SirActionSlacks Interviewed at the Boston Major December 14th, 2016 17:28 GMT Text by BluemoonSC Slacks:

"I treasure everything I get to do here."

During the Boston Major Liquiddota staffer Bluemoon had the pleasure to sit down the famous Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner, renowned Omniknight player and Techies connoisseur. One thing quickly became clear: Slacks is the same person on-camera as he is off-camera.



Editor's note: this interview was first recorded on video, but due to concerns regarding the video and audio quality we decided to transcribe it. We have tried to capture Slacks' emotions and personality as well as we can, but how can you possibly do such a personality justice in text?

-Julmust

Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner: Hello! I have a question, can I cross my legs? They never let me cross my legs in content.

Bluemoon: You can absolutely cross your legs if you want to.

Great!



I am here with SirActionSlacks and I am Bluemoon and we are also here with Mr and Mrs Wang. (referring to the painting behind them) How does that make you feel?

Uncomfortable.



I understand you found a body?

We were hunting the ghost of Mr Wang, who sits behind me, yesterday in a piece of content that will hopefully never air. It was not good. But we’ll see. (Editor's note: It did end up airing)



Was it because you never found the ghost? Or just because it was a disaster?

I’m not going to say too much because they could still air it, and if they do air it… it was great! Good thinking PGL. Wonderful piece.



I hope to God we see this. Now. You’re here now, but when you originally started you just started off doing voices for Omniknight. Did you ever think it would get this far?

No, I never even thought people would watch those original videos, for which I do have to apologize to you because I’m sure you had to listen to some in research and I’m so sorry.



To be honest I’ve got my own little Luna voice.

Oh really?



*Terrible Scottish Accent* The Moon Waxes and my mercy wanes.

*More Scottish Impressions* Oh That’s pretty freakin’ good. For Selemene! She has the most disgusting voice doesn’t she?



She really does but It’s also the most iconic.

It’s like a scottish accent with an irish baby. It’s horrible. *back to the accent* The whole thing’s horrible. I hate it. *high pitched noise* HYAH. Sorry. People are just… some guy is now…



It’s fine they’re all staring at you. It’s okay. It’s echoing through the theater too.

*laughter* My life!



That catapulted you to TI and all of the sudden you’re here part of the hosting at TI, what was it like jumping from youtube to being on screen?

It was incredible. One thing that I say that a lot of the people in the Dota community have is raw natural talent and you can see why they have made it to where they are. And I’m one who has no raw natural talent. I’m just annoying. So I don’t know, it’s a weird feeling to be someone who was very much in the community and looked at these guys as idols you know. I always feel like any day now they’re going to come out and be like yo there was a mistake, we don’t know why you’re here so…



They keep bringing you back though so it can’t be that bad right?

I guess that’s true. It’s a humbling feeling, it’s a frightening feeling, I don’t know if I’m proud of it but I guess it’s a proud feeling. I’ve never felt proud before in my life so I guess that’s it.



Well your family must be pretty proud of you right? Did they understand what was going on?

They don’t really know what I do, my girlfriend the other day…

Fiancée!

Fiancée. Pardon me. My B. Thank you. She sent me a tweet the other day and she said look honey I found this thing, a “meme” it’s about donald trump! And I’m like oh god what if she finds out about my terrible life.



So they don’t understand what you do?

No, and I hope they don’t ever. The shame would be overwhelming if at Thanksgiving I had to discuss that I made a screeching broodmother impression for an hour and got to be where I am. They know I go on trips and that’s enough.



Did you learn a lot from Kaci when you were at TI?

Absolutely. Kaci was a unique story. When I was watching TI4 I watched her and I said “oh man I want to do that, what if I could do that, I want to be that girls replacement”. I said it as a joke but it started to become close to a reality and the more and more I went in I was like “oh man yeah this is gonna be great she doesn’t know anything about Dota I’m gonna like destroy her and take her job”. And then I got to know her and she’s wonderful and I learned so much from that person. She has such passion and yeah I learned a ton. The fact that... I don’t know, when you’re on the low end of stuff you look at a person and say “well they’re just doing it as an act so that they can get the job”. Then she’s just one of the most legit people that actually cared, loved what they were doing, wanted to do better in the community and just has natural skills. I mean I picked up a ton and she’s probably the person who has taught me the most about anything I have done.



