I was a total nerd in my youth, must have read over 2000 science fiction novels before eighteen. I was however also obsessively involved in martial arts. I was 'Super Nerd', quite literally the island of safety for the other nerds in the schoolyard, because the bullies didn't dare come near me. There have always been those that defy the stereotype, and do not hide it.
Thank you to Joe and Travis for sharing their story. You know life is crazy. In the 80s... I had to hide my D&D side and tried to fit in by playing sports... wrestling in particular. If anyone at school knew my nerdy side I would have found my head in the toilet for sure. Now, D&D is cool, trendy, accepted and played by folks of all walks of life. This is an age of D&D that I never dreamed would happen. Definitely makes this old DMs heart feel good!
Glad to have you with us and to share your story. Believe it or not it's as important to us as it is to you. It shows us we are not outcasts and that we have someone by our side when we need it. And even though it felt good to be part of an "exclusive" club, it feels much better to have you guys on our side, out in the open. We have your back, just as (hopefully more and more so) you have ours' :) From an underweight, wimpy, nerdy, fellow DM :D
I know the feeling. Never brought up my hobby at all at football. I decide to run a game asked one guy and within the span of me even mentioning it I already had a group.
Growing up playing football, basketball, running track, and playing D&D every week... it was exactly like that. I was the out of place athlete at the gaming table. But... my gaming friends were probably the most supportive of my sporting games. They always showed up and rooted for me at my games. This is awesome
I could see why there would be push back against jocks. Jocks are what nerd culture defined themselves against, to develop their own space of social acceptance. Now is the time to tear down the wall.
Its never been about pushing back against the athletic nature of a "Jock", its been about literally hiding from very real physical and mental abuse perpetrated by Jocks on those that weren't athletic. If you want to be accepted into a "Nerd" community, I think its very fair to require that not only have you not been a part of that kind of abuse, but that you have actively spoken or acted against those who have.
I was agreeing with you, I just think too many people (not you) take lightly the reason why some nerds can feel uncomfortable accepting jocks into their culture.
@Nick Smith There is no one giving out nerd badges, but if you want to join a specific group of nerds then you need to prove yourself worthy. There are very real gate keepers in every group of friends. You can tell the world you are whatever you want, but it doesn't matter if the community you want to be a part of doesn't believe you. It's the same for any social group.
It's so nice to hear that this dynamic is being recognized. As someone who lifts and doesn't look stereotypically "nerdy" I am very familiar with the doubts and then surprise from others when I mention I'm into video games and D&D. Luckily what always follows is a mutual meeting of nerd minds and the chance to talk about the things we're passionate about.
Everyone that does anything with love and passion and for sheer enjoyment is a nerd. There are just certain things society lets you be nerdy about with out judgement.
I like that they talk about all these barriers and yes they do exist but there have always been those people who gave no shits who sat at the table. I would literally use my rugby experiences to benefit my descriptions and choices as my half-orc paladin. Another player in the same group was a pro-level tennis player who could describe details about trajectory and stuff that we just had no clue about but his sporting knowledge aided his character. Not to mention games like Blood Bowl seem to be made for people who play both RPGs and sports.
It's so good having actual life experience for your character. I'm a martial artist, and I recently DMed for a bunch of my karate friends who had never played DnD before but I made them monk characters and it didn't matter that they didn't know how to play, because they could fight irl.
Although I get what you’re saying, I’m assuming you were older. Especially if your friend was pro-level. They’re mostly referring to the impact it’s having on teenagers/younger or people who had trouble while they were young.
I was a kid who graduated in the early 90's. The funny thing is that the Nerd and the Geek have come such a long way since I've graduated high school. When I was a kid, to think that I'd sit at a table with jocks playing D&D would have been inconceivable.
I'm 54 years old. I played every sport, and excelled at baseball and hockey. We had a game where it was actually some of our high school jocks. In college, again, our football team had a game, DM'ed, believe it or not, by our starting QB. It was awesome. We played more together later, even though were were far apart, through Neverwinter Nights. Great times!
I'm so happy to listen to these guys breaking down the stereotypes of what we used to take for fact. Jocks stay to macho things, nerds live in the basement and play D&D NO. The Image for D&D has changed, the image for Jocks and Nerds has changed. Nerds are portrayed now in Media such as Big Band Theory, Critical Role, and so much more. The image of the MACHO MAN has been of a dumb weight lifter for far too long. It is Amazing to see not just the nerds or social outcast, but everyone who finds enjoyment in the High Fantasy Genre getting to be apart of D&D. This is a great time to be alive.
Honestly, it's not a matter of "anymore" with regards to the military. There's been a good representation of D&D nerds in the military at least as far back as the early 80's when I was in. My favorite campaigns were with other Navy guys in our downtime between watches and we were stuck together for years, so there was great continuity.
The D&D representation in the military has been great! Most of my current group is military. One of our members is out in Syria and just started a group with a bunch of Special Forces guys. You don't always have accesses to electronics out in the field. But with some pen, paper and dice. You have hours of fun in your downtime.
