Behind the Camera, Ahead of the Crowd 

That Kraken colleague Marcus Allen worked as a nanny during school days and young adulthood to make some extra money is a fact that might catch some people off guard, but anyone who knows the senior video producer will not be surprised to learn he was good at it. Really good, as in parents wanting him to stay on, work any hours he could for months or even years.

“He cares about people, it's just a natural loving, nurturing trait that he has,” said Cynthia Allen, Marcus’ mother, by phone from Denver. “He can talk to kids, play with them. He never gets upset. It's kind of crazy. He knows the right things to say to them when they start to escalate a little.”

Austin Ratanasitee, a fellow Senior Producer and Videographer, said Allen can reckon the same effect in meetings at Kraken Community Iceplex: “He has this ability to sell a room. He has an infectious personality that draws everyone together and rises them up.”

“I don't want kids, but I think it's one of my best qualities, dealing with kids,” said Allen during a thoroughly engaging off-day sitdown during the Kraken’s recent road trip. “When I was a nanny, it was one of the things I was most passionate about. Now, as an uncle, I think I have such a stupid close relationship with my nieces and nephew. Kids are some of the most precious things on this planet. Watching them grow and develop and being there to help, it’s an awesome thing.”

While Allen played sports, video production was his truest passion.

“I don't know if my mom still has them, but there used to be stacks of recordings,” said Allen. “We had a family camera that was pretty old. I would go around my house and make videos, sometimes singing WWE songs or other weird things.”

Oh, you’d best believe Momma Allen still has those recordings: “I bought a video camera when Marcus was two years old. I probably have 50 tapes of him walking around the house, filming and interviewing people. He would walk everywhere in the neighborhood, videotape and interview people, which was funny. At home, he would work in a narrative about the house, then say his name, his address, ask his siblings their names, where they lived, and what they liked to do.”

‘Innate’ Attraction to Making Video

Allen said it was “an innate thing” to make videos as he grew up, most especially watching back the videos to see what worked well and what he could do better. When entering high school, he applied for a magnet program focused on video, photo, and robotic engineering, following in the footsteps of his older sister, Ivory. He chose the video cohort, getting pivotal assistance from his sister.

“I was not good at writing, and that was a big part of getting into the program,” said Allen. “My sister wrote my admission essay. She told the advisor, who had said he was “so happy” Marcus was in this program, ‘Well, he didn't write his letter. I wrote it.’” The advisor said he always thought it was one of the best letters he had ever read. My sister told him I have dyslexia and I’m not very good at writing ... I really wanted to do the program, but I don't know if I would have put a full effort into writing to try to get into it.”

Part of Allen’s path to producing video for the Kraken was discovering he didn’t particularly enjoy being in front of the camera. He was a main news anchor during his high school years, in part because of his high-energy personality.

“I really enjoyed it,” said Allen. “But as I got older, I realized I wanted to be behind the camera.”

During his sophomore and junior years of high school, Allen was shooting video during the first and second periods to produce a daily show that played during the third period. The cadence and camaraderie of the show’s production pulled at his career aspirations.

“The show had to be shot and edited in those first two periods of the school day,” said Allen. “That was a ton of fun.”

Giving Back to His High School and PNW

His experiences at Thomas Jefferson High have stayed with Allen. He is thrilled each year to give back to current students in the magnet program. After he graduated, the school established an annual awards event called the “Spartys” -- a play on the school’s Spartans nickname.

“Every year, my former teacher sends me three or four categories to judge,” said Allen, smiling for maybe the 20th time during our talk. “I watch and grade the videos with the other judges. It's cool to watch these kids working on these things that I worked on, right? But they're like light years ahead of me at the same age.”

Born and raised in a biracial family, Allen enthusiastically volunteers to speak at schools and other venues to encourage students of color to consider sports video production careers.

“It's one of the most important things to me,” said Allen. “I really recognized it when I was a kid, like not having Black faces in the spaces that I wanted to be in, once I realized what job I wanted. I like jumping into the opportunity, so anytime there is a space to go and talk to kids of color. Representation is so important ... When you see someone who doesn't look like the majority of people in a situation doing something, it does make you feel like you can do it.”

