it's time for a special edition of pinball profile i'm jeff teolis you can find everything on pinballprofile.com got a great group on facebook we're on instagram and twitter at pinball profile you can email pinball profile at gmail.com and if you'd like to show your support on Patreon, that would be wonderful. Not necessary, but helps keep the show going. Thank you to great supporters, including GME Law, Rodney C, Lua W, Derek S, and more. Welcome to my year-end tradition of bringing attention to some of the people that have turned heads the past year. 2023 was one of the absolute biggest years in pinball, with so many new games, new companies, new leagues, and new players throughout the world. I was able to see more and more faces during my travels, and it may have been the most memorable year since this podcast began. The great news is the future looks even brighter for 2024. Here's how the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2023 works. The only rule to make this list is you cannot have been on the list the year prior. There are some amazing people who would be on year after year, so that rule gives others a chance to be recognized. Here's who made the list last year in the Top 10. The late Lyman Sheets. Colorado player Walt Wood. Scott and Josh of the Loser Kid Pinball Podcast Jason Knapp of Knapp Arcade Joe Cherovino of Pinball Degenerates Puzzle Master and Author Stephanie Lesser Big Time Tournament Directors Neil McRae of the UK Open and Derek Thompson of Yagpin Andreas Peterson, creator of Matchplay.Events The Teenage Stars of Competitive Pinball including Cassidy Milonowski, Zach McCarthy, Jared August, Arvid Flieger, Viggo Lovgren, Paul Englert, Jason Zoller and Neil Graff And finally rounding out last year's top 10 list was the one and only Roger Sharp. Before we announce this year's top 10, some honorable mentions. It was nice to see and hear David Thiel and his audio magic again. Big updates to Alien Pinball plus a whole new package for Pulp Fiction, one of the best features of that machine. Keep it up, David. Ron Howlett and Bruce Nightingale of the Slam Tilt Podcast entered their eighth year of being content creators. A cheeky show with lots of guests, commentaries, singing, Beavis and Butthead, Repair Tips, and even a heart of gold. All their jokes aside, Slamtail Podcast and their listeners did something amazing this year when they raised over $13,000 to give to suicide prevention programs in the name of the late Lyman Sheets. The power of podcasting. Thanks, Ron and Bruce. In 2023, after a long battle with cancer, we said goodbye and rest in peace to Stern Pinball's official jack-of-all-trades, Shelly Sachs Eldridge. For 40 years, Shelley did it all, including office manager, bookkeeper, purchasing clerk, and more. As Gary Stern himself said, without Shelley, there would be no Stern Pinball. Gene X. Wong for years has provided us with long-lasting photos for pinball players in competitions like the recent InDisc. But Gene found support from the pinball community when Elon Musk bought Twitter and changed the brand to X. Gene X. Wong, since the beginning of Twitter, has always had the X moniker. Surely when Elon wanted the name for his new branded company, Gene would receive something nada. Gene took it all in stride. A class act. But he should have been paid. Emoto Harney, who has been on this list before, had her dream come true in 2023. Along with the great passion she has with her positivity in this hobby, over and above the work, in-store and online as Director of Marketing and Events at Marco Pinball, Emoto was able to top all of this. She opened Captain Crazy's Paradise Arcade in Foley, Alabama. Sure, she put her retired parents to work, but I'm told they absolutely love it. You will too. Check them out on Facebook or online. Better yet, bring your quarters and go to Captain Crazy's Paradise in Alabama. Jermaine Marriott has not only been one of the world's best players for years, but also a lot more than you may or may not know of. His Seattle Pinball Services Company serves as a great operator in the Northwest West Jermaine even puts a James Bond 60th on location But he also helps with some of the biggest show internees including Stern Pro Circuit events And if that's not enough, he has stepped up his role with the IFPA with a lot of behind-the-scenes involvement. A lot of time and dedication. Thank you, Jermaine. In 2023, we saw the back-and-forth battle between the best players in the world. It was exciting to watch with Escher Lefkoff and Jason Zoller. Escher won two majors last year including the IFPA Open at Indisc and the European Pinball Championship while Jason finished top four in each of the majors. I have a feeling those two young men will be at the top for years to come. And our last honorable mention goes to musician Mark Mark Tremonti, the guitarist of Creed, Alterbridge and his own Mark Tremonti band as well as the incredible singer for his Sinatra tribute albums. He has given back to the pinball community that he loves so much in so many ways. His music was found on both The Godfather and Venom in 2023. I have a feeling that's just the tip of the iceberg for Mark Mark Tremonti music in pinball. And now for the pinball profile top 10 most intriguing people of 2023 in no particular order. Number 10. As mentioned earlier, 2023 gave us more new pinball machines than we have seen in decades. Many of them were showcased last March at the Texas Pinball Festival. TPF was massive once again, but it also was the swan song for two people who put in so much time and effort to bring us one of the biggest and best showcases in the world. Let's give praise and thanks to Kim and Ed Vanderveen