Heavyweight Fantasy Sports (HFS) was founded in 2018 by Ryan Baker. It was created as a deep (aka “heavy”) roster, keeper fantasy football league amongst veteran fantasy players. We wanted stiff competition with some “heavy” hitters, thus the name, Heavyweights. HFS was formed with the following principles in mind: 1. Be respectful to all 2. Don’t be a jerk 3. Have fun 4. Play hard
Original Logo in 2018
We started a private fantasy football podcast for league participants and other fantasy fans. There was widespread self-proclaimed success. If you’re lucky, we may release some blooper cuts. The Podcast is in retirement as we decided to put more effort into content and research, which is how this website came about.
By creating a website and social media presence in 2023, we wanted to bring the Heavyweight spirit to the world. Our mission is to provide free, useful fantasy information to help you win! We want to help enhance the fantasy community through collaboration, not opposition. Yes, the game of fantasy sports is an actual competition, with money involved. That doesn’t mean we can’t help and root for each other, share, and work together to find the best strategies to win.
Our vision is to help the average player win their league, or better yet, win life-changing money on one of the major fantasy platforms. We pride ourselves in integrity, honesty, humility, respectful bantering, and “showing receipts,” which means showing proof of supporting a hot take, or showing evidence of wins or losses.
About the founder, Ryan Baker
Ryan founded HFS as a passion project because fantasy sports has been his favorite hobby for over 25 years. In the early 1990s, around the age of twelve, Ryan started playing fantasy with his father and grandfather. They saw his love for sports and card collecting and figured they’d show him the ropes. Maybe keeping an accurate scorebook of Giants games while in junior high hinted to them that he enjoyed following sports.
By 1995 Ryan was playing competitively in a long-standing football league his father was in. He hasn’t stopped playing since. Gone are the days of having to fax in the roster and wait for the newspaper to tally the scores.
Ryan has a Master of Science Degree from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, where he concentrated on Sports Management, Hospitality, and Event Planning.
He has studied the history and progression of fantasy sports and has been at the forefront of playing different variations and implementing new games for his league mates. As the youngins say, he is “married to the game.” He’s been the commissioner of multiple leagues across multiple sports on various platforms since 2003. Not a day goes by without checking stats or updates.
Fantasy football and baseball are Ryan’s specialties, which just so happen to be the two sports he played growing up. He also plays fantasy golf, UFC, and basketball but those are more hobbies.
Ryan’s first “claim to fantasy fame” was being a two-time guest on the Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast with Mathew Berry and Nate Ravitz in 2009, after making it to the finals of the listener league. He lost the championship by one homerun on the final day of the season. Ryan has been in the running for the Milly-maker on DraftKings, only to fall short by a Drew Brees to Michael Thomas touchdown, instead of a Goff to Kupp touchdown. Many DFS mistakes have been made by Ryan wants to help you avoid the same ones. What better way to learn from someone else’s mistakes versus your own? Don’t worry, there has also been some success as well.
Ryan has played on the following platforms: DraftKings, FanDuel, Underdog Fantasy, ESPN, Yahoo, PrizePicks, Draft, Fantrax, Sleeper, CBS, NFL.com, Thrive, and VividPicks. Trying out Drafters in 2023. If you work for one of these platforms and want feedback or user testing/research, let us know.
If you’d like to check Ryan’s professional history and references, you can view his LinkedIn page.
Stay tuned for a new competition Ryan is creating to offer an alternative way to play fantasy sports.