Staying Local, One-Track Mind

When university days beckoned, Allen explains, “I applied to one college and one college only,” choosing Metropolitan State University in Denver. He knew the school had a good video program. The diversity at MSU was another draw.

“I know a lot of people think Denver is like, pretty white, when you think of Colorado, but Denver is pretty diverse,” said Allen. “And MSU was very diverse. I remember my high school put on a performance of the musical, ‘Chicago.’ I loved musicals and theater. There were multiple Black actors and Latino actors up on stage. Then I watched the movie version with my mom. I asked her, ‘Where are the Black and Latino people?’”

As a college junior, Allen changed to a sports minor to accompany his technical communications/video editing and production major, jabbing at himself for a “dumb idea” since it added more than a year’s worth of class requirements to his degree. Not dumb, as it turns out.

Allen’s participation in sports communication and management classes led to an opportunity to interview for roles with Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies.

“The Rockies were looking for ushers,” said Allen. “It was a fun part-time job. I remember the recruiter who spoke to our class specifically saying when you come for an interview, this is a real job. Don't show up in sweats and a hoodie. “I needed a summer job. I filled out the paperwork after the speaker left. The school was down near Coors Field. I walked over to submit the application. The Rockies people asked, ‘Do you want to do your interview right now?’ ” I thought it was a test, because I was in sweats and a hoodie. I asked, ‘Don't I need to get dressed for this?’ They said, “No, you’re fine.’ I did the interview and got the job.”

Clocking How to Get a Job in Sports

After the summer usher job, Allen started to think in earnest about how he could live the dream of working in sports. He thought video production jobs were mostly at league levels, and he was thinking of the NFL as a former football player himself. He attended a Denver Broncos career day as part of a MSU class. Allen grew up an avid fan, but what he recalls about that day is a team staffer who straight-talked about how to get into the sports industry.

“He gets up and does this whole spiel about accepting whatever position you're offered, start at the bottom, show [the team or league] how much you want to be there. How hard you will work.”

This is where Allen’s intelligence and authenticity stoked a future that soon included him being an integral member of a Rockies operations group that installed a state-of-the-art scoreboard at Coors Field and subsequently led to a call to interview with the Kraken before the inaugural season.

On that Broncos career day, Allen waited in line to shake hands with the speaker. As he got closer, he heard the speaker tell a couple of students he knew personally that taking an entry-level job was ‘BS’ and ‘you get stuck there.’ ”

Allen didn’t wait for the handshake. He walked out, called his mom to say this guy said “the most inspirational thing to me and then completely bashed anyone following his advice.”

“I think he was wrong,” said Allen, waiting a couple of beats before continuing the memory. “He really lit a fire in me to really grind it and do whatever I need to do to work in sports.”

That attitude won out. Allen caught the attention of the Rockies field guard group, which included some long nights doubling on the rain-delay field tarp crew. When team staffers discovered Allen was video-proficient and a creative thinker, they pulled him into the in-house video production team. He started by dutifully and skillfully editing videos to show sponsors how their brands were promoted. He was still at MSU, juggling both school and career, sometimes attending classes on Rockies lunch breaks.

Universe Calling from 206 Area Code

When the new scoreboard and control room went from concept to reality, Allen was part of it and stayed on for five and a half more seasons with the MLB team. The half-season was in 2021, when the Rockies were hosting the All-Star Game in July. Eric Vaughn, the Kraken director of live production and broadcast, was recruiting for the video production team prior to the inaugural season. Vaughn, a long-time Seattle Mariners employee, knew of Allen’s work through professional contacts. He pursued Allen in the weeks running up to the midseason MLB classic in Denver, as Allen was also talking to the Mariners about a video role.

“In some ways, I still wanted to stay in Colorado with my family, but was thinking maybe this [two Seattle teams recruiting him] was the universe telling me I am supposed to be in Seattle,” said Allen, who met his girlfriend of five years, Liz Harris Scruggs, just two weeks into his PNW move if additional destiny factor was needed.

Allen said Vaughn helped sell him on the Kraken with “a really great line” in telling him: “Someday the Kraken are going to host an NHL All-Star game. The Mariners are a good team to work for. But you're never going to get the chance to start a franchise from scratch ever again.”

That sealed Allen’s decision.

“Just hearing that, I was blown away.”