Andrew ‘Zyori’ Campbell 👗🌸🎀

I have been a gamer since I was old enough to turn on a computer. My first love was without a doubt Diablo II. It was fundamentally the game that got me into games and kept my group of online friends together. It was our first online community where we could rally around our mutual interests.

I first discovered esports years later in my early twenties, while studying entrepreneurship and computer science in university. My friends and I were playing a lot of StarCraft II in our free time and eventually entered into an online tournament for amateurs, which inspired me to start my first esports project as a micro-tournament organizer. 

After a few years I became a commentator for Heroes of Newerth and quickly shifted to Dota 2 once it was released. Shortly after The International 2013, I launched a project called Dota Radio that gained notoriety for a commentary style catered to audio-only listeners. Dota Radio caught the attention of the community, primarily after MLG Columbus 2013 during an explosive interview with then Speed Gaming team manager Marco Fernandez. Not long after MLG Columbus, I started doing commentary work for Beyond the Summit and took on a full time position later that year.

At Beyond the Summit, I was one of four key decision-makers in designing the first three editions of the innovative Summit tournament series throughout 2014. After a year and half, I left the company and started my own esports studio called MoonduckTV that focused designing on alternative game modes in Dota 2. I took on the role of Managing Director shortly after the company was formed and organized 15 tournaments worth $750,000 in prize money over four years.

In 2019, I published a book on Amazon detailing my journey starting a career in esports and getting hired at Beyond the Summit, called Surviving Esports: The Zyori Story. The story is focused on self-reflection, perseverance, and firsthand storytelling as an amateur event organizer. The book also includes a detailed account of my notorious sniff sniff incident and the extreme cyberbullying that followed.

In late 2020, I came out as a crossdresser and wrote about the experience in a piece called Wearing A Dress and Saying Yes to a Copacetic Life. Since then my community has grown on Discord and become an open space for people to meet and engage with one another.

In 2021, I stepped down as Managing Director of Moonduck to take a full-time position at Sky Mavis, the creators of the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, as their Program Lead for Esports and Content Creators. My efforts laid the groundwork for the competitive Axie ecosystem to take root, culminating in the largest web3 esports event in history at AxieCon 2022.

I also collect NFTs and enjoy exploring innovation in the web3 space. In 2021 I become the first person to mint their own hair on the blockchain by launching a collection of 36 dreadlocks that are unique, individual renders of actual dreadlocks that I still have in real life. They serve as access token for Zyori super fans to engage and collaborate with me directly!

In 2022, I published the first issue of a metaverse inspired comic book called The Adorable Zyori that features characters based on NFTs from my collection. Each issue is available digitally for free on webtoons and has 50 collectible covers available on Opensea.

In 2023, I left my role at Axie Infinity to join Laguna Games, the creators of Crypto Unicorns, as a member of their product team. 

Gaming Events Attended

MLG D.C. 2010
MLG Dallas 2011
MLG Columbus 2011
DreamHack Summer 2011
MLG Anaheim 2011
MLG Orlando 2011
PAX East 2012
MLG Raleigh 2012
DreamHack Winter 2012
PAX East 2013
Otakon 2013
PAX East 2014
Dota Asia Championships 2015
The International 2014
PAX East 2016
ESL Frankfurt 2016
The Summit 5
The International 2016
The International 2017
The International 2018
ExileCon 2019
Eve FanFest 2022

Blockchain Speaking Events

How to Make Blockchain Games That Don’t Suck. CoinDesk Consensus. Austin, Texas. 28 April 2023.

Utility of NFTs in Gaming: How to Substantiate In-Game Assets and Real-World Value. NFTNYC. New York City, New York. 22 June 2022.

NFTs Are More Than Just JPEGS. DeFiCon. Brooklyn, New York. 18 December 2021.

To NFTs and Beyond: Coordinating Community at Scale. DeFiCon. Brooklyn, New York. 17 December 2021.

The Future of Play to Earn. LisCon. Lisbon, Portugal. 21 October 2021.

Podcasts Hosted

The New Block (26 episodes, 2021-running)
Zyori Plus One (15 episodes, 2020-running)
Axie Tuesday (14 episodes, 2022-2022)
The Trent & Zyori Podcast (178 episodes, 2013-2022)
What the DUCK!? (52 episodes, 2015-2021)
Shared Tangos with Trent & Zyori (20 episodes, 2020)
In the Studio by 100tb (17 episodes, 2014)
Dota Radio Morning Show (24 episodes, 2013)
The Cosplay Room (12 episodes, 2013)
The Zyori Breakdown (23 episodes, 2012)
The Gosu Complex (9 episodes, 2011)