#60 Reggie Fils-Aimé (Disrupting the Game): Becoming a meme, becoming a Muppet, video game skills

Follow Friday

Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé first became an internet meme before most people knew what memes were: At Nintendo's presentation at the gaming expo E3 2004, he turned heads by announcing, "My name is Reggie. I'm about kickin' ass, I'm about takin' names, and we're about makin' games."

"I received a message from my teenage son who told me, 'Dad, you're famous,'" Reggie says. "They weren't called memes at the time — these were Photoshopped images. He sent me these images of me blowing up a competitive console; me dressed up like Sylvester Stallone from one of his movies; me looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger from TheTerminator."

Today on Follow Friday, Reggie shares the backstory of another press conference that made him even more internet-famous, and talks about his new book Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo.

And he explains why we should follow "Originals" and "Think Again" author Adam Grant (@Adamgrant on Instagram, @AdamMGrant on Twitter and LinkedIn); Pivot co-host and New York Times writer Kara Swisher (@karaswisher on Twitter and Instagram); The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon on Instagram and Twitter); and the founder of The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley on Twitter).

Thank you to our amazing patrons: Jon, Justin, Amy, Yoichi, Danielle, Elizabeth, and Sylnai. On our Patreon page, you can pledge any amount of money to get access to Follow Friday XL — our members-only podcast feed with exclusive bonus follows.

That feed has an extended-length version of this interview in which Reggie talks about what he has learned from following author and executive advisor Roger L. Martin.

Also:

• Follow Reggie @Reggie on Twitter and buy Disrupting the Game
• Follow us @FollowFridayPod on Twitter and Instagram
• Follow Eric @heyheyesj on Twitter
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This show is a production of Lightningpod.fm, hosted and produced by Eric Johnson

Music: Yona Marie

Show art: Dodi Hermawan

Social media producer: Sydney Grodin