Aaron Avruskin
Aaron Avruskin (born March 1985) is a Canadian media executive and entrepreneur, best known for co-founding the sports gaming platform PlayLine.com and serving as co-president and co-CEO of the Mark Cuban Companies joint venture, Leverage Game Media. Aaron Avruskin is also a former television producer, executive producer, and writer.
Early life
Aaron Avruskin was born (1985) and raised in Thornhill, Ontario. His late father, Milt Avruskin (1946-2011), was a television producer and distributor, consultant to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the co-creator of the syndicated Superstars of Wrestling program, and an inductee to the Canadian Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Career
In 2012, Avruskin executive produced a ten-episode mixed martial arts documentary series titled, Fight Xchange, which was broadcast on Super Channel in Canada and Canal Combate in Brazil. The series was filmed in Toronto and Rio de Janeiro and featured up-and-coming fighters taking part in a “school exchange program for MMA.” Among the participants was Brazilian Claudia Gadelha, currently ranked #6 in the UFC Women’s Strawweight rankings, who made her North American debut as part of the show. The series also featured appearances from Anderson Silva, José Aldo, Junior dos Santos, Glover Teixeira, Sam Stout, and Sean Pierson.
Following the release of Fight Xchange, Avruskin produced the documentary film, The Sheik (2014), which re-told the harrowing story of professional wrestling villain, The Iron Sheik. The film was broadcast on Super Channel (Canada), Netflix (USA) and Amazon Prime (Canada) and received positive reviews. In 2015, Avruskin executive produced and wrote on the second season of Fight Xchange, which was filmed in London, Ontario, and Tokyo. The series premiered on Super Channel in Canada in 2017 and featured the professional debut of Canadian UFC Fighter T.J. Laramie, who was just 16 years of age at the time.
Avruskin also served as Director of Programming at URshow.tv, a Toronto-based
digital television network, where he produced celebrity-driven original content and live events. At URshow.tv, Avruskin created and oversaw production on a $10,000,000 Hole-in-One Golf Challenge, which was live-streamed globally from the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Course in Las Vegas; an event hosted by Christopher McDonald, who reprised his role as Shooter McGavin for the 2016 program. Additionally, while at URshow.tv, Aaron Avruskin produced the UR FIGHT event, a combat sports spectacle the featured a grappling bout between former UFC Champion Michael Bisping and former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen, a pro wrestling match between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio, and a boxing match, which pit Roy Jones Jr. against Vyron Phillips - a ‘fan’ selected by the URshow.tv audience to oppose the former Champion and Olympic medalist.
In 2017, Avruskin co-founded the fantasy sports gaming platform PlayLine.com, alongside fellow Toronto-based entrepreneur Jason Falovitch, former UFC Champion Michael Bisping, and two-time NBA All-Star Roy Hibbert. The PlayLine gaming service app holds a rating of 4.4 out of 5-stars according to the Apple App Store ratings.
In 2020, Avruskin and Falovitch co-founded Leverage Game Media, a joint venture partnership with Mark Cuban. It is reported that Mark Cuban financed the company with an undisclosed sum of funding. Leverage Game Media is an aggregator of highly engaged, mostly sports-focused communities on social media, with holdings that include @NBAmemes (Instagram). The company regularly produces original content, in addition to deploying paid campaigns for brands looking to reach the companies highly engaged, mostly millennial and Gen Z audience.
Early life
Aaron Avruskin was born (1985) and raised in Thornhill, Ontario. His late father, Milt Avruskin (1946-2011), was a television producer and distributor, consultant to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the co-creator of the syndicated Superstars of Wrestling program, and an inductee to the Canadian Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Career
In 2012, Avruskin executive produced a ten-episode mixed martial arts documentary series titled, Fight Xchange, which was broadcast on Super Channel in Canada and Canal Combate in Brazil. The series was filmed in Toronto and Rio de Janeiro and featured up-and-coming fighters taking part in a “school exchange program for MMA.” Among the participants was Brazilian Claudia Gadelha, currently ranked #6 in the UFC Women’s Strawweight rankings, who made her North American debut as part of the show. The series also featured appearances from Anderson Silva, José Aldo, Junior dos Santos, Glover Teixeira, Sam Stout, and Sean Pierson.
Following the release of Fight Xchange, Avruskin produced the documentary film, The Sheik (2014), which re-told the harrowing story of professional wrestling villain, The Iron Sheik. The film was broadcast on Super Channel (Canada), Netflix (USA) and Amazon Prime (Canada) and received positive reviews. In 2015, Avruskin executive produced and wrote on the second season of Fight Xchange, which was filmed in London, Ontario, and Tokyo. The series premiered on Super Channel in Canada in 2017 and featured the professional debut of Canadian UFC Fighter T.J. Laramie, who was just 16 years of age at the time.
Avruskin also served as Director of Programming at URshow.tv, a Toronto-based
digital television network, where he produced celebrity-driven original content and live events. At URshow.tv, Avruskin created and oversaw production on a $10,000,000 Hole-in-One Golf Challenge, which was live-streamed globally from the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Course in Las Vegas; an event hosted by Christopher McDonald, who reprised his role as Shooter McGavin for the 2016 program. Additionally, while at URshow.tv, Aaron Avruskin produced the UR FIGHT event, a combat sports spectacle the featured a grappling bout between former UFC Champion Michael Bisping and former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen, a pro wrestling match between Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio, and a boxing match, which pit Roy Jones Jr. against Vyron Phillips - a ‘fan’ selected by the URshow.tv audience to oppose the former Champion and Olympic medalist.
In 2017, Avruskin co-founded the fantasy sports gaming platform PlayLine.com, alongside fellow Toronto-based entrepreneur Jason Falovitch, former UFC Champion Michael Bisping, and two-time NBA All-Star Roy Hibbert. The PlayLine gaming service app holds a rating of 4.4 out of 5-stars according to the Apple App Store ratings.
In 2020, Avruskin and Falovitch co-founded Leverage Game Media, a joint venture partnership with Mark Cuban. It is reported that Mark Cuban financed the company with an undisclosed sum of funding. Leverage Game Media is an aggregator of highly engaged, mostly sports-focused communities on social media, with holdings that include @NBAmemes (Instagram). The company regularly produces original content, in addition to deploying paid campaigns for brands looking to reach the companies highly engaged, mostly millennial and Gen Z audience.
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