Member of the Month January 2015 (SG Steelhead)

Hey guys n gals it's the start of a new year and the new Member of the Month is now ready to be reviled or is that reveled? Anyway here for your thorough enjoyment is a most interesting member of our community and he's shared a most exciting moment in his life you can check thou out here: http://www.gamertagnation.com/genera...cket-list.html I suggest doing that after this read. He's a fun loving gamer and has started some great threads as well. Don't forget to drop by his profile and make him your friend if you haven't... heck maybe he'll give you a car...lol


Name:
Brett Bennett

What do you do for a living?
I run a ready-mix concrete plant in southwestern PA, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. This April will mark 21 years in the business. I hate the long hours and 6-7 day work-weeks but it supports my family and that’s the main goal.

Tell me about your Gamertag?
SG Steelhead
The SG stands for Seasoned Gamers, which is an online community of old farts who play together on a regular basis. It’s much like Gamertag Nation except not achievement-driven at all…mostly just middle aged casual gamers. A few GTN members are also SG members.

The Steelhead part is a nod to my Pittsburgh Steelers fanaticism. After yesterday’s win we’re now scheduled to play Baltimore this Saturday and I’ve already got my tickets in-hand! I ordered some nosebleed section seats from Ticketmaster but an hour later our cement supplier called and gave me his club seats…WIN! So now I get to treat my wife to luxury seating and give the other two tickets away to family/friends. Baltimore at Pittsburgh in a playoff game? It will be awesome, for sure! I’ve been to a million games….regular season, post-season, even an AFC Championship but NOTHING beats a Ravens-Steelers game. One thing about those games…you better have some depth on your roster because regardless of who wins, the following week will have some guys out with injury. Brutal!

When did you start playing?
I honestly couldn’t nail down an exact year but it was early 80s. I had Pong, then an original Atari, then some games on the Trash 80….same resume as most folks my age.

What's your play style? Ex: booster? Completionist? How often and long do you play?
I don’t really have a certain style. I’m an admitted achievement whore but even that can be forced to the back burner when something really grabs me. Right now that something is Destiny. In the past few months since it released I’ve put up about the same amount of GS as I normally do in a week or two. Very few games gain that type of hold on me though.

As far as being a completionist, that’s not really my thing. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy completing games but it’s not as important as having fun. If a game is fun (or really easy) I’ll usually go the extra mile to make sure I finish it but I won’t spend hours doing MP boosting just to finish a game. Not that I’m against boosting, on the contrary, I’ve boosted a ton of achievements. I just don’t normally bother with the ones that require multiple sessions to knock out. T/A ratio, nor completion, is important enough to make it worth my time.

My absolute favorite facet of gaming is online co-op. I love working together towards a common goal, be it a tough one or easy one. There is no lag-rage like there is in PVP MP and it’s simply nice to work your way through a game while BS-ing with your friends. Pretty relaxing and fun stuff if you ask me!

Tell me a good gaming story or experience? ex: Epic win/fail, marathon, accomplishment, a time you visited a game convention or met someone...or anything.
I once hosted the Seasoned Gamers Spring Fling, which was a blast. People came in from all over the country and we partied it up. Cornhole, drinking, softball, drinking, swimming, drinking and even a little drinking! Being the redneck that I am, I cooked chickens on the spit and my mama made some awesome country food (noodles from scratch, green beans and corn from the garden, etc). Folks loved it and we had a damn good time!

Also, I’ve been to Achievement Fest twice and both times were a lot of fun. I should have been there three times but my diverticulitis flared up and landed me in the hospital during the inaugural event. Meeting guys like Fsh, Futiles, Dacoto, Hotdog, BoZack, JB, etc is always nice. It’s great to put a face with the name, plus folks are always really great in person regardless of how abrasive they may seem on forums. As we all know, text on a screen doesn’t always translate well and I think people often read things into posts that aren’t really there.

