# Erin Winick Anthony from Learning to Flip - Episode 5 **Source:** JBS Show **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2023-11-28 **Duration:** 31m 26s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** Buzzsprout-14046796 --- ## Analysis Erin Winick Anthony, a NASA science communicator turned social media creator and competitive pinball player, discusses her career transition, her pinball journey, and her work with Barrels of Fun and Wormhole Pinball. She covers her upcoming two-month research vessel expedition, her first pinball machine purchase (Circa 1933), dream themes (Avatar: The Last Airbender, band-themed games), and her experiences commentating tournaments and building community through Bells and Chimes women's pinball organization. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Erin left NASA a few months ago to start her own social media creation firm, which now works with Barrels of Fun — _Jamie asks 'you left nasa a few months ago to start your own social media creation firm really' and Erin confirms she's working with Barrels of Fun_ - [HIGH] Erin is currently ranked 12th in both open and women's-specific tournament rankings, positioning her at the bottom of the top 8 for women's finals — _Erin states 'I'm like 12 at each of those' and 'I likely would have made it' to women's finals_ - [HIGH] Erin purchased Circa 1933, a 1979 cocktail pinball machine, for $700 at the Houston Arcade Expo from community member Spence — _Erin confirms 'I bought it from Spence, another member of the community' and states the price was '$700'_ - [HIGH] Erin will be away for two months starting next week as an onboard science communication officer on the JOIDES Resolution research vessel in the Mediterranean — _Erin states 'next i think it's next thursday i am leaving for two months i'm flying to amsterdam and then i'm going to be on a scientific research vessel for two months in the mediterranean'_ - [HIGH] Learning to Flip web series is designed as an accessible entry point for newcomers to pinball rather than expert-focused content — _Erin explains her philosophy: 'I see so many people that are experts in a thing and only are willing to start sharing once they're an expert in the thing' and 'I wanted to try to make this as first of all an accessible point'_ - [HIGH] Space Camp 2024 tournament at Wormhole drew approximately 40-48 women players over a weekend — _Jamie states 'we had like 40 women here over a weekend' and they discuss it 'somewhere in that range' reaching possibly 48_ - [HIGH] Erin worked at MIT Technology Review as a journalist for two years before joining NASA as a senior science communicator for the International Space Station — _Erin states 'I worked for two years up in Boston at MIT Technology Review as a journalist' and then 'came down here for a job at NASA here in Houston and worked there for four years'_ - [HIGH] Wormhole Pinball operates only three days per month and maintains an unlisted location to manage visitor flow — _Jamie explains 'we are up in three days' per month and references earlier 'it's only open three days a month'_ - [HIGH] The Labyrinth (Barrels of Fun) trailer was filmed at Wormhole Pinball with Erin involved in the production — _Jamie asks about 'the Labyrinth trailer the filming' and Erin confirms involvement through Barrels of Fun founder David Van Ness reaching out to Wormhole_ ### Notable Quotes > "I see so many people that are experts in a thing and only are willing to start sharing once they're an expert in the thing...I wanted to try to make this as first of all an accessible point for all the people that already follow me for science and space stuff who aren't going to be experts in pinball" > — **Erin Winick Anthony**, early in interview > _Explains the philosophy behind Learning to Flip series and her approach to creating beginner-friendly content_ > "I love something I can just pop my headphones on and go play pinball for three hours and not talk to anyone. And I also love it as a social aspect and meeting people and getting out and competing." > — **Erin Winick Anthony**, mid-interview > _Articulates the appeal of pinball across both solitary and social dimensions_ > "When I walk through this door, you leave your politics. You leave all that behind. And this is all-inclusive. And there's no judgment here." > — **Jamie Birchall**, late in interview > _Describes Wormhole's core values and inclusive community policy_ > "I'm a woman on social media. I deal with it. I get it. I know. It drives me crazy when that troll hits you in the first learning to flip." > — **Jamie Birchall**, late in interview > _Acknowledges online harassment and gendered harassment in pinball social media spaces_ > "Coming here, though, everyone wanted to talk to me. People wanted to help me learn the machines. Everyone was so encouraging. Isn't that crazy?" > — **Erin Winick Anthony**, late in interview > _Contrasts Wormhole's inclusive culture with exclusionary experiences in other gaming communities_ > "I worked on a short-form documentary series called NASA Explorers that we followed two women scientists from having an idea about an experiment to launching it and getting results from the International Space Station over the course of two years because science takes time." > — **Erin Winick Anthony**, early in interview > _Details significant NASA science communication work on ISS research_ > "The theme I want more than anything is Avatar the Last Airbender...once people my age move up into the pinball buying territory, it's got to happen. It has a new Netflix show." > — **Erin Winick Anthony**, mid-interview > _Identifies target demographic gap in current pinball themes and predicts future licensing opportunity_ > "I want one more band theme...Tenacious D...If we're joking around, Ice Nine Kills would probably be my top, or Brothers of Metal." > — **Erin Winick Anthony**, late in interview > _Expresses interest in niche band-themed machines despite acknowledging limited commercial viability_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Erin Winick Anthony | person | Social media content creator, former NASA science communicator, competitive pinball player, commentator, Learning to Flip web series creator; ranked 12th in both open and women's pinball rankings; recently