Outside of the Box

For this episode, I sat down with Sean Becker whose Thagomizer robot design has introduced a new archetype to combat robotics. We talked about his capstone project that led to the introduction of this type of robot, why we don't see more thagomizer style robots right now and thoughts on where he might take his designs in the future.

For this episode, I sat down with Ben Howard of Team WPI whose robot Showtime! went all the way at the March NHRL event to claim the 3lb division Golden Dumpster. He spoke about exceeding his expectations at this event and we went through every fight including the very close final versus Chainsaw Kitty.

Bonus mini episode for you featuring an interview from combat robotics fan JediTrainee aka Norma with Team USA! Hear all about their amazing first run at Robot Rampage!

During the Olympics, robot builders from across the globe also gathered for their own international event in beautiful New Zealand called Robot Rampage! I was able to chat with representatives from every team about their experiences and the friendships they built during this amazing event. Hear from Team New Zealand, Team Australia, Team USA & tournament winner Team Brazil!

In this episode I am joined by some amazing people in the community - Ariel, TJ, Myles and Jamison to talk about the importance of a community mindset and good sportsmanship. We talk about staying humble, having fun and being a good example for new members of the community.

If you happened to catch the February NHRL event, you may have seen a crab dancing in the box. Crab Rangoon firmly cemented itself in the hearts of combat robotics fans and I talked to builder Eli Davis about his amazing design. We also talked about the importance of innovation and creativity in the sport at all levels.

We're going international in this episode and with the Olympics currently going on, it is a great time to talk about the Robot Rampage World Cup event coming up in New Zealand February 19-22. I spoke to Jack Barker and Connor Benton about this unique team-based event where design diversity is a key component of the matches. Hear all about what you can expect from this event both this year and plans for the future. For more information visit https://www.robotrampage.co.nz/

The year just began and already there is so much to talk about in the world of combat robotics! I sat down with a group of builders including Tayshaun, Brian, Corey, Seth, Dan, George & Ryan to talk about how they feel in 2026. We discussed the overall outlook and focused in some hotter topics including the future of BattleBots as well as the rules and regulations changes for NHRL. See what everyone has to say!

Happy holidays and merry bloodshed! We have a new batch of Twitch Streamers battling in out in a fight between good and evil playing Blood on the Clocktower! This is a special home brew game featuring a variety of standard roles re-skinned for this game. Who is Hans Gruber? Is there a Sandy Claws in the game? So many questions to answer! Ring in your holidays with a little murder mystery! Check out the featured Twitch Streamers: https://www.twitch.tv/cdutson https://www.twitch.tv/mesmerchair https://www.twitch.tv/geeandwizz <...

It was an incredible Finals event this year at NHRL with some expected wins and some robots flying under the radar. In the end, 3 Golden Bretts were awarded and I spoke to the builders who reached the peak and ended up just missing the win but having incredible runs in the process. I talked to one of the nicest guys in combat robotics Myles Sim about his undercutter Coldsnap, chatted with the Business Cat himself Brendan Steele about the highs and lows of the event and finally spoke to driving phenom Matt Vasquez about Lil Lash taking down the...

Finals are completed in the Midwest and I am joined by a handful of the builders who made deep runs in this tournament during a day filled with amazing fights. I talked to 2-time MRCA Beetleweight Champion Ian with Pipeline Punch, a trio of the antweight builders behind Ampere, Onyx & Poison, two of the most feared competitors in the midwest (and also two of the nicest) Remy & Rachel DeGuzman and then finally a bonus segment with an amazing young driver Lily Schorr and her brother Michael talking about the history and future of Carmine. Check it all out here!<...

It is that time of year again when I am joined by a bunch of amazing builders from all weight classes who managed to qualify for World Finals at NHRL. We talked about each of the robots and got everyone's predictions on who could walk away with the Golden Brett in each weight class.

What an incredible event in the final opportunity to qualify for the world championships - and I got to be joined by some of the builders who made deep runs in the bracket! First, I spoke to the youngest Golden Dumpster winner ever at 13 - Evan of Sir Slicey and his dad Sal as they reflected on some incredible wins on their path to the finals vs Mako. I also sat down with veteran builders including David Small who qualified with Son of Kram while getting some good wins with Puca as well and got to hear all about...

For lovers of innovation and creativity, this is the episode to watch. We kick off with an amazing interview with literal robot master Mark Setrakian, learn all about the development of the Creature Combat event from BattleBots co-creator Trey Roski, builder Donald Hutson & software engineer Arthon Greenspan, and then chat with a couple of the teams who brought their creatures to Vegas - the teams behind Arachnophobia and Armageddon.

We're twitchy and we're spooky for this Halloween special I'm affectionately calling Twitch Streamer Demon Hunters as I am joined by almost a dozen amazing gamers to play Blood on the Clocktower! Check out my first foray as the Storyteller while my friends try to sus out the Demon among them. Can you guess who is good and who is evil before our players do? #bloodontheclocktower #ttrpg #gaming Check Out Our Players: https://www.twitch.tv/totally_kaal https://www.twitch.tv/bankenheim https://www.twitch.tv/amara_lynne ...

We are fast approaching the final round of qualifiers with NHRL and I was excited to finally get the chance to chat with Brooks and John from Gator Robotics. They are bringing a swampful of robots with them to the November event including Termigator and Steggy. We chatted about their robotics club and what we can expect out of their crew at this last event before finals!

Welcome to my #OopsAllVerts episode where I chatted with some of the hard-hitting competitors at the most recent October NHRL qualifying event. I talked to Tristan whose robot Elytra has been tearing it up in the midwest and went nearly all the way for this event, then David whose new massive vert Xenomorph certainly put a scare into some builders and finally got to chat about Maccabot with Max, Jordon and Ilan about their promising new 30lb robot. It is an exciting episode you won't want to miss!

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Luke Horwath, a contestant on the most recent season of LEGO Masters and an engineering student at Notre Dame. We talked about his passion for engineering which was fueled by his love for LEGO and how his mom got to be so involved in that journey culminating in their appearance on the show together. We talked about some of his impressive builds outside of the show and so much more. You can check out more about Luke at https://www.luke99studios.com/.

Welcome back to a brand new episode of Outside of the Box. We preview the October NHRL event with a promising young builder named Nathan who attends Rose Hulman and hopes to bust some brackets with his robot Erbert. This robot has made its presence known at events over the summer in the midwest and is my personal pick as a dark horse contender for this event. Hear about his building and iteration process as well as why he loves antweights. 

Prepare for an episode full of energy as we broke down the SEMO July Jamboree event at QuadCon in Peoria, Illinois. We first chat with Christopher who is the builder of Fingers Crossed and his team is here to have fun! We talk about his background and why it is so important to keep fun at the top of mind when fighting robots. I also talked to SEMO's Mike Mueller about the growth of his organization, how the July Jamboree went and future events.