Interview No. 164

Interview By: @The-Great-One

To categorize today's guest, would be a huge disservice to not only his talents, but his character. You have heard his voice through multiple projects on Newgrounds. He is also a writer, a musician, and animator. He is also the most helpful and generous person on the site. I am most honored to welcome @ForNoReason.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I was hanging out at a friend's house after school. Probably around 2001... He was showing me some really stupid and insanse videos in between matches of Command and Conquer. More than certain that the first Flash video I watched ever ever was Balthor's Tales from Hell. I was hooked after that. I started checking out Newgrounds almost weekly after that. I didn't actually joing until 2003, however. I joined cause I wanted to start leveling up and writing reviews, but I soon fell down a rabbit hole that is the Newgrounds community and began trolling on the forums, submitting shitty flash content and voice acting. I didnt have a solid reason to join Newgrounds, but Tom, the staff and all the insane people in the BBS made me stay.

Q: When and how did you enter the Air Force? What is your rank and status? Why did you enlist?

A: I joined the Air Force in June of 2003. I just graduated high school and I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. My dad had served 20 + years in the Air Force so I thought it would be something to do. I am currently still in the Reserves and I hold the rank of Master Sergeant (E7). I have three years til I retire and I am just about ready for that. I've been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things... Its been a pleasure but I'm just about done.

Q: You made animations for Newgrounds while you were deployed in Iraq. What can you tell us about your deployment and what made you want to create during it?

A: The deployment was "fun". Got to see and experience all kinds of things. I didn't see combat or anything but our base was attacked daily so that was fun. I always loved Newgrounds and creating stuff for Newgrounds. I just enjoyed being part of the community and trying to build my presence. I felt the best way to get myself out there as a voice actor was to create things. Maybe they wouldn't be very good, but at least people would hear my voice and maybe like it for their project. 

The thing that doesn't get shared much about deployments is how bored you can get. I worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. That sounds busy, but everything I did was within a mile of everything. So I worked, went to the gym, ate food... and it still left me with a lot of extra time. SO... I had a tiny little laptop that had FLash 8 on it. I had my mic with me and the rest is history. Helped give me something to do during those cold lonely nights when the mortars and rockets were flying.

Q: You and I are both writers. At what age did you become interested in writing? Who is your favorite author and why? What is your favorite book and why?

A: I started writing in high school. I like creating stories and expanding on my ideas. My main issue is I have horrific penmanship, so my written word was never that great and my computer was slow as hell when I was younger. I read a lot of comic books when I was younger, so I got a lot of inspiration from that. I also really like George Orwell and J.R.R Tolkein. My favorite book is the Hobbit cause I'm a basic bitch like that. It's just a good story. Its exciting and easy to read and just fun. So much imagination can come from it!

Q: You also voice act here on Newgrounds, featured in multiple collaborations. How did you become interested in voice acting?

A: I suck at animating... I couldn't program... I like listening to my own voice.... and I wanted to be a big famous Newgrounds star. So I thought voice acting was the way to go. I just remember listening to some of the great voice actors from Newgrounds like Egoraptor, Tomamoto, and others and just being so excited by that idea.

Q: A Voice Acting Demo? is a humorous demo. One in which when scottmale24 was here we talked about in one of my favorite movies on Newgrounds Six Minutes of Nothing. Here is your review of it...

I never reviewed this?

How could I not? This is the greatest thing I have ever seen! The style of it was just amazing. I never thought I could ever stand listening to my own voice for that long, but your animation made it enjoyable and hilarious, more than I ever could have imagined. What you added to my VA demo was amazing and I cannot thank you enough.

What can you tell us about the demo? How did you find out about this movie? How do you feel looking back on this now?

A: I made that demo in sort of a response to TomaMoto's demo from the time. His was brilliant! It was beautifully produced, well acted and just a classic to this day. I had no skills and no talent so I was trying to be silly ironic counter culture to his. I think scottmale24 messaged me on Newgrounds telling me after he posted it. I watched it like a hundred times. Seeing my work animated like that brought tears to my eyes. I still love it. Im still so humbled by it. Two creators who have helped me the most are probably scottmale24 and Carbonwater. I know there are more, and ill probably have someone angry at me, but those guys are the best.

Q: What can you tell us about the Atlanta Meet-Up in 2009? What made you want to attend the meet-up? What stories do you have for us?

A: I actually organized the Atlanta Meet Ups. I wanted to meet other nerds from Newgrounds and it seemed like the cool thing to do at the time. I was not a very good planner. I tried... but I think they could have been better if they were better thought out. We had some great folks show up like Luis and Jonas who I still stalk to this day. All I can say is that they both are fantastic at Karaoke!

Q: What can you tell us about The Newgrounds Charity Project?

A: I wanted to help give back to the world in general. Once Tom mentioned that Newgrounds was helping some charities like Childsplay I thought it was a great opportunity for the community to build upon that. With the Ad Rev system being introduced it was a perfect opportunity. I created some Newgrounds accounts for some charities that were close to my heart and started running with it. I remember that the Breast Cancer Research fund sent Tom a letter of appreciation because of one donation Newgrounds made because of this project. It was exciting. The accounts are still open, but I haven't had the time to really promote it like I did many years back.

Q: When did you become a moderator for Movies, Games, and API? What does your job entail? How do you feel about The Elite Guard Barracks?

A: Its been a few years now. I pretty much became a mod as soon as those positions were created. It started cause I volunteered as an icon mod and then weaseled my way into any position I could. The EGB are a valuable resource to Newgrounds because of their dedication and helpful nature. I have had a lot of help from its members identifying illegal content.

Q: What is your current work in the Voice Actor Collaboration?

A: Unfortunately I had to step back for a moment because I put to much on my plate at once. The idea and execution so far has been brilliant, and I want to contribute more, but with the cast of talent it already has I don't think they are loosing anything from me not being a part of it right now.

Q: You once stated that your dream job would be working for Newgrounds. Is that still the dream job?

A: No, it is not. Would I love to do it? Yes, absolutely, but that mainly is because of who I'd be working with and for. Having gotten to meet Tom and the staff I know it would be a lot of good times and fun/hard work. However, I currently work my dream job. I am an detection K9 handler and I get to work with dogs all day. So I really can't complain.

Q: What can we expect from ForNoReason in the future?

A: I am really trying to get back into the voice over work. Just popping in here and there with whatever I can get. I have a youtube channel if anyone wants to subscribe to that, but just keep an eye out for some more collaborations and voice work. Thanks for the time to interview me!

ForNoReason has been on my list for years now. A man of many talents, a man of much kindness, and a man of much laughter to share with all. He is the Steve Martin of Newgrounds. Using his craft to revolutionize the works on Newgrounds and receiving less spotlight for his efforts. We should all be grateful for his contributions and selfless dedication to Newgrounds and abroad. If ForNoReason's name is on a project, I can assure you two things. One, despite his username he is certainly there for a reason. Two, whatever it is, it's gonna be good.

The Interviewer is a part of Dohn's Desk Productions

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