purchased Circa 1933 cocktail machine | | Jamie Birchall | person | Host of JBS Show, operator/founder of Wormhole Pinball arcade venue; produces pinball commentary and streaming content | | Wormhole Pinball | organization | Houston-based private pinball arcade operating three days per month; known for inclusive community culture ('no-jerk policy'), streaming tournaments, and hosting game filming | | Barrels of Fun | company | Pinball game manufacturer; recently released Labyrinth; employs Erin as social media creator; founder David Van Ness involved in game trailer production | | Bells and Chimes | organization | Women's pinball organization with chapters in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas; runs tournaments including Space Camp (40-48 women over weekend) and Interstellar Showdown; supported by Erin's commentary streaming | | Learning to Flip | product | Web series created by Erin Winick Anthony; published on TikTok, Reels, and YouTube; focused on accessible pinball content for newcomers; cross-promoted on Wormhole channels | | Game Preserve NASA | organization | Pinball venue in southern Houston where Erin began practicing before attending Wormhole; location with well-stocked game collection | | Circa 1933 | game | 1979 cocktail pinball machine with Art Deco theme; Erin's first machine purchase; $700; early solid-state machine suitable for learning basics | | Labyrinth | game | Recent Barrels of Fun release; new game being celebrated at Wormhole during this recording; trailer filmed at Wormhole with community participation | | Congo | game | Vintage pinball machine; available at Game Preserve NASA; dream machine for Erin due to ape/monkey theme and desired upgrade potential with LED lighting | | Jurassic Park Data East | game | Data East pinball machine; on Alex (Erin's husband) wishlist; currently being restored at Chris Lowe's house; retrieved from Florida acquisition trip | | Avatar: The Last Airbender | product | Nickelodeon animated series; identified by Erin as ideal future pinball theme with upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation; appeals to millennial demographic | | JOIDES Resolution | product | Scientific research vessel in Mediterranean; Erin will serve two months as onboard science communication officer on Expedition 401 | | Alex | person | Erin's husband; interested in Data East machines; collects Jurassic Park book editions; supportive of pinball hobby | | Brendan | person | Erin's friend; present at Wormhole during recording; involved in building second streaming rig | | Elizabeth Tronet | person | Bells and Chimes organizer; recognized for organizing women's pinball tournaments in Houston region | | Mike Flanagan | person | Pinball community member living near Erin; provided advice against EM machines as first purchase; has working machines at home | | Spence | person | Game Preserve community member; sold Erin her Circa 1933 machine; known for excellent pinball repairs | | Tim Hood | person | Erin's pinball-collecting friend; allows machine rotation through his collection; active in Wormhole community | | David Van Ness | person | Founder of Barrels of Fun; initiated Labyrinth trailer production at Wormhole; worked with Erin on social media projects | ### Topics - **Primary:** Career transition from NASA to social media content creation, Pinball as entry hobby and competitive pursuit, Learning to Flip web series and accessible content creation, Wormhole Pinball community culture and inclusivity - **Secondary:** Bells and Chimes women's pinball organization, First machine purchase (Circa 1933) and collector goals (Congo, Jurassic Park), Pinball theme licensing opportunities and gaps (Avatar: The Last Airbender, band themes), Commentary and streaming content creation ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Erin speaks enthusiastically about her career transition, pinball community, and future plans. Jamie is warm and encouraging. Discussion includes minor frustrations with online trolls and exclusionary experiences in other gaming communities, but overall tone is celebratory of inclusive culture at Wormhole. Excitement about upcoming research expedition and pinball projects. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Wormhole implements strict inclusive culture ('no-jerk policy') and deliberately maintains welcoming environment to attract diverse players; Erin's transition from being solo player at Game Preserve NASA to active community participant demonstrates effectiveness (confidence: high) — Jamie: 'we have this strict no-jerk policy at this door' and Erin: 'When I first came here, I was trying to be as open as possible and everyone reciprocated' - **[community_signal]** Viewer-sourced recruitment model at Wormhole: streamers successfully converting online audience to in-person visitors through organic discovery; demonstrates effective content-to-community pipeline (confidence: high) — Erin: 'I've been playing at NASA by myself...I saw you guys on stream...you guys weren't advertising your address...I did some digging...I found you all and showed up' - **[community_signal]** Women's pinball organization (Bells and Chimes) expanding streaming visibility; Erin's commentary work encouraging other women to participate in streaming, suggesting successful community-building approach (confidence: high) — Erin: 'there weren't a lot of Bells that wanted to step up and do some of the streaming. But now that I'm doing it, more of them are willing to hop on the mic' - **[competitive_signal]** Women's pinball tournament structure (separate rankings for open vs women-specific tournaments with top 8 from each for finals) creates dual-path advancement system; impacts ranking significance and tournament strategy (confidence: high) — Erin explains: 'There's two rankings that you get ranked in. One is your points in open...And then there's women's specific tournaments. So the top eight from each of those rankings make the women's finals' - **[content_signal]** Learning to Flip series intentionally targets accessibility gap in pinball content; creator recognized that existing content assumes expertise and uses unfamiliar terminology, creating barrier for newcomers (confidence: high) — Erin: 'I see so many people...only are willing to