Kristi Eckert has accepted a promotion to become TELL ME BEST‘s new Deputy Editor. She previously worked as the site’s Team Editor, and before that worked as a staff writer for GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT.

Kristi is ready and understands the importance of the position. “As a Deputy Editor, I engage in a variety of responsibilities from coming up with story pitches and assigning articles to making sure the site is brimming with… content.”

Making sure TMB’s has engaging content is only part of it. “I take time to meticulously review each and every article that is published to ensure that it not only is grammatically correct but also adheres to the style, tone, and overall vibe of TMB itself.”

Kristi is not shy about saying exactly who deserves credit for placing her on the Walk Big highway. She gives it all to her partner in crime, Wilson, who she describes as her “life partner,” and the person who actually brought Walk Big to her. “At the time that he discovered them it was still just GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT.” Also at that time, Kristi had just graduated college in impressive fashion. She was top of her class as Summa Cum Laude with a 3.93 GPA and a bachelor’s degree in Public and Professional writing. “It’s something I’m really proud of,” she beams.

Eckert had been scouring the internet, looking for something that spoke to her. She wanted to showcase her skill set but also needed something that piqued her interests. Wilson, in helping Kristi’s search, saw that GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT was looking for Contributing Writers. It was an immediate match.

The journey Kristi took to finally “fill my long-empty void” was one of starts, stops, and everything in between. “Eclectic” could be one way of describing her path, but “tenacious” could be another. After graduating high school, Kristi went right into college as an Early Childhood Education and Child Psychology major. It didn’t take long for Kristi to realize that although she had a love for kids, it just wasn’t going to be a satisfying career. Time for a 180.

She moved on to dramatic arts, graduating with a certificate in Dramatic Performance. But as many out there know, breaking into that career field can be quite tough. This is where Kristi’s eclectic (and tenacious) background comes into play. There was the NBC Experience Store. There was the Apple store. There were wine sales, dog bathing, and dog grooming (she went to PetSmart’s grooming academy). As she looks back on it, the dog grooming position wasn’t a bad gig. “We worked off of commission. So, I was bringing in about 50K a year plus tips.” But still, something was missing.

For some of us, finding out where we feel we “belong” can take time. That, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing either. There’s a means to an end in Kristi’s journey and she moved one step closer to that end by heading back to school once again to finish off that bachelor’s degree. Her long-empty void led her to her Public and Professional Writing major. As Kristi sees it, her major “afforded me to become adept not only in writing in different mediums but also various rhetorical marketing strategies and it just gave me a wider understanding of the writing/creative industry as a whole.” Or in simpler terms, her void-filler.

It took a bit of searching for Kristi to find her calling. Thanks in part to Wilson, GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT offered Kristi her first opportunity after earning her long sought-after bachelor’s. She was ready to write.

It didn’t take Kristi long to showcase her writing skills. “To be honest. I am a writer at my core. I have somewhat of a love affair with words. I always have.” It showed and Kristi quickly moved into a Staff Writer position with GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT. “Kristi was always ready and willing to tackle whatever topic or project we sent her way, and she did so with an enthusiastic attitude that showcased her diligence and skill,” says Walk Big’s Chief Content Officer, Drew Dietsch.

It was this same work ethic that moved Kristi over to the then newly acquired TELL ME BEST as a Team Editor. “Kristi has an incredibly vast knowledge base and is always striving to learn more,” says Dietsch of Kristi moving from Team Editor to Deputy Editor.

But writing for TELL ME BEST and editing for the site are two different beasts, the latter of which Kristi wasn’t sure she’d be good at. “Before becoming an editor, I had never even really thought that I may have been good at it.” As she began to tackle the world of editing, she continued to keep the wise words one of her college professors offered her, “Kristi, you are more qualified to help, coach, and educate people far more than you realize.” She has taken that to heart as she began to embrace the role of editor. “That [her professor’s words] continues to resonate with me because what I came to learn as an Editor is that a big part of it is teaching and guiding others. It is not just simply proofreading their [writers] work.”

If you are getting the idea that Kristi is all in when it comes to Deputy Editor, you should, because she is. But that doesn’t mean life is completely about her professional life. She has other interests that start with Wilson, “someone who has always supported and believed in me.” As her self-described “pillar” Kristi says, “If it weren’t for him and his belief in me then I may have never got to where I am today.” Kristi’s family also has given her tons of support and encouragement. “I think deep down I never thought I was good enough, but everyone else in my life knew different. And there is a gratitude there, so profound, that I will never be able to accurately convey it.”

Although busy with family in her downtime, she is also a self-professed “big nerd.” Among her favorite topics are “anything to do with Batman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alias, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and all things Nintendo, especially Pokémon.” Adding to that big nerd-ness is the fact that she is also an avid gamer. “On weekends you can usually find me catching up on some key video-game playing. I’m currently heavily invested in playing Elden Ring on Playstation 5 and Fantasian on Apple Arcade.”

Kristi approaches her new role as TELL ME BEST‘s top editor with a firm understanding of where she is at and how she got there. It’s also something that Dietsch says “Her curiosity and tenacity make her a perfect leader for TELL ME BEST.”