Founder · AI Researcher · World Champion
“It never gets easier; you just go faster.”
I'm a founder, AI researcher, and former world champion. Competition is my life.
My competitive career started at the age of 15, when I won my first major title. Since then, I've won 10+ national and world championships as both a player and coach.
In 2025, I co-founded PokketCoach, an AI research and sport psychology company, where we worked with Olympic and professional athletes around the world. Before that, I helped launch satellites at Astranis, an aerospace startup.
Today, I help companies scale and integrate AI, from training custom models to designing new agentic architectures. If you want to see what I've been reading lately, check out The Library.
Published SOTA tool-calling architecture for AI agents.
Lead author on Natural Language Tools (NLT) paper. Our architecture found more than 18% overall improvement in agent tool-calling capabilities, even with frontier models. Independently replicated.
Published with Esports Health and Performance Institute.
Selected keynotes and invited talks.
Proudest accolades as a coach.
Proudest accolades as a player.
Only first place finishes, from TAO, CF, CSGO, and Valorant.
What I’ve been reading, with my notes on each book.
Sigh, I really have to stop putting off books just because they're excessively popular. This was execellent. While I didn't agree with everything in it, I loved the combination of practical tone, intellectual rigor, and epistemic humility.
The follow-up to the Children of Time. I thought this was...interesting? It felt like a step down from the first book series, but also a completely different perspective. The human perspective dominated this series; despite introducing two more forms of intelligences, it was fundamentally more human than the original. And the idea of a zombie virus going on an adventure was fun; curiosity as evolutionary fuel is an idea which stands out. All in all, I enjoyed it, but I doubt I'll read it again.
Profound. Inspiring - if an illterate slave can rise to the highest circles of the land, then who are we to decry circumstance and nepotism?
Unfiltered American Exceptionalism. Ironic that it was written by a Frenchman. This was prescient, inspiring, depressing, and insightful all at once. Rarely has a book so shifted my worldview. I'm not sure in what ways precisely, yet, but it has left a profound impression.
Hart clearly lionizes Scipio more than a bit - the entire premise of the book is that Scipio is greater than Napoleon, after all. The historical record is cited almost exclusively from Livy or Polybius. I had known the broad strokes of Scipio's life before, and had known a bit about the battles. But it's fascinating seeing a military historian and one of the Father's of Modern Strategy discussing these same campaigns. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
An ironic reimagining of Thomas More's Utopia, brilliantly executed. I've heard that the book's original tagline was 'An Ambiguous Utopia', which is a perfect description. When I read the foreward after I finished (I do this to avoid spoilers), I was baffled. How could someone misunderstand the nature of the novel to such an extent? The foreward's author highlighted its 'anti-capitalist' message, when Ursula couldn't have been more careful to avoid painting a clear villain. I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and will think on it often in the future.
What an ending. More Chinese historical allusions, of course. But the internal inconsistencies are largely resolved...or at least, are absorbed into the themes of the story. I'm reminded of Cixin Liu's sci-fi trilogy's sense of helplessness in the face of overpowering trends, which makes sense given their shared Chinese roots. But reading it was an experience that still sits with me, and I would highly recommend the story. I finished the entire thing in two days.
Okay, another fascinating entry in this trilogy. At first, I hated it. This girl was a genius peasant who fought her way to the top of her civilization's intellectual military hierarchy. And yet the entire first segment is her making blunder after blunder (and acknowledging it). But as I thought more, I realized that despite some internal inconsistencies, it was a compelling story. When I finished, I immediately went to a store and bought the next title.
Wow. This book was fascinating, as a quasi-historical fiction. On one hand, yes, it begins about as trope-y as you possibly can, with the dark academia tutelage plot. However, despite that, the constant allusions to China and the story itself were gripping. I tore through it in a matter of hours.
A primer on legal philosophy and practical operations for common law systems, in particular viewed through the lens of the US. I found it really insightful, albeit a touch repetitive and self-aggrandizing. What can you do, though: lawyers, right?
