OAKLAND, California -- Multi-colored faceplates, motherboards, springs and joysticks covered a set of long tables lined up near the entrance of the Oakland Convention Center during Genesis 6. As customers queued up to place their orders on this early Friday morning, many were abuzz: Attendees had come from all around the world, and now they had the opportunity to have their GameCube controllers modified by the best technician in the world.

Behind one of the tables, mentally preparing for the long day ahead, Noah Ray Valdez sat with a wide smile across his face. In the past 16 months, Valdez has become the premier GameCube controller modifier and a staple at Super Smash Bros. tournaments around the U.S. It has been a long year for Valdez, 20, but in the time he has dedicated to the craft -- both repairing broken controllers and innovating new techniques -- no other has become as well-known to Super Smash Bros. players.

And as the line grows longer, it's a fulfilling sentiment for him to see how far he has come.

"I love my job," he said. "I love what I do."

Valdez's modifications don't give players overbearing competitive advantages, unlike most well-known gaming controller tweaks that allow multiple button presses to be executed in one input. But for many, Valdez has created adjustments that do everything from relieving hand pain to better helping players ensure they hit specific in-game inputs that require immense precision.

What started at his parents' home in Thousands Oaks, California, has now become a sustainable business for Valdez. After gaining traction online, Valdez partnered with a friend to launch Top Notch Controllers -- named affectionately after the notch modification that Valdez, in part, has made famous. The business has become the hottest exhibition booth at major Smash events. Large multimillion-dollar corporations, such as Astro and ASUS, have displays at Genesis, but everyone is champing at the bit to meet Valdez.

Before entering the controller modification business, Valdez, who goes by "N3Z" online, ran other small businesses throughout his middle and high school years.

In middle school, he said, he would travel to Venice, California, and admittedly hustle some of his classmates.

"I would buy these tongue whistles, and I would sell them at my school," he said. "I would mark them up like $5 more. Everyone had them."

Years later, that entrepreneurial spirit led him to another venture: sneakers. Like many others online, Valdez would buy sought-after shoes, particularly Jordans, and make a return by selling them at marked-up prices on eBay once demand peaked. But Valdez's online venture wasn't the only job in his life. He also worked at a fine dining restaurant, something he credited with teaching him to treat customers equally.

"Working there taught me a lot about customer service, how to talk to people and how to give them an overwhelming sense of wanting to come back," Valdez said. "Not only can that be taught in so many ways, but what I want to show everyone is that I'm genuine. I care you, the consumer and someone purchasing something from me that's going to be high quality at the end of the day. That you, him or her will like."