start sharing once they're an expert...people were saying terms I had no idea what they were...assuming I knew every machine that's ever been made' - **[licensing_signal]** Avatar: The Last Airbender identified as significant untapped licensing opportunity for pinball; upcoming Netflix adaptation creates timing window for IP holder consideration (confidence: medium) — Erin: 'The theme I want more than anything is Avatar the Last Airbender...once people my age move up into the pinball buying territory, it's got to happen. It has a new Netflix show' - **[market_signal]** Niche theme demand (band-themed machines, Ice Nine Kills, Brothers of Metal) exists but acknowledged as commercially non-viable by community members; suggests market fragmentation and collector hobby premium over mass-market appeal (confidence: medium) — Erin discussing band themes: 'I have very niche metal bands that I'd want a machine from, but I don't think are going to happen...How many do you think they would sell? Not too many. It doesn't matter' - **[community_signal]** Erin Winick Anthony transitioning from external science communicator observer to embedded Barrels of Fun social media producer; provides insight into manufacturer operations from creator perspective (confidence: high) — Jamie: 'you left nasa a few months ago to start your own social media creation firm' and 'you're working with houston's own barrels of fun'; Erin: 'I didn't expect pinball to be a part of that company but it ended up happening' --- ## Transcript hello and welcome to the wormhole my name is jamie birchall this is our podcast series called wormhole pinball presents uh you can watch and or hear this uh anywhere you can get podcasts or on our youtube channel i'm here with uh aaron winnick anthony aaron is a social media creator i wrote this all down competitive pinball player pinball commentator i can go on and on welcome to the Wormhole Erin. Thank you. Good to be here once again. Oh, this is exciting. And we love having you here. And I just thought once I started this series, Wormhole Pinball Presents, I said, well, this has to happen. Oh, I love it. Thanks for having me. It's going to be fun. If there's going to be sound in the background, it's because we've got the Labyrinth Barrels of Fun today. Yes, big day. So you have to watch the stream from that after you listen to this. So this will go up probably tomorrow. Okay. If that's okay. Yeah, totally. Yeah, this will go up tomorrow. So you would have already watched our Labyrinth Barrels of Fun stream. Cool, cool. All right, let's start with your STEM career. I learned what STEM was recently. Yeah. Science, technology, engineering, mathematics. You got it, yep. So pretty cool. How did you get from the University of Florida to NASA? Yeah, so I got a mechanical engineering degree, University of Florida. I did that because I'm someone who always loved making stuff. It was, you know, I made my Halloween costumes, Rube Goldberg machines around my parents' bed, you know, everything. So you don't see, you don't hear Ruth Goldberg. What was his name? Goldberg Machines. Those are neat. Yeah. Those are cool. So I've always made stuff, and I wanted to try to find a way to channel that in whatever I did. But I also really loved journalism. So I was really torn between going between the two paths. When I graduated, I kind of found a way to combine the two. And so I worked for two years up in Boston at MIT Technology Review as a journalist there. Wow. And then came down here for a job at NASA here in Houston. and worked there for four years as a senior science communicator for the International Space Station, which basically means I was a storyteller of all the science on the International Space Station. So combining that technical background with those communications. I was going to ask you, like, what project while you were at NASA kind of sticks out? Do you have any? Yeah. You have probably so many, but can you narrow it to one or two maybe? Totally. I'd say the two or one, right when I got there, I got to work on a short-form documentary series called NASA Explorers that we followed two women scientists from having an idea about an experiment to launching it and getting results from the International Space Station over the course of two years because science takes time. And then the other was I worked on a project called the Benefits for Humanity Project, which was sharing all the ways that science conducted on the International Space Station helps us back here on Earth. And that was a big thing for helping extend the space station to 2030 and keep it up there and keep it funded. That's awesome. I have so many questions about that about that later on i mean so you you left nasa a few months ago to start your own social media creation firm really yeah um in fact you're working with houston's own barrels of fun i am yeah i didn't expect pinball to be a part of that company but it ended up happening just from being a part of this community now for a year and a half and yeah it's super super how has that been really cool i mean it's been i've loved just being able to see behind the scenes at a pinball company because, you know, there's what you see from the outside in social media, then what these people are actually talking about on a day-to-day basis, what are they actually doing with their hands, what does it take to launch a pinball machine. So I've loved just being able to be a little bit involved and just a spectator to a lot of those conversations. So, yeah, just so crazy how you got involved with that. I love that story. You've heard it here before. I'll give you, you know. So Erin came to the wormhole and just started hanging out with us and really helping us with our social media and really helping Donovan and, you know, really things started taking off for us. What really took off is a web series that you have. Yes. You know, both on TikTok and Reels called Learning to Flip. Yes. Where you kind of take viewers through your pinball journey. How did you come up with Learning to Flip? Where did you see that there was a need? Dance, baby, dance. Yeah, dance, magic, dance. Dance, magic, dance. I love that part of it. So how did that come about? Yeah, so I've been like a social media content creator for a little while, but