This is the first time I'd read this Novella in full. Man, it's haunting. I'd had a mental impression of this being some story about the downfalls of communism, but it's not. Or, it is, but rather it's a critique on power structures and its inevitable corruption. Wow was this good. It's the type of story where there are heroes and villains on all sides.
This is almost a continuation of Diplomacy, though obviously written by an older man who has had time to reflect on his mistakes. It's less academically distant, and much more personal. Yet where Diplomacy reads as a history of the past, World Order directly links that history to the present. This also masquerades as a love letter to American Diplomacy. The last few chapters are worth revisiting, and I will again.
Man what a cool motif. The pseudo-Roman world building. It's not quite sci-fi, not quite fantasy. It was very unique. It's very much a spiritual successor to the Percy Jackson style of writing, though a bit more mature. I read the entire thing in a single day, so that speaks to how compelling the story is, even if it's geared toward that High School / Early College audience. I love a good coming of age story. My only real complaint is that the main character has very few flaws - he succeeds at everything with comparatively little effort, and never is made to truly compromise.
Man, great story. I thought that the "split worlds" motif made the pacing drag horribly during this second book. And, the drama & sudden onset of civil war felt a bit...disconnected? Besides, I'm supposed to believe that our one-armed bandit, is running around playing Batman? Interestingly, I wouldn't say that this was a step down from book one. It was more ambitious, certainly. And I think it did some things much better - the climax was unbelievable, compared to the first. The questions it left you asking are much more poignant. And so while it had flaws, it had many phenomenal qualities.
As the book has continued, it's interesting to me that the ASML Dutch company's EUV (extreme ultraviolet) machines were largely funded by US companies and US investment. It was also a very direct surprise how aggressively and intentionally the US dismantled Huawei. When I read things like this, it really underscores how massive a superpower the US really is. That said, there are a few points where the author deviates into topics I'm more familiar with, and I see the ghost of the Gel-man effect. But those moments might be the exception that proves the rule?
This is essentially a primer to geopolitics, ostensibly seen through the lens of geography. However, I think it leans far more on politics than on geography. For example, he often adds in the phrase "Or, some say, due to geography", or "because of geography" without actually connecting the dots.
A pretty decent book. I didn't realize (and had never really pondered) that graphical designs were so relatively new! The first time-series was basically around the time of the American Revolution. Everything truly is a technology. It will stick with me whenever I make graphics henceforth.
I finished this book, and it's interesting. It didn't hit me as strongly as some of the other books I've read have. Okay, yes, the early explanation of how managerial leverage works makes sense (and gives a cohesive argument for why executives make so much more than rank-and-file employees). As did the arguments for globalism. But the book underscored how deeply Andy thought about organizational integrity and functioning. He was an engineer at heart, and an executive who took an engineer's level of rigor and curiosity into what made his company successful.
I had known the story of Oedipus in a vague sense - that he had clawed his own eyes out after sleeping with his mother. But this was the first time I'd heard the story told as that: a story, a tragedy. It was truly stark to see the hubris and humbling of the king. And to follow it up with the story of Antigone? Man, what a cool play. I read the Fagles translation, and loved it. The dialog was so snappy - the sentry, a modern "oh god, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news". It was brilliant. Then it was topped off by such a cool commentary on the tragedy of ignorant fiery ego.
A thorough analysis of European history in a post-WW2 landscape. In particular, he looks at it through the lens of cultural amnesia, and how generations that exist today have forgotten the intense cost of war. The argument that the "reason" for international order is fading with time seems particularly relevant given current US actions in Venezuela and Iran...
I'd never read these before. It's remarkable how much foresight the founders had. The Monroe Doctrine was presaged by this, with America already thinking of hemisphere-level geopolitics when creating the constitution. Other key moments were the rationale behind no term limits (term limits just encourage people to grip onto power through aconstitutional means rather than winning elections) and a moment where they reflect "why would we need to limit the President's power to send in troops as a police force? There are so many other ways to get glory, they would never shame themselves!"
