Erik Swedlund
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hipsmart.bsky.social
Erik Swedlund
@hipsmart.bsky.social
190 followers 400 following 200 posts
Pinball he/they
Brooklyn PinPride. APAB. NYC Pin Pod. ScrappleLeague. NYCFSA cap, Butter Baller.
noonewantstotalkaboutcompetitivepinball.com

https://linktr.ee/hipsmart
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hipsmart.bsky.social
Erik Swedlund @hipsmart.bsky.social · Jun 17
We're building a thing and it keeps getting bigger #queer #pinball
Screenshot from the IFPA website showing four years of results of Brooklyn PinPride with the attendance growing from 28 to 79 (and showing that CJ is very good at pinball)
hipsmart.bsky.social
NYC Pin Pod episode 512: Another Week to Contemplate Their Fate #pinball

Ball 1: Local competition results and calendar
Ball 2: Location Update plus pinball bullet journals
Ball 3: Further OBX fallout

@pinballmap.com
@kineticist.com

nycpinpod.wordpress.com/2025/11/23/e...
Episode 512: Another Week to Contemplate Their Fate
…is posted to all your favorite podcatchers and here, in which a panel (BCF, HIP) talk location pinball in NYC. This week… Ball 1: Local competition results including Pinball NYC and th…
nycpinpod.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:37 AM
hipsmart.bsky.social
11:30pm drawbridge lift contributes to 90-minute subway trip home from pinball league and author’s yawning this morning
The raised bed of the Pulaski Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens, seen from behind the safety gate on the sidewalk at night
November 20, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Erik Swedlund
alsheimer.me
Where is the rest of pinball media on this? nycpinpod.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/e...
Episode 511: Clinging to a Plank
…in which a panel (BCF, HIP) discuss location pinball in NYC, has been posted to all your favorite podcatchers and here. This week Ball 1: Local competition results including The Harvest and …
nycpinpod.wordpress.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:16 AM
hipsmart.bsky.social
We Butter Ballers were the virtual home team at Barcade FiDi tonight as we took out Pinister Six in the first round of Pinball NYC’s Right Inlane playoffs, 10-6. I had a meh game of Congo and a good game of Rush, both in doubles rounds and both in our favor
Erik in the foreground of a selfie at Barcade FiDi, with Sonny and Jenna looking super cute A Pinball NYC scoresheet showing Butter Ballers defeating Pinister Six, 10-6
November 19, 2025 at 4:28 AM
hipsmart.bsky.social
I can recommend a visit to the Red Hook Pinball Museum!
nycarchivists.bsky.social Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York (ART) @nycarchivists.bsky.social · 5d
Join ART for a tour of the Red Hook Pinball Museum! We'll be led on a tour by the museum's co-founders before the space is open to the general public, to get an in-depth look at the pinball machines, many of which are from the 1960s and 1970s. Register: nycarchivists.org/event-6443225
A row of illuminated vintage pinball machines in a dark room.
November 18, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Erik Swedlund
scoutpilgrim.bsky.social
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

This statement from 65 players in the San Francisco scene makes statements about their own recent issues and solidarity for the OBX Fall Flippers situation.

The IFPA deleted it in their own Discord, citing "discussion on the IFPA's response to [their OBX decision]."
Queers Against Hate in SF Pinball
Queers Against Hate in SF Pinball November 15, 2025 We are writing as members of the San Francisco pinball community. We’ve played in the same leagues and tournaments as you. We’ve organized some of ...
docs.google.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:54 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
NYC Pin Pod has stickers now! Squee! #pinball
A few hundred stickers in a couple clear plastic bags, with a few stickers taken out and displayed. The stickers are 3”x3”, glossy black with “NYC PIN POD” in orange letters rendered in a font face like a segment display.
November 17, 2025 at 11:22 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
NYC Pin Pod episode 511: Clinging to a Plank #pinball

Ball 1: Local competition results including The Harvest and Pinball NYC.
Ball 2: Venue updates with HIP courtesy of @pinballmap.com and its users plus our weekly bullet journals
Ball 3: OBX :(

nycpinpod.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/e...
Episode 511: Clinging to a Plank
…in which a panel (BCF, HIP) discuss location pinball in NYC, has been posted to all your favorite podcatchers and here. This week Ball 1: Local competition results including The Harvest and …
nycpinpod.wordpress.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:14 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Guess who won #pinball
Written in chalk on a sandwich board on the sidewalk: “Rob Wong Tournament @4:30 Karaoke @9:30 Happy Hour til 6!”
November 17, 2025 at 11:11 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
In the lost & found box at work: coin purse full of tokens
Pink coin purse that reads “AHORRANDO MIS COJONES” with a drawing of a nude person from the neck down (but wearing shoes and a cross necklace) with two cherries hanging from the crotch
November 15, 2025 at 7:24 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Last shift #pinball
Erik, wearing a Barcade hoodie, standing in front of Barcade Brooklyn
November 15, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Erik Swedlund
exsk8pnk.bsky.social
c.org/D4tMVZBMm7

