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Guy Earns £2,000 A Month As A Professional Fortnite Coach

Guy Earns £2,000 A Month As A Professional Fortnite Coach

"You’ve got to learn that this is the way the world’s going. Technology is the future, it’s gonna be a hell of a lot more than this..."

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

In the olden days, people typically picked up a trade making or fixing stuff, and that was how they put a roof over their heads.

Nowadays, this still happens. Dean Ford was one such person to walk this much-tread path, completing a forestry apprenticeship. But rather than forging a career in the woods, the 25-year-old axed his trade and carved out a living for himself as a Fortnite coach.

Dean Ford said working as a Fortnite coach is a 'dream job'.
Marlin PR

The 25-year-old from north east Scotland picks up work through freelancing sites such as Fiverr, with customers paying him by the hour for his remote Fortnite insight. His customers range from eight-year-olds to fifty-somethings-year-olds. Many of his clients are parents who want to get better so they can play with their kids.

Having originally never envisaged this kind of work bringing in a reliable income, Mr Ford - or Lostbean, as he is known in the gaming world - is hoping to make a career out of it.

He told LADbible: "I would say it's a dream job, 'cause you make your own hours, you work for yourself essentially.

"It's a good feeling knowing I can come up at any time, go hang out with my girlfriend, instead of working like a nine to nine job. It's just great working at home, working for yourself - you make your own hours, you make your own money."

But while £2,000 ($2,474) a month is not to be scoffed at, it's pennies compared to what can be earned by professional Fortnite players, with 16-year-old Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf clinching the $3 million (£2.43 million) prize for first place at the Fortnite World Cup Finals in July.

Millions of dollars were on the line at the Fortnite World Cup Finals.
PA

However, Mr Ford said he is now a bit too old to compete at the top level.

He said: "I'm a little older now, I'm 25, so I've got a lot of responsibilities; I'm in my own place, I've got a girlfriend and the amount of hours you need to invest into the game to become pro level is a lot of hours, I'm talking at least six hours a day.

"So it's mostly kids that do that, kids that don't have responsibilities, they have all the time in the world in their hands."

Of course, while children may have plenty of free hours to whittle away, many would argue they shouldn't be spending half a dozen of these each day sat in front of a computer. But Mr Ford reckons the game represents a modern form of socialising and can be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle.

He said: "The world's changing, here's the thing. Back in the day when games were single player you'd be playing alone and it's a lonely world online if you're playing a single player game.

"But it's different now, it's multiplayer, you're talking to people from all over the world and socialising with them and having fun and having a laugh - it's totally different now.

"Don't get me wrong, you still need to balance it, or you're just going to get social anxiety. You still need to go outside and go to the gym and eat healthy; you can't just sit on the computer all day doing your thing."

As for why the game has proven such a hit, Mr Ford reckons there a multitude of reasons.

Mr Ford reckons Fortnite represents a modern form of socialising.
PA

"First of all it's free, the only thing you have to pay for are cosmetic items, which are skins," he said.

"It's a very addictive game. There's a lot of effort that has been put into the game. The company, Epic Games, they listen to the players, if there's ever an issue they fix it. They're constantly updating the maps so there's different things in the game, there's a lot of things to look forward to.

"And the colours as well, it's very appealing to the eye, especially for kids."

Looking to the future, Mr Ford reckons the Fortnite bubble will eventually burst, but when it does, he will be waiting in the wings for whatever may take its place.

He said: "I don't think the game [Fortnite] is going to last forever. But I don't think it's the last game to be this successful; it's not just a one time fluke. There's more to come - I really think the future is VR to be honest.

"I'm a competitive guy, so whatever competitive games are out, I'll play and I'll practice, and I'll teach more games in the future."

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Featured Image Credit: Marlin PR

Topics: GAMING, Daily Ladness, Interesting, Community