One person… that’s all we had in the Discord just over a year ago. Today, FightRise is over 500 members strong and has achieved some wild milestones for a brand new Street Fighter 6 community.
From building fighters up from Rookie ranks to Masters, colliding two nations against each other in an Urge to Fight brawl, hosting over twenty One Fight Stand community events that boosted skill and morale, to having some of the greatest legends in the FGC grace our Auditorium… we’ve been fortunate to serve our FightRise community.
And, that is barely a drop in the bucket of all the milestones and community events we have put on in the less than a year that Street Fighter 6 has been released. That’s why this next milestone is so special.
Not only did this milestone start as a mere fleeting conversation, but it all happened faster than we could have imagined. And much of that is thanks to our amazing FightRise community. All of you FightRisers make every day, being a part of this community, so phenomenal. And, I am so glad we get to share this next one with you…
This week, FightRise is proud to officially announce, we have signed and are sponsoring our first competitive fighter who is set to compete at CEO 2024. He is a man with a simple dream, as he has visions of being one of the finalists to walk out for Top 8 at CEO.
And, if you have seen his Marisa (or have been on the other side of the fighting stage), you understand why we believe in him and are excited to cheer him on every step of the way…
So, how did all this come to be? Well, let me highlight a few things for you if you’d be so kind to stay awhile and listen.
If You Build It They Will Fight
Every milestone I listed above is absolutely true of what we’ve done this past year. We have an incredible team of organizers that help ensure everything goes off without a hitch. The dedication these team members have always fills my heart because they don’t have to do any of this… They do it because they love this game and this community.
However, every chance I get I do have to mention one special person who has organized and made so much of this possible. His passion for everything Street Fighter 6 and FightRise as a community is paramount and I am forever grateful for the hundreds of hours he’s poured into making everything for the community as best as it can be.
That person is none other than your favorite tournament organizer…HotSoup. He’s truly made the community feel like a home for so many and we would not be what we are today if it was not for him.
Early on in FightRise’s lifespan we discussed how the things we were building would slowly, but surely start building up a community around it.
Somewhat in jest, but also very serious, we thought it’d be cool to sponsor a fighter one day. You know…make it easy for someone with competitive aspirations to travel and have a once in a lifetime experience.
And of course on our side, we would just be giddy to see our FightRise tag up on the screen…knowing one of our own made it through.
Well, we knew we would continue to build no matter what and continue to help our newer and hungrier players improve at their own game. What we didn’t know is that we’d attract talent of all skill levels… Or, what we didn’t realize is how quickly some of our own who had never played a fighting game before would rise up through the ranks in Street Fighter 6, quite literally from Rookie to Master.
And, then what we really did not know is just how soon that comment said in jest would come true…And, we’d find ourselves announcing our first ever sponsored Fighter.
Welcome to Team FightRise, Lazyboredom!
Lazyboredom came to us as a Legend ranked Marisa. He joined us for our events and it was clear he came to show people he was miles ahead. The brutality on screen he displays with Marisa sits opposite with his friendly, mild-mannered disposition.
So much so that when we asked him to be the Boss Battle fighter for a prize-driven special community event, he accepted and put on a show without a concern. He was happy to oblige.
It was during the lead up to this Boss Battle event that I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jared, aka Lazyboredom, and we dove into his history of competing in Smash Bros. and what his aspirations are for Street Fighter 6. We did a little interview for a reel we’d put together to introduce to the community who he was before they faced him on the cabs.
Immediately after hopping off that call it was quickly clear to me and I knew right there and then… He’d be the first person FightRise would sponsor to compete. Later I mentioned the idea to HotSoup and he was in emphatic agreeance. The rest is history to where we are today!
Besides knowing he has the chops to compete at a high level, I mean…he did just take 3rd place at Tampa Never Sleeps this past week only losing to Shine and NuckleDu… we also knew that he was such a nice guy, very much so deserving, and we were glad to offer him this opportunity.
A True Milestone for the Community
This sponsorship though was never about me and HotSoup. It’s not even just about the player we’re sponsoring, although that’s a big chunk of it… What this sponsorship truly means is that we are continuing to build something great at FightRise.
Sponsoring Lazyboredom as our FightRise Champion to compete at CEO 2024 means opening the doors for the rest of our community and inspiring so many others.
FightRise continues to be a place where we welcome new players and fighting game lovers of all skill levels. We have been blessed to have such a welcoming and helpful community. Our very first rule is Kindness First. Kindness Always. and without a doubt our members embody that and it comes across in the belly laughs that are had during matches or the friendly banter of improvement after.
All of this is why we absolutely wanted to open the opportunity and shared contribution of sponsorship to all of our members. HotSoup has helped set up a contribution page through “Give Butter” to not only ensure that Lazyboredom’s travel is accounted for, but also that he gets to have a hot meal or two as well. 😉
And, in typical HotSoup fashion, he also made sure that he tied incentives to every donation that we receive for Lazyboredom. He’s put up for raffle a Razer Kitsune leverless controller, custom metal posters by Displate, and even coaching sessions from Lazyboredom himself. Everyone that donates will receive raffle tickets and be entered to win any of these prizes. On top of that our contributors will be featured on a special cloud of names that we hope to put on Lazyboredom’s official competitive wear for the event.
I’m happy to say that we are almost at 50% of our stretch goal for Lazyboredom! If you’d like to contribute, and please know that there’s no expectation or obligation, only give what you can comfortably afford. All contributions can be made through our official Sponsor Lazyboredom for CEO 2024 Give Butter page.
More Milestones on the Horizon
Like I’ve said, none of this would be possible without such an amazing community. FightRise will continue to grow into a family centered around fighting games. Most of us continue to play Street Fighter 6 daily, as well as other games, and that 2XKO is looking pretty sweet down the road.
What I do know is that sponsoring Lazyboredom will only open more doors for what is possible for FightRise. We are so very thankful for each and every one of our FightRisers and without a doubt look forward to what’s in store for the future.
Because who knows…maybe we’ll move from sponsoring a player…to sponsoring a team. See you in the Discord! 👊💥