Ultra.
In this new series, we are highlighting some full-time streamers and Streamlabs Ultra subscribers to give newer streamers some insight into the journey of becoming a streamer, their experience streaming, future goals, advice for others, and more!
If you are a member of Streamlabs Ultra and you are interested in participating, shoot us an email over at [email protected].
This week, we are highlighting Flambass! Remember to follow Flambass on Twitch, YouTube, and Twitter!
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I’ve been a gamer my whole life since my dad got me a Super Nintendo, and we played Super Mario, followed by Nintendo 64, PS1, PS, and PC.
I always loved the challenge and immersion that games/movies can bring. When I was getting close to being done with my university (History & Philosophy) and started being an intern, I realized that I’m not going to be truly happy with the work I’ll have to do for the rest of my life. Not because I didn’t like teaching, but because too many people try to tell you how you should do what you need to do, and they’re mostly wrong. We all know that kids don’t exactly enjoy being in school, and it comes down to teachers being boring and having too much stuff to do. Well, I tried to do things my way, and pupils loved it, but my seniors didn’t. Results didn’t matter. You’re doing it wrong, they said.
Meanwhile, I was constantly thinking about starting my own YT channel, but I didn’t know how to edit at all and didn’t know what to do. I always preferred live, unedited raw footage to all the rigged and fixed stuff. That’s how I came across Twitch and streaming. Watching other successful streamers, I realized that I’m doing what they’re doing anyway, just without broadcasting it to anyone, for my own entertainment.
I was also really into competitive gaming. I was playing World of Tanks for a while, and when World of Warships came out, I jumped right into it and started looking for a competitive clan. Found one immediately, and we started working on our performance. It didn’t take long till we were kicking everyone’s asses xD.
It wasn’t a big game, but everyone in the world who was playing WoWS knew about us because we were simply the best. So, I started exploring if ppl would be interested in watching my stream. It turns out ppl were really interested because they wanted to learn.
I was super goofy back then and really enjoyed growing my channels. I was always focused on chat and interaction while also doing my best in the game, and chat really enjoyed it.
Later it kind of came down to choose between competitive or streaming, and since streaming took off more than I expected, I wasn’t going to throw it away.
I’ve done all there was to do in WoWS competitive scene by then anyway, and I started casting tournaments now. Found a whole new level of entertainment in casting as well.
So as you can tell by now, I mostly stream World of Warships (WoWS), and I’ve been streaming it for over four years now, I believe — time really flies.
What was it about streaming that initially interested you and inspired you to give it a try?
What I love about streaming is the kind ppl that you can interact with and never feel alone. Even if the game you’re playing isn’t doing you much good, you can always focus on chat and get through it.
They’ll always try to make you laugh and support you in hard times, and that’s really the best part about it. Once you grow to a certain level where streaming can become your full-time job (and that’s honestly the only way you’ll truly move forward and succeed if you give it all your time), it can definitely support you financially.
What goals or aspirations would you like to achieve this year and in the future?
I started with streaming-only one game and made my whole community around that one game, which is probably the best and easiest way to succeed as a streamer. Still, this year I’m pushing myself even harder than before to play as many other games as I can (which is not easy since I’m a very picky person). I want to grow my community around me and not the game I play. I’d love to expand into variety streaming because that way, you’ll never be bored, and if the game gets too frustrating, you can always switch to something else. No matter how much you love a game, there will be a point where you’ll just want to stop and do something else, but if you didn’t prepare your community for a change, there’s a good chance they won’t follow you.
It’s hard, and it takes a while. It can get depressing and demoralizing, but it just makes ppl who like and support you express it even more, and they really help you push through it.
Were there other streamers that you looked up to and inspired you to start streaming?
When I started, a few streamers were already streaming WoWS, and I thought I wouldn’t have a chance against them in terms of viewership. Well, I was wrong xD I surpassed most of them. However, WoWS is just one game, and the WoWS community isn’t the biggest and certainly not the only community out there. Once you reach the peak, you have to look further and find a next goal, which I’m trying to do now, expanding into other games. I want to grow more and come to a point where I can stream just about anything and have fun doing it, knowing my community will be there to back me up and enjoy the content.
Do you have any tips for new streamers entering the space?
The best tip I can give anyone is to be themselves. It is really important to be yourself. You can’t fake being someone else for too long unless you take it to another level like DrDisrespect did, even tho’ I bet his act is just another version of himself that he lets loose on stream, which is why he’s so good at it.
I know many people say the same thing, and I bet most ppl just disregard it because they don’t fully understand it. The trick is to be yourself and hope it is interesting to people. If you are not interesting to people, they simply won’t watch you no matter how hard you try. Two types of ppl succeed in streaming:
Top of their game — they kick ass, and everyone wants to learn from them.
Funny and entertaining — they will make you laugh and keep you watching even if you don’t know or care about the game (or whatever else is on-screen) or them. They’re simply entertaining.
The best, in my opinion, is the mix of both. If you can make ppl laugh, keep them entertained and still perform in whatever it is you’re doing.
Anything else you’d like to add?
If you’re already in this, then you know more or less how the game works, but if you’re thinking about getting in streaming and you’re new, I really wish you good luck. There are so many streamers out there, and some are really on top of their game and personalities. The best way to succeed is to find a new and not too popular game, get good at it, catch people’s interest, and then expand with the existing community on other territories and hope they stick with you.
It’s not easy, it will take all your time, focus, energy and be heartbreaking at times, but it is one of the world’s best feelings if you succeed.
Good luck and don’t forget to have fun. If you’re not having fun, ppl watching won’t either ;)
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