When I enlisted, one of my big fears was "Will I be able to hide that I'm a giant geek?" Then I was assigned to Korea. Pretty much everyone there was a geek or nerd in some way.
dude I only recently started playing D&D and I'm hooked, my friends and I play once a week and its awesome every time we play. wish I would have started playing as a kid man
This complete separation between jocks and nerds, or d&d players has got to be mainly an american phenomenon.. or maybe I'm just lucky. at my table, there's all sorts of people, most are professionally accomplished, and they also do sports with various degrees of competitiveness.. and nobody judges anyone for any of these facts
I DM for a party of guys that all met either doing parkour or lifting at the gym, and then there's me (5'10 and 170lbs) sitting across from the swole squad. Everyone can come to love this game if given a proper introduction. The most jacked and meatheaded guy in our group is now the best roleplayer that i've ever got to DM for in my 11 years of running campaigns.
Maybe it is a USA thing, but I have experienced it. I played high school American football (just adding that to distinguish it from what we call soccer), and I did not tell anyone about my gaming side. Also I got heavily into LARP during college and constantly heard ridicule about "sportsball", and could not mention my love of sports for fear of snobbish teasing. I was very happy to see Travis on Critical Role because I felt more represented. I know a lot of this schism is because of the Jocks vs Nerds thing, and Jocks are to blame for most of the high school bullying which originally caused this problem. Hopefully Jocks Machina will be the first of many in roads to bring these groups together.
I think it depends on where you come from in the US. I'm homeschooled and from New England and my DND crew is a menagerie of different types. None of us are straight up jocks like Travis or Joe, but we do know people who would definitely fit the Jocks Machina type. I guess it might be the denser public school places that have the more stringent social castes, but I am far from knowledgeable on that matter.
In the UK, me and my friends played soccer, five a side, I had my own weights at home and went to the uni gym. And played D&D, Runequest, tunnels and trolls, fighting fantasy - if you could roll a die or dice, we played it !
I was a varsity football middle linebacker and team captain, but I was also one of the founding members of the gaming club. They are not mutually exclusive.
I couldn't love this more, as a fellow Jocks Machina member. Mr. Torgue's pain while playing B&B with Lilith in Borderlands 2 has never hit so close to home.
Growing up, being both an athlete and heavily interested in “nerdy” things, I never felt comfortable in my different social groups, but seeing how normal it is now makes me think how silly I was back then. I wish I had been as comfortable back then as I am now. Thanks lads 👍
I’ve always wanted to try D&D when I first saw it on Big Bang Theory. I never had the opportunity to do so until college. I’m also happy that I finally took a peek at this show. It’s awesome watching this. Also me seeing a strong guy like Travis playing D&D sort of inspired me to work out a little more again.
I can totally relate to this. Fond memories at University of Florida playing D&D after a long day at the gym. Maybe that's why I always played as fighter or ranger class.
I dealt with this in high school. 20 years ago I was a starter on the varsity football team, on the debate team, played D&D and Old World of Darkness (thank you, White Wolf!), participated in rec. league soccer (AYSO) & baseball, built my own computers, and read fantasy and sci-if novels. It is so great that adults that some kids might find as role models are starting to speak up about embracing their inner nerd, geek, etc. and that it is okay to be who you are and you should be proud of that.
I was so happy the day I learned that there were other kids who grew up as jocks who enjoyed doing nerdy things like D&D, videogaming, watching cartoons and anime... And when I heard that the Big Show grew up with D&D, I was blown away, because when I was growing up, my cousins and I would practice wrestling moves in the pool during our summers, and one of my favorites to do (as an 120-pound kid) was the Showstopper.
It's nice seeing worlds collide and people who are generally perceived as having nothing in common, join together to create something cool. It gave me the same feeling as when my college friends met my school friends and all hung out together.
I have always been very open about my interest in fantasy novels and playing d&d, but about six months ago I was surprised when my sister (who is a rugby player), her best friend (a full time/national paddler), and her roommate (our uni's soccer captain) all asked me to dm a game for them and their friends because they wanted to get into d&d! We recruited two other friends of their's, one who is a jock and one who is a film nerd, and I must say it was a very interesting experience! It was hilarious, seeing the two beefy guys playing as a bard and a wizard, while my sister played as a healer and our film nerd played a berserker! I loved it, haha.
YES!! This was me in high school when I first started playing D&D!! I was a varsity lacrosse player, so I was something of a jock; but I loved fantasy and this sort of thing. So glad that my game group didn't reject me for it. And yes, I played the tank of the group. I still do, usually. I was a defensive midfielder, so playing a tank helps me to really get in the game, to figure out what my character would do.
On my first deployment we got a game going. We'd be in the break room after our shift was done playing and would always get one or two people who would just sit down and watch. Made the time go so much quicker.
I played soccer my entire childhood, I'm 45, and have been playing D&D since I was 8 years old. And I as a choir nerd in high school. During my high school years my Gaming Group included our Varsity QB....Who was also a choir nerd. He was also QB of the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad.
I've lifted weights since elementary school and I've been into table top RPGs for many years. It's so fun when you have a good group of friends to play it with. I had two football player friends in high school and they were into table top RPGs too. We played a few times every month.
I was that kid throughout Jr. High and High School. Football/ Wrestling and Dungeons and Dragons. However, those days are 30 years ago (plus a little more) and I am now the ex-Jock who played some High School Ball. But I'm still a Dungeon Master and still a Player!
