Table of Contents
Scott Kennedy - Staying Healthy and Maximizing Performance as a Professional Gamer | HPFORGAMERS #2
By Dr. Matthew Hwu, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS·
Quick answer
In this HPFORGAMERS podcast episode, Scott Kennedy, known as Custa, a professional Overwatch support player for the Los Angeles Valiant, talks about how he stays healthy and performs at his best. Topics include meditation and writing down his thoughts for mental health, consistent nutrition, handling expectations, and his own past wrist pain and what gamers should know about injuries. His main theme is balance: a social life, steady routines and professional habits support a long career.
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Scott Kennedy (@Custa) is a professional Overwatch player (Main Support) for the Los Angeles Valiant, one of the two LA Overwatch teams participating in OWL.
Scott took the leap at the age of 21 with some bartending money to leave home in australia to pursue a career in overwatch and… 3 years later after alot of shoeies he is now on the best team in the world in overwatch (I'm a little biased). He has always been seen as a leader and its so easy to notice his presence on a team both inside and outside the game. From my perspective as well it was really refreshing to have someone mature and driven to join the team and it really positively impacted not only the environment of the team but the behaviors of his teammates as well.
In this episode we chat with Custa about how he stays healthy and performs at his best as a professional gamer.
In Today’s Episode We’ll Learn:
- Introduction to Scott and his background [1:00]
- How Scott approaches health and performance in esports and how he strives to be a leader inside and outside of the game
[2:30] - Meditative practices & unique routines Scott does to keep himself mentally healthy. Why putting pen to paper with thoughts is important [4:17]
- Standardizing his level of performance through consistent desire to improve. Elevating his baseline through better preparation [9:15]
- Hardest thing to deal with as a professional player: Expectations [11:15]
- Consistency is key for maintaining a healthy diet and nutritional lifestyle in Esports/Gaming for Scott [14:05]
- Previous bout of wrist pain with Scott, his approach and what gamers need to know about injuries [16:23]
- Why having a social life and having balance in your life is important for mental health in gaming. Balance as a basis for longevity [22:23]
- IHOPs for success - key routines Scott has incorporated to help him get to where he is now in Esports. Professionalism needs to complement inherent talent to be successful as a professional [35:57]
- Why coming over from Australia and making the leap helped him develop professional habits [40:40]
- Other habits and behaviors to help himself improve as a player - Metrics as a key way to improve [43:29]
- Final Wrap Up, Ghosts are real [1:02:10]
More than just a Gamer Questions
- What is his favorite drink to make as a bartender [50:54]
- Custa's Random life tip for gamers listening to the podcast [51:49]
- What does Custa believe that other people might think is insane [53:41]
- If Custa had to give up one of his senses, what would it be [58:18]
- If you could have any Overwatch Heroes ability - who and why? [59:57]
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
Key Resources for Scott Kennedy:
- Connect with Scott Kennedy: Twitter
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Again thank you to Scott Kennedy for joining us on this episode this week, until next time!
