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What happens when a Division I athlete turns a gaming refuge into a playbook for inclusive growth and human-centered marketing? We sit down with Erin Ashley Simon to trace her path from family-fueled passion to industry leadership and explore what truly earns trust in a noisy digital world.

Erin shares how her time at the University of Kentucky sharpened her storytelling instincts, why she helped create a scholarship that treats gaming as education, and how access—hardware, broadband, mobile—still defines who gets to compete.

We discuss Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s shifting habits: a preference for real faces over faceless brands, skepticism born of privacy breaches, and a growing return to minimalism and offline connection. For marketers, it means community first, content second. Emotional storytelling beats polish; generosity builds trust.

AI shows up as both accelerator and caution—it streamlines work but can’t replace intuition or soul. Erin explains how creators can stay authentic while using AI wisely, including her own pivot helping a local comic shop triple profits through grounded storytelling.

If you care about esports inclusion, youth culture, and the next era of brand trust, this conversation points the way forward.

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