Team HyperShock, formerly known as Shenanigans & Co., are an active team who have been competed in every BattleBots World Championship with their heavyweight entry of the same name.
Team HyperShock during World Championship VII.
Captained by Will Bales, the team contains multiple members of the successful Ransom Everglades Robotics team which fought in multiple BattleBots IQ tournaments with middleweights such as Fluffy, Fluffy DeLarge and El Cholo.
They are known for their sportsmanship during BattleBots seasons, shown donating parts to Team Monsoon in BattleBots Resurrection among other competitors. Team HyperShock have also sponsored a number of other teams and robots, notably HiJinx and Malice, as well as international entrants Rainbow. The team also attempted to sponsor Saipan representatives Spirit of TAGA, though they were unsuccessful in their 2020 season application.
The team presented with the Most Destructive Robot Award in 2021.
Despite being in every season of the show to date, Team HyperShock have only truly found consistent success in recent competitions. Having been unfortunate to fall at the Round of 32 in the 2021 season, they won the July 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event, backing up a dominant display in the opening Sin City Slugfest bracket of BattleBots: Champions I. They became the first non-Giant Nut winning team to earn the right to compete in the Golden Bolt competition and only lost to the eventual runner-up, Witch Doctor.
Team HyperShock returned for World Championship VII, making them one of only four teams alongside Mutant Robots, Team Witch Doctor and Team LOGICOM to compete in every season with one flagship robot, following the surprise withdrawal of Ray Billings and Tombstone. Despite getting past the first round of the World Championship tournament for the first time since World Championship II, HyperShock fell in the Round of 16 to Riptide.
The team co-hosted the Tale of the Tape After Show alongside Andrea and Mike Gellatly of Team Witch Doctor until 2021.
In October 2023, the team revealed a second heavyweight robot for BattleBots Proving Ground in December that year, named Vertigo. However, it was not ready in time and was substituted with HyperShock, winning both fights. Vertigo would ultimately be rescheduled to compete in the Fall 2024 BattleBots Faceoffs tournaments, joined by HyperShock.[1]
Outside BattleBots[]
Away from the show, Team HyperShock have fought at several sportsman heavyweight events with modified versions of their BattleBots machine, including Robot Ruckus at Orlando Maker Faire.
During a November 2023 Reddit AMA, Will Bales revealed that Team HyperShock and Team Witch Doctor jointly applied for a reboot-era series of Robot Wars with a proposed vertical spinner multibot. Due to a 'last-minute' change, their multibot - suggested by Bales to possibly be built for Series 10 - was unable to compete.[2]
Team Members[]
Will Bales[]
- "I don't take myself seriously in day-to-day life. It's part of the whole 'having fun with it' thing. I take myself seriously when I'm building robots, just because HyperShock is one of the most complicated things I've undertaken. And so, I take pride in my work."
- — Will Bales during World Championship II
Team captain and the face of HyperShock, Will Bales oversees the team and is the main personality in pre and post-fight interviews. He found his feet in the sport during the days of BattleBots IQ as a tenth grader at Ransom Everglades School. Competing with a number of robots, he starred in Bots High, a documentary captured by filmmaker Joey Daoud.[3] He was also awarded the Best Driver Award following the conclusion of the 2016 season.
Will is due to drive Vertigo for their upcoming BattleBots Faceoffs matches.
Kyle Awner[]
Joining the team ahead of World Championship III, he manages the team's logistics as well as writing blogs for the team's website. Much like Will Bales, Kyle Awner was part of the BattleBots IQ team behind Miami representatives Ransom Everglades Robotics, which were responsible for robots such as Fluffy DeLarge, El Cholo and SpiderPig.
He also assisted in the production of the Tale of the Tape BattleBots After Show.
Alex Bales[]
Will and Alex Bales holding the re:MARS 2022 Giant Bolt.
Danish-born Alex Bales married Will following the conclusion of World Championship VI.
As Will Bales was preoccupied with co-presenting duties during the June 2022 re:MARS all:STARS event, Alex Bales took up the role of driver and piloted HyperShock to its first event win. This marked the first time a female driver had won a competitive event in the reboot era. Alex also took control of HyperShock during BattleBots: Champions II, and will do so again during BattleBots Faceoffs.
Isaac Lubarsky[]
Present since the 2018 season, Isaac Lubarsky is the team's lead graphic designer, producing much of the team's artwork and merch designs including the HyperKitty logo.
He led HyperShock's neon branding as the robot underwent a radical redesign between World Championship II and World Championship III, and was present right up until BattleBots: Champions I. He was not listed among the team members for World Championship VII.
Collin & Natalie Royster[]
A machinist by trade, Kentucky native Collin Royster joined Team HyperShock in January 2020. He specializes in designing and manufacturing custom parts for HyperShock. The Royster family machining shop are also an official team partner.
Natalie Royster is his partner, and joined Team HyperShock in the same year.
Greg & Max Bales[]
Brothers to team captain Will, both were present with Mohawk in early seasons of the BattleBots reboot as Euclid Robotics.
Whereas Greg Bales joined Team HyperShock ahead of the 2020 season, Max Bales has been listed as part of the team since World Championship VI.
Connie Ryan[]
Mother to captain Will Bales, Connie Ryan has been officially part of the team since the 2021 competition, having previously also assisted Max Bales and Mohawk.
She featured on the special BattleBots: Most Outrageous Moments where she was credited as "Will's mom" and discussed how the rake incident in HyperShock's 2016 season win over Warrior Clan came to be.
Tyler Bond & Alex Mattaway[]
Both a part of the Ransom Everglades Robotics team, Tyler Bond and Alex Mattaway joined HyperShock from its debut season in 2015. Whereas Tyler remained until World Championship V and was credited for the idea of the rake attachment, Alex Mattaway left after the 2018 season.
Julia Chernushevich[]
Joining the team in 2022, Julia Chernushevich has a wealth of experience in BattleBots with numerous teams. She originally competed with Bucktooth Burl before joining Red Devil for the following season. In 2019, she joined Team Black and Blue, serving as weapons operator of Marvin and also assisting with Hal Rucker's DUCK!. She also twice attempted to compete with her own heavyweight named Ferocity, but was unsuccessful on both occasions due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Gary Nguyen[]
A member of the ROTATOR team from its 2016 debut until 2019, including stints as both weapon operator and even driver, Gary Nguyen joined HyperShock ahead of World Championship V. His official role within the team is 'Chief Mayhem Officer', and includes organizational and business duties, including sponsorship negotiation.
As HyperShock was among the first wave of ShowBots at BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon, Gary Nguyen represented the team as its leader and driver during the first few shows, ensuring it performed up to standard.
Robots[]
| Robots | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| HyperShock | Heavyweight | World Championship I World Championship II World Championship III World Championship IV World Championship V BattleBots: Bounty Hunters World Championship VI BattleBots: Champions I World Championship VII BattleBots: Champions II BattleBots Proving Ground BattleBots Faceoffs |
| Vertigo | Heavyweight | BattleBots Proving Ground (Withdrew) BattleBots Faceoffs |
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 27
- Losses: 20
See Also[]
- HyperShock's website
- HyperShock on Instagram
- HyperShock on Facebook
- HyperShock on Twitter
- HyperShock on YouTube