Before Liquid+, before Blue, before Discord, there was TL.net. This is where StarCraft Brood War esports fans would hang out, including Daniel “FuddX” Ravia — now known as BalloonsForGamers. 

FuddX has been active in the esports community for over 20 years as a competitive player, a fan, and a professional balloon artist. Yes, that’s FuddX’s Team Liquid fan pipeline, and it’s a very interesting one full of passion, dedication, and Blue balloon animals. 

Esports — and Team Liquid — wouldn’t be what it is today without these long-time fans like FuddX. It’s the esports community that has allowed the scene to thrive and even encouraged Team Liquid to explore new titles. That’s why we continue to find ways to connect, engage, and reward fans, although the methods we use have evolved over the past few decades. There’s no doubt that we’ll continue to grow and adapt our approach to connecting with fans going forward. Still, we always look for ways to celebrate our current fans — the ones who have made Team Liquid what it is today. 

So Fuddx, how did you become a fan of Team Liquid all those years ago?

I was a Brood War player back in the day. TL.net was the go-to site for news on the Korean pro scene, translated into English. That’s when I started lurking. My official account has been there since October 2002.

Since 2002, how have you noticed the esports community changing?

It’s definitely gotten a lot more “PC.” It used to be a lot more “Wild West” back in the day. With bigger companies and partners, you grow up and have to pull things in. It’s grown up! 

I’m an old guy, even back then — I’m not really on Discord. World Cyber Games was the big tournament back then, and at prelims offline stuff, it was a shock to find out I was older. I was able to go drink and nobody else was. Some didn’t even have facial hair. I got mistaken for being a parent. 

Before getting into balloons, I went to a lot of gaming events, not only as a fan but as a competitor. In 2003 or 2004, I attended my first offline event with WCG. Later, I went to the World Finals when it came to Seattle in 2007. I got to connect with a lot of people in the scene, like Tasteless, LilSusie, and I drank with White-Ra! 

What has kept you a Team Liquid fan this whole time?

The community, TL.net, is really the place to connect. If not for Team Liquid, I don’t know if I ever would have had the opportunity to bring balloons to events. My first time bringing balloons to an event was at ESL One Major in Frankfurt in 2014. Since then, I’ve done many different events for them. One of the highlights in the esports scene was during the TeamLiquid StarLeague 9 (TSL 9), where they brought me out to do balloons during that event. 

What kind of balloons are you making during these esports events? 

At ESL events, I’ve done many different things — unfortunately, not StarCraft. They’ve been Dota 2, CS:GO, and others. It varies from event to event. Dota 2 and League of Legends it’s a lot of characters and various skins. Copying people’s plushies. Characters, weapons, items, etc.

What got you into ballooning?

I got into magic, doing magic tricks and stuff. A magician challenged me to blow up balloons. At WCG in Seattle, a group of us went to Pike Place Pier to its magic shop. We played around with the balloons. That was 2007. 

A couple months later, I saw a documentary on Netflix back when you mail-ordered the DVDs. It was about balloon twisting. That was the first time I’ve seen people making balloons outside of dogs, flowers, and the usual. It really intrigued me. I started finding out that there are local events, such as balloon jams and conventions. I stopped going to gaming events as a fan and started going to balloon events. 

I kept documenting that process at TL.net with my vlog, and James Lampkin, who worked for ESL, saw it and put my name out there. I was saying I wanted to get back into the game community and events. 2014 in Frankfurt was the first time I merged the two passions together. I felt very, very lucky. I feel spoiled that I can do it at all. 

Have you made any Team Liquid-themed balloons?

I’ve made Blue a bunch of times. I also did a couple iterations of Siths when Team Liquid did the Star Wars collab. I made Blue in a robe with a lightsaber. I’ve also done the Team Liquid horse head logo.

That sounds really challenging!

It definitely could use some work for sure when I did it. I did it for TSL 9 as a centerpiece. Other than that, I’ve done a lot of StarCraft-related ones and Team Liquid-specific ones, like My Little Pony with the TL horse head and the colors of Team Liquid. 

That’s amazing. I love how passionate the esports community is about the teams and games they support, like getting the balloon animals to represent them. 

It’s amazing. The love of Brood War got me into doing gaming events and being a fan. The community is one of the best things ever. I equate it to going to balloon conventions. You find your people. People who understand you. You have similar passions, even if it’s a different game. Generally, especially in person, I’ve never met someone hurtful or hateful in esports. Good stuff! 

Do you currently follow any Team Liquid teams?

These days I don’t follow esports too closely. I used to follow Brood War and StarCraft II. These days, not as much. I do still follow SKillous and Boxi — they’re my favorite people ever. I watch a bit of Dota 2, I got into it because it was the first event I did, and most of the events I do now. 

Do your kids like esports at all?

My daughter, not at all. She doesn’t play games outside of Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch. We need to get the Switch 2. We’re super excited to get that. She graduated with a doctorate, so she was focused on schooling and has now secured a job in her field. We’re currently building a casita for her and her boyfriend to move into. 

My son doesn’t play any competitive games. He plays Rainbow Six actually with his buddies, but it's not a passion or something he’s pursuing. He also plays Terraria a lot.  

Is there anything else you want Team Liquid fans to know?

I love being able to do balloons. I love meeting people and being able to talk to them. A lot of people are super surprised by my background. In real life, most of my clothes are Team Liquid clothes. But at events, they don’t know I have a background in gaming and a passion for gaming that supersedes balloons because of what I have to wear at the events. 

You’re a fan of Team Liquid merch? 

Oh yeah, for sure. I have a lot of stuff. I currently have a stack of probably 20-plus shirts that are more worn out. I’m planning on making a comforter with them. That’s one of my plans with all my old stuff. 

Okay, that’s an awesome idea! I definitely want to see that. Any events coming up?

I have nothing set currency. In my last two events, I’ve been working with Shopify. TLO (Dario Wünsch) was with Team Liquid for many years and now he’s running Shopify’s esports division. He brought me in to do some events for them. In January, I was out in Los Angeles for League of Legends, and then I was in Raleigh for Dota 2 ESL 1.

I’m always down for more! If I could get one gaming event a month doing balloons, I could concentrate more on streaming. I’ve thought about it a lot for many years as a way to get more involved with socials.

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