Writing has been a part of Chris Stead’s life since he was very young. In fact, he won the “creative writing” award way back in Year 3 at school as a seven-year-old. During his senior school years, Chris wrote constantly, be it stories while he was sitting at his desk in class not concentrating on the teacher, or writing up news reports on all the sports and experiences the kids in his local neighbourhood enjoyed every day.
By the time he left school in 1996, he had already started a website, and was writing reviews and opinions on user-created content for video games. This would lead to work as a contributor to a number of leading magazines and websites through the remainder of the nineties while he completed a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Sydney.
By 2000, he was Staff Writer for the launch of Official PlayStation 2 Magazine, but left the role in 2001 with his future wife to travel the world. 18-months, 40 countries, a host of odd jobs and two kombis later, Chris arrived back in Sydney and reignited his writing career. He soon started working as GameSta for young boy’s magazine Krash, which – almost 150 issues later – he continues to do, as well as contribute to a host of popular entertainment publications and websites.
In 2003, Chris was hired as deputy editor for the launch of Australian GamePro magazine, and moved to the editor’s seat in 2005. In 2007, he was hired as editor-in-chief for the launch of gameplayer.com.au, and then in 2010 he was brought on as the launch editor for Australian Game Informer. He would work there for four years, before leaving at the birth of his second child, Jasmine.
In 2014, Chris launched a new chapter in his writing life. He founded his own company, Old Mate Media, and became a gun for hire in the entertainment industry, combining all his skills in design, text, editing and content marketing across a number of roles. Chris regularly contributes, consults and schools staff for brands like Maxim, Finder, UNSW, MCV, Krash, It Girl, Red Bull and more.
In and around that, he launched an app, Grab It, and a tie-in website, www.grabitmagazine.com, to cover the burgeoning indie gaming scene and to help mobile gamers find the hidden gems on the App Store. And, of course, he has launched the first of a range of children’s books through The Wild Imagination of Willy Nilly series. In the future, Chris hopes that other aspiring writers who would like to create their own digital publications – no matter what the topic – will enlist Old Mate Media to help them turn their dream into a reality.