I mainly make science and space stuff. And so I was kind of looking for something different to make. So I love doing that, but I wanted to try to share another part of my life aside from the science, mechanical engineering, Aaron. And I see so many people that are experts in a thing and only are willing to start sharing once they're an expert in the thing. and I feel like as someone who was starting to consume pinball content for the first time some of it didn't seem very accessible people were saying terms I had no idea what they were and it was just always starting up here assuming I knew every machine that's ever been made and so I wanted to try to make this as first of all an accessible point for all the people that already follow me for science and space stuff who aren't going to be experts in pinball and then be able to kind of have a different type of content out there and be able to just relate to people on a different way without having to be I know everything as I'm sharing about pinball. I mean, if you haven't watched it, you really do need to go. And just learning to flip, go on YouTube. You can go on your channel. And we cross-promote it on the Wormhole channel. On YouTube, it's just on the Wormhole. And then everywhere else, we often cross-share it on all of the social medias, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. It really is great. We'll talk about it more a little later because you have a new addition to your house. So we want to talk about that. And I loved the learning to flip on it. It was really, really cool. So guide me through your process of deciding what type of video you want to make, whether it's learning to flip or with your STEM. Guide me through, like, how does this idea come from germination to completion? How does this happen? Yeah. So a lot of I also do a lot of content creation for other people. So stuff that I don't necessarily, you know, credit or have my name on, but I'm helping guide a lot of other engineering science firms, places like that with their writing and social media. So my personal accounts are what inspires me. I don't want to be too formulaic in it. I want to do kind of chase that interest and that passion that I have at the time. So yes, I have an entire notebook full of video ideas of things that I can go to at any time. But oftentimes it's the thing that's inspiring me that week. I get an idea. Sometimes I'll batch film content and stuff too. So I'll do like a bunch at once. If you see me have a lot of content one week, it's because I probably filmed it all on a Sunday or something beforehand. But usually it's something I learned in science or space and I'm just really excited about. I also consume a lot of TikTok and Instagram content. So trying to find ways to use, say, a TikTok trend. Do you write it down? Yeah, I write it down. I have that big notebook that I write them all down. And then a to-do list that I have for the ones that are top of my list at the time. So cool. And then if I feel more inspired, I'll write scripts out for them too. So I have a Google Doc of scripts to film and stuff. And then I'll sit down and I have a little filming area in my house to be able to go film them all. Really cool. Yeah. Yeah, it's really cool. I I've always fascinated I'm fascinated with that that's why I asked it but I mean I'm just so you started your pinball journey your pinball playing journey at Game Preserve NASA well I'll say my first tournament ever was here I will say but I practiced a lot of Game Preserve NASA before I came here so you drive by it you know you live down in the southern area yeah what made you just pull up and go to the Game Preserve so I you know when I a little while ago I had just gone there with my parents and stuff when they were in town so I was like what's something my parents will also like doing with me. And it was just a fun thing to go do. And, you know, as we were coming out of COVID a little bit, I, both my husband and I had moved to Houston right before COVID and we didn't really have communities. And we both were kind of looking, okay, we want a hobby. That's going to get us out of the house and that we can both pursue. So he picked hockey I picked pinball Uh now he here today and I gone ice skating So we crossed over a little bit Of course But I kind of just took it from there I was like this is something I can have fun doing by myself and with other people. I love something I can just pop my headphones on and go play pinball for three hours and not talk to anyone. And I also love it as a social aspect and meeting people and getting out and competing. It's also fun to have that competitive outlet and a fun competitive outlet. So that was kind of the thing. I was just like, this feels like a good fit for me. So talk about bells and chimes. You're actively involved in Bells. In fact, you stream a lot of that. I mean, what a great organization Bells and Chimes is. And thank you. Shout out to Elizabeth Tronet and Raleigh and Palace and everyone that does such a great job here in Houston. Yeah. I love Bells and Chimes. Me too. And, you know, funnily enough, the reason I originally found out about it is because when I was in Boston, I had joined the Bells and Chimes Boston Facebook group before I moved here. But I never went out to anything. And I didn't get involved in the community. but it was like on my radar of like, okay, there's a cool network of women out here that are interested in this thing. Looked it up here. Thought that they had one here too. And they're such a great community, not just in Houston too, but San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, all the women that drive around and support each other and come to all these tournaments. And they're just fantastic. I've loved being able to do commentary for it to just give some more attention to it and stream them. Cause there's some incredible players that sometimes maybe don't make it to the top four to make it into finals, but absolutely worth, you know, getting on stream. So your husband and your friend Brendan came here today to talk about the second rig, right, that we're trying to build here. The mythical second rig. It is mythical, but we're going to make it happen. Yeah. Yeah, we want to build a second rig. And one of the