Minh "Gooseman" Le, co-creator of the original Counter-Strike, has shared an anecdote about Valve founder Gabe Newell's past eccentricities, specifically detailing a period where Newell became deeply interested in Mongolian throat singing.
According to Le, who worked at Valve for six years after the company acquired the Counter-Strike IP, Newell was prone to "ventur[ing] off into interesting hobbies." One such venture involved a fascination with Mongolian-Tuvan throat singing, a technique that allows a vocalist to produce multiple pitches simultaneously. This hobby, Le noted in an interview, was initially inspired by a documentary about the practice.
Newell's immersion in throat singing reportedly led him to practice it throughout the Valve offices. "He would just walk along the halls just doing this throat singing. And he would do it daily," Le recalled, adding that the daily practice could be disruptive and was met with annoyance by some colleagues. Fortunately for those affected, Le stated that this particular phase lasted for approximately five months.
Beyond the throat singing, Le also touched upon other notable aspects of Newell's personality. He mentioned Newell's collection of medieval swords and axes, his tendency to pose challenging questions to employees, and his enjoyment of simple pleasures like corndogs, which Le described as indicative of Newell being a "very nice guy" and a "regular colleague."