for years of commitment to the Texas Pinball Festival. After the show, Kim and Ed announced they were stepping away from TPF, but we have to acknowledge what they have done over the years. It is a show that kept growing and growing and growing, fitting for a state that boasts everything is bigger in Texas. The size of the hall, the participants, the collectors, the seminars, the special guests, and the high-level tournaments made it a must-stop for many pinball enthusiasts. People from all over the world would circle TPF on their calendar every March just to get their pinball fix. Having been fortunate to work with Kim and Ed for the Pinball Profile Played America Tour, I can speak personally of their generosity and willingness to spread pinball joy to the masses. They were supportive of upstart pinball companies and projects, and gave many of them a chance to be seen at a high-profile event and show off their efforts. Kim and Ed survived the pandemic of 2020 when the world shut down just days before TPF was about to happen. That alone could have bankrupt many, but they persevered and they left the Texas Pinball Festival in good hands to go forward for years to come. Thank you for all your time and willingness, Kim and Ed. Number 9. In 2023, it was a slam dunk for every pinball company to show off their eye-catching new machines. The art packages continue to evolve from years ago of clip art, stock photos, and other dull images. This is in a big part thanks to the dynamic duo of pinball artists, Christopher Franchi and Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti). We saw multiple machines from these two men in 2023. For Franchi, it was a welcome return to see his work on machines again after a long hiatus since the Munsters in 2019. We were spoiled seeing his unique style on three machines, The Godfather, Galactic Tank Force, and Elton John. Plus pinball poster art for events like Pintastic and The Beast, which, shameless plug time here, happens to be this year, August 1st to 4th in Buffalo, New York at Pocketeer Billiards. And then there's also Zombie Yeti, doing it once again with not only Foo Fighters, but Venom, and officially joining the workforce of Stern. It was a treat to see the two of them together at a seminar at Pinball Expo in October. Here's hoping for more from these two for many years to come. Number 8. Speaking of Foo Fighters, how about another hand for pinball designer Jack Danger? As bummed as we were to see him step aside from the nightly deadflip streams on Twitch, it was for a good reason. Spending more time with his young family and more time creating amazing machines like he did with Foo Fighters. What a treat to see some different shots and feeds like we did in Foos. It was a design with both uniqueness and nods to some classic features. The machine was an instant hit and an incredible debut for a cornerstone title. Just as Jack did a lot for pinball streaming and inspiring others to get in front of the camera I imagine for the next few years we be talking about Jack praise for his games just like we did with his streams Can wait to see what next Number seven staying with streaming I have the utmost respect for those that put in the time and money to give us pinball content, whether casual or more frequent. Dina and Jim Lindsay of JDL Pinball are two people who travel Europe to stream some of the best competition pinball anywhere. The amount they have invested to make their broadcast top-notch is shown with the high quality of their streams. They even have a puppy cam for their dog JD. But in 2023, Dina and Jim stepped up in another way. For years, they have assisted with big local events in Germany and elsewhere, but nothing like what they did in 2023 when they were called in at the last minute to run the European Pinball Championship and many of the pre-IFPA18 events with the world's greatest players in attendance. Too often I hear people complain about this or that of competitions. By the way, those complaints usually come from those who don't volunteer or run events themselves. But let's give a big thanks to Dina and Jim for taking on this massive major event, and thank you for your dedication to JDL Pinball. So have you heard some of the names you were expecting on the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2023? Not yet? Maybe? Yes? No? Well, there are six more. Up next at number six, in December, we received some of the best pinball news you could possibly imagine. Doug Polka announced the return of Pinberg. What? How? Papa and the Replay Foundation sold all of their machines when the pandemic forced the end of Pinberg in 2020. But little did we know, some of the Pittsburgh locals, who were a big part of Pinberg in the past, bought about 20% of those rare machines. The idea was to someday, once again, build this pinball gathering and return it to its glory. So this July, a smaller version of Pinberg will return with multi-year plans of growing, including at least 300 people next year. Who knows what the final numbers will be, but Doug Polka and his Pinberg staff have their sights on once again providing one of the best events in the world. I have no doubt. Number five, growing up close to the US-Canadian border, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for all things Michigan. My go-to pinball hat is a Tiger's hat, I cheered as the Wolverines won it all, and you bet I'm hoping the Detroit Lions make it to the Super Bowl this Sunday. I spent many a Wednesday night in Ferndale, Michigan at Embrew watching a much younger Jared August learn the art of pinball skills and rules knowledge. But in 2023, I was following another Michigan man doing something special this