reasons I want to build a second rig is I want that second rig on people that normally don't get streamed. Yes, that would be great. So that you can have your A group. You can follow your A group. And then I can put in maybe people that snuck in that normally never get to be streamed. Exactly. I would just love it. And then especially for the Bells and Chimes, if they go top eight, I could have two streams going for you. Love it. Yes. Because Bells and Chimes, we often always do smaller finals amounts too. Olympus Journée is a big fan of top four or top eight. So it's always a little bit slimmer, even harder to make those finals there. So let's geek out about commentating. Yeah, sure. Because I love it. It's, you know, besides this podcast, which I'm really kind of geeking on, I really love commentating. It's fun. And so I think I kind of share this process, this passion with you about commentating by having you come sit next to me. What do you like about it? What kind of made you gravitate towards commentating? Yeah, I think the original thing was I do a decent amount being on camera in the rest of my life. But I don't do a lot of unscripted stuff. I'm very much, often it's written down. I say the thing. I deliver it to camera. And sometimes I'll, or I'll be interviewing. and those are the things I'm very used to because I have a journalism background. So, you know, I often am the one that would have questions like you do with a paper here and like guide the conversation. That's what I'm used to. So this is a fun new thing to be able to do with it. And for me, as someone who's learning, I can ask the questions that maybe everyone else here already knows, can spark conversations like that. And so I've really enjoyed being able to learn by being in the commentator's booth. I feel like I've learned these games so much faster than I would otherwise. Oh my gosh, right? Just having, you know, Wesley and Jack and everyone sit here and talk about all the things you do on it, oh, my gosh, it's helped me get better so much faster. I know I talk too much during commentating, but I do try to stay out of their way when they are really talking about. Both are important. I feel like you want that important information, but you also need the person that's going to come in and ask the questions, change up the flow, provide the storytelling aspects. I think both are important. I really like it. Real quick, I used to commentate. I used to be the announcer for my kids' lacrosse team. Yeah. Okay. Uh-huh. And I went from podcast to doing that. Okay. And then I was like, this scratches another itch for me. There you go. It gives me this opportunity. And now this is kind of a good blend of all worlds. And I'll also add, too, I think there weren't a lot of Bells that wanted to step up and do some of the streaming. But now that I'm doing it, more of them are willing to hop on the mic and stuff like that. I love it. I'm happy to be able to kind of hopefully be able to pass it off and have some of them do that, too. And I love the views that you're getting on the Bells and Chime streams. I love because I look at all of that, right? Because I'm crazy. But it's just been phenomenal. And, you know, if you want to go back and watch on our YouTube VODs, you need to see the final. And Alice, really, it's just phenomenal. Yeah, Interstellar Showdown, the most recent one. Thank you. And then we had Space Camp was the one back in April, which was another really good one. Well, we're going to do Space Camp every year here, right? I think so. I hope so, too, because that was a great success. Yeah. It was three tournaments over the course of a weekend all for women. And it was a really good size because we had like 40 women here over a weekend, which honestly I feel like that's a great size tournament for wormhole. Yeah. 40, 48 maybe. Yeah. Somewhere in that range. We got into the 64 for Bayou Bashes and those. It's almost too many people. But we'll figure it out. We'll go from there. So your second year of competitive pinball is wrapping up. how close were you to the top 24 before you have to go? I mean, you were going out of town, so you wouldn't be playing it. Well, I'm in. So women's is a little bit different. There's two rankings that you get ranked in. One is your points in open. So all the open tournaments I go to, normal ones, you know, wormhole tournaments. And then there's women's specific tournaments. So the top eight from each of those rankings make the women's finals. I love that. And so I'm like 12 at each of those. But the thing is, the top eight is very similar for those. So there's a lot of overlap. So I was going to make up the very, very bottom of that. Okay. But you would have made it. Yeah. But I likely would have made it. But, hey, I got a goal for next year now. And I'm sad I won't be able to be here for it being at Wormhole. Well, let's talk about why you won't be here. Yes. Yeah, that's a big thing. Because I would love to Zoom with you while you're there. We got to do it. I'm skipping around here. But what are you doing in a couple of weeks? Where are you going? How did this come about? talk to me yeah next i think it's next thursday i am leaving for two months i'm flying to amsterdam and then i'm going to be on a scientific research vessel for two months in the mediterranean off the coast of spain and portugal i'm going to be an onboard science communication officer doing live streams to museums and schools sharing all of the sciences being conducted on board this expedition 401 on the joides resolution i'll be doing their social media managing their website all the communication stuff from on-site. And I'm super excited for it. I've never done anything like this. You know, I'm super into space, but you don't get to go to space, so you don't often get to be close to the science. I'm really excited to be with the 30 scientists who are on board and, like, be there where all of this is happening. I think it is so cool. I can't wait to watch it and see what you post. And, you know, I'm fascinated with that journey, how you're going to take it and what's going to happen. And I still think we can do a tournament while you're gone. Find an ocean-themed machine or something. See, that's the problem. So I downloaded some virtual ones