I feel like that was the first natural reaction about an outsider coming into Dota saying “I’m here to interview people” and now all of the sudden she’s an all-star and you’re an all-star and I guess you two are the hosting duo of TI.

Whoa we’ll see. Anyone is replaceable look at Redeye. *laughs* Just kidding Machine! I love you Machine! But I mean no it’s a pretty bad attitude to have that you’re an all-star and you are going to be required at anything. I live my life as if any moment somebody else will come and I’ll never get to do anything else again. That’s why I treasure everything I get to do here. It’s the dream job and it’s my dream and I know that one day all dreams die. If Dota teaches you anything it’s that Disney isn’t real. You’ll work really hard, you’ll let your carry farm, and then he’ll throw for no reason at 60 minutes and I’m ready for that throw.



Do you feel like you have a responsibility to maintain your status as a community figure?

I suppose so. I mean my situation is weird where the community has actually made me. I mean literally a fundraiser sent me to an event, content that they desired is what got me hired and again I have no natural talents so in a way, I mean I don’t feel like I represent the community but I feel like I can at least be a positive thing for the community. Maybe just try to spread that maybe we shouldn’t all be suits and ties and we can have a bit of fun. It’s a videogame we can have fun holy God!



What a thought.

So I wouldn’t say that I represent them or I’m a role model but maybe just a reminder, an annoying reminder poking in your back saying, "Laugh!"



Does that wear on you at all? I mean if we turned the camera around there’s people just watching us waiting to talk to you.

I think they’re just waiting for us to move the hell out of the way. I’m pretty sure. As soon as you said that they were like oh shit we need to get out of here. Get out!!



Even yesterday there were people who want to crowd around you.

Hell no! That’s my favourite part are you kidding me. Being able to hang out… I’m going to go on a tirade here may I go on a tirade? People go to conventions and stuff because they want to be around people who have their shared interest. In Dota 2 every event is like a Dota convention. You automatically know as dota players who that other person is because you’ve experienced the hell that is Dota 2. Every single fan here we’ve all been to the same war. We all went to Vietnam together. We see each other and we go “what’s up bro jungle legions am I right? Kill them”. I mean Dota players, we’re all just masochists, horrible, pain-inflicting-on-ourselves people and we all gel and I love it, I love it! I’ve never been at anything where I’ve been like GOD get these people away from me. It’s just not my personality, it’s invigorating.



It seems to be actually part of your personality, it’s not like you’re just putting on an act as we talked about earlier.

Yeah that’s so weird, a lot of people are like “oh man look at this guy he broke his act, what a good interview he really found the real slacks”. I wish there was a real slacks. I wish I could turn off the cringe and be a normal human being and walk among the normies but I can’t. The only times that ever happens is when I’m super exhausted at events and I’m like falling asleep during the interview and I’m like “yes life is so bleak and horrible”.



And then they’re like oh it’s serious Slacks.

Yeah I mean I’ve always been an annoying high pitched asshole and that’s just my life. I wish I could shut it off but I can’t.



Does the travel wear on you at all?

Yeah, travel is one thing. As you start to kind of have a life and a fiance now and all that, it’s really the only thing that holds me back per say but it’s also the only thing that keeps me alive. Some people get so deep into their job, their work, that they forget anything else exists and it can have a really negative influence. I don’t know if you caught the Redeye interview, sorry to bring you up again buddy! Not that you’re watching you don’t give a shit! But yeah it can have a real wear and tear on you and I’m very thankful that I have the support of my fiance and my pug at home and… he forgets daddy when I come home and he bites me and he barks at me and I have to feed him a lot… But yeah it’s very good it shows you that there’s more to life than video games and that’s very good for staying stable and not getting big headed and stuff.



Alright IceFrog introduces a new hero. PugasaurusRex. Think about it. I need a Q W E and R for his abilities.

