Meet Malik Adjoyi | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Malik Adjoyi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Malik, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It was the middle of the COVID-2020 lockdown and honestly, seemingly the end of the world as we know it.

And we just wanted to make a place that would be fun safe and ‘normal’ for kids and people to be human beings still in the midst of everything going on.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart is that we didn’t start this for money, we started this for people. We care about people and kids and their mental states. Kids were killing themselves from depression and all types of anxiety, especially during the peak of the lockdown, and older people were freaking out about everything. We just wanted a place where people who wanted to stay people could be so we take the time to learn every day. Everyone we come in contact with and do our best to fill them up with self-esteem. It’s a challenge every day, some days are better than others. We got to we are because of the community. Random people who love our idea banding together to help, donate fix stuff. And by never quitting on our dream and grinding to the next stage every day.

I’ve learned now that running a business and hosting a loving community is very challenging to balance but not impossible. And now I try to teach kids and needs like me how they can turn their loved passions and hobbies into realistic businesses or careers.

One story that truly got to me and was a fire starter to get the business going as fast as I did was this one:

I saw this one video of how Covid killed this guy’s son, but not the way you would think. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, everyone had to go into isolation and his son killed himself because he could not deal with the isolation, the quietness and not having any social interaction with other people. Gaming online was helpful, but it truly was not the same as it was when you were able to be in person and interact with people in person. Your mind raced with thoughts, and for this kid, it was too much. When I read about that story, I thought to myself, that was not okay. Something switched in my brain and knew in my heart and soul that none of it was okay. I wanted to have a place where none of that fear existed. You could leave that at the door and just switch your brain off and play games. There was always someone at the store who was willing to play with you. People have formed friendships and played games together. Strangers become friends and people have fun when they come to The Lounge.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are many people who inspired me and ensured my success and dreams came true, even in the smallest of ways. I had two incredible friends whom I played video games with consistently during the early stages of lockdown. Herve Alexander, who is a local music artist and teacher, and producer, and Israel Colon who is a bartender and party host. We loved to have Naruto game nights throughout the week to keep our sanity in check and have some fun. We played hard, teased each other and placed bets to see who would win. It was such an incredible experience, it tested our skills and ensured that we grew in our knowledge of competitive gaming. I wanted to share the joy that I was feeling with both of them with more and more people in Rockland County and beyond. I brought this to my wife and she was and is still so incredibly supportive of my decision and has been there every step of the way.

Website: www.gglounge.com

Instagram: instagram.com/goodgameloungellc

Facebook: Facebook.com/goodgamelounge

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/good-game-lounge-west-nyack

Other: email: contact@gglounge.com