#pinball #IFPAPinball
#pinballtournaments
Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?
Remove WPPRs from OBX Fall Flippers - failure to follow IFPA guidelines.
c.org
November 15, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Erik Swedlund
scoutpilgrim.bsky.social
No quarter for hate. The International Flipper Pinball Association needs to do better.
I would like to first state that I am glad to see that the IFPA has finally responded to the incident that occurred last weekend at the OBX Fall Flippers Classic. Pinball is for everyone, and Flippers Arcade and Laundromat having a minimum 1-year ban from running events sanctioned from the IFPA shows that there is at least some sense that the organization is trying to stay adherent to it’s own policies. The IFPA did not acknowledge that they were even investigating this event until 5 days and 14 hours later, and that only occurred because I called them out in their Discord – up to that point, nothing had been mentioned in this space about anything that occurred. Yet, two deafening and glaring flaws in the statement made by the “IFPA Organization” still persist, and both the lack thereof of statements and the statements that came out to fill in those blanks show that the IFPA is not living up to it’s expectations for itself, nor it’s perception of being an arbiter of equality/equity to the community. Before I go on, I would like to say that this year would have been my third OBX Fall Flippers. In the two years prior, I have seen trans and queer competitors take at least one top 4 spot (2019 and 2024). First, nothing in any official IFPA statement mentioned anything about what will happen to the event where this incident occurred in the first place. An official statement from the Women’s Board in response to the “IFPA Organization” statement was made as follows: “The IFPA Women’s Advisory Board unanimously recommended that the IFPA revoke sanctioning for the OBX events, and we vehemently disagree with IFPA Leadership’s decision not to do so. We did not contribute to the announced statement or the new process for incident reporting and we oppose the decision-making process used by IFPA Leadership.” Further statements showed that the IFPA also misrepresented some of the events that were witnessed first hand by Sammie Bacon, a member of the IFPA Women’s Advisory Board. Other than the originally affected party, she was the person most knowledgeable about the events that transpired, and was the person who Becky (the Flippers manager) waved an iPad in their face to justify her hate crimes with bogus bathroom bills. As it has come out, Adam Becker was responsible for this decision as the lead. I may respect you for the work you have done for the community, but I am ashamed to see how you have decided to ignore your Women’s Advisory board in a decision as well as misrepresent them both in including them in your statement when they did not agree to it as well as directly altering first-hand accounts witnessed by a Women’s Board member. Josh Sharpe, Zach Sharpe, Andy Bagwell, Germain Mariolle, Michael Trepp, and Brian Woodard – I am also saddened to hear that you did not step in to ensure that the matter was being treated with the utmost care and concern that a matter of trans and queer exclusion in an Open event should warrant. As one of the trans people who was eager to play in OBX Fall Flippers event, it also saddens me to see that their own statements mean nothing in practice. “The IFPA only recognizes open division of play to be included in the World Pinball Player Rankings. If certain players are prohibited from playing based on age, gender, skill or personal reasons, those results will not be counted.” By the IFPA’s own admission, this was an act of discrimination. Even further, this was sexual harassment and a hate crime. How can WPPRs be awarded to an event that breaks the IFPA’s own statements? Why are cis and/or hetero players being rewarded because at least 15 phenomenal trans/queer players had to avoid the event because they needed to prioritize their safety? By itself, this is damning – and as a prominent trans pinball player, makes me feel like the IFPA will not have my back at events. If results from this event are posted, I will be suppressing myself from IFPA events as it has been made clear that the IFPA’s statements about “standing in solidarity” with me are just words on a screen and hold no meaning or value. While I understand that part of this involves Kevin Stone, I also believe that his statement and apology are genuine. I would like there to be resources available to Tournament Directors, potentially as part of the IFPA website, that can provide resources to assist in what to do if situations of discrimination or hate show up at your event – as well as fostering a culture where pinball is safe for everyone. No quarter for hate.
November 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Erik Swedlund
arborelia.net
since way more people are linking to it than I expected, I put my statement to the IFPA on my blog instead of on a temporary html page.