His Q will be only active during the day so it gives him a speed boost. His movement speed is 0.1 by the way so he’d be much slower than a walking courier. He walks and then if you press Q he does a slardar dash and he just walks a lot slower. The pug also takes 0 damage.



That’s his W?

No, that’s just his passive, he takes 0 magical and physical damage and he moves at 0.1 speed and thats his passive. Unbreakable Pug. His other one will be uh let’s see Snort will be his E and when he snorts all of the sound from teamspeak will be replaced by Pugs snorting in their comms. And then his ultimate is um… NickelButt. I don’t know if you know about this but pugs have a… this is actually disgusting and I’m sorry.



It’s ok I own a dog and I know what you’re about to say.

Yeah so they have a gland in their… anal cavity. I’m so sorry guys. That excretes liquid so that they can pass… I didn’t think this through. And it smells like nickels… so I call it nickelbutt… so the pugs ultimate is nickelbutt and everybody slips slides around the map as he ejects his anal fluid. I’m so sorry.



Well on that note Slacks I’m going to let you get back to what you do best. Hello! I have a question, can I cross my legs? They never let me cross my legs in content.Great!Uncomfortable.We were hunting the ghost of Mr Wang, who sits behind me, yesterday in a piece of content that will hopefully never air. It was not good. But we’ll see.I’m not going to say too much because they could still air it, and if they do air it… it was great! Good thinking PGL. Wonderful piece.No, I never even thought people would watch those original videos, for which I do have to apologize to you because I’m sure you had to listen to some in research and I’m so sorry.Oh really?*More Scottish Impressions* Oh That’s pretty freakin’ good. For Selemene! She has the most disgusting voice doesn’t she?It’s like a scottish accent with an irish baby. It’s horrible. *back to the accent* The whole thing’s horrible. I hate it. *high pitched noise* HYAH. Sorry. People are just… some guy is now…*laughter* My life!It was incredible. One thing that I say that a lot of the people in the Dota community have is raw natural talent and you can see why they have made it to where they are. And I’m one who has no raw natural talent. I’m just annoying. So I don’t know, it’s a weird feeling to be someone who was very much in the community and looked at these guys as idols you know. I always feel like any day now they’re going to come out and be like yo there was a mistake, we don’t know why you’re here so…I guess that’s true. It’s a humbling feeling, it’s a frightening feeling, I don’t know if I’m proud of it but I guess it’s a proud feeling. I’ve never felt proud before in my life so I guess that’s it.They don’t really know what I do, my girlfriend the other day…Fiancée. Pardon me. My B. Thank you. She sent me a tweet the other day and she said look honey I found this thing, a “meme” it’s about donald trump! And I’m like oh god what if she finds out about my terrible life.No, and I hope they don’t ever. The shame would be overwhelming if at Thanksgiving I had to discuss that I made a screeching broodmother impression for an hour and got to be where I am. They know I go on trips and that’s enough.Absolutely. Kaci was a unique story. When I was watching TI4 I watched her and I said “oh man I want to do that, what if I could do that, I want to be that girls replacement”. I said it as a joke but it started to become close to a reality and the more and more I went in I was like “oh man yeah this is gonna be great she doesn’t know anything about Dota I’m gonna like destroy her and take her job”. And then I got to know her and she’s wonderful and I learned so much from that person. She has such passion and yeah I learned a ton. The fact that... I don’t know, when you’re on the low end of stuff you look at a person and say “well they’re just doing it as an act so that they can get the job”. Then she’s just one of the most legit people that actually cared, loved what they were doing, wanted to do better in the community and just has natural skills. I mean I picked up a ton and she’s probably the person who has taught me the most about anything I have done.Whoa we’ll see. Anyone is replaceable look at Redeye. *laughs* Just kidding Machine! I love you Machine! But I mean no it’s a pretty bad attitude to have that you’re an all-star and you are going to be required at anything. I live my life as if any moment somebody else will come and I’ll never get to do anything else again. That’s why I treasure everything I get to do here. It’s the dream job and it’s my dream and I know that one day all dreams die. If Dota teaches you anything