Earlier this week on Oilersnation’s Instagram I put together a couple of fun facts about Zach Hyman. In that post, I highlighted a few of the businesses and endeavours has himself involved with off the ice, and today, I wanted to expand on those things.

What is SoaR Gaming? He’s into NFTs? Oh no! But at least he’s a children’s author. Let’s take a deeper look into the life of Zach Hyman away from the rink.

From a 30-goal scorer in the National Hockey League to a children’s author, Hyman has quite a few passions but none are as adorable as this one. Since 2014 he’s published three books: The Magician’s Secret, Hockey Hero, and The Bambino and Me. Funny enough he had thought about writing even before his university days.

“I’m the oldest of five boys so storytelling was kind of part of my choirs,” he told Frank Seravalli earlier this year on the “Frankly Speaking” Podcast. “That was one of my duties was to read books, so I always had a love for children’s books and reading and writing.

“And then in Grade 7, I wrote a short story that won a competition and the teacher encouraged me to pursue writing so I turned that short story, in high school into a children’s book, and then my Dad helped me get it self-published. Then I got drafted and then all these publishers started calling to bring me on and then I signed a four-book deal and I got one more book still to write”

He admits that he does all the writing himself and will at some point need to get started on his fourth story if he hasn’t already. Safe to say Zach’s life has become much busier since he published his first one in 2014. Not only just being a top hockey player but becoming a father and having his hands on multiple companies. Time to learn about Zach Hyman the CEO.

If you’re someone who isn’t into gaming or eSports you’re probably wondering, what in the world is SoaR Gaming? Now as someone who’s familiar with that universe let me explain.

SoaR is a gaming organization that was founded back in 2011 and has changed a lot since then. While they do have eSports teams that compete in tournaments for games like Apex Legends, Valorant, and Call of Duty, their brand identity is more so about the content creators in the gaming space. They’re supporting the streamers, and YouTubers who represent the brand.

As their website states “SoaR Gaming is a lifestyle gaming organization with a global following. We are a diverse collection of creators, musicians, athletes, artists, and fans, all united by our common love for gaming.”

The unique part about SoaR is that they have an NHL player as their CEO in Zach Hyman and his passion for gaming is well-documented.

“I’m a big believer in video games is more than just locking yourself in your basement but I think it’s evolved into more of a social experience where you interact with friends online and I think when you look at you know society people are tending to trend away from watching TV and going to online platforms and gaming is a huge part of the weather it’s YouTube or Twitch,” said Hyman on Seravalli’s podcast “Frankly Speaking.”

How did he become the CEO though?

“I had a buddy who was working in the space named Oliver Silverstein and he asked if I wanted to want to invest in a gaming company,” he said. “We looked at the company and we decided to go out and start our own company.

“That’s when we started Eleven Gaming and then we purchased SoaR Gaming and then kinda remoulded the company into SoaR Gaming.”

His acquisition of SoaR took place in 2019. So originally he had his own company known as Eleven Gaming part of Eleven Holdings Corp. which then purchased SoaR Gaming.

While he’s the CEO it’s unknown what exactly Hyman does for the company as a whole and what his duties are. Regardless of what his influence is, SoaR has continued to grow. From the days of the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to today, they’ve amassed 15 million followers across all their platforms on social media which is impressive considering the volatile landscape that is eSports and gaming content creation.

Personally, I would love for Hyman to one day take part in the local eSports scene here in Edmonton or potentially do work with AESA, the Alberta Esports Association and help grow those involved.

Lastly when it comes to Hyman and gaming, his favourite video games of all-time are as of 2020 are Halo, Fortnite, and the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. A couple of classics, to say the least.

Now I know what you’re thinking. NFTs are evil and a scam, how could someone like Zach Hyman get involved? He and his brother started a company called Bubblegum Kids.

“It’s a kid-friendly company and we started as an NFT project, we’re now branching out into making real bubblegum, Bubblegum Kids,” he said on Seravalli’s podcast.

It sounds like Zach was once on the NFT hype train but has definitely taken a step back like many however he’s still a big believer in the technology.

“That space is so young and like it’s amazing like the power of blockchain and I think a lot of people don’t understand it necessarily.”

Originally he saw the NFT space growing. Noticed that it had a PG-13 or R-rated look to it and wanted to appeal it to a mass audience. Help educate parents, and kids about that world.

“I do think the future just from a contract standpoint like Blockchain is going to be a huge part of that if you understand it and if it goes to where I think a lot of people think it goes,” he added.

Zach’s an open-minded individual who loves technology. Nothing wrong with that especially if he wants to be ahead of the curve in something which he believes will be a big part of the future in more ways than one.

“You also start to realize it’s the wild wild west still out there. There are very minimal regulations.”

Zach Hyman is one cool dude with all these different ventures. How he finds time to get his hands involved in all of this is mind-boggling. Can’t wait to read his fourth book, hope more comes out about his role with SoaR or maybe we’ll see him get back into streaming and of course, we’re excited to try that Bubblegum whenever it’s available.