What's your favorite game genre?
RPGs and Shooters. Strangely enough, before achievements came around the only RPGs I had ever heard of were rocket propelled grenades! That’s what I love about the addition of achievements…it expanded my gaming horizons tenfold. I’ve tried a TON of games I otherwise wouldn’t have which gave me a lot of good experiences I may have otherwise missed out on.

Whats your favorite game on 360? ONE? Of all time (any system)
360 – Probably Rainbow Six Vegas. I put a ton of hours into it and absolutely loved the MP. There are so many good ones though…Oblivion, Skyrim, Borderlands 1 & 2, Halo 3, Mass Effect(s)….so much goodness!

X1 – So far it’s Destiny, hands-down. I loves me some co-op and Destiny is all about co-op. Don’t get me wrong, I have just as many complaints as everyone else when it comes to it’s short-comings, but the mechanics are almost flawless and there’s something about it that keeps sucking me back in. Dead Rising 3 and Titanfall would be the runners-up or runner-ups, however you say that..ha

If you were a Video Game or game character who and why?
I’m not sure. Some would consider it blasphemy but I don’t really pay attention to story lines and I skip cutscenes whenever possible, so I don’t know much about characters. Whichever character is an aging hillbilly with a boatload of tattoos and a serious affinity for collecting guns and shooting, well, that’s me.

Are you looking forward to any new releases?
Yes. There’s a new Saints Row coming out and I’m pretty stoked for some mindless co-op in an off-the-wall goofy game. The last couple have been a blast, to say the least. When you pop open the door on a cargo container and find a fisting machine running full bore, you know you’re in a really weird game and that’s just hard not to love…haha

Do you collect or not so much?
The only things I collect are tattoos and guns. I’ve spent roughly 80-100 hours being inked with tattoo needles and I own roughly 60 guns of all shapes and sizes. Everything from small caliber handguns to ARs. My most recent weapon collection addition was a Christmas gift from my boss. A Springfield XDS-45…the perfect concealed carry handgun.

My most recent tattoo will be the one I just scheduled. I’m getting one in February at Bluenote Tattoo in B8ting’s stomping grounds…Las Vegas, NV. It will be a memorial tattoo for my father who passed a few months ago (8-20-14). I’m waiting for my annual Vegas trip to get it done because Bluenote has an all-star roster of tattooists. Krystof, the owner, used to work at Chester Bennington’s Vegas shop and has done work on me in the past. Also employed there is Joey Hamilton (Ink Master winner [season two, I think?]) and Walter “Sausage” Frank who was an Ink Master finalist in season three. Being a memorial tattoo, I want it to be perfect and going to Bluenote almost guarantees that it will be.

Do you have (a gamer friend you've had for a long time? anyone you want to shout out to?)
Fsh, for sure. We have a crazy amount in common so it’s no wonder we get along. We’re both old, both dedicated to family and both have a serious gaming addiction. I just wish I could learn to be as laid back as him. A game could have 10,000 flaws and he’d be the guy pointing out the bright spots. It’s an awesome attitude to have and I keep trying, yet mostly failing, to emulate that.

What's your favorite feature on GTN?
The people! Most of my old 360v buddies and teammates are here and all of the new folks I’ve met have been great. There’s nothing better than a forum where you can discuss pretty much anything you want without toolish/childish remarks. GTN has seemed very mature to me since the day I arrived and I definitely have an appreciation for that. Example: in our music thread, Sith Rick and I both mentioned liking country music. On most gaming forums, we would have been eaten alive by country-hating folks since it’s pretty much an unpopular genre in gamer circles, but on GTN there is no backlash because we are pretty much douche-free and that’s a very nice change of pace!

What would you tell people about GTN if you were trying to get them to join?
Pretty much everything I said above. If that wasn’t enough to get them interested, they’re probably not the kind of folks we’re looking for anyway ;-) I would also mention badges, I’m sure, since that’s always a huge draw.