I'm actually surprised that Henry Cavill wasn't mentioned as a member or at least honorary member of Jocks Machina since he was a rugby player in school, almost missed being cast as Superman due to being in the middle of a raid on World of Warcraft, is playing The Witcher and play/played the ultimate nerd/jock hidden combo in Clark Kent/Superman. Joe was in Justice League, he could drop a line to Henry and get him on board.
Hmmm. In my D&D circles there was always at least one muscled athletic dude. Two of the best players I gamed with who could role play really well and strategize as good as anyone were rugby players.
Haha I was definitely an Athlete my whole life and I wrote my first module when I was 11. Also, reading Sci-Fi / Fantasy books it’s what got me through school... Gotta thank Mrs. Z my old elementary school teacher for having the Pyrdain Chronicles on her shelves in class 💕.. I still keep up this kinda dual aspect. Gym in the garage and lift five times a week, and host the D&D game every week in an ultra nerd game room. Anyways this interview made me smile.
Damn! It’s good to see fellow jock nerds man. I had to write a paper of identity, and I titled it that and oh boy, I certainly didn’t bring it up to my Larping or Football friends.
I love that they are doing this, and at the same time it breaks my heart. That anybody would ever be excluded from this hobby, where everyone is invited to be just anything they ever want to be.
i can relate to this as i have been playing rugby (essential english version of American football but with no helmets or padding) since year 7 (12) to now (16 going on 17) playing colts rugby the step below adult/professional rugby and so it starts to get really comparative and people start to get spotted for jobs, but when i am around the rugby lads or at the gym i have to say quite about all my nerdy stuff like how i play d&d or how i make/design games or even how i love the theatre and acting (even certain musicals), but i can’t talk about that with them under fear of being looked down upon so when i am throwing a rave i can’t talk about the book i am reading or anime that i really getting into or even something as trivial as how i saw i cute dog or cat and so i took a photo of me and it and how it gave me its paw and it was adorable, because i don’t want people to put me into that shut in nerd who all they care about is the nerdy stuff as i only recently became confident and started hanging out with people more and making more friends and you know all that good stuff and i am worried that if i start talking about that stuff people will stop wanting to hangout with me and being my friend and that i will be alone again and that is what i am most afraid off that people will no longer like me because of it though i am not like an alpha jock or the person you thing of when you think jock, i still have some work to do there though i am still only 16 and so still have some time to get there before college but my final point is that these guys have been an inspiration and role models for me and what i wish to achieve in my life (travis especially ps i loved you as colonel roy mustang) this was grate for me to vent out i hope everyone that has read this has a nice day and jocks machina for life
From my name, you might guess I'm from a Jock background. Yup. The first DNDers I ever met were other ruggers in the Navy. They were submariners in the mid 70s. Three month tours that never break the surface. Three months of no TV, no going to the store, nothing. It made perfect sense to me that they would go on "adventures" as often as they could.
Always treasured my Packmaster autograph, but it says a lot about these guys...they find a successful product that gains popularity and sells fast. So....CHARITY! Love them so much
this may be old but as a person who was allways athletic but smaller and played lots of dnd and games i was lick the opposite of this i was the nerdy dnd kid playing wide receiver and this really resonates and i love yall alot.
I played dnd in my early teens, getting older I turned to sports and worked on my body etc to be able to be more popular and fit in better. It's great with the dnd revival happening that people like me can be both athletic and nerdy. Joe is a god among men!
I was on a long bus ride with a bunch of football players in high school (can't remember what for) and got talking with one of them because he saw my Aliens vs. Predator novel and he called the Predator a Yautja and knew a ton of lore. Jocks can be nerds guys. It's pretty cool.
Putting TL;DR at the beginning. D&D is amazing, and maybe my words don't come out or across how I mean them, but anyone, anywhere, at anytime, for what ever reason, can play with the same for the mentioned reasons. I am a 6'1, 190 Band nerd in high school who hungout with every walk of life from the lifters, jocks and muscle men to the goth, emo, and closet dwellers. D&D is the single most inclusive thing you can do. Because you don't have to be yourself, you can be anyone. The shy timid kid can be a dashing charmer, the jock can be a clumsy genius wizard. The goth can be a flamboyant extrovert (looking at you Jaffe) the chess team can be great big oafs who "break puny man" and you don't have to look at others for who they are, but how they play. It allows you to understand what someone thinks by letting them think outloud. If you can't get along with someone at the party next door raging on till the wee hours of the night. Then you can get along with the party at the table throwing dice and living in a place where you and your ilk can dream of a world where anything is possible.
I'm so happy that the entire DnD is for nerds thing is going away. I was never ashamed for it, but only since the last year or so, many of my friends and colleagues came up to me asking about DnD. I've had several introduction sessions for people and some even formed their own group. And it kinda brings us together, which is great.
In my experience as DM in a lot of different group (i am 42 now) people that came from team sports, i am from italy so always football, are usually good strategist and reflective player, of course this is a generalization but grew up in a team usually is an advantage when you play at the table, you are prone to listen the other, know the strenght and the weakness of the individuality and of the group. So in my opinion play team sport and play at the table are complementary.