year. Justin Charlton is someone I met years ago at Cleapon in Ohio, and we've kept in touch online, chatting pinball, but mostly baseball. Sometimes pinball is an escape from the daily grind of life for you and I. But what Justin did is even a bigger escape. Justin this year set out on a hike for the ages. In a five-month period, he hiked 2,200 miles as he finished the Appalachian Trail. He chronicled his travels online and from a distance for me, it was fascinating to follow along. Justin, your friends and family couldn't be more proud of your massive accomplishment. Number four, I don't want to leave the Appalachians just yet because in Kentucky, there was someone who was turning heads. I first noticed Elizabeth Elizabeth Gieske in December 2022. She was kicking butt at Pinsonati. Then later I watched her streaming and doing a great job commentating. I met her later in the spring of 2023 at District 82 and we did a pinball profile episode that I thoroughly enjoyed. It might have been an introduction for you to Elizabeth if you're outside of her area of pinball playing. But there was somebody who had their eye on her because just a few months later, Elizabeth was hired by Stern Pinball as a software engineer. They put her right to work and immediately you can see her efforts in the newly released Jaws. Talking with game designer Keith Elwin, he said it was great to work with Elizabeth because she offers a different set of eyes, some fun ideas, and competitive awareness. An excellent hire Stern, and well done to you Elizabeth. Number three, perhaps the biggest surprise in 2023, was the launch of the newest pinball company, Barrels of Fun, and we saw their first machine, Labyrinth. David David Van Es kept his cards close to the chest when out of nowhere at Pinball Expo we got to see and play this magnificent machine The team of Brian Savage Eric Prypke Trent Armstrong Phil Grimaldi Bowen Kerins and others kept a tight lip on this debut They waited until the machine was complete for everyone to play and purchase. No leaks, no second guessing, no spoiling, no box of lights at a show. Just a treat for all of us to see and play at Expo. So to David and your Barrels of Fun team, congratulations on the most successful launch in recent memory. Number two, also at Expo, many of us were able to play a machine that you had to look twice to realize it was in the homebrew section. Seeing the creations in various stages of development, it's exciting and you can't help but root for the success and progress. But one game in the homebrew section stood out, and it made many people, myself included, want to see this mass produced. Sean Irby flew across the country from Washington State and showed off his 8-ball beyond machine. The awards and accolades soon followed. Once again, just like we see with pinball companies, having a keen sense of playing at a higher level can help with rules design, mode creation, and balancing of score. It paid off in 8 Ball Beyond, as did the display, the shots, the multiballs. I want to play it right now. Hopefully, those of us outside the Northwest will get to do it again soon. Because Sean Irby, you made one heck of a statement as someone who knows how to make a great pinball machine. Before we get to number one, let's recap the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2023. Number 10, Kim and Ed Van Der Veen for years of running the Texas Pinball Festival. Number 9, the dynamic duel of pinball artists Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) and Christopher Franchi. Number 8, Stern Pinball designer Jack Danger. Number 7, Jim and Dina Lindsey of JDL Pinball. Number 6, Pinburg organizer Doug Polka. 5. Michigan player and Appalachian Trail conqueror Justin Charlton 4. Stern Pinball software engineer Elizabeth Elizabeth Gieske 3. The Barrels of Fun Pinball Team led by David David Van Es 2. Homebrew designer of 8 Ball Beyond, Sean Irby And now the final person of the Pinball Profile Top 10 Most Intriguing People of 2023. Ten years ago, pinball designs changed for the better. When Wizard of Oz was released in 2013, we saw things we had never seen before. The lighting, the mechs, and most notably, the huge LCD display. That was a game changer. No longer would DMDs be the norm. Since then, Jersey Jack Pinball has grown in the number of machines, more designers, more employees, and a larger factory in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. This all began because of Jack Guarnieri. As a fellow salesman, you have to believe in your product to be able to sell it. His passion is never in doubt, nor is his pride for his machines and the staff that bring them to our homes and arcades. In 2023, he was able to deliver his promise of two machines released in the calendar year with The Godfather and Elton John. What Jack has done in just over 10 years is make the pinball hobby better. Because he showed the way. He showed other pinball companies how to be able to create their own business model and their niche in the market. And for that, we salute you, Jack Guarnieri. we hope you enjoyed the pinball profile top 10 most intriguing people of 2023 it was a spectacular year and we look forward to even more in 2024 this has been your pinball profile you can find everything on pinballprofile.com we're on twitter and instagram at pinball profile you can email pinballprofile at gmail.com don't forget to join our facebook group as well and if you'd like to show your support on patreon that would be wonderful patreon.com slash pinball profile don't worry the show will always be free but thank you to people like cliff Derek Kay, Bart V and more for making it possible. Talk to you soon. I'm Jeff Teelwes. you