This is the second installment of a monthly segment called Member Spotlight. Each month a 2FNS member will be chosen and interviewed about who they are, what they do, and why they do it. I think it is a cool way to introduce people who not everyone may know.
TimTim!
Today I sat down with Tim Betar, a fellow gamer and friend of mine. Ironically we met in World of Warcraft, though our grandparents live right down the street from each other! To get a feel for who Tim is, check out his live-streaming videos.
Tim is a ton of fun to play games with and hang out with on voice-chat. Always easy going, and full of energy. When he gets together with his bro Paul, all bets are off. Things can get out of hand quickly. It is a good time.
Question and Answer
What games are you currently playing and how easy is it to balance your work, gaming and working out?
I play WoW, Black Ops 2, Team Fortress 2, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3 . . . #nerd. Trying to balance working out/work/gaming is something that has not been easy… these past couple weeks especially… I hurt my ankle and it’s been getting colder out, so I try to keep finding reasons to not go run.. whether it be I have too much work or just simply don’t want to…. but generally what I’ll try to do is wake up early and do my workout then, because I feel that doing that sets the tone and pace for my day.. when I workout in the morning, I feel better about myself/the day ahead. Oh . . . and I live stream #evenmorenerdy
You are a pretty big dude really, have you had any issues with shin-splints or sore legs after some of your long runs?
To follow up on that, you said you do Vibram Five Finger running, would you recommend it to others, and how are you liking it?
Oh heck ya. I always push vibrams now! My buddy Aidan and I both switched to them.. we both previously had leg issues (i.e. rolling ankles playing soccer regularly) but ever since switching that rarely happens… it was tough to break in my legs and even still sometimes my ankle will be sore post run, but it’s nothing compared to what the pain used to be.
I also feel like it gives an extra workout inside a workout with the amount of work you’re putting on your calves/legs
Apart from your gaming life, you are pretty active in your church and have a degree in youth ministry. For me running has been in a way a bit of a grounding force getting me time to think. Do you take that time to reflect at all? Almost like a zen-mode so-to speak.
Oh, ya that will happen quite a bit.. if I’m stressed or frustrated about something, running it out helps… I’ve grown to love running outside and appreciate looking at nature/God’s creation as I run.. I’ve also come to run without any music.. I like to be able to listen to everything that’s going on around me and really being able to soak that all up.. I would argue that running like that has helped my faith.Turning back to your gamer side, what do you think is a common misconception about gamers that simply isn’t true.I think it’s perceived that we are anti-social and awkward and that’s just simply not the case…although I won’t say that there aren’t people like that out there, generally a lot of us are normal guys/gals that just game as as a hobby… we like gaming!!! some people sit and mindlessly watch TV for hours… I just prefer to sit and actively participate in something rather than just veg out.
The types of games that you play are extremely team-oriented where often times you need a minimum of four others, and often 21 other people to be successful. You also play Soccer, do you naturally gravitate to team oriented things?
I would prefer to work as a team over solo, however I do like gaming/running at times on my own… I think the common thing that draws me in on those things is the competition.. there is a competitive aspect to gaming/sports/etc which is fun! I enjoy the teamwork and competitive aspect to gaming/sports.
To wrap up, got any shout outs of plugs you want to get in?
Shoutout to you for all the work you do. Aidan for being a noob. Dollard for working at aeropostale… and I’ll plug my stream twitch.tv/timthetatman – I’ll stream games that I am playing around 9pm-12am central time zone roughly every night! (not during turkey week), but still, check it!and #runbarefoot.
Big thanks to Tim for sitting down with me today and talking about stuff. Good talk bro! Look for the next spotlight next month!
