What happens when you build a sport specifically for the way people watch entertainment today? 📱🏆
This week on The Vertical Buzz, Buzz sits down with Nate Thomas, President and co-founder of World 1 Championship, to explore the creation of MicroSports and why the future of sports may be built vertically from the ground up.
Nate is a veteran television producer who has created and produced more than 1,000 hours of programming, including BattleBots and Netflix's Hyperdrive, with previous stops at Merv Griffin Entertainment and Mark Cuban's HDNet. Now he's applying everything he's learned about television, live entertainment, competition, and storytelling to a completely new kind of sports property.
From redefining what it means to be the fastest person in the world to creating a new test for the strongest, World 1 is designing competitions that can be understood, produced, and consumed in about 30 seconds.
And there's a bigger idea behind it: MicroSports. Sports created for the phone, built vertically from the beginning, and designed to turn the highlight itself into the event. 📲
In this episode, you will learn:
🏆 How Nate went from driving Merv Griffin to producing BattleBots and working with Mark Cuban
🤖 Why BattleBots succeeded when it was reframed as a legitimate sport
📱 Why World 1 is building sports specifically for vertical video
⚡ How the World 1 Speed Chamber will determine the fastest person in the world
💪 How the Bench Squat Max could redefine the strongest person in the world
🎥 Why 30 seconds may be the sweet spot for MicroSports
🌎 How World 1 plans to discover athletes anywhere in the world
📺 Why traditional sports struggle to translate their biggest moments to vertical
💰 How building a sport vertically could create new opportunities for brands and sponsors
Chapters
00:00 Episode Trailer
00:23 Vertical Sports Tease
01:30 Show Intro Microsports
03:41 Nate Bio Sponsor
05:03 Breaking Into TV
14:02 BattleBots Reinvented
17:59 World One Speed Chamber
30:43 Reinventing the Sprint
31:11 Strategy and Run Up
31:51 Portable Speed Chamber
33:29 Strongest Event Explained
36:10 Bench Squat Max Strategy
40:40 What Is a MicroSport
47:55 Vertical First Production
01:01:56 Campus Competition Day
01:02:25 Crowns Belts and Champions
01:02:56 Sponsor Break Airo AC150
01:03:21 Vertical Buzz Rapid Fire
01:09:48 Merv Griffin Shar Pei Heist
01:16:23 Test Event at LA Galaxy
01:20:29 Building Stars and Final Wrap
Sponsor: AEIRO (Arrow Air Purifiers)
AEIRO Air Purifiers help identify, reduce, and monitor airborne contaminants to create a cleaner indoor environment for homes and professional spaces.
Featured in this episode: AEIRO AC150, powerful enough to clean rooms 300+ sq ft, quiet enough for production, with smart sensor controls and true HEPA plus carbon filtration.
Website: AEIRO.co
Guest: Nate Thomas
Nate Thomas is President and co-founder of World 1 Championship and a veteran television producer with more than 1,000 hours of programming to his credit, including BattleBots and Netflix's Hyperdrive. He has also worked with Merv Griffin Entertainment and Mark Cuban's HDNet.
World 1 Championship: world1championship.com
Host: Buzz Leer
Buzz Leer is an actor, host, and veteran of the vertical film space.
Instagram: @buzz_leer
A Glendale Podcast Studio Production
Owned and operated by Erika and Jason Hanan
Instagram: @glendalepodcaststudio
Social Media Director: Ana Karina Cano
Instagram: @anakarinacano
Theme Song
Grace Leer and Bryan Dawley, The Vertical Buzz Theme Song
Public Relations and Media
Robb Leer, Leer Communications, Inc.
Thank you
Special thanks to all of my support team, friends, and family.
Host, Buzz Leer
#TheVerticalBuzz #NateThomas #World1Championship #MicroSports #VerticalEntertainment #BattleBots #Sports #VerticalVideo #WorldOne
