Second Wind’s Nick Calandra on Going Independent After The Escapist

Real Time Strategy

Two months ago, Nick Calandra and The Escapist’s former video team launched Second Wind after Nick was fired. Today, Second Wind has over 400,000 YouTube subscribers and over 14,000 Patreon supporters. Nick joins Sam Mosher and Kaitlyn Red Wing to discuss Second Wind’s success, the business of independent content creation, the failings of corporate ownership, and more.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 – Intro (Nick’s Most-Anticipated Games of 2024 and Favorites of 2023)

00:09:21 – What is Second Wind?

00:10:10 – How Second Wind Arose from The Escapist

00:17:21 – Transparency as an Independent Media Organization

00:28:06 – Second Wind’s Launch

00:43:50 - Second Wind’s Content Lineup

00:56:57 – Second Wind’s 2024 Goals

01:13:14 – Outro

Games discussed:

Pioneers of Pagonia

Wildfrost

Lords of the Fallen

Baldur’s Gate 3

Support Second Wind on Patreon here, find the group’s videos on YouTube and Twitch, and follow their updates on Twitter @SecondWindGroup. Follow Nick for his gaming takes and recommendations @nickjcal.

Follow the podcast on Twitter and YouTube @RealTimeStrats, and email us questions at [email protected]. Follow Kaitlyn and Sam on social media @KaitlynRedWing and @SamScotMosher respectively.