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Episode 403: Bart Volman

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago19 min listen
From the creator

Say "Hallo" to Bart Volman from the Netherlands. He's one of the best Dutch players in the world, and shares his experiences playing pinball back home. Plus, we talk about the fascination of...

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Highlights

  • The Netherlands had almost no public pinball locations from the 1990s onward, but is experiencing resurgence with the Pinball Museum in Rotterdam and local venues in Eindhoven
  • Bart's first pinball game was The Getaway Ice (P2) by Steve Ritchie in the 1990s, which featured a ZZ Top song he later recognized on radio
  • Bart bought Indiana Jones (Williams) as his first collecting machine in 2012 and collection grew rapidly from there
  • Bart saw 'Special When Lit' documentary, which inspired him to recognize Rick Steda in a Sunnyvale bar in 2015 and convinced Steda to play pinball with him
  • Eindhoven region has one of the highest per capita concentrations of autism/neurodiversity in the world, potentially due to high-tech industry employment
  • Project Pinball (led by Daniel Spohler in North America) provides a viable model for pinball community integration in therapeutic/social contexts
  • Bart placed around 90th out of 1000 competitors at his first Pinberg tournament, which was the last Pinberg before its hiatus
  • Bart prefers Pinberg tournament format over Indisc format, citing less waiting between rounds and all match-play structure

Notable quotes

“It's like a Pringles chip. You just can't have one.”
Bart Volman
“I won't forgive myself if I don't ask... I saw Special When Lit and that's how I recognized you”
Bart Volman (recounting conversation with Rick Steda)
“They really found their space to just be themselves for some reason. So I think this is one of the things that could really help a lot of people in the area that I'm from.”
Bart Volman
“The fact that we're competing in the world championship, that's just a bonus, but it's the ability to meet so many people that are like-minded.”
Bart Volman
“I have a three-year-old son, and I'm not trying to push him in any way, but it seems he's pushing me because for some time he didn't mind pinball, but the past three months he does.”
Bart Volman

Entities

  • Austrian Pinball Open· event
  • EPC· event
  • IFPA 19· event
  • Indisc· event
  • Pinberg· event
  • UK Open· event
  • Indiana Jones (Williams)· game
  • The Getaway Ice (P2)· game
  • Pinball Museum Rotterdam· organization
  • Project Pinball· organization
  • Bart Volman· person
  • Daniel Spohler· person
  • Helen de Haan Verbeek· person
  • Jeff Teoles· person
  • Jim Belsito· person
  • Johannes· person
  • Keith Elwin· person
  • Rick Steda· person
  • Steve Ritchie· person
  • Robert Gagnon: Wizard Mode· product
  • Special When Lit· product
  • Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball· product

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