So ture i was in the popular crowded at high school playing all the sports football, hockey,rugby athletics. But man loved hanging out with the war gamers and roll playing lads still on the quiet 👊Then i joined the army. But im back in it now i don't care who knows 💪🍻😎 roll playing is bad ass
I absolutely agree ! Gym is my living, ex-pro athlete and I absolutely love DnD ! Started like 1995, still going. Also huuuge Warhammer dork with hundreds of 40k minis (over 35k pts worth of CHSM for you knowing people). I love to lift, I live to bicycle and swim and whatnot and I also like to DM for my friends !
I've always been a bit confused by the jocks vs nerds dynamic, because it doesn't really fit my experience at all. when I was in high school, the sports kids also did musical theater, and vice versa. there were social circles, but not really cliques divided by interest like that, at least not that I noticed. on the other hand, I never did find anybody else who wanted to play d&d (at least not with me), and believe me, I looked. it wasn't until college that I finally found my group and got to game with folks, and I found them through college sports - albeit fencing, perhaps the nerdiest of the sports. From there I got into larping and foam combat, which is a particular jocky brand of nerdery (or a nerdy variety of jock, depending on your perspective), and found gaming groups through that social sphere. so I'm glad that those distinctions are starting to be challenged and worn down - you can be a jock AND a nerd, or more accurately: a human who loves stories, which is really the heart of what we do.
So very American with all the ostracizing. I started playing on 86 while I was a carpenter's apprentice of the old kind doing everything by hand. And two years later I was in SSR and did Muay Thai, and in 93 I started competitive Viking Reenactment fighting. My players were a mix of craftsmen and soldiers and students, we never thought of that. We just had fun.
YES, dude! I've always been this big nerd, but now I'm getting interested in maybe doing all this jock stuff, maybe trying some different sports, doing lifting and things like that. This is just exactly what I want to be. Jocks Machina.
I have a few friends that are in football at my school and play D&D with me. It’s a thing where there is this stigma of “oh, they won’t understand” which is entirely bull. I find that one of my friends wizard is the most useful and smartest character in the party.
I was in wrestling in high school and nobody I played D&D knew. Conversely nobody I wrestled with knew how much of a nerd I was. These days playing D&D is very geek sheek. In the mid 90's it was pure nerdy 😄
I remember being a bridge between the jocks and the nerds at our highschool. Got some of the jocks to play D&D... They loved it. Got to know the nerds. Our grade had zero fights or people getting picked on. I think D&D might have had something to do with that...
I've been a nerd for years, heck I'm a sysadmin at a large company now, but it wasn't until this new wave of acceptance of D&D that I got to do more than download a PDF of the books to muck about reading. So thanks, to all those involved that are helping it become normal.
I'm still disappointing they missed the opportunity to say Critical Swole
This!!!!
Oh my gods
You need to get a trademark or something like this! :-D
...WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?!
OOOOOOOOH!
I shaved last night but my beard immediately grew back after watching this
nice pic
Weirdly make sense 😂
Terry Crews should be the healer
Terry is a Bard, and we all know it 😂
The most Valor(us) Bard to ever Bard
POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
"Terry crits"
"That's only a 15"
"I said Terry crits!"
Terry would be a war cleric if he played healer.
Travis: I miss
Terry: No you dont, I bless you POOOOWWWWWWEEEEEEEEERRRRRR
Nerds can lift. Jocks can game. Break down all the closets.
I was a total nerd in my youth, must have read over 2000 science fiction novels before eighteen. I was however also obsessively involved in martial arts. I was 'Super Nerd', quite literally the island of safety for the other nerds in the schoolyard, because the bullies didn't dare come near me. There have always been those that defy the stereotype, and do not hide it.
But where will I keep my stuff?
But thats where I keep my JNCOs
Learning that 'THE BIG SHOW' grew up playing D&D is so Awesome :D
i just freaked out so much xD
Big Show grew up and up and up and up and up playing D&D!
Do you think when he rolls a nat20 he says "Welllllll it's a big roll! "?
@@Isfrael you win the internet
The Undertaker, too. And he still plays. He also has his character's name tattooed on him.
"Tanks playing tanks!"
I love that!
More power to you guys, and welcome to the table.
That's the thing-they've been at the table
Thank you to Joe and Travis for sharing their story. You know life is crazy. In the 80s... I had to hide my D&D side and tried to fit in by playing sports... wrestling in particular. If anyone at school knew my nerdy side I would have found my head in the toilet for sure. Now, D&D is cool, trendy, accepted and played by folks of all walks of life. This is an age of D&D that I never dreamed would happen. Definitely makes this old DMs heart feel good!
Glad to have you with us and to share your story. Believe it or not it's as important to us as it is to you. It shows us we are not outcasts and that we have someone by our side when we need it. And even though it felt good to be part of an "exclusive" club, it feels much better to have you guys on our side, out in the open. We have your back, just as (hopefully more and more so) you have ours' :) From an underweight, wimpy, nerdy, fellow DM :D
Wally D.M.
WOW!
Same here dude!
I know the feeling. Never brought up my hobby at all at football. I decide to run a game asked one guy and within the span of me even mentioning it I already had a group.
“Can we unveil like Double Dragon style?” Haha you nerds! Love it.
