Welcome to Authentic Esports, a monthly series where I take you deep into the heart of the esports and gaming market. If you’re expecting the usual corporate jargon about “cutting-edge AV solutions” or a thinly veiled sales pitch dressed up as expertise, hit Alt+F4 now. This isn’t that. Here, we talk about real esports, real gaming and real solutions.

Before we dig into the meat and potatoes (or energy drinks and instant ramen, depending on your lifestyle), let me introduce myself. I’m Joshua Kell, CEO of Horizon AVL System Integration and Esports Integration. I’ve spent more than 20 years at Horizon AVL, but my professional journey started long before that. I began in litigation support and IT, then launched my own web company in sunny Southern California. It was during those early entrepreneurial years —when I should’ve been focused on growth and revenue — that I found myself pulled into the world of Counter-Strike 1.5, 1.6 and Source. Suddenly, spreadsheets lost their charm, and perfectly timed AWP shots took center stage.

Like many of you, I was that tech-minded kid who spent weekends glued to a screen, grinding through dungeons, leveling up and occasionally failing to save the princess. Whether it was Zelda, Secret of Mana or Final Fantasy, gaming wasn’t just a hobby — it was a lifestyle. And like many millennials, I’ve watched gaming evolve in real time —from LAN parties and CRT monitors to high-speed internet and multimillion-dollar esports tournaments.

Luckily, my curiosity and drive fused into a young entrepreneur with a passion for technology and a parallel obsession with gaming. My natural talent for audio, video, lighting and integration synced perfectly with what was coming next.

In 2015, everything clicked. After years of building broadcast studios, Horizon AVL designed its first game development classroom for a local community college. That’s when my two worlds — AV and gaming — collided like a well-coordinated team fight. Two years later, in 2017, we pivoted. While most of the AV industry was still focused on projectors and conference rooms, we were building shoutcast and broadcast studios and launching esports into a new frontier. That pivot gave rise to Esports Integration, our dedicated division focused on competitive gaming environments.

This is where it gets interesting. Over the past eight years, I’ve seen countless companies try to break into esports — and fail. Why? Because they don’t get it. It’s like watching someone try to beat Dark Souls with a Guitar Hero controller. Painful. Manufacturers want in, but most don’t understand what makes a proper esports setup. Integration expertise is key. Competitive gaming knowledge is non-negotiable.

Some companies bring in “esports experts” whose last brush with competition was getting dunked on in NBA Jam in the ’90s. Others think tossing together a few gaming PCs and some RGB lighting qualifies as an esports program. Spoiler: It doesn’t.

Esports isn’t just another AV project. It’s a culture. A community. An ecosystem with its own rules. Treat it like a standard IT install, and you’re setting yourself up for failure. That’s why at Horizon AVL and Esports Integration, we don’t just build broadcast or gaming spaces — we build ecosystems. We integrate curriculum into K-12 and higher education.

We create esports environments that actually support competitive gaming. We ensure schools and organizations don’t just have esports arenas — they have the tools, knowledge and infrastructure to run legitimate, sustainable programs.

We’ve won Commercial Integrator’s Esports Facility of the Year three years running. That’s not luck. It’s not because we chase trends. It’s because we’re integrators who understand the tech and the culture. We know what it takes to build esports programs that don’t just survive — they thrive.

This series will serve as your no-BS guide to understanding esports in a way that actually makes sense. Over the coming months, we’ll dive into what makes a facility truly esports-ready, common mistakes organizations make when launching programs and where the technology is headed.

We’ll talk about why some groups get it right and others, well … let’s just say they’d have better luck winning a battle royale with a Nerf gun.

So buckle up. If you’re ready to cut through the noise, challenge outdated thinking and explore what Authentic Esports really means, you’re in the right place.

Let’s get started.