Who Are We/Play3r?
Play3r was formed on April 1st, 2013 by Tim Mammatt with the aim of becoming a fun, friendly and informative publication. Just before releasing the site into the wilderness of the internet, he enlisted the help and support of Gavin Bonshor, who at the time was reviewing for another review site. Tim himself with experience in this industry, both collaborated on their idea of the perfect setup and Play3r was launched.
Since then we have been growing steadily as a respected publication of not only technology reviews, but for peripherals also. Our aim has remained throughout our existence, we aim to give honest and unbiased content for people to read and also make informed choices regarding purchasing among other things. It is worth mentioning too that in March of 2015, Play3r officially became a limited company under the Play3r Media Limited umbrella; lots of exciting things to come for Play3r over the next couple of years as the business and publication is expanded. Usually, when reading an article with lots of emphasis on personal opinion, not many people know about the people behind the article, what they love, what makes them tick and in general, anything other than their name! So please allow us to introduce ourselves:
Meet The Play3r Team!
Dave McMahon – Commercial Director
I joined Play3r in 2016, after becoming friends with Gavin through our love of everything tech and custom PC related. Whilst being born in Birmingham, and spending much of my life in Nottingham, I now reside in Liverpool, where I have lived since 2007 with my wife and 2 children.
At Play3r Media Ltd I oversee the day to day running of the company, but I also head up the marketing & business development side of things, which includes product sample management and advertising. I am also the primary reviewer of cases, coolers, and gaming chairs.
Away from Play3r I’m also a long-suffering fan of Aston Villa Football Club, have a passion for trainers (or sneakers if you are reading this in the US!) …and I’m also partial to a few alcoholic beverages! These worlds all collide over on my twitter account…you can find me @DaveMac1974
Craig Bartlett – Editor-in-Chief (Website)
I originally came from a customer service background having spent most of my working life in contact centres dealing with telephony and internet based problems and started doing reviews alongside Mystery Shopper assignments in my free time just for something a bit different.
When I joined Play3r I was filled with expectation of shiny new toys to play with and review, and thankfully those expectations were fairly accurate. After 2 years I still treat reviewing as more of a hobby than a job, even though I now help out with the day to day operations of the site. You can also find me on Linkedin.
Dave Hicks – Senior Writer & YouTube Channel Host
Born in Somerset, schooled in Kent, and matured in Devon. Take that however you will but I’m very enthusiastic about the tech industry as a whole. Coming from a Customer service background I’ve found it easy to be able to talk to people, along with a lot of passion led me to start my own repair company in Cornwall which I now run in South Devon. This passion led me to become a reviewer and I am proud to be a part of the Play3r team and content creator for the YouTube channel, Play3rTV.
Find me on Linkedin.
Bo Pedersen – Writer
“Having owned various computers from 1982 onwards, I have always had a keen interest in the hardware. Every advancement has been exciting for me from Parralax Scrolling to Multicore Processing. These days I enjoy the social aspect of multiplayer gaming, attending LANs and Exhibitions, with some pazzazz thrown into the rigs I use to enjoy them. To me choosing peripherals properly is paramount to a long lasting hobby, not just for in game precision but ergonomics too. Join me on Play3r where I have the privelege of reviewing lots of different parts and devices which I hope helps at least one person to enjoy computing.”
Bo can be found in real life on Linkedin.
Honourable Mentions:
Gavin Bonshor
Former Managing Director/Editor in Chief/Play3r TV Host
“I first joined Play3r with the aim of making a difference in the industry and turning the negatives into positives; so far I feel it’s been a rocky road, but I feel my personal goal so far has been a success! I’m 30 and I currently reside in Liverpool UK, a nice city with lots and lots of inspiring culture on my doorstep.
I currently focus on the graphics card and motherboard reviews for Play3r, as well as making sure all the other editors are doing what they are supposed to! I am a very opinionated person with a lot of passion, sometimes uncontrollably, but I love this industry. I have been reviewing for over 4 years now and well versed in many different product types/technologies.
I am also an experienced extreme overclocker and currently sit in the top 10 of the UK’s rankings on HWBOT. My other passion aside from overclocking is for gaming and I regularly enjoy a game of League of Legends or CS: GO; if anyone wants to have a game with me, all you need to do is ask! You can find me lurking on our Facebook community – https://www.facebook.com/groups/play3rcommunity/”
Gavin has since gone on to bigger and better things, you can still find him lurking on the above Facebook community page as well as his Linkedin profile.
Ashley Worden
Former Play3r TV Video Editor/Social Media Guy
“Started with Play3r back in 2016 originally helping run the social media platforms, then after giving bad feedback on videos on our YouTube channel, I was told: “Well if you can do it better go for it”.
So here I am, now editing on the YouTube Videos since the start of 2017. I also poke my nose into our website giving mostly negative feedback, and asking for things to be changed. Much to the dismay of my other colleagues.
This will end in either me being sacked or Play3r becoming the best damn tech website in the world. – Ashley Worden 2017”
Um… in his own words, Ash no longer works at Play3r. Just kidding, he left us for personal reasons. You can find him online via Facebook.