it’s that Disney isn’t real. You’ll work really hard, you’ll let your carry farm, and then he’ll throw for no reason at 60 minutes and I’m ready for that throw.I suppose so. I mean my situation is weird where the community has actually made me. I mean literally a fundraiser sent me to an event, content that they desired is what got me hired and again I have no natural talents so in a way, I mean I don’t feel like I represent the community but I feel like I can at least be a positive thing for the community. Maybe just try to spread that maybe we shouldn’t all be suits and ties and we can have a bit of fun. It’s a videogame we can have fun holy God!So I wouldn’t say that I represent them or I’m a role model but maybe just a reminder, an annoying reminder poking in your back saying, "Laugh!"I think they’re just waiting for us to move the hell out of the way. I’m pretty sure. As soon as you said that they were like oh shit we need to get out of here. Get out!!Hell no! That’s my favourite part are you kidding me. Being able to hang out… I’m going to go on a tirade here may I go on a tirade? People go to conventions and stuff because they want to be around people who have their shared interest. In Dota 2 every event is like a Dota convention. You automatically know as dota players who that other person is because you’ve experienced the hell that is Dota 2. Every single fan here we’ve all been to the same war. We all went to Vietnam together. We see each other and we go “what’s up bro jungle legions am I right? Kill them”. I mean Dota players, we’re all just masochists, horrible, pain-inflicting-on-ourselves people and we all gel and I love it, I love it! I’ve never been at anything where I’ve been like GOD get these people away from me. It’s just not my personality, it’s invigorating.Yeah that’s so weird, a lot of people are like “oh man look at this guy he broke his act, what a good interview he really found the real slacks”. I wish there was a real slacks. I wish I could turn off the cringe and be a normal human being and walk among the normies but I can’t. The only times that ever happens is when I’m super exhausted at events and I’m like falling asleep during the interview and I’m like “yes life is so bleak and horrible”.Yeah I mean I’ve always been an annoying high pitched asshole and that’s just my life. I wish I could shut it off but I can’t.Yeah, travel is one thing. As you start to kind of have a life and a fiance now and all that, it’s really the only thing that holds me back per say but it’s also the only thing that keeps me alive. Some people get so deep into their job, their work, that they forget anything else exists and it can have a really negative influence. I don’t know if you caught the Redeye interview, sorry to bring you up again buddy! Not that you’re watching you don’t give a shit! But yeah it can have a real wear and tear on you and I’m very thankful that I have the support of my fiance and my pug at home and… he forgets daddy when I come home and he bites me and he barks at me and I have to feed him a lot… But yeah it’s very good it shows you that there’s more to life than video games and that’s very good for staying stable and not getting big headed and stuff.His Q will be only active during the day so it gives him a speed boost. His movement speed is 0.1 by the way so he’d be much slower than a walking courier. He walks and then if you press Q he does a slardar dash and he just walks a lot slower. The pug also takes 0 damage.No, that’s just his passive, he takes 0 magical and physical damage and he moves at 0.1 speed and thats his passive. Unbreakable Pug. His other one will be uh let’s see Snort will be his E and when he snorts all of the sound from teamspeak will be replaced by Pugs snorting in their comms. And then his ultimate is um… NickelButt. I don’t know if you know about this but pugs have a… this is actually disgusting and I’m sorry.Yeah so they have a gland in their… anal cavity. I’m so sorry guys. That excretes liquid so that they can pass… I didn’t think this through. And it smells like nickels… so I call it nickelbutt… so the pugs ultimate is nickelbutt and everybody slips slides around the map as he ejects his anal fluid. I’m so sorry. Interviewer: Bluemoon

Transcriber: OmniEulogy

Editor: Sn0_Man

During the Boston Major Liquiddota staffer Bluemoon had the pleasure to sit down the famous Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner, renowned Omniknight player and Techies connoisseur. One thing quickly became clear: Slacks is the same person on-camera as he is off-camera.BluemoonOmniEulogySn0_Man Sellout @BluemoonGG_ | The past is your lesson. The present, your gift. And the future.. your motivation.