Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Peña.
Danny, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Radio broadcasting has always been a calling for New York-born podcaster Danny Peña, the son of Dominican immigrants, who grew up surrounded and inspired by hip-hop and video games. Continually gravitating toward the camera and the microphone, Peña started his career as a podcaster working as a promoter within the New York and Miami hip-hop scenes.
In the Spring of 2005, a few months before iTunes launched its podcast platform, Peña, better known as “Godfree” in the gaming community, decided to embrace his dream and begin Gamertag Radio, the successor of other online radio ventures he had started as a teenager in the 1990s, long before the arrival of smartphones and iPods.
The next decade Peña focused his efforts on perfecting his skills, growing his team and making his Podcast a referent of quality in the gaming world. In 2015 Peña’s efforts paid off in a big way reaching two essential milestones: Gamertag Radio joined Radio.com, a website featuring top podcasts, owned by CBS Radio and CBS Local Digital Media and he became the first Hispanic to be inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame.
In March of this year, Peña celebrated his podcast’s 13th anniversary with the release of the one- hour, autobiographical documentary Gamertag Radio: A Podcast Story, which has been selected to compete or screen at different events across the country including, the Miami Independent Film Festival, the Dominican Film Festival of New York and the Geek Film Festival at Florida Supercon.
In April, Danny Peña was nominated as Best Technology or Gaming Content Creator at the 4th edition of Hispanicize’s TECLA Awards and in June Gamertag Radio was chosen among Miami’s Top Ten Podcasts by weekly newspaper Miami New Times.
Today Gamertag Radio, which earns millions of lifetime downloads and listens, is a well-respected and sought-after outlet for fans, experts and companies in the gaming community who routinely provide the podcast first samples of products to be reviewed on the show. Gamertag Radio is hosted by Danny Peña and fellow gamers Peter Toledo and Parris Lilly and is part of Audioboom Network. Danny Peña lives in Miami, Florida.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were a lot of challenges for me. When I first started, I didn’t have enough money to buy recording equipment. I would use a tape recorder to interview gaming companies in 2001. That’s how I recorded my first interviews with Microsoft and Nintendo.
During the early days of podcasting, it was harder for people to discover shows. There were no smartphones or social media to look at. I would spread the word about Gamertag Radio by attending midnight releases at retail stores. I’d pass out flyers to every person in line. They would go to my site and listen to the show online.
I remember saving money to attend my first E3 event in 2005. I purchased flights to Los Angeles from Miami, got a hotel and rented a car. I made a media kit with my brother. It had pictures, bio, flyers and a cd with our best episodes. I had to do that because this was the early days a lot of video game companies never heard of podcasting.
I ended up with only $20 bucks for the whole week in Los Angeles, and even though we put in so much work and sacrifice, companies still ignored us. All in all, the first few years were very difficult.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Gamertag Radio – what should we know?
I’ve been podcasting for 14+ years about video games, business of the game industry and also the gaming community. I have hosted events, including parties for Gamertag Radio and sponsored events like 2K Games’ Mafia 2 Community Launch Party. I’m an award-winning filmmaker and speaker, having opened for keynotes at conferences and other events, like Podfest, and Hispanicize. Because of my years of podcasting experience, I was inducted into the inaugural Podcast Hall of Fame in 2015.
I’m most proud of influencing our listeners from all over the world to not only buy games but listen to our podcast every week to engage with our crew and make them feel like they are a part of our journey. I’m proud of having the privilege of being valued by many big companies and studios in the gaming industry. They invite us to visit their offices to interview developers, producers, and executives, giving us exclusive access to games before they are released.
My crew and I have traveled the world, Europe, Canada, and all over the US. What sets us apart from other content creators and media is that we strive to engage with our community on a personal level. Every time we travel, we have meetups. We encourage our listeners to reach out to us by sending us messages and questions that we use for interviews and roundtable discussions on the podcast.
For example, when I was getting inducted to the Podcast Hall of Fame, I invited our listeners to go with me. We went on the red carpet and sat on the front row. When I was on stage giving my speech, I thanked them first because they have always been a part of my journey, from the good to the bad, and they stuck with us through it.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I make myself available and accessible to anyone that needs advice or asks me questions, whether it be in person or on social media. I want to inspire people to chase after their dreams. Anyone can do what I do. It just takes hard work and dedication.
When I worked on my movie, Gamertag Radio: A Podcast Story, my award-winning film, I used free editing software. I didn’t use any fancy equipment, and when I talk about the movie, I always tell people that it doesn’t matter what equipment you have or how much money you have; what matters most is the content.
I’ve been able to get to where I am today because of perseverance, work ethic, and my love for connecting with people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gamertagradio.com
- Phone: 7862737GTR
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: godfree
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/gamertagradio
- Twitter: godfree
- Other: www.twitter.com/gamertagradio
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