"Represent the tanks, right? the big beefy guys" *I'm dying*
Growing up playing football, basketball, running track, and playing D&D every week... it was exactly like that. I was the out of place athlete at the gaming table. But... my gaming friends were probably the most supportive of my sporting games. They always showed up and rooted for me at my games.
This is awesome
I could see why there would be push back against jocks. Jocks are what nerd culture defined themselves against, to develop their own space of social acceptance. Now is the time to tear down the wall.
Its never been about pushing back against the athletic nature of a "Jock", its been about literally hiding from very real physical and mental abuse perpetrated by Jocks on those that weren't athletic. If you want to be accepted into a "Nerd" community, I think its very fair to require that not only have you not been a part of that kind of abuse, but that you have actively spoken or acted against those who have.
@@briancanary6796 I didn't mention anything about physicality.
I was agreeing with you, I just think too many people (not you) take lightly the reason why some nerds can feel uncomfortable accepting jocks into their culture.
@@briancanary6796 Ah, I see now. Sorry for the confusion.
@Nick Smith There is no one giving out nerd badges, but if you want to join a specific group of nerds then you need to prove yourself worthy. There are very real gate keepers in every group of friends. You can tell the world you are whatever you want, but it doesn't matter if the community you want to be a part of doesn't believe you. It's the same for any social group.
It's so nice to hear that this dynamic is being recognized. As someone who lifts and doesn't look stereotypically "nerdy" I am very familiar with the doubts and then surprise from others when I mention I'm into video games and D&D. Luckily what always follows is a mutual meeting of nerd minds and the chance to talk about the things we're passionate about.
@Christopher Huber well it's also about respecting others who are different.
Jocks are just nerds but with sports. Nerds are just jocks but with nerd stuff.
Fantasy Football is just D&D for sports nerds.
Dude. I'm mindblown.
Everyone that does anything with love and passion and for sheer enjoyment is a nerd. There are just certain things society lets you be nerdy about with out judgement.
Count me in as another jock D&D player. I took it one step beyond and married a band geek
To be fair Travis married a science/theater nerd :D
Lemmy Kilturtle I guess technically joe married a theatre nerd too, though I struggle to call Sofia any kind of nerd
@@mischa2643 Your comment shows that the word nerd itself is the biggest problem. This isn't against you at all. :)
I like that they talk about all these barriers and yes they do exist but there have always been those people who gave no shits who sat at the table. I would literally use my rugby experiences to benefit my descriptions and choices as my half-orc paladin. Another player in the same group was a pro-level tennis player who could describe details about trajectory and stuff that we just had no clue about but his sporting knowledge aided his character. Not to mention games like Blood Bowl seem to be made for people who play both RPGs and sports.
It's so good having actual life experience for your character. I'm a martial artist, and I recently DMed for a bunch of my karate friends who had never played DnD before but I made them monk characters and it didn't matter that they didn't know how to play, because they could fight irl.
Although I get what you’re saying, I’m assuming you were older. Especially if your friend was pro-level. They’re mostly referring to the impact it’s having on teenagers/younger or people who had trouble while they were young.
Bloodbowl is one of the best a tabletop mashups ever
I'm so glad D&D has become accessable to everyone. It's just beautiful.
Too bad it still has some 'gate keepers,' but f*** those guys, plenty of groups out there without them.
I was a kid who graduated in the early 90's. The funny thing is that the Nerd and the Geek have come such a long way since I've graduated high school. When I was a kid, to think that I'd sit at a table with jocks playing D&D would have been inconceivable.
Thank you to Joe and Travis for helping with the relief help for my island. You guys are awesome.
And thank you for the help for Puerto Rico.
I love you guys for representing this.
I'm 54 years old. I played every sport, and excelled at baseball and hockey. We had a game where it was actually some of our high school jocks. In college, again, our football team had a game, DM'ed, believe it or not, by our starting QB. It was awesome. We played more together later, even though were were far apart, through Neverwinter Nights. Great times!
I'm so happy to listen to these guys breaking down the stereotypes of what we used to take for fact. Jocks stay to macho things, nerds live in the basement and play D&D NO. The Image for D&D has changed, the image for Jocks and Nerds has changed. Nerds are portrayed now in Media such as Big Band Theory, Critical Role, and so much more. The image of the MACHO MAN has been of a dumb weight lifter for far too long. It is Amazing to see not just the nerds or social outcast, but everyone who finds enjoyment in the High Fantasy Genre getting to be apart of D&D. This is a great time to be alive.
Honestly, it's not a matter of "anymore" with regards to the military. There's been a good representation of D&D nerds in the military at least as far back as the early 80's when I was in. My favorite campaigns were with other Navy guys in our downtime between watches and we were stuck together for years, so there was great continuity.
The D&D representation in the military has been great! Most of my current group is military. One of our members is out in Syria and just started a group with a bunch of Special Forces guys. You don't always have accesses to electronics out in the field. But with some pen, paper and dice. You have hours of fun in your downtime.
When I enlisted, one of my big fears was "Will I be able to hide that I'm a giant geek?"
Then I was assigned to Korea. Pretty much everyone there was a geek or nerd in some way.
That makes sense. Wargaming will always be popular in the military (if not encouraged) and it has always shared a history with D&D.
