# chipstronghold

> chipstronghold is the portfolio of Ash Newman, a designer, creative director and the creator of CSTV, an alien TV channel of original comedy shows. It covers twenty years across product, brand, games and content: co-founding the design agency We Discover, leading design and research at Perion, creative direction at WTF (WTF Games, WTF Studios, WTF Leagues), and the CSTV shows Frangston Eshays, Glebal Glabbers and Cash Converterings.

Ash publishes as @chipstronghold on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X. CSTV has 35M+ views across Instagram and TikTok. For brand partnerships, creator collaborations and other enquiries, email me@chipstronghold.com.

## About Ash Newman (Creator)

- [Home](https://chipstronghold.com/): CSTV's original shows, the Latest rail, Games, selected work and Features.
- [Creator](https://chipstronghold.com/career/): Ash's bio, the STACKED Podcast interview and experience: WTF Studios & Universe (Creative Chaos Director, 2025–now), Perion (Head of Design & Research, 2024–2025), We Discover (co-founder and Head of Design, 2017–2024), IAG (Experience Designer, 2016–2017), Vivant, now IBM iX (Senior UX / UI, 2012–2016), West Coast Customs (2004–2011) and Engine4 (2001–2012, Ash's first design business; creative media director & owner of Engine4 Web Productions).
- On AI: Ash stays across AI tools and uses them throughout the work (assets, prototypes, code), combining creative technology and development skills to make original shows and comedy, and building original IP rather than borrowing real people's likeness.

## Design & product work

- [All work](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/): Products, brands and original worlds, filterable by product and digital, brand and worlds, and film and content.
- [WTF Studios](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/wtf-studios/): 2026 · Art direction, game design, UX & UI. Original, chaotic casino games for the WTF Games casino, built on a system for shipping wild ideas inside one shared universe. Ash owns the creative experience and brand across them.
- [WTF Games Universe](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/wtf-universe/): 2026 · Creative direction, product design, UX & UI. A scrappy crypto horse-racing prototype that became a standalone venture, went viral with real-world Hamster Racing, landed backing from an iGaming giant and grew into live shows, a crypto casino and an iGaming studio.
- [Cutthroat Chaos](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/cutthroat/): 2025 · UX, UI, brand, 3D & user testing. Play Fortnite, win crypto: a five-week build to onboard gamers into web3. It reached #1 on DappRadar for Base Network two weeks after launch.
- [XP.GG](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/xpgg/): 2024 · Product design, UX, UI, brand & research. Lead film: the Perion XP trailer. A Strava-style gaming stats tracker that turned to competitions. Ash overhauled the UX and visuals, guided by PlaybookUX tests, monthly NPS and the XP Insiders Discord.
- [Perion](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/perion/): 2020–2025 · Product, UX, UI, art direction & social. A web3 gaming venture and investment DAO that started as an Axie Infinity guild. Ash went from its first design hire, through We Discover, to Head of Design and Research.
- [02_STATE](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/02-state/): 2023 · UX, UI & prototyping. A Perion concept for blockchain-powered digital twins of limited-edition clothing, first tested at NFT NYC.
- [West Coast Customs](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/west-coast-customs/): 2004–2011 · Website, UX, UI, photography, social & events. The custom car company famous from Pimp My Ride, Street Customs and Inside West Coast Customs, where Ash ran digital, from a website with 4 million monthly visitors to early social.
- [Reely](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/reely/): 2024 · UX, UI, branding & social. A prototype AI video tool built with a startup while Ash was at We Discover, fronted by an alien mascot obsessed with Earth's films. Unlisted on the Work page.

## Original shows

- [CSTV](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/): Alien television. Human imagination. An alien TV channel transmitting beautifully unhinged videos into a very human feed. It's Ash's own playground for characters and storytelling. Ongoing · Creative direction, world-building & video.
- [Frangston Eshays](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/): Rated CS15+ · Comedy · 10 episodes on Instagram. J-Dawg and the bois cause chaos on the Frankston line, get recruited by a gang boss and somehow end up outsmarting an evil AI. It's set in a graffiti-covered suburban alley.
- [Glebal Glabbers](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/): Rated CS13+ · Comedy · 9 videos on Instagram. The best of CSTV's one-offs, beamed in from the alien office: Thunderbirds with turds, pimped-out rides and GTA reimagined for Australia.
- [Cash Converterings](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/): Rated CSG · Comedy · 3 episodes on Instagram. Wayne and Clint work the counter. Everything's for sale, nothing's definitely stolen, and you have to guess the price.
- [CSTV on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/): Episodes and clips from every show.
- [CSTV on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@chipstronghold)

