Flying_Lake
In the world of streaming, there are countless content creators vying for the attention of viewers. But amongst the sea of competition, one streamer has managed to stand out and make a name for himself: Flying_Lake. As a Pokemon and variety streamer, Flying_Lake has captured the hearts of gamers and non-gamers alike with his entertaining content and dedication to building a community. With a background rooted in gaming, he first discovered his passion playing games with his siblings and fell in love with the platform of Twitch, as he was introduced to it by a friend. In February of 2023 he will have been streaming for 2 years, and he has built a strong following, but he has also been able to engage with his community, and set his goals, which helped him to achieve a level of success. Join us as we delve into the mind of this Pokemon and variety streamer and discover the secrets to his success.
Derek, also known by his screen name "Flying_Lake," is a Pokemon and variety streamer who has been streaming for almost 2 years. He began his streaming journey during the pandemic and found it quite interesting to watch the evolution and growth of the platform over time. "Being able to see how things have gone for other people, and how the streaming industry has changed since I started has been really interesting," he said. His first game was Super Mario on the Super Nintendo, which was passed down to him by his 4 older siblings. He mentioned that he is one of the only people his age that has played the Super Nintendo, which he attributes to his siblings.
The most important person in his life is his sister, who has played a significant role in his upbringing and support throughout the years. She has been there for him through the good times and the tough times and he is grateful for her unwavering support. Derek is from a big family, both as a child and now as an adult and his sister is one of the pillars of the family. Although, living in different countries with different time zones, she supports the streams when she can, however it's not easy as "It's tough for her to visit streams because she lives in Australia so the time zone is kind of messed up", Derek said, "But she tunes in when she can and always cheers me on."
Shiny hunting (a challenge that most Pokemon fans undergo) and playing Pokemon Unite have been one of the staples on Flying_Lake’s stream. Derek enjoys streaming not just because of his love for Pokemon and variety of games, but also the community that he has built over time. He finds great satisfaction in connecting with his audience, and the ability to interact and receive feedback is something that he values greatly. Seeing the happiness and enjoyment from chatters and viewers as they watch his streams brings him immense joy. He believes that building a community is an integral part of the streaming experience, as it allows him to connect with like-minded individuals and creates a sense of camaraderie among his viewers. As a streamer, Derek is always looking for ways to improve and enhance his content, and he hopes to continue growing in his career. He wants to be able to entertain and delight even more people and help them escape from their day to day for a moment, relax and have fun. He strives to bring even more entertainment to his audience and to continue to connect with them on a deeper level. He wishes to continue to grow his community and build a positive and inclusive environment for his viewers.
Derek's passion for gaming led him to streaming. He discovered Twitch through YouTube, where he was watching certain channels and was inspired by one of the members from the channel named raynarvaezjr, who had started doing Twitch. This was his introduction to Twitch and he eventually decided to give it a try himself. "Having played games all of my life, I was ingrained with gaming culture. I was introduced to Twitch through YouTube," Derek said. "One of the members from the channel (Achievement Hunters) named raynarvaezjr started doing Twitch. Before that, I had no idea what Twitch was and I was introduced through his content."
Ray stands out to Derek as his Twitch hero. He admires Ray's approach to creating content, focusing on doing things the way he wants to, rather than what is popular at the moment. "My biggest Twitch hero is raynarvaezjr. He stands out to me the most because I kind of mold myself in the way he likes to do things. I know there's lots of people who find their niche in terms of games and audience, and I think for me at least it's very important to play or create content over the probability of what might get me viewers. I want to be able to do things the way I want to do them and still be able to see success", Derek said. He also had a close friend Kris, she makes a lot of content and Derek says she’s very on top of every aspect of streaming, "I think a lot of people overlook (parts about streaming) in terms of posting on social media and branching out your brand."
To engage with his community, Derek finds Discord to be the best way. He believes that the ability to create servers and have community members be a part of them, and being able to share experiences is invaluable. He also finds that a lot of people he knows are a part of mutual communities, "Mutual interests and mutual personality traits come off easier within discord. People with like-mind and values and staying engaged with people you want in your community."
One of the ways that Flying_Lake prepares for his stream is by setting his stream schedule several days in advance. He always makes sure to think about what game he's going to be playing, and is on the dot about his scheduling to balance his life responsibilities and stream responsibilities. This approach helps him to avoid getting too stressed out, and allows him to focus on having fun while streaming. There are times when he feels anxiety, but he reminds himself that the point of streaming is to have fun, and he gives himself a little pep talk before he starts. Flying_Lake has set short-term goals for himself, such as increasing his viewership and engagement. He believes that people do care about numbers, but he doesn't let it bring him down. He looks at the numbers as an indicator of success and can see for himself that he's doing better and improving. To achieve this, he tries to be as active as possible and puts out social media posts to promote his stream.
His long-term goal is to be able to stream without it hindering other parts of his life. He understands that being able to make an income from streaming is great, but it's not everything. He wants to see improvement in engagement and numbers, and wants to see more comments instead of likes on his stream. He wants to be able to engage with his audience and build a community that would be interested in his content and enjoy it as much as he does. He is dedicated to improving and growing his channel, but making sure that it doesn't consume his life and take away from other important things.
Flying_Lake has some advice for new streamers, "Just go for it. There's not going to be any consequence for trying it out. What you're doing is for other people, but it's you who ends up dealing with the byproduct of it. So you need to do what's going to make you happy. It can be scary, but sometimes you need to give yourself a kick in the pants and try it out." This advice emphasizes the importance of being true to yourself and your passion, even if it may be scary at first.
When asked if he had anything else he wanted to add to the interview, Flying_Lake says "Goals are great, but there's going to be ups and downs. Streaming is a saturated source of social media, and it may not go the way you expect. It's easier said than done, but you need to think about what streaming is going to do for you personally over anything else and hopefully, it all falls into place from there!" This statement emphasizes that streaming is a competitive field and there may be challenges in achieving your goals, but as long as you stay true to yourself and what you want out of streaming, everything will fall in its place. He wants to remind us that it's not only about numbers, but also the personal experience and joy of streaming, is what matters the most.
Through our interview with Derek, also known as Flying_Lake, we have been given an in-depth look into the life of a dedicated streamer. From his early beginnings playing games with his siblings to his current streaming journey, Derek's passion for Pokemon and variety games shines through. He has shared valuable insights into how he prepares for his streams, engages with his community and sets goals for himself. He has also provided inspiration to new streamers who are looking to take the leap and pursue their passions. We wish Derek all the best in his continued streaming journey and look forward to seeing him entertain and captivate audiences for years to come.
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