A new streamer, the 25-year-old said he began his streaming career on a fluke. One year and one Twitch partnership later, he’s cemented his place as an upcoming star on the platform.
“I didn’t see a lot of people like me in gaming spaces, especially on Twitch, and I wanted to be that. Not knowing that once I decided to become a Twitch streamer that I would meet other people like me,” he said in a phone interview with Lifewire.
“For me, it’s always about meeting similar individuals, but also, in the long run, creating a community that is constantly welcoming, understanding, and is also always ready to learn.”
Blizz’s space, a pastel-colored dream of purple decorated with plush bears and video game memorabilia, epitomizes the vibe of his streams. Lo-fi hip hop beats with a chill and chaotic mixture, not unlike the blue and red combination, to create the flood of lilac that illuminates his backdrop.
In a year, this upcoming streamer has amassed an audience of nearly 15,000 followers and a dedicated base of supporters happy to see a fresh, representative face on the platform. His aspirations only go up from here.
The Bear Necessities
Blizz, who asked Lifewire to use his screen name to preserve his anonymity, grew up in Maryland in a religious household along with his older sister. His father worked as a concrete truck driver, while his mother was a licensed master cosmetologist. He recalls this upbringing as a suffocating one. As a queer person in a conservative Christian household, he says he felt his creativity was stifled, as were aspects of his most authentic self. Video games provided a form of escapism for the future streamer. He was able to access an assortment of different worlds in RPGs like Kingdom Hearts and create a whole new life in some of his favorite games, such as Stardew Valley, a game he streams to this day. “Video games really helped me escape, especially games like Stardew Valley. You can get away from living in the city and marry whoever you wanted,” he told Lifewire. “I didn’t play very much in college, and now that I think about it, it was because I wasn’t living under the roof of my parents and I already escaped… So moving back, I got really into playing video games again, and it was kind of the reason I moved on to Twitch.” It’s no surprise he would, once again, find his freedom in video gaming through the world of streaming.
Blizzbies Unite
Before dedicating his life to become a full-time streamer, Blizz worked as a contractor for defense, aerospace, and security company BAE Systems. He felt unfulfilled, so he quit. Three days later, in an unusual move, Twitch representatives reached out to him and asked if he wanted to be a Partner. “It was a small project that became a full-time thing for me,” he said. Something he started during quarantine to fill time became his primary source of income and joy. The quintessential blizzb3ar stream combines video game playing with a little touch of chaotic fun. He oscillates between spending hours playing video games with his community to hosting charity streams for nonprofit organizations such as Black Girls Code as a member of Twitch Team Sidequest. Social justice is at the core of his brand and is why he was intentional about creating a safe space for Black queer people and other marginalized communities. His audience, affectionately known as the Blizzbies, seems to be his proudest joy and what he sees as the greatest accomplishment, thus far, of his streaming career. The Blizzbies are equal parts a warm, supportive base at the center of his streaming life and, in his words, total brats. “They’re a [wild] ball of comfortability. We’re like an online chosen family. I get messages all the time saying [my community] is like a home away from home for a lot of people,” he said. “They’re my everything.” “I was looking for my community. I was looking for a place where I could learn, I could grow, I could understand, and I could love. And I found it,” he said. “I hope other people find my stream and feel that same kind of love that I’ve found.”
