RTX Sydney
When I was growing up our idols all came from television, sport or movies. For the younger generations though, as the internet and Youtube have become a seamless part of our lives, ‘internet celebrities’ have become the people to admire. This weekend’s RTX Sydney event celebrates these people and gives Australian fans their first opportunity to meet them as well as learn more about internet culture and the gaming industry.
RTX Sydney is the international expansion of an event which began in Austin, Texas in 2011. The first ‘Rooster Teeth Expo’, as it would come to be known, was initially planned as a small gathering for only 200 hardcore fans but swelled to over 500 within minutes. Since then RTX has seen rapid growth from 5000 attendees in 2012 to 45,000 in 2015.
You might be asking what these fans are so fanatical about?
They all love a company called Rooster Teeth and their affiliation YouTube channels – Kinda Funny, Funhaus and Achievement Hunter. The production company was founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Gus Sorola and Joel Heyman after their incredibly successful Red vs. Blue YouTube series exploded in popularity. Rooster Teeth has since gone on to produce live action shorts, movies and cartoons.
With over 27 million subscribers across their affiliated channels, you may think the founders of Rooster Teeth are now big shot executives, but that couldn’t be further from the case. Yes obviously they run the company like a professional business, but they will also take the time to meet fans at RTX Sydney as they all fly down for the event.
Also joining the Rooster Teeth crew on the bill are legendary video game producer Hideo Kojima, Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and Tim Gettys and finally RWBY voice actress Barbara Dunkelman.
If you have even a passing interest in video games, video production and YouTube this is a must attend event this weekend. (JA)
Feb 4–5, 10:30am-6:30pm. International Convention Centre, 14 Darling Drive, Sydney. $50-$75. Tickets & info: www.rtxsydney.com