While this book was extremely compelling, MAN was getting through it a slog. It felt like Bostrom was needlessly opaque time and time again. And I *loathe* when authors put footnotes in the back of books that contain key context. There were some big misses (thinking that linguistic understanding required an AI-complete GIA, for example), but it's a very valuable read.
A pretty good contrast to the Herb Cohen book. There's a lot of overlap, but Herb focuses more on the personal affect & "details", while this covers more the broad fundamentals. Classic biases, psychological pitfalls, etc.
A modern textbook on rhetoric. Very loose and conversational introductions combined with deep dives into the nuances of persuasion. I reread in 2025 to brush up on some fundamentals. It's a bit cheesy, a bit basic, but always good!
If you could only read one book, I would recommend this one. It provides a mental toolkit enabling clearer thinking, better decision making, and enhanced emotional awareness. I re-read this every so often as a reminder of the fundamentals of mental performance.
While The Art of War comes highly recommended for strategy, this blows it out of the water. The advice here is far more practical, and it covers a wide array of topics about practice, strategy, and knowledge that I found immensely insightful. I especially love Musashi's ideas on having favorite strategies or plans, and return to this every so often.
Given “Physics’ collective crush” on Richard Feynman, I expected him to be a nicer guy. He was kind of a jerk his whole life haha, albeit a good-natured one. I think he was so popular amongst physicists because he was one of the few who broke the stereotypical “nerd-scientist” mold. Which is a shame. Aesthetics so often push people away from science - imagine how many beautiful people aren’t contributing due to their socialization? ANYWAY. Great book. I agree with a lot of what he had to say.
Not a bad book, one which gives insight into the mind of one of the world’s most successful negotiators. I heard him speak in class and was unimpressed...and then I was blown away by his whip-smart writing & command of language. I was chagrined, as he stresses in his book to intentionally cultivate a bumbling demeanor.
I was extremely disappointed with this title given how highly recommended it came. I strongly disagree with the tone the book takes, as its nostalgic refrain strikes discordantly with my worldview. That said, the fundamental insight that monopolies are neccessary for profit is worth reflecting on, and Thiel's track record speaks for itself when it comes to cultivating game-changing ideas.
A deep look at Pixar’s managerial practices over the years. I really, really enjoyed reading it, and it gives some good ideas about managing creativity. I had no idea about Jobs' involvement in Pixar before reading this!
I loved the films, but had never read the books. Man, was I missing out. While the pacing isn't exactly modern, the rhythm of the writing is gorgeous. Bilbo's song when the fellowship leaves is especially haunting, and the entire story feels like an elegy.
An introduction into thinking in systems as a discipline. Far less practical than I would have thought, but there were some cool examples. One that comes to mind is the idea of too-quick-feedback leading to oscillations rather than increased value. It's very much a book from the 90's, when fear of "running out of fossil fuels" was extremely prevalent haha.
WOW. This book was remarkable. The story was compelling, the humor was top-notch, and the religious-NLP angle was so well done. Amazing scope, amazing book. I'd previously read Stephenson's "Seveneves" and wasn't totally impressed, but this I will definitely re-read in the future. (Also, the Librarian is a prototypical LLM).
Honestly, this was pretty mediocre. I read it because someone on Twitter said it was the highest "insights per word" they had ever read. I can see how, being written in 1968, it was revolutionary for its time. I don't regret reading it, but nor did I get a tremendous amount of value. Definitely judging that guy on twitter a bit. (Though I did like the author's take that war is an inalienable aspect of humanity).
I really like this narrative style of teaching. Very similar to the Jobs' biography or Creativity, Inc. -- The first half of the book follows his career, and the specific trials he's gone through. The second half is much more practical. It covers specific advice and situations he sees founders commonly struggle with. Much of it really just underscored that my background in esports prepared me for leadership more than any amount of business nonsense ever could.
I read this to prepare for the development of PokketCoach. It's more of a manual to effective architectural patterns than it is a book in of itself. I really enjoyed the insights here, extremely concise. The recurring theme is "The system's run-time structure must be determined by the designer as opposed to the language."
