Community Spotlight: Shanghai Six
Hey! My name is Steve Machuga, also known as Shanghai Six on the server. I run military charity Stack Up, supporting US and Allied veterans through gaming and geek culture. What started off with us sending Xboxes and Playstations to men and women deployed overseas has now become a mental health organization…whodathunk? Stack Up supports the troops through our pillar programs:
Supply Crates: sending boxes of games and gear to veterans deployed to combat zones, recovering in military hospitals, or struggling back home.
Air Assault: flying disabled or deserving veterans to various gaming events like ComicCon, gaming studio tours, or esports events
Stacks: 30+ teams of volunteers getting out into their community and doing volunteer work locally
Stack Up’s Overwatch Program (StOP): peer-to-peer veteran suicide prevention online through Discord
Phalanx House: a $2M mansion retrofitted into an “adult tree fort” gaming-focused community center for veterans based in Los Angeles
Where did I start gaming at? Well, we have to take a trip in the “Way Back Machine” for that one, as I’ve been playing games for as long as I’ve been able to hold a controller in my hand. My dad used to take me on the weekends to a miniature golf course and arcade by our house that was a huge hit for me. I have memories of my next door neighbor who was much older than I was showing off his “golden” Legend of Zelda Nintendo cartridge and my just thinking it was the baddest ass thing imaginable. And from there, whenever I wasn’t doing schoolwork or I’d come back from work, or being in the military, my relaxation was playing the latest that had come out.
I was in the Army for eight years as an Army Infantryman, and then transitioned to Intelligence at the four year mark. Following my getting out, I spent some time in DC with some of the three-letter alphabet organizations doing intelligence work, but didn’t find the work that fulfilling… until I started doing charity work on the side during the weekends and found my true calling of helping others.
I met Prawfet in Pittsburgh, where my ex-wife and I lived for many years. Prawfet lived 10 minutes away from me, and I’m not sure how we connected originally, but he and I stayed in touch when he went to basic training and I ended up bringing the charity to Los Angeles after my divorce went through. He and I remained in touch as most internet friends do: connected through social media. I ended up becoming a top-tier off tank from back in the Wrath of the Lich King days, so I had a nice long history with WoW…but I hung up my sword and board a long time ago. Every time I looked back and considered taking up the mantle again, I’d play for a few hours, get bored, lose interest and uninstall. The problem was playing WoW by yourself can be a lonely affair, so this last time when some of my Los Angeles friends were talking about getting into WoW again and Prawfet heard word over the internet, he immediately slid in my DMs like, “You up?”
This time around, when the Los Angeles friends quickly realized that leveling a character to Mythic Plus would take some work, for whatever reason, I decided I would try my hand and this time, go as a healer class. I’d never healed in any MMO before, so I decided I’d give it a try, and boy, what a challenge that has become. But in a good way. Working with VALOR’s ButDidYouDie, he’s walked me through from not knowing anything about anything healing wise and getting me into my first M+ 20 rank in a matter of weeks of training. I’m also healing VALOR’s Saturday community raid nights and no longer embarrassing myself any more, so that’s a step in the right direction.
I met Steve many years ago when I worked at BestBuy, it was hilarious because one night I had been randomly researching military gaming organizations because I had an idea I wanted to pursue. I ended up finding out about StackUP and the next day Steve walked into the store I was at, and I walked up to introduce myself. Turns out we lived 10 minutes away from each other… With VALOR growing and getting to the point we are building a core content team I am excited to work with StackUP in the future!
-Prawfet
Thank you for checking out this spotlight!