on my Switch, too. So we can find one pinball machine I have on my Switch that you all have here or something. I can compete from a distance. We'll figure something out. Yeah. I would love it. I think that's a hoot. Yeah. The internet connection might not be up to your typical camera standards, but we'll make it work from out there. The ship internet isn't incredible. My camera standards are getting better. They weren't great, but we're working on it. So you recently, what's Drift Gears, you recently bought your first pin. Yes. Talk me how that happened. And you know, when I first met Chris Palas, he goes, how many pins do you have? And I started going on these terms, I said I don have any pinball machines And he started laughing He goes well that change That change Everyone told me the same thing too I mean it is just an addiction Now I very lucky that I have a friend named Tim Hood so I don have to buy it You get him rotating through, yes. But talk about your first pen. You bought it at the Houston Arcade Expo. What's it called? It's called Circa 1933. It is made in 1979, which is the most confusing thing to constantly have to explain to people. But it's a cocktail pinball machine. I bought it from Spence, another member of the community, and does amazing repairs at Game Preserve. I kind of just had in the back of my mind, I was just keeping things open. If something came on the market that I wanted to jump on, I wanted to get something that was on the cheaper end, but I didn't want to go EM. I was advised by Mike Flanagan, who lives near me, and I've gone to his house and he has repairs and stuff. Don't go EM for your first one. If you don't know how to repair a pinball machine, that's a little bit extreme to start on. Okay. So I went for early solid state to try to be able to have something that I can learn the basics of how a machine works. And this one, it was $700 to be able to have this. It fits in my house. It's kind of an Art Deco theme. So it's not like I put, you know, a zombie from The Walking Dead in my living room to start out. Right. And my husband, Alex, also loves this type and era of machines. So it was a great fit. We had lessons learned in buying a first one already of having to transport it and figure all of that out. Oh, yeah. But it's been super fun. We already love it. That's a wormhole you're going to wind up going down because what I'm curious is what is your dream theme? Like this comes available, this machine. Let's do new and old. Let's do an old. This comes available. The price is right. You go to Alex and go. Is there one that's on a to-do list? That I really want. I really like Congo. Yeah, so I love Congo. I can see it. Yeah, and so I play one at Game Preserve all the time. So I do have access to it, but it's not very well lit. And so I really want like a really well working Congo. Yeah. With the monkey, you know, the ape down below. Yes. Really well lit. Exactly. And that could be a really fun pin for you to fool around with, like with pin stadium light and whatever, an LED. Exactly. Make it a project. So that's the one I want. The one I know Alex has his eye on too is Jurassic Park Data East. Okay. So he loves Data East machines from just what he's played so far. Yeah. And Jurassic Park is his, he collects editions of the book. so we have a bunch of different versions of Jurassic Park with different covers on it at home so it would just be like the perfect mix for him so you know there's a Tim Owens at that oh yeah yeah it was here for a cup of coffee but it's at uh Chris Lowe's house getting worked on okay and so it's supposed to be back here okay he'll be here every time when that machine's here for sure it plays wonderfully I went to Florida and picked that up it's a long story it's a debacle yes I I think I've heard pieces of this before. This is crazy, but we came back with six pins, and that was one of them. That's awesome. So, yeah, those are probably the two at the top of the list. Okay. So what about a new – there's not a lot of stem pinball machines. There's a lot of space. There is a lot of space, yeah. Yeah. Is there an ideal theme? Obviously, Labyrinth is fantastic. It's very cool. But, you know, we're here today to celebrate Labyrinth. But what about – this machine comes out, you'd have to look at it. So the theme I want more than anything is Avatar the Last Airbender. Yeah. The Nickelodeon show. Oh, yeah. So there's, you know, I feel like most machines, I'm not in the target age group for yet for those themes. There's some that, you know, match. I'm not the target necessarily gender or age demographics. I don't get a lot of the targets for it. But this one, I feel like once people my age move up into the pinball buying territory, it's got to happen. It has a new Netflix show. Yes, new Netflix show coming out. And why do I know this? Because I have children her age that were addicted to The Last Airbender. Loved it. So my parents were super into it at the time, too. So, I mean, just think there's all the different elements. You can pick between which one you want to be and the whole world. I feel like there's so much potential there. That's the one I think I would buy next when it came out. Yeah. I have everyone, you know, always ask that question, like, what's your ideal theme? Yeah. I really want a band theme. One more band theme. Okay. And I want, what's Jack Black's band? Tenacious D. Oh, Tenacious D. Yeah. Uh-huh. That would be great, too. If we're going bands, I don't know if you have it on there, but I listen to metal when I play pinball. Yeah. So I have very niche metal bands that I'd want to machine from, but I don't think are going to happen. Alter Bridge? No. I'm joking. Yeah. Ice Nine Kills would probably be my top, or Brothers of Metal. So we can get some of those out there. How many do you think they would sell? Not too many. