everyone, but a lot of people enjoy and video games is kind of immersive. Like it's a world that you can live in and really find a lot of commonality with in certain ways. But sometimes you look at stuff in video games and you're like, okay, that doesn't really drive right. Like we were just having a conversation early about like hair and video games. Diversity really matters because every time you play like those like Nintendo games or whatever, or like you're trying to do like your. Your avatar or create a character and you try to create a black character. I say try, because you're looking for like authenticity in the character you create in that hair. That hair man, is it rough? Often? It's rough. It is rough. Like there's no lines like you were talking about, like it's this boxy, like it doesn't really even make sense as an actuality, right? Like what does black hair actually look like? It's the mm-hmm. like you said, those corn roasts and it's it. Spend a little time, y'all like you, you need black people in the room. In order to really have that, that, that recognition that you can do better, that you can do more authentic, right? That, that authenticity in like other character designs for other like character designs, it's easier to do because there's representation in the room. And so I, I think it's super important to have that diversity because then people really get to see themselves and they get a more, a more. a more feel good interaction and it makes, it deepens the connection right, with the game. And this makes it a better experience overall. So I feel like that's why diversity is important for one. Yeah, for sure, for sure.

Do you think video games are starting to get more diverse? Do you feel like we're moving forward a little bit or do you feel like we're still basically like just taking small steps forward or even not moving forward at all? There? There

are signs that the, that things are improving. I know that there was like this whole, there's a whole move movement to like basically change up the whole like black hairstyles and video games, right. They've created like a whole library around like black hair and how, basically how to represent it in ways that are authentic and just look a lot better. And so it's what the open source Afro Hair Library. Okay. Uh, so yeah, so like you can look them up on Twitter. This is like literally Afro hair library and it looks like what? Okay. They even have fellowships and stuff like that going on. I appreciate that kind of stuff because it means that as you go on like it, it is going to get better. It is getting better, but I see there's a lot of room for growth. But if you look at things like the Street Fighter six trailer, right, like the character designs, like for all of their like immersive experiences, like in their like open world format. Those designs are nice, right? Like they, the way that they represent, like people of color feels more authentic. And we will get into like how off the mark they, they in general, like video game companies have been in the past. This is growth.

Yeah, it really is. It really is. Like games, like Death Loop, miles Morales four spoken is coming out and we're starting to see a little bit of, a little bit of representation there and hopefully it's, I feel like especially with Death Loop and Miles Morales is at least positive representation. And maybe that's a sign that we're moving forward a little bit. I would like to see more, more. Black developers in games as well. So maybe we can get more people in the room that that can tell, hey, our noses aren't quite shaped like this. Or maybe, hey, our like hairline needs to be a little bit more like this. Or hey, that's not a realistic like dialogue that like we actually use. So I would love to see more like diversity in game development as well.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think I also say that it's improving because I work at RY games. One of the things that, you know, as you work at a video game company, when they're doing designs and stuff, like they, they talk to people at the company and they're like, Hey, is this, is this right? Does, what do you think? Do you have an opinion on this? If you don't, cool. But if you see something, say something and so you just be like that. That doesn't look right. Maybe you should change that or just be like, yeah, you guys did that. That looks good. So I see that there is definitely like improvement for one is I'm in the room. So the more people that look like me in the room, the less chances they'll get it wrong for something that is supposed to represent my.

Yeah, for sure. Because you, if you remember growing up, like it was the only like major black characters I think was like what Eddie and tick. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, I can't remember very many. More like maybe Final Fantasy Seven and Eddie from Tech and were like the only two I can remember.

Yeah, Barrett. Yeah. You have Barrett in, in this big hulking dude, right? Like sometimes the designs are like a little stereotypical, not little, a lot. Um, but, but they, they're trying to do better, and I think they, they are overall, like with designs, like you've seen some pretty good representations. If you look at, uh, like characters like Senna and, and, and the legal Legends franchise, like those characters look like actual, like people of color and. That's just keep doing that, do more of that companies. Right. That's

exciting, man. It is. That was a really good example because that is a really good representation there and it looks on point and it's one of those things you can actually point at and be like, oh, I'm proud of that. Step forward. Because that is a really good representation there. Yep. You got, you got

Lucian, shoot, what's his name? The time skipping. Dude, I should know this Oh, man. But he came into League Legends and I, I did not have a whole lot of experience with, with the actors. Uhhuh. Yeah. And, well, it's cool about starting at, at Riot is that do this whole like, like deep immersion rate where they talk about. The, the lore of their games mm-hmm. And stuff. Mm-hmm. And so it was really cool is that they introduced me to all these characters. Echo echos. There you go. But like they, they give you all this, all this backstory and so it invests you mm-hmm. you, you get super invested. But yeah, I've enjoyed like, connecting with that. So like that was my inroads right. Is seeing that representation that I like can connect to. And so I feel like those are like the drum beats that really make things like, I don't know, they make it more welcoming and.

Yeah, for sure, for sure. So I got a last one last question for you. Like how do you feel like representation for like the gang community is going, because that's a lot different than the African American community. How do you feel like representation for that community is going as well? So like

you say, gay, I usually say queer. I try to, I'm sorry, my, my Give it more. It's fine. It's, it's more of an umbrella term. Like when I say queer, I'm talking about the L gt QIA Plus. And so like you're getting like backs stories on characters and fighting games like that are trans, right? That level of detail. And it's like not just how like video games or I should. in general, like storytellers will like hint that stuff without confirming it. And so it's like up to interpretation kind of thing, right? Like characters in, in, in tech. Like Leo's a character that is, is trans and the character is like, has, there's no confirmation about that for a lot of scenarios. So I feel like they're being more specific and more direct with like showing like relationships in games. Mm-hmm. like I, I played a game. I played a game, I forget what it was called, but it was like, Boyfriend game boyfriend Dungeon game.