The best DDB installment yet. Thank you.
dude I only recently started playing D&D and I'm hooked, my friends and I play once a week and its awesome every time we play. wish I would have started playing as a kid man
This complete separation between jocks and nerds, or d&d players has got to be mainly an american phenomenon.. or maybe I'm just lucky. at my table, there's all sorts of people, most are professionally accomplished, and they also do sports with various degrees of competitiveness.. and nobody judges anyone for any of these facts
I DM for a party of guys that all met either doing parkour or lifting at the gym, and then there's me (5'10 and 170lbs) sitting across from the swole squad. Everyone can come to love this game if given a proper introduction. The most jacked and meatheaded guy in our group is now the best roleplayer that i've ever got to DM for in my 11 years of running campaigns.
Maybe it is a USA thing, but I have experienced it. I played high school American football (just adding that to distinguish it from what we call soccer), and I did not tell anyone about my gaming side. Also I got heavily into LARP during college and constantly heard ridicule about "sportsball", and could not mention my love of sports for fear of snobbish teasing. I was very happy to see Travis on Critical Role because I felt more represented. I know a lot of this schism is because of the Jocks vs Nerds thing, and Jocks are to blame for most of the high school bullying which originally caused this problem. Hopefully Jocks Machina will be the first of many in roads to bring these groups together.
It's more like "friendly banter" instead of "making fun of"
I think it depends on where you come from in the US. I'm homeschooled and from New England and my DND crew is a menagerie of different types. None of us are straight up jocks like Travis or Joe, but we do know people who would definitely fit the Jocks Machina type. I guess it might be the denser public school places that have the more stringent social castes, but I am far from knowledgeable on that matter.
In the UK, me and my friends played soccer, five a side, I had my own weights at home and went to the uni gym. And played D&D, Runequest, tunnels and trolls, fighting fantasy - if you could roll a die or dice, we played it !
I was a varsity football middle linebacker and team captain, but I was also one of the founding members of the gaming club. They are not mutually exclusive.
Just got done watching this video. Now I wanna do those sit-ups I promised myself I’d do.
I couldn't love this more, as a fellow Jocks Machina member.
Mr. Torgue's pain while playing B&B with Lilith in Borderlands 2 has never hit so close to home.
Growing up, being both an athlete and heavily interested in “nerdy” things, I never felt comfortable in my different social groups, but seeing how normal it is now makes me think how silly I was back then. I wish I had been as comfortable back then as I am now. Thanks lads 👍
I’ve always wanted to try D&D when I first saw it on Big Bang Theory. I never had the opportunity to do so until college. I’m also happy that I finally took a peek at this show. It’s awesome watching this. Also me seeing a strong guy like Travis playing D&D sort of inspired me to work out a little more again.
Travis's impersonation of Joe is my favorite new thing.
Tons of us in the military love D&D
If I run marathons, can I be a jock too? Love these guys!
I can totally relate to this. Fond memories at University of Florida playing D&D after a long day at the gym. Maybe that's why I always played as fighter or ranger class.
I dealt with this in high school. 20 years ago I was a starter on the varsity football team, on the debate team, played D&D and Old World of Darkness (thank you, White Wolf!), participated in rec. league soccer (AYSO) & baseball, built my own computers, and read fantasy and sci-if novels. It is so great that adults that some kids might find as role models are starting to speak up about embracing their inner nerd, geek, etc. and that it is okay to be who you are and you should be proud of that.
I was so happy the day I learned that there were other kids who grew up as jocks who enjoyed doing nerdy things like D&D, videogaming, watching cartoons and anime... And when I heard that the Big Show grew up with D&D, I was blown away, because when I was growing up, my cousins and I would practice wrestling moves in the pool during our summers, and one of my favorites to do (as an 120-pound kid) was the Showstopper.
It's nice seeing worlds collide and people who are generally perceived as having nothing in common, join together to create something cool.
It gave me the same feeling as when my college friends met my school friends and all hung out together.
I have always been very open about my interest in fantasy novels and playing d&d, but about six months ago I was surprised when my sister (who is a rugby player), her best friend (a full time/national paddler), and her roommate (our uni's soccer captain) all asked me to dm a game for them and their friends because they wanted to get into d&d! We recruited two other friends of their's, one who is a jock and one who is a film nerd, and I must say it was a very interesting experience! It was hilarious, seeing the two beefy guys playing as a bard and a wizard, while my sister played as a healer and our film nerd played a berserker! I loved it, haha.
DnD saved a lot of boredom on my deployment I'm glad my first Dm introduced me to it but now I'm a forever DM lol
YES!! This was me in high school when I first started playing D&D!!
I was a varsity lacrosse player, so I was something of a jock; but I loved fantasy and this sort of thing. So glad that my game group didn't reject me for it.
And yes, I played the tank of the group. I still do, usually. I was a defensive midfielder, so playing a tank helps me to really get in the game, to figure out what my character would do.
On my first deployment we got a game going. We'd be in the break room after our shift was done playing and would always get one or two people who would just sit down and watch. Made the time go so much quicker.
I wish the shirts were still available. I got one but now I want more!
I played soccer my entire childhood, I'm 45, and have been playing D&D since I was 8 years old. And I as a choir nerd in high school. During my high school years my Gaming Group included our Varsity QB....Who was also a choir nerd. He was also QB of the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad.
