Menu
Contact
“I saw one of my former students at the HBCU picnic. He looked more confident. More comfortable. And I thought, wow—this is what growth looks like.”
Antonio “Tone” Thomas didn’t always picture himself leading gaming tournaments, writing STEAM curriculum, or guiding hundreds of students through the world of tech. In fact, when he first stepped onto a college campus, his plan was to work for Boeing. He was an aviation major with a minor in flight safety, his eyes set on the skies.
But the runway to his original dream hit turbulence. “By junior year, I’d had my fourth coaching change,” Antonio recalls. “I was crying. I was working so hard… and it just felt like the program failed me.” That moment was a turning point. Instead of breaking down, he redirected, finding refuge and inspiration in campus gaming events.
Earlier this year, Antonio was introduced to the wider world of gaming and esports opportunity through the NFL HBCU Madden initiative, a groundbreaking program created in collaboration with EA Sports and Rally Cry. The initiative was designed to give students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities hands-on exposure to the competitive gaming industry through tournaments, mentorship, and career development experiences.
Antonio wasn’t a player in the tournament, but a video applicant chosen for his story and vision. “That trip changed everything. It connected a lot of the dots for me,” he says. “A lot of the unanswered questions I had about how to make this a real career started to make sense.”
And the experience wasn’t just about playing. It was about access. “They brought in NFL players, former athletes, people who worked in the back and front office. It gave me a full picture of what the business side of esports and sports can look like,” he says. “That kind of exposure was life-changing.”
He also formed key relationships with organizations like Rally Cry, who manage esports infrastructure for schools and companies, and EA, the publisher behind Madden. These encounters helped him visualize how he could fuse his interests in gaming, tech, and leadership into something tangible.
Today, Antonio wants to ensure that the same exposure is available to other young people especially Black youth who may not see themselves reflected in traditional tech spaces.
At just 23, Antonio leads both the esports program at Florida Memorial University and STEAM initiatives at the Crockett Foundation in South Florida. He didn’t just participate in the campus gaming club at FMU, he ran it.
“There’s a reason it’s been so hard to find a successor to the esports club,” he explains. “People my age just didn’t see the opportunity. They were scared of the work.”
But to Antonio, leadership was about more than a title. “I kept telling people, like yo, if it wasn’t for that gaming club, I would not be in the position I am today. Everything that was free, I showed up. I took the initiative. And it changed my life.”
Antonio’s journey mirrors that of Henri Crockett, the former NFL linebacker who founded the Crockett Foundation in 2002 with a mission to build character, boost academic achievement, and improve life skills for middle and high school youth in underserved communities.
“It’s kind of poetic,” Antonio says. “Henri came from sports and transitioned into the nonprofit space. And that’s literally what I did, too.”
His role at the foundation is anything but surface-level. As a multimedia specialist and STEAM lead, Antonio helps develop everything from workshop curriculum to educational programming and even grant proposals.
“This is more than just a job,” he says. “I’ve experienced horizontal growth. I’m doing things I never imagined, building workshops, running youth programs, and learning how to write grants. If I never sought those skills out, I wouldn’t have them today.”
Through his work, Antonio reaches dozens of schools and hundreds of students each year sparking interest in gaming, tech, and digital storytelling.
When asked what makes gaming such a powerful teaching tool, Antonio doesn’t hesitate.
“Engagement. That’s the key. We expect educators to teach kids who are dealing with a thousand things such as hunger, trauma, boredom, but gaming? That holds their attention.”
That’s why his curriculum includes more than just gameplay. He teaches students how to build esports companies and walks them through career pathways like coaching, production, marketing, and tournament logistics. “Even if you’re not a gamer,” he says, “there’s still a lane for you.”
Despite the hype, Antonio believes the esports industry is at a breaking point and in desperate need of realignment.
“Right now, it’s not in a good place,” he says. “VCs threw money at the wrong orgs. Players got used to these big contracts, but the value didn’t match. Now companies are scared to spend.”
“We need to rebuild the foundation. The same way the NFL and other leagues did over time, structure, development, standards.”
That rebuilding, he says, should include support from game publishers who often hold all the power but provide little infrastructure for long-term sustainability.
“Publishers gotta do more. They have the tools and the money to help us create a real ecosystem, but they’ve got to see the value in development, not just distribution.”
Antonio wants students to think bigger than just playing games. “Gaming is a passion-based industry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a real future with it,” he says. His biggest advice to students?
“Don’t subject yourself to one thing. Stay open. Be willing to learn something new even if it seems unrelated. That’s where the real growth happens.”
He points to electives in gaming, digital media, and tech as potentially more valuable than some traditional degrees. And he practices what he preaches, consulting for platforms like Destruction Labz an online gaming space where brands can host tournaments and offer real rewards. Originally built on Web3 and NFTs, the platform has since evolved, and Antonio plays a key role in tournament development and consulting.
What started with a headset and a controller turned into a full-circle journey from Clermont, Florida to leading change in Miami’s youth spaces. Whether it’s running tournaments or mentoring a kid who might be the next esports exec, Antonio shows what’s possible when passion meets purpose.
And the best part? He’s just getting started.
Cache AI uses smart technology and real-world data to help athletes see what they’re really worth in today’s sponsorship economy.
“I saw one of my former students at the HBCU picnic. He looked more confident. More comfortable. And I thought, wow—this is what growth looks like.”
I’ve known Gerald Keys for years, but chatting on Zoom this time felt like tapping into tomorrow. Even through a screen, his energy hit with producer-level precision. Gerald “The Sound” Keys is a Sacramento-bred, Atlanta-based producer-engineer with 15 years behind the boards for Justin Bieber, Usher, French Montana, Zendaya, and Ty Dolla $ign. Today he’s Ludacris’ studio wing-man, Chief of Production for Netflix’s Emmy-nominated Karma’s World, and lead producer for KidNation. His sync catalog stretches from McDonald’s and Google to Apple and Mattel.
