An Inspired Chat with Nicko Muti of Ocala, FL

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Nicko Muti. Check out our conversation below.

Nicko, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
This is a question that I ask myself on a regular basis. The business that I am making is one that is adjacent to businesses made, but not one that has truly been done in the way I would like it to be.

Regularly I wonder if I’m on the right path (or a path at all), or if I’m wandering, because no one has done what I am setting out to do, and there have been plenty of times where I didn’t know if the next step was the right one to continue down the path or if it was a tangent to take me no where.

I equate my journey to that of being lost in the jungle. I can see my destination over the trees, but I don’t know the proper path. I am slowly making my way there, and that might be considered wandering.

But not all who wander are lost.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! My name is Nicko, and I run Thaliondor. Thaliondor is a full contact foam fighting game, which is fancy terms for we get a bunch of people together and hit each other with foam swords. Like airsoft or paintball, just swords instead of guns.

I’ve been running Thaliondor for 11 years now, and it’s been a crazy journey. Unlike other foam fighting games like Amtgard, Dagorhir, Belegarth, etc. Thaliondor is completely unique in its ruleset. There is also only one Thaliondor, compared to all the other games having multiple chapters. But even still, we consistently put out great numbers, fun social media interactions, and fantastic events!

Thaliondor is a great time for anyone in the central Florida area who wants to get outside, hang out with great people, get a great exercise in, and escape the horrors of the real world for a while! Hard to think about your problems when someone is charging you down with a sword!

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Doubt and Hesitation.

This year has been fantastic for Thaliondor both in it’s growth physically and electronically. We’ve crushed it on social medias, growing 5X on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, and we’re just getting started.

I constantly have that devil on my shoulder telling me to wait, to prepare more, that I’m not ready, that I’m not good enough.

But this year has proved different. I need to cast that part of me away and push further into the future.

Hesitation is defeat.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Honestly, no.

We only operate on Sundays currently. And in the 11 years of operation, I’ve not been at Thaliondor 5 times (excluding COVID-19, but even then we had practices at my house). There isn’t a week where I don’t want to get out of bed and go swing sticks.

There are plenty of days where I don’t want to do the work, but once I’m out there, all that vanishes. If I could do it every day, I would.

To me, giving up on my passion would be the same as giving up on my life. And I won’t be giving up on either any time soon. It’s so low on my list, I’d burn my house down before I quit.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I would like to make foam fighting mainstream, normalizing the hobby, and create a place for people to fight more consistently.

This whole business is to get to the end goal that is that place. I want a whole medieval town that people can Isekai themselves into, forget about their real world problems for a while, and immerse themselves in the foam fighting community.

It sounds like a pipe dream, but I’m committed to making that dream a reality.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I truly feel like I was born to do this.

Everyone told me to go to college since I was in the top of my high school class. So I went to college. I hated it and dropped out.

I was told that I needed a real job, a career, and to plan for my future. So I worked at the sheriffs office. And when it started to become stagnant, stressful and unrewarding, I wanted to quit. Then it began actively interfering with Thaliondor, I felt like I had to quit.

Like I said before, never have I felt the urge to quit Thaliondor. I always find myself asking, what ELSE can I do? Is there something I can do better? What more can I provide for this game?

If that isn’t what I was born to do, I don’t know what is.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Scott McDaniel Photography

Thaliondor

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