Currently in process to get in true “great weapon master” shape . Excited to buy my jocks machina shirt soon!
Joe Manganiello is such a pure soul and this is the best
Two guys I've played with are the definition of jocks machina. A cage fighter and a marine. And I love the big lugs
I've lifted weights since elementary school and I've been into table top RPGs for many years. It's so fun when you have a good group of friends to play it with. I had two football player friends in high school and they were into table top RPGs too. We played a few times every month.
I need more Jocks Machina!!!!
I was that kid throughout Jr. High and High School. Football/ Wrestling and Dungeons and Dragons. However, those days are 30 years ago (plus a little more) and I am now the ex-Jock who played some High School Ball. But I'm still a Dungeon Master and still a Player!
I'm actually surprised that Henry Cavill wasn't mentioned as a member or at least honorary member of Jocks Machina since he was a rugby player in school, almost missed being cast as Superman due to being in the middle of a raid on World of Warcraft, is playing The Witcher and play/played the ultimate nerd/jock hidden combo in Clark Kent/Superman. Joe was in Justice League, he could drop a line to Henry and get him on board.
Maybe he is not into d&d. Maybe he is a pathfinder guy and they consider him an enemy.
Hmmm. In my D&D circles there was always at least one muscled athletic dude. Two of the best players I gamed with who could role play really well and strategize as good as anyone were rugby players.
as a former college football player and avid DnD player this pleases me.
Haha I was definitely an Athlete my whole life and I wrote my first module when I was 11. Also, reading Sci-Fi / Fantasy books it’s what got me through school... Gotta thank Mrs. Z my old elementary school teacher for having the Pyrdain Chronicles on her shelves in class 💕.. I still keep up this kinda dual aspect. Gym in the garage and lift five times a week, and host the D&D game every week in an ultra nerd game room.
Anyways this interview made me smile.
Damn! It’s good to see fellow jock nerds man. I had to write a paper of identity, and I titled it that and oh boy, I certainly didn’t bring it up to my Larping or Football friends.
I love that they are doing this, and at the same time it breaks my heart. That anybody would ever be excluded from this hobby, where everyone is invited to be just anything they ever want to be.
JOCK MACHINA!!!! Awesome! Imma a fan of this guy now
i can relate to this as i have been playing rugby (essential english version of American football but with no helmets or padding) since year 7 (12) to now (16 going on 17) playing colts rugby the step below adult/professional rugby and so it starts to get really comparative and people start to get spotted for jobs, but when i am around the rugby lads or at the gym i have to say quite about all my nerdy stuff like how i play d&d or how i make/design games or even how i love the theatre and acting (even certain musicals), but i can’t talk about that with them under fear of being looked down upon so when i am throwing a rave i can’t talk about the book i am reading or anime that i really getting into or even something as trivial as how i saw i cute dog or cat and so i took a photo of me and it and how it gave me its paw and it was adorable, because i don’t want people to put me into that shut in nerd who all they care about is the nerdy stuff as i only recently became confident and started hanging out with people more and making more friends and you know all that good stuff and i am worried that if i start talking about that stuff people will stop wanting to hangout with me and being my friend and that i will be alone again and that is what i am most afraid off that people will no longer like me because of it though i am not like an alpha jock or the person you thing of when you think jock, i still have some work to do there though i am still only 16 and so still have some time to get there before college
but my final point is that these guys have been an inspiration and role models for me and what i wish to achieve in my life (travis especially ps i loved you as colonel roy mustang)
this was grate for me to vent out i hope everyone that has read this has a nice day and jocks machina for life
love these guys
Hey Joe ' too cool to mention Critical Role on Colbert' Manganiello :P
From my name, you might guess I'm from a Jock background. Yup.
The first DNDers I ever met were other ruggers in the Navy.
They were submariners in the mid 70s. Three month tours that never break the surface. Three months of no TV, no going to the store, nothing.
It made perfect sense to me that they would go on "adventures" as often as they could.
That's awesome, I love that this has changed I have a lot of friends that people wouldn't expect to play dnd that do.
Mr Torgue can play Bunkers and Badasses too Lilith
Always treasured my Packmaster autograph, but it says a lot about these guys...they find a successful product that gains popularity and sells fast. So....CHARITY! Love them so much
this may be old but as a person who was allways athletic but smaller and played lots of dnd and games i was lick the opposite of this i was the nerdy dnd kid playing wide receiver and this really resonates and i love yall alot.
I played dnd in my early teens, getting older I turned to sports and worked on my body etc to be able to be more popular and fit in better. It's great with the dnd revival happening that people like me can be both athletic and nerdy. Joe is a god among men!
HELL yeah. This is amazing. MORE reasons to love Travis.
I’m a jock at high school and I recently joined a group. I’m a super big fan but they were so surprised when I joined. Should’ve seen their faces
I was on a long bus ride with a bunch of football players in high school (can't remember what for) and got talking with one of them because he saw my Aliens vs. Predator novel and he called the Predator a Yautja and knew a ton of lore. Jocks can be nerds guys. It's pretty cool.
Putting TL;DR at the beginning.
D&D is amazing, and maybe my words don't come out or across how I mean them, but anyone, anywhere, at anytime, for what ever reason, can play with the same for the mentioned reasons.
