We had the good fortune of connecting with DeAngelo Murillo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DeAngelo, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Honestly, it is wild that I ever started anything at all because years ago I had such incredible amounts of anxiety. However, despite the overwhelming dread, I felt even worse when I would attend local comic conventions or walk into local game stores and see such a lack of representation.

After a while, this frustration caused me to start a blog where instead of complaining about what I disliked, I instead used the space to celebrate incredible creatives. I reached out for interviews and did my very best to spread the word about how talented these people were and the good vibes caught on like wildfire!

The Arizona community really took to the concept of giving out praise for hard work, especially in our local area! Once I realized my efforts were making a change for good, I continued on with charity events, and eventually products like Emerald Templars which is a dark fantasy table top roleplaying game of my own creation.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets my art aside from the many other incredible creatives within the tabletop role-playing game industry would be that I love to draw inspiration from my culture. When you think of fantasy, sci-fi, or horror it is rare that Mexican folklore and culture come to mind.

So when you sit down at my table and listen to the words fall from my lips it might come as a surprise to hear that your elf is chowing down on tacos while mariachi play in the tavern. The ruins you have to explore are inspired by Meso-American culture and from that point on players never know what will come next because it is super very different from the mainstream.

Beyond that, I consider myself to be very progressive so I always make sure to sprinkle in details like women leaders, same-sex couples, a trans warlord, and more. I always have safety tools in place so I understand the boundaries of each player and work to ensure they are never crossed. That way when players sit at my table they always know that they are in a safe environment where they can live their best lives without fear of being disrespected or pressed.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend were coming down to Phoenix, Arizona to visit me I would absolutely take them to grab a burger and shake from Lenny’s Burger Shop. After that, we’d waddle down to Imperial Outpost Games to buy way too many board games and then play them all day. towards the end of the night, we’d absolutely hit up the Crescent Ballroom to support the musician that was playing that night while devouring tacos!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to highlight https://twitter.com/ArkadyKoshka ! She is hard-working, talented, and super kind!

Instagram: that_deangelo

Twitter: that_deangelo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.