Behind the Bots

This week we chat with Sam Herman! Brandeis University graduate, Team Pandamonium member, and recent winner of the 30lb division in Round 2 of the NHRL Pro Tour, Sam is an ascendant competitor in the sport of combat robotics. Since his debut in 2022, Sam has become one of the foremost bigwheel builders in the sport, fielding the 3lb robot Colossus and the 30lb robot Gargantuan. Both robots have se...

We chat with Brian Kaspr, event director at NHRL! Kaspr was originally an artist based in Norwalk, CT known for his abstract art that led him to co-found the critically acclaimed studio Flat Vernacular! In the robot he’s been introduced to many as one of the hidden hands that has kept the NHRL ship going on event days! As we look forward to NHRL’s 2nd Pro Tour event of 2026 we will be diving into...

We chat with Team Valkyrie members Leanne Cushing, John Mayo, and Bam Singhasaneh about their time at Battlebots Pro League! Valkyrie has been a staple of Battlebots since 2018 with some of the most powerful fights in all of Battlebots history! Their 2020 culminated in their first major trophy of the ‘Most Destructive’ giant bolt later matched in Battlebots Faceoffs with their giant washer! Now th...

We chat with Zoe Lambert, captain of Honey Cracked, mentor of growingSTEMs, builder of Minun and Plusle, and member of Team Mammoth! Zoe and growingSTEMs have been one of the first groups to host the NHRL XP events with robots winning in the classes receiving full invitation to compete at NHRL’s Open league! Between the event running, multibot building, team managing, and parts selling Zoe and her...

We chat with the builder of reigning 30lb world champion and June golden dumpster winner Joshua Rhinehart! Josh's robots Kazaa Lite and Kazaa Eins have literally set ablaze the 30lb division with their ultra-resilient chassis, unmatched ground game, and ultra-power flame thrower. They've defeated top 30lb machines including Synthesis 30, Lil Lash, Emulsifier, and Megatron all while reshaping what...

This week we chat with the man, the myth, the legend, the King of Kinetic Energy: Ray Billings! Ray has one of the most incredible careers in all of combat robots having competed in Battlebots since the Comedy Central days all the way to the reboot! Tombstone holds the distinction as one of the few winners of the Giant Bolt and the Giant Nut! He’s also competed at some of the most prestigious even...

This week we will recap the April NHRL event with WPI's own Ezequiel and Jaaron! Both of these builders have been competing with their 3lb robots Blink and Red Panda respectively alongside supporting larger machines like 30lb Waddles! This time they're back with 12lb Supernova where they made an impressive run to the Semifinals where they ultimately lost to Maximizer. We'll talk about their storie...

This week we will recap the Robot Rampage World Cup event from February with our very own Team USA! Henchmans Sam & Colin, Johnny Tsoumpas, and Corey Nason are joined by special member Aki to recap how America’s own Jump Rope, Spartan 30, Riposaw, and Synthesis 30 joined Bad Blood to compete in four days against top machines from New Zealand, Australia, and Brazil in a unique nation-vs-nation...

This week we will recap the NHRL February event with members of University of Illinois's iRobotics team! We'll talk about their experience with 30lb entries quack., FSH, and Killswitch and other famous entries from the team like Undertaker and Goose!  To watch the podcast live check out https://www.youtube.com/@jakemaximizer/streams where it will be shared to all of the audio apps the following we...

Alex has been steadily honing Pinevictus all year. Though Pinevictus has been around since November 2021 during his days at UMD as a Leatherback,  2025 is the year where the robot has been on a meteoric rise. It started the year strong by reaching the Semifinals at February NHRL with a Judges Decision loss to Silent Spring followed by solid runs at Motorama and Hive Hysteria. After designing and d...

Liam has been on a tear this year with Buzzzz-kill recently capturing the 12lb crown at November NHRL! Now the overall 2nd seed behind only Slam Plan, Liam looks poised for a deep run at Finals. Outside of 12lbs, Liam and the rest of Leatherbacks have been racking up wins in the insectweights at events like Water's Edge, MACRO and had a close fight with top bots like Mako at November NHRL with his...

Dima has launched onto the scene over the past year with her brother Julian as one of the most dynamic siblings at NHRL! First piloting the very kindly Turbofriend before helming the lethal TurboFIEND to a golden dumpster in October 2024, Dima has proven a very capable robot driver whose quick reactions and skills remain on display throughout the northeast robot scene. With a pedigree of professio...

Jack has been known for years as the driver and co-captain of End Game, winner of Battlebots World Championship V and the Golden Bolt! End Game not only brought the top trophy of robot combat with them to New Zealand, but the whole sport with them in the form of Robot Rumble! Give it a listen!

Behind the Bots 234 Interview with Team Whiplash Captain Matt Vasquez!   Matt has been building and competing in combat robots all his life with machines like Whomper, Lil Lash and Whiplash! Known as one of the best drivers in the sport, he’s qualified for NHRL Finals, won the Robot Combat Championship and mostly recently took part in Open Sauce!   Let us know what questions you have for Matt!   T...

  Zoe and Team Honey Cracked have been perennial competitors at NHRL with entries like Minun & Plusle, BeeForce, HoneyBombers, and many more! Honey Cracked recently hosted the 2nd Hive Hysteria event on July 26th where 3lb & 12lb bots from near and far competed! Today we ask her about the team, the event, and her goals for the future!   To watch the podcast live check out https://www.youtu...

Alex has been a perennial competitor at NHRL with Floor Letter Word and a member of the Brett Breakers! He's also well known for event organizing GSCRL whose season championship will be coming up on August 2nd!   Let us know what questions you have for Alex!   To watch the podcast live check out https://www.youtube.com/@jakemaximizer/streams on Tuesday, June 17th at 7pm EST! Otherwise, it should b...

This week on the podcast we will be Glenn Boxell, member of team 2 Hot 2 Handle  builder of Caldera 12 and recent 3lb Golden Dumpster winner Caldera !   Let us know what questions you have for Glenn!   To watch the podcast live check out https://www.youtube.com/@jakemaximizer/streams ! Otherwise, it should be available on all the podcast places later in the week!   Follow us on Facebook: facebook....

  This week on the podcast we will be interviewing Eli Davis of Team Sawblaze while looking forward to the June NHRL event! We’ll talk about Eli’s experience with Sawblaze and his cool robot designs !   Let us know what questions you have for Eli!   To watch the podcast live check out https://www.youtube.com/@jakemaximizer/streams on Tuesday, May 27th at 7pm EST! Otherwise, it should be available...

This week on the podcast Jake and Brandon will be interviewing Kezia Skye of Sleepy Anime Girl Club about their recent (and very first!) Golden Dumpster with perennial hard-hitting 3lb robot Chainsaw Kitty! After numerous events at NHRL, Chainsaw Kitty made an undefeated run through the bracket culminating in a decisive victory over fellow powerhouse Glenn Boxell and Caldera. We're excited to talk...

This week on the podcast, Chris, Lindsay, Luke and Kyle say goodbye with one final AMA. We’re handing off the show into the very capable hands of Golden Dumpster winners Brandon Bennett Young and Jake Hoffmann, who will take the show into a new era. We talk about why, and take all of your questions (and very kind comments) in our final AMA as a group. This episode was recorded live and has only be...

This week on the podcast, we’re catching up with longtime friend of the pod Lars Elliott, builder of IMPAKT and Jet Lag. In March (spoilers) he won his first career Golden Dumpster, becoming the youngest NHRL beetleweight champion to date. We learn more about his robots, his parents, his friends, and his favorite competitions.   Robots around the World: https://youtu.be/uVcBa6NXAbk?si=f2DsMUqNtjcR...

This week on the podcast, we’re gearing up for March 2025 NHRL with two-time Golden Dumpster winner Brian Boxell. Brian made his NHRL debut in July 2020 with his hard-hitting beetle Eruption. Over the next 4.5 years, he’s grown into a perennial favorite in the weight class, completing 90 career fights across 22 competitions. He’s a multi-time Golden Dumpster winner, with wins in 2022 and 2024.   F...

This week on the podcast, we’re recapping all the action from Motorama 2025, with Havoc Rundown cohosts, NHRL Pit Control members and our dear friends, the Hunter brothers! Ryan and Justin served as judges and announcers at NERC’s Robot Conflict at Motorama 2025, and got a front-row seat to all the action. We break down this weekend’s winners, and top moments from one of the best (and longest-runn...

This week on the podcast, we’re catching up with Georgia Tech engineering student and ChonkIV team lead Daniel Vail. ChonkIV is the most effective shell spinner competing today, with two Golden Dumpsters within the last 12 months, and taking home second place at the 2024 NHRL Championship. We learn what it takes to build a killer 30-pounder, how Team RoboJackets works, and answer obscure questions...

This week on the podcast, we’re previewing the February 2025 NHRL qualifier (Feb. 1 in Norwalk, CT!) with Pramheda builder Zack Knight. We learn about the Pennsylvania Bot Mafia, BotsIQ, and why he loves the 12-pound weight class.   Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/behindthebots Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts Tell a friend about the show; we really appreciate your support!