Dark Reel Studios

The Founder

Pete Macias

Founder & Developer, Dark Reel Studios

Pete Macias is a Tampa Bay-based entrepreneur, veteran, and sports technology founder with one foot in the NFL and the other in Silicon Valley's playbook.

Before building software, Pete lived the game. As a Global Ambassador for USA Football — the sport's national governing body — he represented American football on an international stage. He worked within the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization, contributed to Fox Sports, covered the game for Buffalo Low Down, and built relationships across the NFL Alumni Association. He didn't watch football from the stands. He worked it from the inside.

Today Pete is the founder of Dark Reel Studios, a sports trivia app franchise built for fans who study the game, not just watch it. The Film Room, the franchise's flagship NFL trivia app, launched on iOS to immediate organic press coverage and a growing community of serious football fans. The Hardwood (NBA), The Diamond (MLB), and The Octagon (MMA) are in active development.

In parallel, Pete is building Scarlet Risk, an AI-powered risk and compliance platform designed to make enterprise-grade cybersecurity accessible to small and mid-sized businesses — bringing the same insider-to-outsider philosophy he applied to football to the world of cyber risk.

A U.S. military veteran, Pete combines operational discipline with entrepreneurial instinct. He's an active voice in the Tampa Bay tech community and a believer that the most authentic products come from founders who've actually lived the problem they're solving.

Dark Reel Studios — Tampa Bay, Florida

Credentials

01

NFL Insider & Alum

Former member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff and a current member of the NFL Alumni Association.

02

Tactical Expert

Served as a Global Ambassador and Master Trainer for USA Football, training coaches and athletes on technical literacy and safety.

03

Media Veteran

Former contributor to FOX Sports and analyst for BuffaLowDown, covering the Rex Ryan-era Buffalo Bills.

04

Army Veteran

Spent years in tactical and tech logistics, a discipline he now applies to building high-performance, no-bloat gaming experiences.

The Studio

Next-gen mobile. Built different.

Dark Reel Studios is a one-person indie studio out of Tampa Bay, Florida — building the mobile game studio that should have existed years ago.

Not casual games. Not quick-cash trivia clones. Console-quality experiences, sports culture depth, and cinematic design — all in your pocket.

The Film Room was just the opening play. Dark Reel is building a franchise.