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. That's fine. What about a home brew? There you go. You could do that. Future project, yeah. All right, let's geek about the wormhole before we're done, right? Yeah, sure. I love the story how you came to us. You just, because in the beginning of the wormhole, and you could see, if you're watching this, you'll see parts unknown in the upper left-hand corner because we don't really advertise where we are because it's only open three days a month and yada, yada. But one day, once people show up randomly, I make an account to come up and say, hi, I'm Jamie. Yeah. Who, you know, in a nice way, who are you? Why are you here? Why are you here? And then they say, well, I saw you on stream or I saw this. And I love when you came here. We were like, that is so cool. Yeah. I was basically, I've been playing at NASA by myself. It was like how to come out. And I was trying to just learn more about the community. and yeah I've watched streams on Twitch and stuff and I saw you guys and then you guys weren't advertising your address and I was like wow where are they and how does this happen so I did some digging which was a little harder at the time but I found you all and yeah and yeah I showed up I remember trying the wrong door at first and then sure everybody does that and then finding the right door and walking in and I think it was saw Leslie first and she's like who is this person you know yeah and then ever since I said I found y'all through stream I was like you gotta talk to Jamie he's gonna be so excited oh I was pumped I was beyond myself I was like are you serious we have a viewer that came here that is so ba it is so fantastic and I absolutely love it what you brought your parents here and I thought that was really cool and your mom geeked out that and I was like please don't yeah they all watch especially when I'm on commentary so they've they've heard Jamie a bunch they're like oh the person that Aaron talks to all the time I know it's cool though. I mean, what do you like when I try to explain to people about this place? My thing is that we're all inclusive. But what do you love about it? Yeah. I mean, there is something really special about this place. It is hard to put into words, but I think first of all, when I first came here, I was trying to be as open as possible and everyone reciprocated. I've had a lot of hobbies in the past that I've done that haven't been that way. I used to be really into magic, the gathering, my gosh, not the case at all. That's why I ended up leaving. It was just, you know, my husband was and more in the competitive scene of it. I did not have that same receptiveness. Coming here, though, everyone wanted to talk to me. People wanted to help me learn the machines. Everyone was so encouraging. Isn't that crazy? It was really crazy. It's weird that when I tell people that this is an inclusive, yes, okay, we have trolls, right? I mean, Pinside and all this stuff. Okay, we've got some people. I'm a woman on social media. I deal with it. I get it. I know. It drives me crazy when that troll hits you in the first learning to flip. I lost my mind. I deal with it all the time. I know. You were so nice to us. You're like, look, I deal with this. You need to ignore. And we're fuming. I know. It was very funny to see everyone else learning how to deal with that. Yeah. I don't know how to deal with it. You're still working on it. We're going to get you there. I don't know how to deal with it. All right. Games have come in and come out here. What's your favorite that you would like to bring back here? Is there any game that has left that you went, oh, this is gone? Well, you know what's funny? So right when I was first starting to play I was so bad right And now I really want to see a lot of them again now that I still not incredible but i can hold my own machine so i was horrible at class of 1812 when it was here and now i like please don't ask for that to come back so i was like i need to at least try because i just learned how to play it and then it got rotated out that's the one that popped into mind but so that's been here twice yeah okay it's only the second time because christine loves it but when you're here by yourself oh right the call outs are it's it is haunting yeah uh there's a bunch of games that i would love to get rid of that are like that like trailer yes i know oh my lord we were here for the labyrinth trailer the filming which i don't know if we even talked about that exactly no we're going to i want to talk about it but um yeah we timed it was like every like nine minutes it would sing some song or something yeah so i love the story uh but anyway thank you for for being a part of the wormhole and uh it's it's it's so important to us and yes you know if you'd like to come to wormhole we are up in three days uh if you're in town one of those days hit me up and uh if you're a nice person maybe we'll open it up for you because i live a few minutes away so and seriously huge credit to wormhole they've been so welcoming and i feel like it's huge credit to this community and these people they make houston pinball what it is i think there's like so many like they would have been good cult members or cult leaders like tim would have been a really good cult leader because i'm like all in on pinball and he's just like and everyone is so nice they're so nice I've brought my parents and my friends are here too. So it just continues to spread. And we have this strict no-jerk Ryan Policky at this door. And that means a lot to us. When you walk through this door, you leave your politics. You leave all that behind. And this is all-inclusive. And there's no judgment here. We might joke around a little bit, but we're not hurting feelings. And I think that's very, very, very important. That there's a safe place for anyone that wants to play pinball. And yeah, okay, we get some crap. We're a little exclusive, and we get some crap. What are they playing back there? I can't tell. Oh, 007. 