RZRXI
I had the wonderful opportunity to interview a friend I had previously met on Twitch/Fortnite community, so I am excited to introduce you all to him. Meet RZRXI, a small streamer who has been making a name for himself in the content creation world. With a unique and memorable username, RZRXI, which is a shortened version of his original username xrazorback11x, he has been able to stand out and make an impact on his audience. According to RZRXI, "I see a lot of ninjas. I see a lot of troll names, but I haven’t seen a whole lot of razorback so I went with that. I shortened it for marketing purposes, I think it’s working." The name comes from his roots in Arkansas and the significance of the number 11 in his life. His real name is Robert Winans. At 32 years old, RZRXI is a recent birthday celebrant (at the time of this interview) who has had a diverse background. He spent 10 years in the Air Force and got out in March (2022). He is currently in the process of “adapting to civilian life, it has its perks but sometimes I miss the uniform." He has a sports background and a strong family history.
RZRXI started his content creation journey with YouTube in 2018, but didn't find success until the last 2 years. He then started streaming from his Xbox and found more success with the platform. He said "I started on YouTube. I didn’t grow well there. Because YouTube at the time only favored those who were already established." and "Been doing the content creation since about early 2018." He mainly posts and sometimes streams on his TikTok, where he currently has 106.9K followers and 2.6 million likes on his content. He also enjoys playing Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Phasmaphobia.
Robert is a Capricorn and stands over 6 feet tall. Despite his tall and handsome appearance, he says he is “oddly single.” Something that RZRXI wishes more people knew about him is that he truly cares about the interactions and feedback from his community. He wants his viewers to know that he cares about the quality and that it's funny, and that it makes people laugh. He wants more people to understand that he truly cares about the interactions and feedback from his community. He is dedicated to making sure his content is enjoyable and resonates with his audience. He reads every comment and responds to the positive ones, and even runs his videos past his friends before uploading to get their honest opinion. He continues to strive to create content that not only entertains, but also brings people together and fosters a sense of community.
As any video game streamer should, Winans vividly reflects on some of his first games. As RZRXI remembers, "The first video game I ever played, I didn’t know what I was doing. It was this old computer and you put a floppy drive in. It was a game where you typed the commands into the story and the story would feed you back something. It was a Star Wars game, I can’t remember the name, but my mom showed it to me." Robert continues on in his memories, "The first console I ever got my hands on was a Sega Genesis. My parents gave it to me for my birthday when I was 8 or 9 years old." He added, "I think the first game I played that my parents hated was Mortal Kombat." and "My sister cried all the time. I hated losing though, I couldn’t let my little sister beat me." Growing up with these games, RZRXI can remember the mark that it left on his life and how it grew with him into adulthood.
RZRXI found solace in the world of streaming during a difficult time in his life. In 2014, while deployed and dealing with personal struggles, RZRXI said "I had a lot of stuff going on with my family, and my ex. It was wearing down my mental as well as being 8,000+ miles away in the sandbox. Dealing with the mental strain from that,.. Those deployments were only good if you had a good crew. I didn’t have a good crew. I didn’t have good leadership. It was bad news bears. I didn’t have an outlet. I was going to the gym every day but it wasn’t enough to relax." He discovered the world of streaming through watching funny videos on YouTube. He said "I was on YouTube one day and I came across a video, it was sometime early December, a best of VanossGaming 2014. I’m like, what is this? I like playing video games, so yeah let's check this out." He added “Early Fortnite, I was like screw it I’m going to stream. I’m going to try." Since then, RZRXI has built up a community focused on mental health and gaming, and he continues to strive for growth and success in the streaming world.
One of the biggest challenges RZRXI faced as a small streamer was finding the right group of people to game with. He believes that finding a core group of people is essential to creating great content, and is willing to cut people out if they negatively impact his content. RZRXI said "The biggest challenge was finding that group of people that you can game with. Doing it by yourself is one thing, if you can grow on your own as a streamer hey, that’s cool. I feel like you’re missing out on so much content and friendships." He added "I went through so many people. I cut people like a barber cuts hair. If you rub me the wrong way, if you’re going to hurt my content, we’re going to have a problem." He also said "Finding people you can depend on, not just people you can make content with, but people you can go to with stuff outside of gaming. Because outside of gaming, content creation, and streaming, we’re all people."
RZRXI has some valuable advice for those considering starting their own stream. He emphasizes that the average person does not grow on Twitch simply by clicking "go live." There are other factors, such as posting short form content on other platforms, that can help bring viewers to your stream. RZRXI also stresses that you don't need fancy equipment to start streaming, you just need to produce content and break it down for your audience. He said "Even if it’s sporadic in a way, finding a way to move forward. Even if it’s a baby step, it’s still forward. Find ways to innovate content to move in a positive way." He also has big dreams for his future in the streaming world, such as "Signing with a bigger organization. Finding another sponsorship outside of AFK apparel. I want to stay with them, (but I want to add more)." And "Whatever drink brand was like ‘hey, we want to sponsor you.’ It could be Dasani for all I care." He
also hopes to put together a scholarship for those in the gaming space and to game with people he looks up to. He also has a big goal of running a breast cancer awareness fundraiser through selling merch on stream in September to October, and wants to contribute to the society more.
When it comes to handling negativity and criticism on his stream, RZRXI takes a firm but respectful stance. He puts negative people in their place and responds with "thank you for your opinion, have a great day." He tries to avoid negativity and focuses on moving forward in a positive direction. RZRXI said "Handling negativity, I try my best to avoid it." He also said "That’s why they are looking at my video, and I’m not looking at theirs." He believes that it is important to not let negativity affect his content and to keep moving forward.
In summary, RZRXI is a dedicated and hardworking streamer who has been able to make a name for himself in the content creation world. He has a diverse background, including spending 10 years in the Air Force, and has gone through a lot of struggles, but he always finds a way to move forward. RZRXI is dedicated to creating quality content that resonates with his audience and fosters a sense of community. He is also dedicated to giving back to the community, and is committed to running a breast cancer awareness fundraiser through selling merch on stream in September to October. He also hopes to put together a scholarship for those in the gaming space and to game with people he looks up to. He is a great example of how with hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude, anyone can achieve success in the world of streaming.
You can follow RZRXI here:
