Pixel Retentive Podcast

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Chris Hewish , gaming industry executive, strategist, and business leader whose career spans companies including Games Workshop, Activision, DreamWorks, and Xsolla . From starting in the mailroom at Games Workshop with an unforgettable Warhammer-inspired application letter to helping shape global game publishing, monetization, and...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Cameron Dayton , acclaimed creative and narrative director whose career spans more than two decades across some of the most influential franchises in gaming, including Overwatch, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, NBA 2K, and Infinity Blade . From helping found Chair Entertainment alongside future Fortnite creative director Donald M...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Andrey Yevdokimov , Facility Animation Supervisor at CG Factory, whose remarkable career spans nearly three decades and some of the world's most recognized entertainment projects. From teaching himself animation in post-Soviet Russia with virtually no resources to working on blockbuster films and major game franchises, Andrey shar...

In this special episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with creative power couple Fred Seibert and Robin Seibert for an intimate conversation about creativity, reinvention, parenting, partnership, and building a meaningful life. Together, they reflect on more than three decades of marriage, groundbreaking careers in animation and music, and the lessons they've learned while navigat...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Chris Overlay, founder and CEO of GetHoptimized, to unpack the science and strategy behind turning marketing spend into measurable ROI. Chris shares lessons from more than a decade in digital marketing, helping craft beverage brands, breweries, and small businesses build high-performing advertising systems that drive real business...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Corbin Reeves, game designer, educator, and founder of Azure Ravens Entertainment, to explore what it really takes to build a sustainable indie game studio in an industry known for volatility, uncertainty, and relentless competition. Over the past decade, Corbin has built Azure Ravens into a thriving co-development studio that has...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Cheryl Platz, founder of Idea Platz, author, strategist, game development leader, and one of the industry's most respected voices on sustainable game development and player experience. With a career spanning Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Amazon, Riot Games, Disney Parks, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Mellon, and The...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with James Marcus, Art Director and Creative Leader at Snail Games USA, to explore the future of game art, creative careers, and what it means to thrive in an industry being reshaped by AI. Drawing on experience across gaming, immersive media, and teams connected to Sony, Riot, Technicolor, Blur Studio, and Snail Games, James shares hi...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Jennifer Magley, Chief Brand Officer of The Basketball League, former professional athlete, and creator of one of the most ambitious personal branding campaigns in recent memory. Jennifer shares the story behind her viral quest to land a spot on The Pat McAfee Show and how a simple idea evolved into a 365-day ambush marketing camp...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Andrew Perlmutter, CEO of NBA Take-Two Media (NBA T2), to explore how some of the world's most recognizable brands are transforming fan engagement, community building, and sports entertainment through participation. Andrew shares his journey from helping launch groundbreaking media ventures like Quartz and Stat News to leading NBA...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Paul Harvey, co-founder of Escape Mail, to explore what it really takes to pivot a hands-on escape room business into a global tabletop brand. Paul shares how Mobile Escape began as physical escape rooms built inside 30 foot trailers serving schools and corporate events, only to have the business shut down overnight when COVID hit...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Veronica Kido, award-winning publicist and founder of Kido Communications, to explore how strategic brand positioning earns real media attention. Veronica shares how her background in journalism shaped her approach to PR, why most companies misunderstand how media actually works, and how validation testing transforms branding from...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl connects with Chris Zukowski, game marketing researcher and creator of howtomarketagame.com to unpack what it really takes to build a sustainable creative business without chasing social media vanity metrics. Chris shares his journey from corporate UX leadership roles at IBM, American Airlines, and Solera Health to becoming a full-time creator i...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Jonathan Domanus, founder of CardMill, to explore what it really takes to turn a personal frustration into a funded hardware startup. Jonathan shares how a lifelong love of Magic the Gathering led him to build an automated trading card scanner and sorter after realizing the only existing solutions cost upwards of $10,000. Armed wi...

In this episode, Carl sits down with Jonathan Grzybowski, CMO and co-founder of Penji, to unpack what it really takes to bootstrap and scale a global creative company without outside funding. With over 15 years in the industry, Jonathan shares his journey from launching a digital marketing agency in his early 20s to building Penji into an Inc. 5000 creative subscription service with 500+ team memb...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Justin Superstar Johnson — Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, founder of BMP Creative, and creator of the AI-powered editorial tool Spooky Cutter. From editing wedding videos on stacked VHS decks in the late 90s to producing over 2,000 videos annually for Netflix, Justin shares how showing up on time, having a good attitude, and...

In this episode, Carl sits down with  Tim Thompson , Founder and Chief Revolution Thinker at RevThink , to unpack what it really takes to build a sustainable creative business without losing the soul of the work. With nearly 30 years in the industry, Tim shares his journey from going door to door in Burbank to landing three job offers in a single day , to becoming a founding member of Imaginary Fo...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast , Carl sits down with Debbie Millman — designer, author of eight books, educator, branding expert, and host of the legendary Design Matters podcast — for a deeply honest conversation about mastery, reinvention, and building a creative life that lasts. With over 40 years in design, Debbie reflects on rejection, detours, launching a podcast at 43, colla...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Thor Odinsson — creative polymath, experience architect, and former business development leader in the games industry — for a deep conversation on world building, experience design, and the accelerating impact of AI on creative business. Thor's career spans fine art, music production, record labels, large scale events, theater, fi...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with David Gallaher, transmedia storyteller, writer, and creative executive whose career spans Marvel Comics, DC, Ubisoft, and immersive live experiences. From breaking into Marvel with a hand-drawn comic strip resum to pioneering early interactive "cyber comics" and developing narrative systems for games and live events, David's journ...

In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast, Carl sits down with Kenneth R. FitzGerald — educator, designer, artist, curator, writer, and Professor of Design at Old Dominion University. From starting out as a ceramics major to becoming a self described "accidental" design critic, Ken's journey is anything but linear. What began as a letter to the editor of Emigre Magazine turned into a decades...

This week on the Pixel Retentive Podcast, I sat down with Mario Kroll, founder of UberStrategist and a 30 year veteran of the video game and entertainment industry. From launching WarGamer.com in the early days of online gaming to building a multi-award-winning PR and marketing agency, Mario has seen every hype cycle, platform shift, and industry reinvention you can imagine. He has navigated retai...

Episode Summary How do you generate billions of views without losing your humanity? In this episode of the Pixel Retentive Podcast , Carl Cleanthes connects with Anthony Deptula , President of BMP Creative , one of Netflix's agencies of record. Anthony's team has produced thousands of social-first videos across major titles, blending culture, speed, and storytelling at scale. But this conversation...

Episode Summary This week on the Pixel Retentive Podcast, I connected with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, founder of Rise25, longtime podcaster, and one of the people directly responsible for this show existing in the first place. Jeremy's journey is anything but linear. He started in biochemistry, became a chiropractor after witnessing the impact it had on his father's health, and accidentally stumbled into p...

Introduction This week on the Pixel Retentive Podcast, I connected with Michael Prince, founder of Beyond Design and a veteran industrial designer with more than four decades of experience bringing ideas from sketch to shelf. Michael's career spans iconic brands like IBM, Sony, and Thomson Consumer Electronics, and over the last 32 years, he's built Beyond Design into a trusted partner for invento...