Stefy Bau: How eSports is Changing the World

In this episode, Sarah Tenisi speaks with Stefy Bau, a seven-time women’s Italian Women's Motocross Champion, the only woman to hold a male professional motocross license from 2000 to 2007, the first woman to be featured in two video games (Supercross 2000 and Freakstyle), and the woman invited to compete against male pro motocross racers in Japan.

Now, Stefy is at the forefront of the booming eSports industry. She is the Co-Founder and CEO at InIt Esports and InIt Sports as well as an advisory board member of Women in Sports Tech, Inc. (WiST).

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [01:26] How Stefy became a leader in the eSports industry

●      [03:01] Are eSports “real” sports?

●      [06:53] What it takes to get into eSports

●      [10:23] How eSports is encouraging diversity and inclusivity

●      [15:46] Staying outside the “box” of societal expectations

●      [20:46] Bridging the gap between eSports and traditional sports

●      [25:45] Rethinking the word “sports”

●      [26:52] How eSports builds community

●      [29:04] The evolution of eSports communities on social media (i.e. Twitch)

●      [36:31] eSports announcers

●      [38:52] Finding success in spite of COVID-19

●      [41:49] How COVID-19 has impacted the evolution and adoption of eSports

●      [43:23] Bringing gamers and Formula 1 drivers together via eSports

●      [47:50] Twitch’s upcoming Race Me event

●      [49:29] Recent big wins in the eSports industry

●      [52:17] How Stefy encourages women to follow their passion

Key quotes:

●      “If you put yourself in a box, you give permission to the other party to look at you as being in that box. But if you stay outside the box, you can truly be who you are and express yourself.”

●      “eSports is a new vehicle that can potentially get people into traditional sports.”

●      “It doesn’t matter whether or not you want to call eSports ‘real’ sports. The sticker is not important. What matters is the community, what you can do to get involved, and what you get out of it.”

●      “COVID has been a bad thing for a lot of people, but I am a positive person. In reality, we have an opportunity to change the way we do things in business. You can stay stuck in your ways because that’s the way it’s always worked; but all of a sudden, history is teaching us: ‘What if something totally unpredictable happens? Who is going to survive?’ The ones who survive are the ones who will be able to adapt.”