“Esposure is connecting esports and education to create opportunities. We are committed to doing our part in building the esports talent pipeline through our Education to Entertainment ecosystem.” — Danny R. Martin
Danny R. Martin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Esposure, Inc., a global esports technology company with an Education to Entertainment (E2E) ecosystem focused on developing the next generation of esports professionals and competitive gamers. The STEM.org accredited curriculum and cutting-edge technology are designed by gamers and created to educate, entertain, engage, and empower the esports community.
Danny started his journey in the esports industry at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). As a student athlete with limited time, he made extra money repairing gaming equipment for classmates. Majoring in small business management and entrepreneurship, it wasn’t long before he recognized the financial opportunity available in organizing large-scale esports tournaments. While in college, Danny saw the vision and began building a network of gamers comprised of friends and contacts on campus.
From that database of gamers, Danny started hosting tournaments, and his first esports business, Geekletes, was born. After leaving UTSA, Danny’s career and interest in esports continued to grow. By 2015, he co-founded and self-funded his own esports organization by turning his 2,000-square-foot Downtown Dallas loft into a gaming esports arena. After a few years, he expanded and opened two arenas with over 40,000 sq. feet.
Fast forward to 2020, when shelter-in-place orders were in effect, Danny recognized the need to pivot his company from its origins as a proprietary platform for hosting gaming tournaments to instead focus on growing their efforts to support the esports community with online educational resources and production services. In 2020, Danny and his leadership team reimagined and transformed Esposure into an esports technology company with innovative programs and a high-quality production team.
While many live esports events were cancelled and arenas went underutilized, Esposure was developing the next generation of talented videographers, content creators, graphic designers, and a best-in-class production team. Danny laid the framework for a new and enhanced Learning Management System (LMS) and built a STEM.org Accredited curriculum. His vision and leadership to execute the transition provided access to quality esports education for students across the globe and a pipeline of talent to sustain the industry growth. Perseverance, resilience, and courage were just a few of the many attributes that contributed to the transformation of the business.
Danny credits his ability to persevere to his days running track in his hometown of Lancaster, Texas throughout high school and at UTSA. “Building a business is like a marathon. There are constant ups and downs, but you must understand goal setting, pace, and milestones. You have to have the energy to keep pushing forward – enough energy to be better than your competitors.” As a business owner and CEO in one of the most competitive markets for esports, Danny Martin has already made his mark on the industry as a trailblazer. But he has his eyes set on something even greater: together with Esposure, Danny is on a steadfast pursuit to educate, entertain, engage, and empower 20,000 students and young adults with STEM esports programs and career exploration by 2025.
Additionally, Danny is passionate about increasing diverse representation within STEM and esports, both areas that significantly lack diversity. Danny is breaking the mold of the esports industry and empowering others to do the same by paving a pathway to professional careers in esports for diverse individuals across the globe. He is overcoming the misperception that there is no future for kids who like to game beyond becoming a professional player. Esposure’s mission is to increase access to one of the fastest-growing industries in the world while providing a comprehensive pathway for aspiring professionals within the esports industry. To further support his mission, Danny and his team helped develop the company’s charitable foundation, Esposure4All, which seeks to eliminate barriers that would normally keep underrepresented populations from learning about opportunities and benefits in the emerging world of esports. Esposure4All has committed to developing esports labs and enabling youth to continue exploring opportunities within esports.
