Nerd Street Gamers wins its second Mid-Atlantic Emmy for FTW Philly – Autisarians

PHILADELPHIA, October 1, 2021 – Nerd Street Gamers, the national esports infrastructure company, has received their second Emmy win for FTW Philly – Autisarians. The team brought home the Mid Atlantic Emmy in the Health/Environment/Science - Short Form Content (Single Story) category. With the help of NBC Sports, this story was able to be seen by the masses and receive the recognition that it deserved.

“It's an incredible honor to win a Mid-Atlantic Emmy as well as receive four nominations for Season 2 of FTW Philly,” said Alex Frederick, Senior Video Producer at Nerd Street Gamers and executive producer for FTW Philly. “Being able to work alongside the extremely talented producers, editors, and rest of the team at Nerd Street, as well as the talented producers and editors at Maestro Filmworks on this project has been an absolute pleasure. FTW Philly on NBC Sports Philadelphia, allows us to share the many experiences and stories that gaming can provide to a variety of people in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.”

The Autisarian feature focuses on Father Lonnie Smith, and his two sons, Kambel and Kantai who both were diagnosed with Autism. After working to find a way to connect with his two autistic sons Kambel and Kantai, Lonnie discovered his sons were hiding extraordinary talents and he wanted to empower them by providing an outlet for them to use their abilities. With Kambel's incredible artistic skills and Kantai's ability to scan information quickly with an attention to detail, Smith and his sons formed the Autisarians and began creating video games.

In this episode, they define an Autisarian as someone born with superhuman abilities due to the condition called autism. Autisarians is a way to gather and create a platform for people with autism, to teach them that autism doesn't mean disabled. Holodec, which is working in collaboration with Autisarian, offers multiple gaming areas and an esports lab with a variety of advanced and intermediate gaming options. Together, Autisarians and Holodec are working to help people with autism find their gift, break out of their shell, and forget the world around them.

In its second season of 20 episodes, FTW Philly covered all things esports in the Philadelphia area and showcased stories that are helping drive this booming industry. Hosted by Marisa Magnatta, WMMR’s Preston and Steve Show producer, and Rosemary Kelley, the series shed a light on people and organizations that are creating new norms within the esports and gaming industry.

“It’s an absolute honor to have received our second Emmy in a row,” said Todd Berman, Vice President of Media at Nerd Street Gamers. “The feedback from the audience who watched FTW Philly on NBC Sports serves as validation of Nerd Street’s strategy to create the best content possible and distribute across all platforms.”

Thank you to the Smith family for allowing us to share their amazing story with viewers across the country. To watch the Emmy award winning episode on the Autisarian organization, click here.

About Autisarian:

The Autisarian Project uses virtual and augmented reality technology to find superhuman abilities that may be hiding behind a lack of self-esteem. The organization focuses on providing social platforms where people affected by autism can network and explore the unique abilities left behind by the condition.In Partnership  with the Holodec Virtual Reality Omni-verse, Autisarian is able to give access to technology that enables us to build unique platforms inside virtual worlds.

For more information visit https://autisarian.org/

About Nerd Street Gamers

Nerd Street Gamers (Nerd Street) is a national network of esports facilities and events dedicated to powering competitive opportunities for gamers. The company promotes greater access to the esports industry, laying a national framework for esports talent development and high-quality gaming tournaments. Through Localhost, its gaming and esports centers across the country, the company provides opportunities for gamers of all ages and skill levels to participate in esports tournaments, camps, team training, private events like birthday parties, and hourly play for a wide variety of video games. Nerd Street has received backing from Five Below, Comcast Spectacor, SeventySix Capital, Elevate Ventures, angel investor George Miller, and Founders Fund.

For more information, follow @nerdstreet and nerdstreet.com.