Really Rad Everything

Sam Vandiver is, in her words, simply “a dork with a game store.”

But Vandiver is far from simple. One might say she’s pretty rad even. Her signature blue hair alone makes her stand out. But it’s her personality—witty, raw, and relatable—that’s garnered her a following, both locally and online.

Vandiver and spouse Joe Alonzo co-own and run RadJunk, a retro gaming shop, and RadBar, a retro barcade in Fort Walton Beach. They also own and host the annual Really Rad Weekend gaming convention that hits Okaloosa Island in November each year.

All that keeps them busy enough. But they also make time for the brand’s online presence, filming shortform reels and longform videos for their YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Vandiver and her blue hair are the face of their online brand. 

“We had like 2,000 subscribers or something like that,” Alonzo says of their YouTube following as recent as last summer. “We were filming and recording and all that but not at a regular interval.”

They made friends through the online gaming community and were regularly hitting conventions to sell and trade at vendor halls. While at a Los Angeles convention, Vandiver and Alonzo ran into several fans. That’s when the couple realized they had become recognizable.

“It’s my stupid blue hair; I stick out like a sore thumb,” Vandiver says with a laugh.

“After that interaction, I was telling our friend about it that runs a convention, and he’s like, ‘I’ve been telling you for years, you need to post more,’” Alonzo recalls. “So, we came home, I bought some pieces of equipment, and I was like, ‘Hey, let’s shoot a store tour real quick,’ because we had never done that.”

In that 15-minute video, Vandiver guides viewers around RadJunk, noting layout and organization as well as inventory and unique items.

“I uploaded it, I went to bed, and I woke up and it had like 4,000 views,” Alonzo says of the video posted in June 2024. “The next day, I woke up and it had like 70,000 views. So, I called my buddy, I’m like, ‘Aaron, what do I do?’ And he goes, ‘Make another video.’ So, we made the bar tour.”

Today, those videos have amassed over 1 million views between the two.

“In literally 364 days, we went from 2,000 subscribers to 102,000 subscribers,” Alonzo says.

In July 2025, RadJunk received a Play Button placard from YouTube for surpassing 100,000 subscribers.

Photo credit John Nguyen

“That grew everything, and now she’s a guest at conventions,” Alonzo says of Vandiver, who was invited to guest speak and meet and greet at the July 2025 Southeast Game Exchange in Greenville, South Carolina.

At home in Fort Walton Beach, the Rad brand hosts its own convention. But Really Rad Weekend is not your average gaming con.

“It’s a debaucherous video game party,” Alonzo says.

Most gaming cons are held at large convention centers with tight schedules of discussions and panels and vendor halls of 300-plus booths.

Sometimes, less is more.

“Really Rad Weekend is very homegrown, small,” Vandiver says. “And it’s at a resort. It’s on the beach. So, we try to make it more like a beach vacation with video games as opposed to just a convention.”

Vandiver says Really Rad Weekend is a more curated experience. Alonzo equates the difference to corporate versus indie record labels in the music industry.

“Most of these bigger conventions, they have a board and a full staff,” Vandiver says. “And it’s like me and Joe and anyone I can get to agree to help us.”

“It’s 100 percent put on by RadBar and Really Rad Weekend,” Alonzo says. “We have a lot of friends that donate their time and their resources to help.” 

Alonzo says being indie allows them to focus far less on appeasing corporate branding and sponsorships, “Because we don’t have any,” he says with a laugh. 

Still, they work to get well-known names on the lineup for panels and discussions as well as industry experts, like video gaming lawyers, podcast producers, and fellow retro game store owners. Alonzo has a knack for cold-calling potential guests. Even with little to offer by way of compensation. 

“I’m like, ‘Hey, if you guys want a beach vacation, I can pay for your flight, and I can pay for your hotel room; bring your family, whatever you want,’” Alonzo says. “It’s a good time to come to the beach, and that’s how we get people out.”

And being held on-site at The Island Resort, where guests and attendees are hosted, solidifies the beach vacation vibes.   

“You can literally walk down to the pool in the morning or down to the beach, and then walk back, catch a panel, play some games, go grab food, come back,” Alonzo says. “We have stuff going on all night.”    

“We have a vendor hall, we have an arcade, and then we’ve got a panel room kind of in the middle, and then in the back building upstairs, they’ve got two rooms on the very top floor. We’ll have tournaments in one room, and then we’ve got an old school gaming console set up in another,” Vandiver explains. “So, there’s plenty to do. You can just walk out of your room, and go to the arcade if you want.”

Alonzo and Vandiver bring around 40 arcade cabinets and 10 pinball machines to the resort each year. This year, she says, they’ll be adding another 10 pinball machines. And it’s all free play, included in the cost of the convention ticket. 

A culmination of all things Rad on the Emerald Coast—RadJunk, RadBar, some really rad beaches, and, according to Alonzo, a little bit of debauchery—this unconventional convention is one that gamers won’t want to miss. 

Photo credit John Nguyen

Sam Vandiver: An Industry Standout

What makes Sam Vandiver such a rad personality within the gaming community?

“There aren’t a lot of women that are in the same realm as her, doing the same thing to the extent in which she is doing it,” says Joe Alonzo, co-owner of all things Rad and Vandiver’s spouse. “It’s not often that you have someone in their early 30s that is a woman who owns these businesses but is also hands-on with it.”

Alonzo notes that Vandiver’s approach is less consumer-based and more practical. Videos posted to the RadJunk online platforms often show Vandiver demonstrating how to fix a game or console or how to service cabinet and pinball gaming machines.

“I think it’s just because I’m straight up with people,” Vandiver says. “Our channel is like me kind of showing off the ins and outs of owning a game store, owning an arcade. And I give people the good and the bad, and sometimes there’s some nitty gritty and some not-so-great things.”

Vandiver says viewers appreciate her honesty.

“They walk into our store, they watch our videos, and Sam’s talking to them like she’s having a beer with them at the bar,” Alonzo says. “And that’s what matters—the human connection.”

A Really Rad Lineup

Jon St. John:
Voice of Duke Nukem in the Duke Nukem video game series and Big the Cat and E-123 Omega in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise

Nintendrew:
Content creator, retro video game collector, and creator of the game C.A.R.L.

Kelsey Lewin:
Pew Pew Bang host, content creator, shop owner of Pink Gorilla Games in Seattle, Washington

Sarah Podzorski:
Pew Pew Bang host, Twitch streamer, content creator

Janet Garcia:
Pew Pew Bang host, video game critic and consultant, content creator

Haley Maclean:
Pew Pew Bang host, podcaster, video game lawyer

Leo Vader:
Pew Pew Bang host and producer, content creator

To view the full guest lineup and convention schedule, go to ReallyRadWeekend.com.

Early Bird Gets the Queen

Arriving to Really Rad Weekend a day early? Head over to RadBar in Fort Walton Beach for the annual Killer Queen cabinet game tournament on November 7.