How Surviving an Earthquake Rejuvenated My Career (Riot Games Veteran)

Описание: In 2015, I was sitting in a café in Kathmandu, pretending I was “successful”.

Good clients.
A growing agency.
Money coming in.

On paper, I had everything I was supposed to want.

Then at 11:56 a.m., the ground started shaking.

Buildings collapsed.
9,000 lives were lost.
I spent five days sleeping on the street with no passport, no access to money, and no way to contact my family.

And in that chaos, one thought hit me harder than the aftershocks:

“If I die here, I die doing work I hate.”

This video is the story of how surviving that earthquake forced me to burn down a “successful” career in advertising and completely rebuild my life in the gaming industry, eventually landing a role at Riot Games after 13 rounds of interviews.

If you are:

Stuck in a “good job” that quietly drains you
Scared to walk away from something you built
Wondering if it is too late to switch into the gaming industry

This video is for you.

You do not need to survive an earthquake to rejuvenate your career.
But you do need to be willing to shake up your current situation.

WEEKLY CAREER STRATEGIES (FREE)
Join thousands of gaming professionals who get my best insights every week.
👉 Subscribe here: https://www.christran.gg/newsletter

ABOUT ME
I’m Chris Tran—former Riot Games leader turned career coach.
I help mid-career gaming professionals get hired, get promoted, and stay relevant in a cutthroat industry.

Let’s connect:
► Newsletter: https://www.christran.gg/newsletter
► LinkedIn:   / chrisltran  
► Website: https://www.christran.gg

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – The earthquake that became my loudest wake up call
00:28 – Kathmandu 2015, agency life, and feeling secretly empty
01:00 – “Successful” but unhappy, the treadmill of advertising
01:28 – Realizing selling one more can of Coke was not my purpose
01:50 – Escaping to Nepal to “recharge” from a life that drained me
02:11 – 11:56 a.m. – when the ground started shaking
02:35 – Violent chaos, collapsed buildings, and pure terror
03:07 – 9,000 lives lost, and five days sleeping on the street
03:35 – Living on instant noodles and Coke, alone with my thoughts
04:02 – Thinking I might die doing work I hated
04:13 – The moment I saw that what I built was not what I wanted
04:36 – Remembering my true passion for gaming and League of Legends
05:00 – Why I kept telling myself gaming could not be a “real career”
05:14 – Realizing I had been following a path built on “should”
05:37 – The radical decision – shut down my agency and go to Riot Games
06:01 – Why you cannot just apply, you have to engineer your way in
06:26 – Hiring research agencies – becoming the expert on Vietnam gaming
06:51 – Hiring a League of Legends coach and preparing for everything
07:20 – Flying to Taiwan to “accidentally” meet the hiring manager
07:48 – 13 interviews over 9 months and questioning reality
08:06 – Imposter syndrome even after getting the offer
08:32 – Lesson 1 – Crisis creates clarity
08:57 – Lesson 2 – Preparation is your competitive advantage
09:26 – Lesson 3 – Engineer opportunities, do not just apply
09:49 – You do not need an earthquake, but you do need a shake up