GenXGrownUp: A Time Machine Built From Pixels and Dreams
Back in 2017, Jon Reddick began weaving stories about the games and gadgets that painted our childhoods in electric colors. Through his lens, every rescued handheld and vintage cartridge tells a tale.
In 2017, something magical sparked to life in a corner of YouTube. Jon Reddick, a self-proclaimed "well-credentialed nerd of the 80s," began weaving stories about the games and gadgets that painted our childhoods in electric colors. GenXGrownUp emerged as a digital sanctuary, humming with the energy of an arcade at its peak.
The magic lives in the details. Watch Jon rescue a 1996 Ms. Pac-Man handheld from a flea market, and you'll witness more than plastic and circuits coming back to life. Each video captures a precious moment when technology transcended its physical form, becoming pure possibility.
GenXGrownUp stands apart in its dedication to our digital heritage. Through weekly podcasts and carefully crafted videos, Jon documents our electronic evolution with the precision of an archaeologist and the passion of a true believer. He'll guide you through the multiplayer secrets of Atari 2600 Space Invaders, then fast-forward to December 2024's "PAC-MAN Like We've NEVER Seen!" revealing how our gaming past shapes our present.
The stories flow across decades like digital rivers. One week, you're exploring the genius behind Donkey Kong's 40th anniversary. The next, you're comparing Micro Arcade and Basic Fun versions of Asteroids, each iteration echoing the original's thunder. Jon preserves these pieces of history – their stories, their quirks, their soul.
His "Unboxenings" series unveils treasures that defined an era: Parker Brothers' ambitious translation of Pole Position from arcade cabinet to board game, forgotten gems like The Last Starfighter, and music's evolution from vinyl to virtual. Each episode adds another piece to a puzzle spanning generations.
Among the pixels and circuit boards, a vibrant community thrives. The GenXGrownUp Discord pulses with shared memories, while collaborations with Friday Night Arcade and Your Player 2 write new chapters in an ongoing saga. During live streams and Q&A sessions, voices from across the digital landscape unite, weaving threads of connection through time and technology.
From intricate explorations of arcade machine architecture to loving tributes to TV shows that colored our youth, Jon's channel celebrates our collective past. When he cracks open a vintage console or boots up a classic game, he reveals fragments of our shared history, preserved in plastic and silicon, ready to spark joy once more.
The Four-Year Anniversary Special tells the story of a journey shared by many – a collective expedition into our digital past. Every game cartridge, every joystick, every bleeping, blooping handheld carries a chapter of our story. Through GenXGrownUp, these memories breathe and live, carefully preserved and joyfully shared, one pixel at a time.
In a world racing toward tomorrow, Jon Reddick and GenXGrownUp remind us that our past holds the keys to understanding who we are. They show us how once upon a time, we all shared the same dreams, one loading screen at a time.
Thank you Jon!