Is there anything you would like added to the site?
Not that I can think of off-hand. I think it’s pretty spiffy just the way it is!

Do you have any hobbies besides video games?
Diving, shooting (target, sporting clays, etc), hunting, fishing, woodworking, travel, etc. Anything that involves firearms is right up my alley but I also love to fish...preferably saltwater but any fishing is good fishing.

Scuba diving is a recent addition to my hobbies. The first time I tried it I was hooked! Within a week or so of finishing my first dive I scheduled my open water diver certification classes for myself and my daughters. We all finished those and I plan to knock out Advanced open water, deep diver, and night diver this spring, as well as taking an advanced buoyancy class. My oldest daughter and I plan to dive Lake Mead next October. There’s a concrete plant and aggregate washing station (one of the ones used to build the Hoover Dam) that’s still at the bottom of Lake Mead, approx. 120-130 feet down. When I told my boss I planned to dive it, he offered to foot the dive bill as long as I shot video with my GoPro for us to post on our company’s social media pages. Score! Haha

On the travel side, my wife and I love to roam. It doesn’t even matter where as long as we’re seeing something different. Vegas and Mexico Beach, FL are our annual vacation spots but we also try to sneak in a trip to somewhere we’ve never been. Thanks to the Navy I’ve been all around the world…Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, UAE, Bangladesh, etc. If I hit the lottery today, I’d probably be a rolling stone from now until death.

Would you consider yourself Francis from the first Left 4 Dead? You don't have to worry about cut scenes in that game, it's all about playing with a team. He's a tattooed hillbilly with an affinity for guns and shooting. He has a shaved head, and wears a white sleeveless shirt like you are in your avatar. You're caring and generous by giving your daughter a car and watching out for her health, he's generous and caring because he points out things to people he cares about by yelling "Health Here!". He has to worry about his own health which is something I'm sure you're concerned about with your own because of your Diverticulitis - which sounds like some painful shit, literally. You're a champ for dealing with that. Brohugs and fistbumps, sir!

I'm sorry to hear about your father. To lose a father you love has to be hard. I am happy you are getting a tattoo from what sounds like one of the best tattoo shops. How can you go wrong by being tattooed by anyone there? You can then go to some delicious buffet, and conclude the nite by gambling some of the money left over. You might win the jackpot and be able to payoff your daughter's car. Maybe even buy yourself a monster truck! You know your gun loving, tattooed, badass self would love to drive around (or over) some yuppie town in a monster truck. When you are at a stop light be sure to blare some of Johnny Cash or David Allan Coe's angriest music. You should paint the truck concrete gray and have the word Steelhead written down the side. Place a big Steelers logo on the back window along with every gun company whose guns you own. Hell, you could put something about 'gun ownership rights' where people with 'ban guns' stickers can see them after you've driven over them.

I've never wanted to scuba dive but you make it sound interesting. If my body would allow it I would definitely go now. But dude, be careful. If you and your daughter are diving in Lake Mead you better take a few guns out of your 60 gun stockpile, take some of your best food and even a few stimpaks because thar be Lakelurks in them there waters.

I need someone from the US Navy to teach me how to shoot a gun so that I can better protect my wife and daughter, and so I can shoot mini UFOs and I'm always open to any rolling stones that want to come visit a little, sleepy, country tourist town an hour north of Atlanta. I'm assuming you live in Pittsburgh because you're in you're right mind and you're a Steelers fan (Jack Lambert is one of my heroes) but I would appreciate the company.

Awesome read Brett!

Infected, I'm afraid I don't have anything to challenge UFOs. If you see one, better just call this guy....





Preludecris, thanks. It was an honor to be chosen!