## Games

- [Games](https://chipstronghold.com/games/): Game design, art direction and worlds by Ash Newman.
- [Ladyboy](https://www.playwtfstudios.com/games/ladyboy): 18+ · WTF Studios · playable demo. Open doors, chase multipliers and survive a Thailand-inspired fever dream.
- [Royal Flush](https://www.playwtfstudios.com/games/royal-flush): 18+ · WTF Studios · playable demo. A slot that lives in a toilet: neon graffiti, cascades and toilet humour.
- [Bubble Gun](https://chipstronghold.com/games/): 18+ · Bubble shooter · WTF Studios · playable demo. Shoot bubbles as Kora, fill the meter and take down four bosses.
- [Numbface](https://chipstronghold.com/games/): 18+ · Mafia slot · WTF Studios · playable demo. Scarface, with a hamster. Hammy Montana’s moody, cinematic mafia slot.
- [Lost My Marbles](https://chipstronghold.com/games/): 18+ · Marble racing · WTF Studios · playable demo. Marble racing you can bet on.
- [Eshay Fighter II](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/reel/DeQzlkjhuAB/): CS15+ · Fighting game · CSTV Games. The Frangston Eshays brawl it out on the CSTV handheld.
- [Beer League Hockey (beta)](https://beer-league-hockey.vercel.app/): CS15+ · Hockey · CSTV Games. NHL ’94 made about a dysfunctional local beer league; a mobile browser game in beta.

## Features & interviews

- [STACKED Podcast interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMAZDsx4Wn8): 51m. Digital-first, people-driven: marketing, culture and growth with Ash Newman.
- [STACKED Podcast article](https://chipstronghold.com/latest/stacked-podcast/): Behind the work, a long-form chat with Dale, founder of Stacked (Mar 2025).
- [WTF Studios trailer](https://vimeo.com/1163140510): 1m 23s. Original casino games from the WTF Studios team.
- [WTF Leagues Live Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZgQ_9L-J5A): 51m. Hamster racing, live broadcasts and a very strange universe.
- [WTF Leagues, live on air.](https://chipstronghold.com/latest/wtf-leagues-live-show/): Weekly hamster, Beyblade, marble and treadmill races streamed from WTF HQ in London (Jun 2025).
- [Relume Design League 2v2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzmlCS4B1DI): 1h 7m. We Discover vs Somewhen: two teams, thirty minutes, one live design competition.
- [Design under pressure.](https://chipstronghold.com/latest/rdl-nft/): Ash and Yida, as team We Discover, design an NFT site in 30 minutes (Nov 2024).
- [Thirty minutes. One design.](https://chipstronghold.com/latest/rdl-soda/): The Relume Design League 1v1: a health soda site in 30 minutes, with a process timelapse (May 2025).

## Clients & brands

- Brands Ash has worked with (as listed on the Creator page): Qantas, West Coast Customs, WTF Games, Zip, Hot Wheels, Swell, PayPal, Telstra, The Plague, Vodafone and WTF Studios.
- [WTF](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/wtf-universe/): WTF Games, WTF Studios and WTF Leagues. Ash is Creative Chaos Director and leads design for WTF Studios.
- [Perion](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/perion/): First a client of We Discover, then Head of Design & Research (2024–2025).
- [XP.GG](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/xpgg/), [Cutthroat Chaos](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/cutthroat/), [02_STATE](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/02-state/) and Fanplay (formerly ZBET): Perion products Ash led design on.
- [Smart Layer](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/02-state/): Partner on a Perion limited-edition merch drop.
- [West Coast Customs](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/west-coast-customs/): Client, 2004–2011.
- [We Discover](https://wediscover.com.au/): The design agency Ash co-founded in 2017 and led as Head of Design until 2020, before Perion.
- [IAG and Vivant (now IBM iX)](https://chipstronghold.com/career/): Earlier career, in enterprise disruption and in UX and design thinking.
- [Engine4](https://chipstronghold.com/projects/west-coast-customs/): Ash's first design business (Engine4 Web Productions, as creative media director and owner), through which West Coast Customs came on board.

## Contact & brand partnerships

- [Contact](https://chipstronghold.com/contact/): Brand partnerships, creator collaborations and other enquiries. Email me@chipstronghold.com.
- [CSTV collaborations](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/): For brands and fellow creators with an idea for the channel, Ash is open to a conversation.
- Social: [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/chipstronghold/), [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@chipstronghold), [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@chipstronghold), [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/chipstronghold/), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajnewman/), [X](https://x.com/chipstronghold)

## Optional

- [A little less self-doubt.](https://chipstronghold.com/latest/ua-confidence/): On creative confidence and doubt, a repost of a LinkedIn post that went viral with designers (Jan 2025).
- [Make room for the important stuff.](https://chipstronghold.com/latest/hustle-pad/): The Hustle Pad, a free printable day planner (Dec 2024).
- [Full version of this file](https://chipstronghold.com/llms-full.txt)