007? I was like, what the? Okay, yeah. That's okay. So we're going to get dinged on the 007. Dun, dun, dun, dun. Yep. It's going to kill us. Last question. Yes. I go off on tangents. I'm sorry. Let's talk about the Labyrinth video. How did that happen? Tell everyone how that happened. Yeah, well, again, this one has to go back to, I guess it's learning to flip the founder of Barrels of Fun combined with Wormhole is how it happened. So the founder of Barrels of Fun, David David Van Es, apparently was looking for someone to be in the trailer. And he was reaching out to Wormhole because the trailer was filmed here. And was like, hey, I've seen this girl on your social media channels who does this learning to flip series. I love the stuff she does. Any chance she would be interested? So I get a text from John Spates, one of the other co-founders of Wormhole. And just was like, hey, are you available on Monday? I can't tell you why yet. But are you happen to be available? And I was like, yes. Can you sign an NDA? Okay, well, I'm intrigued. Yeah, of course I'll sign an NDA. And I found out, David David Van Es, the founder, called me and was like, hey, this is what it is. Do you want to know what the theme is? Do you want to be surprised? And I was like, yeah, I kind of don't want to know what it was. So he told me on the phone. And, yeah, I came out here for a full day. Yeah. And I got to play the machine for a few hours and be filmed, which I will say was a bit nerve-wracking to have, for the first time you play a brand-new pinball machine, have the founder of a company, the designer of the machine, watching you on camera the whole time and have it be recorded for the whole world. But you know what? It worked out, and I had a blast. I got into my own afterwards and, you know, started playing it and really enjoyed it. And that, yeah, led to me now helping with Burl's A Fun Social Media. It's an absolutely beautiful video that they did. Oh, seriously. I've gotten to know Jared fairly well. The guy who filmed it. And he was a DP. And, you know, the photographer. Yeah. He is thinking about working with us because he was enamored with the joint, right? Yeah. He stuck around and played some machines afterwards. And so what's so funny about that is we had you. It went long. Yeah. And I had to go back and do some work at home. So it went long. And we had a Monday stream coming in. I think it was a tournament or a Monday stream. It was Fireball. Fireball. Because if you look at the Fireball stream VOD, I'm wearing the same thing in the VOD as I am in the trailer. Awesome. And I had to, if you're on stream, I was like, yeah, I just came back. You know, I just decided to be here after a year. And I was like, well, I actually had a reason. I was here all day and I was exhausted. Well, we had Corey, who always gets here early to clean machines. And we had to figure out a way to get Corey to not know because he wasn't signed in, if you will, on the NDA list. And they really couldn't give any more NDAs. So we were like, oh, gosh. So I remember going up to David and go, you've got 30 minutes. Yeah. And then they had a huge setup in here, too. Oh, my gosh. It wasn't just, you know, oh, we're just. Well, it was much better lighting than the barn. Yeah, it was good lighting. It was good lighting. While they spent, I don't know how much those lights cost, but it was lit. It was unbelievable. Yeah. And to be fair, the glass was also off, so there was no glare, which I also learned how loud pinball machines are when you play them when they're off. Oh, my gosh. The glass is off, so. They're wicked loud. Yeah. Try being in here when the techs are here on Wednesday night. Yeah. I go outside a lot. But yeah, but you know, they snuck Corey around and they figured. I know. It was a fun day. I was here for most of it with you, but I wanted to leave. I also wanted to leave and not make you nervous. You know what I mean? Yeah, I mean, there was enough people watching and all that already. But it is all good. It's one of those things where you're going to be nervous at first, and then, you know, you figure it out and get into it. You've got really good behind-the-scenes video and footage of that. Yes, and I do have one more video that's going to post while I'm gone of that. Because at the time, I was like, I'm posting too much about this. I don't want to feel like I'm just talking about this. Oh, no. Spread it out. That's cool. I can't wait to see it. I have one more after the Twippy forums are and voting is out. I have one more that I'm going to put out, which just coincidentally after Twippy voting, you know. Well, that's pretty cool. Yeah. And then this podcast might be available for new podcast Twippy. Yeah. We'll see. Yeah. There's a chance I'm in the running for a new, I think it's a YouTube creator or something like that. Nice. Because they don't have a general video creator and I am on the wormhole. YouTube. Oh, cool. So I think that Learning to Flip might be on the list for Twitter. So we'll see. It's so fantastic. It really is great. And I love the story of how you have your pinball journey itself. And I really wanted to do this interview. So thank you so much. Of course. It was great. You can see... Where are we going to be able to see you? While I'm gone? Yeah, while you're gone. So, A, I'm going to be posting on my own social media accounts, which will be the at Erin Winick on any platform. The Joydeez Resolution social media accounts, which the handles are different on every platform, but if you search it, it's J-O-I-D-E-S Resolution. And so I'll be running those accounts while I'm out there. So cool. And then hopefully maybe we'll have some type of Twitch stream with Wormhole. Oh, we're going to do it. We've got too many people getting my bandwidth better, and so for us not to do it. We're going to do it. Absolutely. I mean, we've just got to figure it out. There's an incredible amount of pins that Tim owns and John owns, 165 plus. The water themes, though, are a little limited. Yeah. I mean, we have white water, and I can't, you know, we don't have a China. Ships, pirates, I don't know. We'll figure something. We don't have one. Isn't that crazy? Yeah, I mean, Tim could pick one up. I know. Sure, why not? No, we'll figure it out. I think we'll, what, travel to the Clan of Fathom or something. Oh, they do have a Fathom. I wonder if they will let me bring it here. No, they won't. We'll figure something out. Oh, Baywatch could be funny. Oh, we'll figure it out. All right, thank you so much, Erin. I really appreciate it. You will be able to download this on anywhere you can get podcasts. I've got it listed on every directory known to man. And you'll also be able to get it on video on demand on YouTube. This will post Tuesday evening. Erin, thank you so very much. What a pleasure. I loved it. Thank you so much. Absolutely. _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: afc1e6e5-1181-4aa4-b108-847a490cdc72*