Guitar Hero High School Dropout

Student Ditches Class to be a Pro Video Gamer

Blake Peebles, 16, achieved the dream of every adolescent boy when he convinced his parents to let him drop out of high school to become a professional video gamer. His game of choice? Guitar Hero. With pesky distractions like going to school out of the way, Blake spends his days rocking (virtually) and pursuing his dream of becoming the best Guitar Hero player alive.

I didn't completely drop out of school because I'm still doing home schooling. It wasn't only about Guitar Hero though. I left because school was basically too easy and I never paid attention during class. Schools teach to the dumbest people in the class; they have to. That makes the smarter people in the class become bored. Now I am able to move at my own pace and I'm getting a better education.

My parents thought I was joking when I first asked them. They reacted just like any other parent would react to their kid wanting to pursue a career in professional gaming. So I came up with a plan and showed my parents that it's very possible to make a living as a professional gamer. I showed them that I still had a backup plan if I didn't succeed.

My friends always told me I should go to a tournament because I was really good at Guitar Hero. I used to think they didn't realize how awesome professional gamers are because I had been to a Halo 2 tournament a few years ago where I got destroyed. They finally got me to go to a tournament and I ended up coming in second. After that I started attending more tournaments, and I won without losing a single song. That's when I realized I was good at this game.

Training To Be A Pro-Gamer

My day starts with me waking up around noon. I do morning stuff, like taking a shower and brushing my teeth. After that I pretty much start playing Guitar Hero. I try to play around eight to 12 hours a day because I have to catch up to the best players right now. Sometimes I will take breaks from Guitar Hero and I'll play Halo or Super Smash Brothers, but for the most part I play GH for eight to 12 hours straight.

My favorite song to play through is probably 'Through the Fire and Flames' (DragonForce), just because it has a good combination of everything that you should be practicing. It makes you practice a lot of useful things all in one run.

World Class Guitar Hero

I would say somewhere in the top 25 or 20 in the world. The only reason I say that is because that's where I would rank online if I went back and played all of my songs to get the scores up. I don't really worry about my rank though because to me the only thing that matters is if you are winning at events. Someone can be ranked number one but if he doesn't go to tournaments than he's none of my concern. I am currently qualified to play in a World Cyber Games tournament for Guitar Hero in LA.

I really haven't made that much money yet because I'm using Guitar Hero to get my name out there and to get some recognition. Guitar Hero doesn't really have the big tournaments that you see for games like World Of Warcraft and Halo. I have only made around $1000 this summer, but I'm receiving different offers, like getting flown to New York to play with some people and getting paid $2000 for this and that. I have also been talking to some people about sponsoring me.

Before I left school I was doing OK with the girls but this has surprisingly helped my game. I actually talked to a model on the radio who said she wouldn't mind dating professional gamers - as long as they put a roof over her head.