Yes. And was that it? Yes. Oh man. Yeah, I played that recently as well.

Boyfriend Dungeon is amazing. Boyfriend Dungeon is amazing because I just love the fact that I can literally go into a game and actually like go through the motions of dating different people and like also having just regular like gaming moments, right? And then just having that like. the relationship storyline is there alongside it. Like it's more, it's more authentic. And then I feel like the more you see that in games, the more open they are with it, the better. Of course, if you look at most chats, like chats, toxic, you just don't even

know. Oh, for sure. Chat for sure. You already know that's a toxic community.

Yeah, but I feel like the whole idea of like, like the storylines lately just being. More, I guess, open about folks' sexuality and acknowledging that like the default isn't necessarily just like straight and like, uh, cis like that. That really is nice to see that games are willing to go in that direction and they're seeing like positive results. Mm-hmm. they're seeing positive results because people relate, because they're like, oh, that's me. That's literally me.

Yeah, I can completely understand that. when you were talking, I was struggling to think of another example besides I think maybe, I think life is strange is like that as well. Have you played those games?

I

haven't, so I haven't. But that, I think that in lies the problem is we, like me and you have been lifelong gamers and yet we're struggling to think of like solid representation for the, a whole like community of.

Yeah, there's definitely a lot of room for growth. You know what, as I say that, I'm finding this post that says eight queer video games worth playing, and it's from 2022. It's a wired article, so shout

out to the wire. Yeah, can you list those out real

quick? So there's a game called Trailblazing Clicks, possibly the first L G B T Q plus video game released. And then there's tempting Treats, which is, looks like it's made by a bug. Oh, okay. That game looks

really cute. Mm-hmm. It is. It's looking really good. I'm not surprised. Blood thankss looked like a, it was visually a really cute game.

Ha ha. This game is cute. This is so cool. At least a casual game. I like casual games like that where you don't have to like get super stressed out while you're playing. There is econ fell. Okay. This is like engaging in magical encounters at school as you wave, weave your way around campus. That's dope. There is Raptor boyfriend. Oh, cool. So you get flirty with male and female. Rap Voice dating a dating sim. Yeah, so Boyfriend Dungeon is also a dating Sim Sim, so it's kind of similar style. There's Heaven will be Mine. Tell me why.

And I've played, tell me why. That's on Game Pass. Yo, what is, tell me why about, it's been a while since I played, but yeah, it's about a brother and sister. and they're trying to unveil the unveil a mystery of what happened to their family and what happened to their past. So that one is a pretty solid game. you have Game Pass, I know you don't have Xbox, but if you have Game Pass on pc, that one's definitely worth checking out. Yeah.

Yeah, dude, I appreciate you asking me that question cuz you just led me down a path and I, I'm about to go try these

games cause Yeah, cool. Tell me why. It's one that I'd recommend, I've played Boyfriend Dungeon also on Game Pass by the way, but I don't, it might be on PlayStation Plus that new PlayStation Plus extra as well. Their version of Game Pass.

Okay. Yeah. I'm gonna have to check it out. I like the idea of game Pass cuz it, it feels like it's a little easier then to just kind of jump around and try different things. Cause you don't have to like, plunk down a bunch of cash. Right. Like you can just, you can dip in and dip out. Yeah,

for sure. And if as a PlayStation gamer, PlayStation has its own version of Game Pass now called PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. So they also come with like catalogs of games like that. So if you do wanna try out new games or like games that wear like, you're like, I don't quite want to invest the money into buying this permanently, but I do want to check it out. That's a subscription plan that I'd recommend as well. That's

what's up. I appreciate it. You just, you put me on I That's, that's so cool.

No man, it's all good. It's all good. So, man, before we go though, where can the good

people find you? So there's a couple different ways. LinkedIn is a great way to find me. I'm very active in that community. It's probably one of the most active I am with social media. My LinkedIn is just Dwayne Dash Sands. So like you can literally just type that in. The DW A Y N E dash s a n d s, excuse my list. There's also. And my Twitter is gamer underscore coder. That's G A Y M E r, underscore coder. And those are two probably the best ways to get in contact with me. I'm less active on Twitter, but I'm trying to be more active there. But like all the, anything that's going on with me, try to drop it there. And then I also have a web presence on the tech journey.co. And the tech journey.co is, is, is an attempt at me to create like an on-ramp, uh, to tech careers. It basically spotlights several different career. within technology for, and it's supposed to be like basically geared towards persons of color who are trying to enter that space. Um, that's really dope. Yeah. The web, the website is not super active, but it is like a blog style format. I drop content whenever I can. Uh, if I see like something that is like a person of color representation within the IT field and past like day in the life field. Look to include that there. And so then it gives people like a window into what it could be like if they entered the workforce, like within tech. I think it's super important for people to be able to find that. And on that there's also like a, like an information, like like a box kind of style thing. So if you wanna drop your email stuff to follow along with it, as the site evolves, you can do that there as well. Okay,

ladies and gentlemen, the Tech Journey link and his link to us, the socials will be in the bio of this episode, so definitely click on those. Definitely check those out. Dwayne, man, it's been a pleasure talking to you, man. I've really enjoyed this conversation.

Likewise, Sebastian. Thank you for inviting me on. This has been fantastic.

No man. Thank you for coming. I'd love to have you back again. Anytime you're in the mood to talk about some dope video games, just hit me up. You are always welcome. You're fam now, so anytime you're on, you are more than welcome on the Pro Report, Michelle. Appreciate it. Hey man, it's great talking to you and I'll catch you in the next one. All right, all

peace.