My history knowledge is pretty weak compared to other things, so this was really insightful. Unfortunately, Russell definitely allows his personal views & biases & generalizations to shadow the entire text haha, so it's less "a history of philosophy" and more "Russell's take on things". But even so, it was a remarkable experience to read it all.
This was a really counterintuitive yet down-to-earth approach to fundamentals of marketing. It goes against a lot of what you learn about in traditional marketing classes, but in the sort of "this makes obvious sense once you think about it" that gives it the feeling of universal truth. The key idea is probably best boiled down to "brands grow by being easy to buy and easy to remember, for as many people as possible" - in essence arguing that dominating a niche is the same thing as being a small company.
This book is probably the most "Robert Greene" of Holiday's works. He uses the same style of fundamental principle backed by historic anecdote, but in this domain targeted toward stoic examples instead. I'm fairly stoic, so it was fun seeing that philosophy play out in different masks.
Another book I re-read every so often. I really enjoy it, and the fundamentals are universal. Everything is political, everything is relationships, and incentives drive everything. It's a meditation on Moloch.
This book reframes negotiation as a conversation, and a conversation where you want to get information from the other person. It emphasizes effective listening skills over all else, and I really enjoy the "recommended reading list" at the end.
A thorough overview of Jobs' life. While I resonated with a lot of it, I was shocked to see the "adoption" narrative throughout the works. It's a reminder that people are complex, and have complex motivations. Also, his death is a classic example of how "spikey" intelligence can be - a genius can still be so profoundly stupid in some areas.
An amazing overview of post-Westphalian world history, viewed through the lens of international war and diplomacy. It's very Eurocentric, and very much biased by Kissinger's clear view that Realpolitik is the superior system. However, despite that, it's a remarkably insightful work on how global systems have developed and interact!
Here, counterinsurgency is viewed not as a combat exercise, but an exercise in governance. And yes, security is a piece of governance – arguably the only piece, by some libertarian and anarchic philosophies. There's a quote from it that I found profound - “you aren't being out fought, you're being out governed.” I also was left thinking about the role of policing, and the role of actual economic development as counterterrorism incentives. That is to say, it seems like many of these same principles for counterterrorism are essentially principles for effective military governance in general, and may be options for cities or nations struggling under the weight of crime.
This book reminded me of Kissinger's Diplomacy. Not in its topic per se, but in the pedagogical approach. I thought the book was…surface level (haha). While there are cool anecdotes and interesting facets of history, in all, much of this could be gleaned from a little critical thinking and imagination. I think considering the time it was written, it played out fairly prescient, especially with its highlighting the South China Sea & Indian ocean. However, the arctic alarm bells add a lot of context to Trump's Greenland obsession too!
While there are a few aspects of the work that are dated, it's a phenomenal treatise on fundamentals of conflict. It was fascinating to me because the typical stuff I'd read on Clausewitz emphasized his "political" view, the macroscopic blending of war and political machinations. But so much of his emphasis is on how a strictly top-down view isn't a feasible way to run things. "Friction" exists from the bottom up, and training, details, execution all matter.
A thorough retelling of the Gawker and Hulk Hogan case, viewed from the lens of Peter Thiel's master plan to dismantle Gawker as an institution. It's really haunting, and puts into perspective how powerful some billionaires can be.
I am always hesitant on Robert Greene...I often disagree quite strongly with his "takeaways" and "laws". But the historical anecdotes are so compelling, and so well written, that it's hard not to appreciate his work.
This was such a cool trip down the purported history of History, and...just wow. I loved it, even if the history is used as a vehicle to teach morals haha.
It's so interesting to read things optimized for the female gaze (and specifically the horny teenage / young adult gaze). Obviously, there are all of the tropes. The shadow-daddy versus the giant beast with the golden heart who's inevitably controlling. It's extremely on the nose, but a fun romp haha.
Continuing the story of ACOTAR, it gets more interesting. This is where the whole "Shadow Daddy" element really comes out. So terribly bland and predictable, even if the plot is better. I'll finish the trilogy someday just to finish it, but my God.