Would you consider yourself Francis from the first Left 4 Dead? You don't have to worry about cut scenes in that game, it's all about playing with a team. He's a tattooed hillbilly with an affinity for guns and shooting. He has a shaved head, and wears a white sleeveless shirt like you are in your avatar. You're caring and generous by giving your daughter a car and watching out for her health, he's generous and caring because he points out things to people he cares about by yelling "Health Here!". He has to worry about his own health which is something I'm sure you're concerned about with your own because of your Diverticulitis - which sounds like some painful shit, literally. You're a champ for dealing with that. Brohugs and fistbumps, sir!

I'm sorry to hear about your father. To lose a father you love has to be hard. I am happy you are getting a tattoo from what sounds like one of the best tattoo shops. How can you go wrong by being tattooed by anyone there? You can then go to some delicious buffet, and conclude the nite by gambling some of the money left over. You might win the jackpot and be able to payoff your daughter's car. Maybe even buy yourself a monster truck! You know your gun loving, tattooed, badass self would love to drive around (or over) some yuppie town in a monster truck. When you are at a stop light be sure to blare some of Johnny Cash or David Allan Coe's angriest music. You should paint the truck concrete gray and have the word Steelhead written down the side. Place a big Steelers logo on the back window along with every gun company whose guns you own. Hell, you could put something about 'gun ownership rights' where people with 'ban guns' stickers can see them after you've driven over them.

I've never wanted to scuba dive but you make it sound interesting. If my body would allow it I would definitely go now. But dude, be careful. If you and your daughter are diving in Lake Mead you better take a few guns out of your 60 gun stockpile, take some of your best food and even a few stimpaks because thar be Lakelurks in them there waters.

I need someone from the US Navy to teach me how to shoot a gun so that I can better protect my wife and daughter, and so I can shoot mini UFOs and I'm always open to any rolling stones that want to come visit a little, sleepy, country tourist town an hour north of Atlanta. I'm assuming you live in Pittsburgh because you're in you're right mind and you're a Steelers fan (Jack Lambert is one of my heroes) but I would appreciate the company.

Originally Posted by Infected Stray

If you want to hang out with Steelhead for 3 days, you should go to Terre Haute, IN in July...

(You would also have almost 60,000 gamerscore by the end of the weekend...)

Great read!!! I learned even more about Steelhead!

If you want to hang out with Steelhead for 3 days, you should go to Terre Haute, IN in July...

(You would also have almost 60,000 gamerscore by the end of the weekend...)

Originally Posted by futiles

That sounds like an awesome plan!

Very nice! Good read!!

Hey, I know that guy!

Have you seen the film The Fly or its equally amazing sequel The Fly 2?

Do you have (a gamer friend you've had for a long time? anyone you want to shout out to?)
Fsh, for sure. We have a crazy amount in common so it’s no wonder we get along. We’re both old "don't act our age", both dedicated to family and both have a serious gaming addiction. I just wish I could learn to be as laid back as him. A game could have 10,000 flaws and he’d be the guy pointing out the bright spots. It’s an awesome attitude to have and I keep trying, yet mostly failing, to emulate that.

Originally Posted by B8TINGU

There, I fixed it for you. Thanks for the shout out... Good read.

There, I fixed it for you.

Originally Posted by Fshguy

Perfect!

Great read, nice to know you better, Brett!

Do you collect or not so much?
The only things I collect are tattoos and guns. I’ve spent roughly 80-100 hours being inked with tattoo needles and I own roughly 60 guns of all shapes and sizes. Everything from small caliber handguns to ARs. My most recent weapon collection addition was a Christmas gift from my boss. A Springfield XDS-45…the perfect concealed carry handgun.

Originally Posted by B8TINGU

It was finally delivered to the office today. I should have had it two months ago but my boss and I both deal with a local gun dealer (mutual friend) who is a bit of a jackoff, so sometimes it's a great turnaround, other times..not so much

That is pretty sweet. Have you been able to shoot it yet?

Yeah, I put a few clips through it. Comfortable and accurate. Not as much recoil as I was expecting, considering the light weight. I'm very happy with it.