Community Spotlight: Rhino/Vindicated
Meet: Rhino
How’s it goin’ eh?
Greetings from the North.
Name’s Rhino (aka Brian… but as Tom Holland’s Spider-man would say, we use our made up names… and our made up names are cooler). There’s a story (2 stories actually) how I earned the nickname Rhino IRL, but you’d need to get to know me better to hear about them :).
Canadian gamer, father of 2 full grown lads, 2 young dogs (Pitbull cross – aka mutts), husband to my high school sweetheart (together 28 years), almost 22 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, movie enthusiast, outdoorsman, craftsman, lifter of heavy things… and on, and on, and on…
In IRL, I am also an “alt-aholic” of sorts. By that I mean I have a ton of things I am into and a ton of others I would like to get into or give a try.
Most of my free time is spent gaming. I also enjoy building/fixing things, lifting weights, playing almost any sports (that’s playing, not watching), hunting, fishing, hiking, climbing, snowboarding, eating yummy food (probably too much yummy food) and playing with my dogs. I have dabbled in learning guitar… first when I was in high school, and then again with the game Rocksmith on Xbox 360. I have recently seen Rocksmith is now available on PS5, so I’m likely going to give it another go.
My wife is also pretty big into crafting, and I also likes creating things… so we may try our hand in cosplay (again) at some point.
I’ve been a gamer since I was young. Atari and classic NES started it off at friend’s houses. We didn’t get our own system (NES) till I was around age 10. Gaming has been a staple of my life ever since. I’ve owned most consoles popular in North America since those days. Sega Saturn and Dreamcast didn’t make the cut though. By the time I’d saved enough to buy either, their time had passed and it was obvious they weren’t worth investing in.
Computer gaming didn’t start till later in life. I got my first home PC between the Warcraft: Orcs and Humans & Warcraft II era. I played a little of the original, but I was hard into Warcraft II. That’s the pre-internet version that you needed to play solo, over LAN or via your telephone line with a modem – much to your family’s dismay… and much to your dismay when the fam picked up the phone to make a call. You know that aggravating feeling when your modern modem takes a dump and you get disconnected… well back in those days, it was caused by someone in your house lifting the receiver… and there was no “reset and reconnect”, your game was now over ☹. I also played a ton of Warcraft III, with slightly more stable connections.
I still own consoles. I usually end up getting them all, but rarely as they release. Due to supply issues and scalper gouging, this past generation took years to pick up. I don’t do a whole lot of console gaming now, just once in a while to take a break from the comp or to play something multi-player with my boys. The current go-to’s are God of War: Ragnarök, Baldur’s Gate 3, and a long collection of unfinished epics like The Witcher 3, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, both Horizon games… etc.
I spend most of my free time PC gaming – and likely 80-90+% of that is WoW. I also play Blizzard’s other titles from time to time and a variety of Steam games to a lesser extent. I’ve been playing WoW since maybe 4-5 months past vanilla release. As a huge Warcraft II and Warcraft III fan, that pesky paid subscription thing could only deter me for so long. I started with 5 Horde and 5 Alliance. As the game built in popularity, the few IRL friends I knew that were playing, they were Horde. That along with my general admiration of Thrall (the character, not the realm) and I was now a Horde main. For a long time that meant exclusively Horde, but that has changed with the game opening up and loosening the faction divide.
I first found VALOR closing in on 2 years ago through a streamer I watch frequently. As tends to happen in WoW, my guild had recently imploded and I was a “free agent” once again. The streamer was plugging the VALOR guild and VALOR community. I gave it a look, connected to the Discord, joined the guild with a single toon… and was very quickly “all in”.
I transferred several more toons to Thrall and started a new one as well. The guild is super active and very chill. “Chill” is a huge accomplishment for a large and active guild. If you’ve been playing long, you know what I mean.
You may also know me as Vindicated – and a variety of other names for this alt-aholic. Last few seasons I mained a hunter “Vindicated”. This season (TWW S1) I am maining a DK “Vindicater”.
If you are a member of VALOR on Thrall and looking for someone to crush keys with, I have toons in the main guild and a lot in the alt-guild, VALOR II. Five are level 80s, all doing at least low-level M+ & T8 Delves, with a couple raiders in the mix.
I have been in WoW forever and been a part of many guilds (some very big, some very small). I’ve done a ton of raiding and other content over the years, but I have never before been a part of a competitive gaming team. That all changed when I joined VALOR’s Onyx Otters – one of several official guild M+ teams. I even have my first ever gaming competition under my belt after our second-place finish in our bracket for the Dungeon Dojo Invitational for DF S3 (more since then). I am also part of the recently formed VALOR Black heroic raid team.
Words can’t express how excited I am to be a part of team Onyx and team Black – or how pleased I’ve been to be part of the VALOR community as a whole.
I am also your VALOR team lead for the mobile game Warcraft Rumble. The VALOR clan has been “3 chesting” each season. We are currently at 20/20 members, but have inactive players so can have spots open if you are playing the game and looking for a home. Search “VALOR” and look for the one with www.vlrgaming.com in the description. Send me a message in the “General Warcraft Rumble Chat” in Discord (or DM me) with your in-game rumble name so we can get you into the clan.
We had started with Blizzcon 2017 but we started late and didn’t finish in time for the con. Real life got in the way too much and we never got back to it. Blizzcon 2023 was our second Blizzcon (I’m the big guy on the left with the thick/full red/brown beard in the VALOR Blizzcon 2023 pics). This con was a last second ticket purchase because they didn’t sell out for the first time ever… so we didn’t have any time to try for cosplay (although we did do the murloc march). Maybe 2025 will be a different story (since they flopped on 2024 Blizzcon), we’ll see.
I’d love to learn piano. I’d love to get into building/restoring cars and motorcycles. I’d love to get more into fitness and maybe even compete (unlikely however being in my mid 40s… I think competitive fitness time passed me by… and I’d need to stop eating yummy food). I’d love to do a great many things… but most cost a hell of a lot more than a monthly WoW sub and monthly internet bill… so most of them will remain “I’d love to’s”.
I could drone on and on forever, especially once I get to know you and get comfortable… but I think this is more than enough of a book for a “spotlight” write up.
Here’s to all you glorious VALOR people. I’ve had a blast with you all so far and
I am super excited for what the future holds!!
Rhino is a consistent and dedicated teammate who brings his A-game to every team night along with a great sense of humor. He’s always looking to improve at the game, and foster teamwork in others.
-Thrass