posts.arborelia.net/trans-exclus...
Trans exclusion at OBX
My statement to the IFPA on what happened at the OBX pinball tournament.
posts.arborelia.net
November 11, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Reposted by Erik Swedlund
genex.bsky.social
Finally saw some of the cats in Godzilla #pinball by using the flipper codes.
The video screen on a Godzilla pinball machine showing a cat standing on a pinball machine with the caption KME’s PLAYTESTER
November 12, 2025 at 3:56 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Last night our New York City Flipper Sport Association traveled to Midway Bar to visit Balls of Steel; they won 9-7, but we secured enough points to guarantee us the top seed as we go into the Pinball NYC playoffs. We also tried to obey the bar’s posted rule.
Pinball NYC scoresheet dated 10 November 2025, showing Balls of Steel defeating NYCFSA 9-7 A framed chalkboard drawing of Tweety that reads “BE CUTE OR LEAVE” and “MIDWAY BAR,” hanging on a brick wall. Photo credit: Marta A shot of a Pinball NYC round in progress at Midway Bar. Greg and Adam are playing adjacent pinball machines while Jason, Connor, Scott, and Parker studiously observe. Erik is macking for the camera, trying to look “cute.” Photo credit: Filip
November 11, 2025 at 10:46 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
NYC Pin Pod episode 510: Hoedown Hotel #pinball

Ball 1: Local competition results
Ball 2: Venue updates with Erik courtesy of @pinballmap.com and its users
Ball 3: The panel designs a game mad-libs style thanks to JGN’s clever algorithm

nycpinpod.wordpress.com/2025/11/09/e...
Episode 510: Hoedown Hotel
…in which a panel (BCF, HIP, JGN) talk location pinball in NYC is posted to all your favorite podcatchers and here. This week: Ball 1: Local competition results including week 10 of Pinball N…
nycpinpod.wordpress.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:32 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Played in The Harvest: Nonbinary & Femme Edition last week (and got myself done up with a mohawk, miniskirt, and new slutty Converse boots). What I didn’t reckon on is now I’m qualified for New York women’s state finals 😳
#pinball
Mirror selfie of Erik in the bathroom of Gebhard’s Beer Culture, with a little mohawk and wearing a cut-up NYCPC t-shirt over a mesh crop top, under a teal hoodie, a black miniskirt, knee-high black and white striped socks, and black Converse knee-high boots with white laces
November 11, 2025 at 10:27 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
The Funhouse pinball machine at @scrappleland.bsky.social has two custom shooter rods meant for Elvira’s House of Horrors, and I do not like it
Top-down view of the two evil clown head shooter rods on a Funhouse pinball machine
November 7, 2025 at 5:26 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
HUMON AFROM CRAB
🦀
A sheet metal fence covered in graffiti, including a large tag that reads, “HUMON AFROM CRAB”
November 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Slutty new boots
Mirror selfie of Erik wearing gray button-down plaid shirt, black miniskirt, knee-high black-and-white striped socks, and black and white knee-high Converse Closer view of the knee-high Converse
October 31, 2025 at 5:35 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Here are the two photos I took last night as our New York City Flipper Sport Association hosted The Lesser Players at At the Wallace (a 13-3 home win for our Association) #pinball
Pinball NYC team league scoresheet showing NYCFSA with 13 points and The Lesser Players with 3 A graffito on a bathroom wall that reads, “Damn, girl You poop wit dat butt?”
October 28, 2025 at 2:41 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Tournament director Adam Robinson took the winners’ podium photos for the At the Wallace Selfie League finals, and they are a hoot #pinball
Erik, Connor, Alberto, and Greg smiling Erik, Connor, Alberto, and Greg not smiling Erik and Alberto smiling Erik and Alberto not smiling
October 27, 2025 at 6:38 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
Saturday, I worked at Barcade Brooklyn, replaced a flipper on Eight Ball Deluxe. Went to a friend’s Halloween party, stayed out very late, played pinball and had a snog. Sunday, very hungover, came in second at the finals for the At the Wallace Selfie League.
A broken flipper, taken out of Eight Ball Deluxe. The interior plastic busted, separating the bat from the shaft. Mirror selfie of Erik in a spookily-decorated bathroom, wearing a Barcade hoodie with Japanese text, a black miniskirt, and knee-high white cable-knit socks Mirror selfie of Erik in a spookily-decorated bathroom, wearing a Barcade hoodie with Japanese text, a black miniskirt, and knee-high white cable-knit socks Filip, Chris, Erik, Alberto, Adam, Greg, and Drisana (holding a claw-game duckie) at At the Wallace
October 27, 2025 at 2:09 PM
hipsmart.bsky.social
NYC Pin Pod episode 508: A Part of the Greater Shitload #pinball

nycpinpod.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/e...
Episode 508: A Part of the Greater Shitload
has been uploaded to all your favorite podcatchers and here, in which a panel (BCF, HIP) discuss location pinball in NYC. This week: Ball 1: Local competition results including Pinball NYC Ball 2: …
nycpinpod.wordpress.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:58 PM