User:Tom13c/Sophia Metz

Sophia Metz is a French business executive, cofounder and CEO ofMeltdown, first chain of bars dedicated to esports in Europe.

She is also the cofounder and manager of the Alabama Bar located rue Albert Thomas, close to Place de la République in Paris which she created in partnership with Mikkey Dee, former drummer of the Britishheavy metal band Motörhead.

Early years and education
Sophia Metz has been hooked on video games since she was a child, starting out playing RPG along with her brother as well as fighting games. She then moved onto Starcraft and World of Warcraft.

In 2007, she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Advertising and Digital Communication from Group INSEEC U Sup de Pub School. After her degree, she worked as web production manager for various companies.

Career
Sophia Metz became an entrepreneur at the age of 19 and created several businesses before launching Meltdown. She also worked as a photographer for the music industry.

Meltdown
After working as an esports journalist and becoming a semi-professional Starcraft II player, Sophia Metz opened Frances's first-ever bar dedicated to esports in Paris en 2012, , , , The idea was all about bringinggamers together to have a drink, watch a match and talk about everything to do with video games. The following year she inaugurated two other bars in Berlin followed by London. After that, Meltdown went on to become a franchise and the world’s number one chain of esports bars.

Alabama Bar
In 2019, Sophia Metz bought the premises of the former Meltdown bar in Paris to launch Alabama, a rock bar, hand-in-hand with Mikkey Dee. He was present at the opening night along with Nicko Mc Brain, drummer of heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

Mangas
Sophie Metz was approached by Hachette to write a manga about esports: Epic Lanes, with the first volume in the series published on 4 July 2018.

Awards and honours

 * 2018: BFM Business Tomorrows's Mid-Cap Business Award
 * 2019: Award for the Most Enterprising Franchisor

Publications

 * Epic Lanes, co-written with Luc Metz and illustrated by Albert Carreres, Éditions Robinson (Hachette Group), 2018

Related articles

 * Meltdown