I am a 6'1, 190 Band nerd in high school who hungout with every walk of life from the lifters, jocks and muscle men to the goth, emo, and closet dwellers. D&D is the single most inclusive thing you can do. Because you don't have to be yourself, you can be anyone. The shy timid kid can be a dashing charmer, the jock can be a clumsy genius wizard. The goth can be a flamboyant extrovert (looking at you Jaffe) the chess team can be great big oafs who "break puny man" and you don't have to look at others for who they are, but how they play. It allows you to understand what someone thinks by letting them think outloud. If you can't get along with someone at the party next door raging on till the wee hours of the night. Then you can get along with the party at the table throwing dice and living in a place where you and your ilk can dream of a world where anything is possible.
In our high school, we had a small core of football players that played D&D. We also had a higher GPA average on our team than the school itself...
ngl An important, very positive energy that needs to be brought to every D&D game is Big Himbo Energy!
D&D is definitively for everyone that can get enjoyment from it, which is everyone with a heart and the will to have fun with friends or other people
I'm so happy that the entire DnD is for nerds thing is going away. I was never ashamed for it, but only since the last year or so, many of my friends and colleagues came up to me asking about DnD. I've had several introduction sessions for people and some even formed their own group. And it kinda brings us together, which is great.
Gracias for the aid
In my experience as DM in a lot of different group (i am 42 now) people that came from team sports, i am from italy so always football, are usually good strategist and reflective player, of course this is a generalization but grew up in a team usually is an advantage when you play at the table, you are prone to listen the other, know the strenght and the weakness of the individuality and of the group.
So in my opinion play team sport and play at the table are complementary.
So ture i was in the popular crowded at high school playing all the sports football, hockey,rugby athletics. But man loved hanging out with the war gamers and roll playing lads still on the quiet 👊Then i joined the army. But im back in it now i don't care who knows 💪🍻😎 roll playing is bad ass
Does anyone know where I can get a t shirt??
I absolutely agree ! Gym is my living, ex-pro athlete and I absolutely love DnD ! Started like 1995, still going. Also huuuge Warhammer dork with hundreds of 40k minis (over 35k pts worth of CHSM for you knowing people).
I love to lift, I live to bicycle and swim and whatnot and I also like to DM for my friends !
I've always been a bit confused by the jocks vs nerds dynamic, because it doesn't really fit my experience at all. when I was in high school, the sports kids also did musical theater, and vice versa. there were social circles, but not really cliques divided by interest like that, at least not that I noticed. on the other hand, I never did find anybody else who wanted to play d&d (at least not with me), and believe me, I looked. it wasn't until college that I finally found my group and got to game with folks, and I found them through college sports - albeit fencing, perhaps the nerdiest of the sports. From there I got into larping and foam combat, which is a particular jocky brand of nerdery (or a nerdy variety of jock, depending on your perspective), and found gaming groups through that social sphere.
so I'm glad that those distinctions are starting to be challenged and worn down - you can be a jock AND a nerd, or more accurately: a human who loves stories, which is really the heart of what we do.
does anyone know where you can get these shirts now?
Fantastic
Does anyone have a link to the “all tanks” game they’re talking about?
I've deadlifted 400lbs, done cage fighting, played sports, and I play D&D. This is cool as hell.
So very American with all the ostracizing. I started playing on 86 while I was a carpenter's apprentice of the old kind doing everything by hand. And two years later I was in SSR and did Muay Thai, and in 93 I started competitive Viking Reenactment fighting. My players were a mix of craftsmen and soldiers and students, we never thought of that. We just had fun.
YES, dude! I've always been this big nerd, but now I'm getting interested in maybe doing all this jock stuff, maybe trying some different sports, doing lifting and things like that. This is just exactly what I want to be. Jocks Machina.
Ron was hilarious! That bieber character was fantastic.
This gets me motivated to lift and become a jock.
I have a few friends that are in football at my school and play D&D with me. It’s a thing where there is this stigma of “oh, they won’t understand” which is entirely bull. I find that one of my friends wizard is the most useful and smartest character in the party.
Joe inspires me as a nerd to get in shape.
Same
"Mike don't do that to me!" 😂🤣
Mad respect!
I was in wrestling in high school and nobody I played D&D knew. Conversely nobody I wrestled with knew how much of a nerd I was. These days playing D&D is very geek sheek. In the mid 90's it was pure nerdy 😄
i knew i wasn't alone
what critical role episode was that unvaling of the shirts
My Group includes 2 Rugby Fanatics and a Lifter out of the 5.
Damn how are the rugby guys that’s still cool tho.
I remember being a bridge between the jocks and the nerds at our highschool.
Got some of the jocks to play D&D...
They loved it. Got to know the nerds.
Our grade had zero fights or people getting picked on. I think D&D might have had something to do with that...
Were I can see this game??!?! I so want to see this game
I'm the opposite of a tank in real life, but i love playing tanks so very much. Dwarf tanks to be more specific that is totally different from me :D
Same here. Super twiggy dude, but always feel bored as hell not getting into the thick of it and taking hits.
I've been a nerd for years, heck I'm a sysadmin at a large company now, but it wasn't until this new wave of acceptance of D&D that I got to do more than download a PDF of the books to muck about reading. So thanks, to all those involved that are helping it become normal.