Happy Women’s Day… and see you at SXSW 2022!

Today I have a cool announcement to make… but before let me wish all the women in XR a fantastic International Women’s Day!

I love about this community that is very inclusive. In these 8 years that I have worked in the AR/VR ecosystem I have had the luck of meeting some amazing women that are really smart and passionate and that are helping our ecosystem to grow in the best way possible. Just to name the first ones that come to my mind without even thinking: Suzanne Borders, Ashley Huffman, Shelley Peterson, Amy LaMeyer, Joanna Popper, Cecilia Lascialfari, Peggy Johnson, Julie Smithson, Sophia Moshasha, Celine Tricart, Anne McKinnon, Maud Clavier, Catherine Henry, Vivian Chazen, … and these are just the first names that came to my mind… there are actually many many other amazing women in XR (sorry to the ones I have not mentioned here… I know that this is just a small list!).

When I attended AWE, I was pleased to see that Ori Inbar and all the AWE team were able to gather a group of international excellent speakers that was incredibly inclusive and featured hundreds of women from our ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem is one where all voices are heard in an equal way. And this is important not only because this is how we guarantee equality for everyone (which is overly important per se), but also because different points of view bring different ideas, new unexpected solutions, and an overall richness that makes the technology improve even faster.

So today I want to thank all the women that are part of the XR ecosystem for what they have taught me and for how they enriched my (and our) lives. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

That said (with much pleasure), I also want to tell you that after being in the United States for the first time in my life in November to attend AWE, I’m going back to the Land Of Freedom to attend another amazing event, that is SXSW!

If you are European, probably this name means nothing special to you, and as an Italian, I have to admit that the first time that I heard about “SXSW” here in the communities, I had no idea what it was… and how to pronounce this acronym. But this event, which is pronounced “South By SouthWest” is actually one of the most important events about tech, digital, and creativity in the United States. It is held in Austin, Texas, and before the pandemic, it gathered most of the biggest names in tech in the US, and also in part of the rest of the world. Whoever I met that has been there in the past has told me that it was an amazing event and envies me for being able to go there.

This year SXSW comes again as a physical event after it has been fully digital (and VR) during the pandemic. I don’t expect it to be back to the pre-COVID levels, but from what I’ve heard it will be a super-event anyway. I’m pretty excited about going there! I hope to exchange business cards as if there were no tomorrow and meet amazing people with who exchange opinions and ideas. If you are in Austin, feel free to reach out at “tonyvt AT skarredghost DOT com” and let’s try to meet! I would love to meet you!

… and surprise surprise, I’ll also be the moderator of the panel about VR fitness in the VR version of SXSW that will be held inside the beautiful world of VRChat that we of VRrOOm have built. The panel is called “Is VR the Future of Fitness?” and will be held on Mar 13th, 2022. It will feature me, but especially some fantastic creators of the indie XR fitness community like Michael Gschwandtner (XR Workout), Aaron Stanton (Vr Institute Of Health), Jason Severn (HitStream), Jasmine Lehman (Atom Bomb Body), and Walter McMath (the epic Samurai Lawyer). I’m the dumbest guy in the group, and I can’t wait to learn a lot from them listening to their experiences in developing XR fitness games for years. You can read more about the event here: it would be a pleasure if you could come to VRChat and watch us!

In the end, I want to thank the VRrOOm team and the SXSW team for having offered me this opportunity… see you in Austin! Let’s make VR rock again!

(Header photo by Vinicius “amnx” Amano from Unsplash)