EP01 Sterling Martin My Journey Into Pinball
In this debut episode of The Pinball Studio, host Sterling shares the story of how he first discovered pinball and what led him down the rabbit hole of competitive tournaments, collections, and...
Highlights
- Sterling encountered Attack from Mars and F-14 at a local movie theater during childhood
- Sterling purchased a Back to the Future pinball machine from Facebook around mid-2016 for $1,200
- Sterling purchased approximately 25-30 pinball machines from Old Town Pinball distributor
- The Pinball Studio's first tournament had no-shows; the second tournament attracted 7-8 players
- Sterling became an IFPA tournament director and hosted his first IFPA-sanctioned tournament in late 2022 (possibly Halloween)
- Sterling sold his fishing boat to fund construction of The Pinball Studio building
- Sterling was promoted/asked to become Georgia state director alongside Tommy
- The Pinball Studio attracts tournament participants from South Carolina, Atlanta, Charleston, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine areas
Notable quotes
“I loaded it up. There was nothing really wrong with it. Other than one broken wire. So I fixed that and I started flipping.”
“There's so much to do in the game compared to an older pin.”
“I went and played one on location and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So I got on my phone and started searching for distributors.”
“The hell with it. We'll just do one at the house.”
“It's more than just going to a pinball tournament and playing a game and going and standing in a corner and staring at your phone.”
“We're just one big family. We all actually hang out. We conversate. I've been on vacations with multiple members in our group.”
“No assholes or no jackasses, whatever it was, and that's true man. Just be a cool, nice, laid back individual.”
“For all you people out there that are just getting into the hobby and stuff, don't be afraid to chase your dreams, man.”
Entities
- Old Town Pinball· company
- Richmond Hill· event/location
- Attack from Mars· game
- Back to the Future· game
- F-14· game
- Godzilla· game
- Mandalorian· game
- Stranger Things· game
- IFPA· organization
- Brian· person
- Cory· person
- Josh Yates· person
- Michael Seavey· person
- Neil Wagner· person
- Rich· person
- Sterling Martin· person
- Tommy· person
- Will Russell· person
- Pinball Palace· venue
- The Pinball Studio· venue
- The Wormhole· venue
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