Re-read this to prepare for Wind and Truth. A remarkable book, following the story of a surgeon who turned into a soldier who turned into a slave (amongst other political intrigue). Sanderson is like Stephen King, in that he's perfected the art of telling his type of story (even if it lacks some depth in areas)
What a stunningly good book. Re-reading this series to prepare for Wind and Truth, and this is one of the few series where the second book is even better than the first. I feel like the first two books are the best two-book-pairs of a series I have ever read. It's a shame the series takes a bit of a dive after these two, but still remains good.
I love the climax of this story. "Did you bring a weapon?" "Nope, can't read." The story puts such a nice bow on several characters' backgrounds, and feels like the natural climax of an opening trilogy in the series.
The nuance and exploration of the Fused in this book is so well done. I hate that the position of engineers & physics in this book are so...almost childish haha. And to top it off, the timeskip I hate at the start. But there's still a lot to like about it.
I was so disheartened by the end of this. I thought, similar to Mistborn, this would be the end of a complete tale. Instead, this was only a midway point through the series. So it was ultimately extremely anticlimactic. The weakest entry in the series by far. But! I will re-read it someday once the sense of disappointment is gone haha.
What a cool book. The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer represents LLMs before LLMs. And like LLMs have proven, the author's implicit critique that "limitless knowledge doesn't actually change anything, without motivation and agency"...well, frankly, that's still true. I like it less than Snow Crash, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Very prescient.
I love the Culture as a concept, and this hits me directly in my own identity as a competitor. Imagination run rampant. What happens when a society, a total meritocracy in name, is based around who is the best at playing a complicated game?
What if spiders evolved to be intelligent instead of humans? Fascinating evolutionary approach to worldbuilding. I loved the concept of a "hive mind intelligence" with ants, too. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Kind of funny to read this right after Children of Time, where this is a spider-adjacent alien. It was weird, I heard this was the best of Andy Weir's books, but I thought Artemis was vastly better. Anyway, this was a fun, okayish romp. It reminded me of a wannabe "Contact", where language derivation was a huge part of the plot.
This is one of the best romantasy novels I've read. Normally they're so unbearably cringey, targetted toward horny teenagers or YA girls. But this one had such a cool inverted plot structure, deep characters, and multiple twists that were executed beautifully. Huge fan of how this was done.
At first, this seems like a playful series of letters between a Demon and his supervisor. It covers their attempts to corrupt a human on Earth during WW2. And yet...the author's note at the end completely recontextualized it for me. He claims his step away from the character of Screwtape came because ithe workt left him overbowed by getting into the head of someone so evil. And it made me realize how dark and demonic these letters really are. That was fascinating for me, as I'd never had the artist's perspective (within a book) invert the meaning so thoroughly before. 10/10 will read again, and likely again.
Hmm...I liked this. It's definitely a nerdy view of aliens, and communication. It also was the first book that made me realize how culturally traumatic the "Cultural revolution" was for China. It makes me want to start reading more Chinese literature haha.
Pretty good read, I enjoyed the drama. I felt like it had a lot of what Sanderson refers to as the “pyramid of abstraction” problems, where much of the book was about transmitting ideas. It also felt a bit repetitive / unsatisfying at times. What, the first two suicide-pacts were not threats, but this one was? However, the story was still quite good, and had a happy ending. I liked it. The “dark forest” metaphor is a pessimistic one, but is unfortunately one of the most likely solutions to our solitude.
Well, that was…depressing. I’m glad I finished this series, but man was this a bleak commentary on things haha. The best takeaway from it is that it made me read a poem called “Threshold” which is emblematic of the themes of this whole series. I didn’t -really- like this book as much as the 2nd or the 1st, it felt…again, just somewhat depressing haha. It was probably written better than the second, but I enjoyed it far less. The poem I read really stuck with me, though. I felt like it was again a communication of really cool ideas, using story as a thin vehicle for the concepts.
This is the first sci-fi book I can confidently say is literature. It's a mirror of the Canterbury Tales, and is phenomenally executed. It's part horror, part thriller, part religious meditation. I will re-read this time and time again.