(Mary) A lot has happened since your last POP interview back in June of 2021! We usually start by jumping right into the questions, but since you provided some answers in your original profile interview here, fill us in on just what the past 4 years have been like for you.

(Brian) Yeah, saying “a lot has happened” in the past four years is the understatement of the year. For starters, as you covered with the very funny meme, Endless Games was acquired by Goliath in October of 2021. Endless Games was of course the company that first licensed my Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game and gave my career in toys its start back in 1996. For nearly 25 years, we took our swings with new game concepts and licenses and had ourselves a heck of a run. Working with Mike Gasser and Kevin McNulty and the small team we assembled is something I’ll always cherish.

Thankfully, despite not existing as its own company, Endless Games did not “end” outright. It lives on with some of our best-sellers like The Floor is Lava and Name 5 still present in the Goliath game line. Additionally, Endless Games has become a brand within Goliath for our Party Games category. I can’t tell you how much this means to me to have that name still be a part of my life and livelihood.

Brian Turtle and Kevin Bacon at SXSW - 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon Game

So coming into Goliath was a major change, but my feelings of intimidation were short-lived. Despite being a much larger global company, the mindset was still the same: making great products for kids and family entertainment. And equally important, the people at Goliath were warm and welcoming from the start. Going from a catalog of 25 games to 250+ in toys, games, and outdoor was completely overwhelming, but the combination of great products and amazing people really made for a smooth transition.

And speaking of amazing people, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge two individuals who have made Goliath feel like such a home for me; our Senior VP of Sales (and my boss) “THE” Ron Platt, and my partner-in-crime, my fellow Director of Sales, Jennifer Kitto. Ron and “Kitto” really helped me hit the ground running from day one. And they’ve continued to inspire me every day since.

The change was still a bit like “drinking from the firehose” so-to-speak, but starting my tenure with Goliath at the end of the calendar year gave me a little runway to get familiar with the product line. With no February Toy Fair in 2022, my first big show to go into full pitch mode was in Vegas for Toyfest that March.

And that was a special show for you, right?

Yes! I was honored to bring my mom (Marge Turtle) to Toyfest that year as I was inducted into the Western Toy and Hobby Representatives Association HALL OF FAME class of 2022! I spoke about my mom (and my dad and sister) in our 2021 interview, telling you how they have been such a huge influence on my life in toys and games. These are the people you want to share these moments with, so having my mom there for my induction was truly special. My “HOF” plaque hangs behind my desk in my home office sharing wall-space with framed memorabilia of The Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl and Phillies World Series wins. In a way, I felt like 2022 – my first full year at Goliath - was a “championship season” for me.

Congratulations on the WTHRA Hall of Fame! I understand that was the first of two big industry honors you’ve received since joining Goliath.

When it comes to high industry honors, it’s tough to beat being the Roast Master for the inaugural POP Roast of Matt Nuccio in 2022, or hosting the POP Week “Toy Industry Takedown” in ’23! Yes, I do love a good microphone; and I’ve gotten more mileage from my 20-year-old tuxedo than I ever anticipated. I’m truly blessed to have these unique emcee opportunities to have some good clean after-hours fun.

ASTRA has been kind enough to allow me to continue hosting the annual Lip Sync Battle at their Marketplace and Academy since 2016.

Aniya Ottenberg 2024 Lip Sync Battle Champ with Brian Turtle

That gave them the confidence to trust me in that role for their Awards Gala the past two years. It was here at the 2025 Gala that I was truly stunned to receive a special “surprise” recognition award as someone who “Puts the Special in Specialty”. What’s nuts is I have a script to follow for the awards portion of the Gala, and even reading ahead I saw a note like “And then Brian welcomes ASTRA President Sue Warfield to the stage for a special surprise award” and I had no idea it would have anything to do with me! Needless to say, I was caught off guard and completely speechless (and getting me to stop talking is no easy feat!)

What really made the moment so impactful was the fact that ASTRA somehow not only kept the whole thing a secret from me, but they got my family involved by having my daughters send in a video to present the award to me. As I’ve said before, these are the people you want to share these moments with. Even though they couldn’t be there in San Antonio, my wife and daughters were still a part of the ceremony. I’m thankful to ASTRA and to all of my friends and family in this wonderful industry of ours; and I am so incredibly lucky to have had shareable moments like these. My heart is full.

Lyla and Sophie roast and congratulate their dad - funny and adorable! 

That’s fantastic, Brian. Where do you go from here?

“Onwards and Upwards” as you like to say! Even though this last one kind of felt like a “Lifetime Achievement Award”, I know I’m far from my professional peak. I’m excited about the potential at Goliath. We’ve got great things in store this year, so keep an eye out for The Sims board game hitting shelves soon. And we continue to expand in toys led by our revolutionary Jelly Blox line.

And my family continues to play a role in my work life. My daughters Lyla and Sophie have cracked every case in our Unsolved Case Files game series, and now they’re moving on to some strategy games from our Lucky Duck line. Lyla is graduating high school this month and Sophie will be a junior next year, which is blowing my mind. Somehow, extraordinarily, my wife Erin manages to be the ring-leader of our three-ring circus of everyday life. Back when Endless Games was going through the acquisition, Erin and I had a long talk about what would happen next. It was kind of a scary time to be honest, and I remember saying something to the effect of “this only works for me if it works for you.” Thankfully, everything has worked out better than we ever could have imagined.

We work hard and we play hard, and at the end of the day, what could possibly be more fulfilling than that?!