Wakeyyx: Building Community and Authenticity on Twitch | Episode 8

In this episode, Wakey shares his five-year journey on Twitch, from starting out with a passion for gaming and community building to creating a successful stream team. He discusses strategies for growth, maintaining authenticity, and the importance of community and mental health in streaming.

Find Wakey:

https://www.twitch.tv/wakeyyx

https://www.instagram.com/itswakeyyx/

https://www.youtube.com/@wakeyyx

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Transcript

pre intro

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Never. Not once. Not one time.

Patty 0:04

You're the first one that gave me that answer.

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Really? Wow. There have been low moments, but I am very thankful that whatever reason it is, whenever I have, whenever I feel low about something in terms of Twitch at the very least, I might be upset for a day, you know? And then after that day, it's like fuel, you know, it's like a fire. I just think, okay, I've got to work harder.

Patty 0:42

Welcome to the Growth Rate Podcast, where we dive into real streamer stories and find out what is behind the streamer. I'm your host, Patty, and today I'm joined by Wakey. Wakey is a Twitch and YouTube partner, a story-driven game streamer, and the founder of the Ratpak stream team. And as of recording time, he is celebrating five years on Twitch. Wakey, thank you so much for joining us today. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Thank you for having me. Yeah, I'm doing really good. Doing really good. Happy to be here.

Patty 1:15

We actually met not that long ago. I think it was around December-ish, which for every other guest, you're like the one that I've known the least amount of time. And you know,

Teaser

Patty 1:29

I scrolled a bit through your clips, and I'm like, he he he did a lot. Five years is a lot of time of stream. He you you've done so much. And we usually start by asking how you got into Twitch. Why did you start streaming? Like what was happening in your life? So if you want to tell us your origin story, it's also a great way of introducing yourself to the audience.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Yeah, five years. So I started in 2021, in in March of 2021. And I always wanted to be in the beginning, it was more like YouTube stuff, you know,

Intro

SPEAKER_02 2:07

like I always watch YouTubers making videos, stuff like that. And I was kind of at a point where I was doing videos and stuff, and they were very bare bones, very new. I didn't really know what I was doing, I didn't really have the technology to edit properly or do anything like that. And I realized it was near the end of uni, so final year of university, it was the back end of COVID, so I had a bit more time because we weren't going in. And I kind of had this revelation that even though I'm lucky enough to I've got a good group of friends, I've got people that I can talk to in my life, not many people really cared about games or movies or a lot of stuff that I find that I'm really passionate about, they weren't really, and it felt like I needed to talk about that stuff because I am the person that likes sharing those experiences

The Journey Begins: From Passion to Streaming

SPEAKER_02 3:06

with people anyway. And I thought, well, what better way to do it than to stream, right? Because then at least it's in real time. I had no idea what I was doing, I wasn't on Twitch beforehand, and so with this extra time, there was the PlayStation Twitch streaming integration thing. So I didn't even I didn't have a PC or anything, I just went straight onto my PlayStation and I was streaming from there for for a little bit, but that's how I got started. That's the reason, like the jump start that wanted to get me up to doing it, was to just talk about games.

Patty 3:44

Oh, that is super, super interesting, yeah. Because I feel like maybe in high school, I also did not have a lot of people to talk about games and stuff. There was like maybe one person, and then we didn't even like the same games. I played a lot of online games back then, and because of that, I met people through the games. They would say there's something in this in the city you should come because you know there's like an anime shop where we all gather and stuff like that. And throughout uni, all of my friends were like into gaming anime and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Yeah, that's that's the thing. It's um I I love that. It's kind of the same for me. Like I had a I had a good friend that was into games, but it was very dare I say, I love him to bits, he's my best friend, but it's very surface level, right? It's kind of more normal, right? In a way where he he likes playing games, but if I was gonna nerd out about like a single player story game, he has no idea what I'm talking about. He kind of nods and and goes, Yeah, that sounds great.

Patty 4:51

He lets you go on, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

He lets me go on, but it it obviously it's a very different thing when you find somebody that even if they don't know what the what you're talking about, you can tell they're genuinely interested. Or if they do know what you're talking about, that's like even better, right? Yeah, because you you connect on that way, so yeah, yeah, it's it was very nice, and same with anime as well, actually. And I started getting into that, and funnily enough, now my friends are into anime, but it took about five years for that to happen, so yeah.

Patty 5:22

It's not easy. You started streaming like that because it's just you wanted to talk about games, it happens to a lot of us, but did you have any goals of like having it as I wouldn't say a career, but you know, trying to m have it as like a side thing, or do you because you were finishing uni, did you were you thinking about the future like you wanted to try this, or was it just something for fun?

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Yeah, I did. I I think I because you're exactly right, in that moment I kind of had this revelation where I realized that throughout most of my life I was going for goals that weren't really my goals. I dare say they were my parents' goals for me. I was not pressured but guided down a certain route of education because of what my parents do, and throughout most of my life I figured because I had that security that I could just go into that, and I hadn't really considered what I really wanted to do, and even though I didn't start streaming thinking that it was going to go anywhere, I thought before I locked myself into a a full-time, really serious job, I was working part-time um whilst I studied, but before really locking into a nine to five,

Navigating the Twitch Landscape: Learning and Growth

SPEAKER_02 6:48

to give it my best shot. And and so yeah, it was definitely a goal to see how it went and if something came of it to to take that in its stride.

Patty 7:00

You you start streaming with a different kind of perspective when you actually want to give it a try. Did you have like a strategy for what it was? And like looking back now, do you think you you did it in a way that helped you like grow, or would you do it differently?

SPEAKER_02 7:18

I I definitely do it differently because I was new to Twitch. I had I had no idea how it worked. You know, I I wasn't a viewer beforehand, I never watched Twitch streams, I wasn't part of any communities. I got on the platform and just started. And I didn't realise obviously there's a whole like ethos to it, right? There's a way that people do things, there's a way that people act, there's a way to get into communities and make friends and stuff that I had no idea was even a thing that people did. I would definitely do things differently because knowing what I know now, I think I could make it easier for me because I had no information, and it was kind of just trial and error and seeing how things went and making the mistakes of maybe getting into communities that weren't really for me, but I didn't have anything else. So I kind of felt like oh, it was this or nothing. So yeah, even though I don't I don't regret any of it because it it taught me a lot doing it that way and figuring it out and learning things, I think I could have definitely made it an easier ride if I'd start again now.

Patty 8:27

Did you always stream the type of games that you do now? Because I feel like you're very consistent in like the genre of games that you play. Did you always do that because it's the games you like, or did you ever play games because you know it was more popular?

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Yeah, I think I always did it. Yeah. I I always started the the games that I started playing were very, very similar. The same things that you'd see me play now, and you probably wouldn't blink. You just go, Yeah, that's that's what he does, right? There was definitely a time where it it kind of went up and down, where in the beginning I played exactly what I wanted to play with no regard to anything because again, I didn't really know how it worked, I was just there to to do it and to talk about the things that I was passionate about. But then it was kind of like a middle point where when it started to go somewhere, and I realized that certain things do better or worse. There was thoughts in it, but I never played anything that I didn't want to. It was just there was more maybe strategy behind what I picked and when.

Patty 9:40

That's a really good way. Like uh, we had someone here who was like uh uh she had a major in marketing, so she always had that way of thinking with streams. It's like she was very good at looking at the numbers and see what works and doing something that works and that she likes. And that's very similar to that. You still play games that you like because we know we should never play games we don't

Finding Your Voice: Authenticity in Content Creation

Patty 10:05

like because we won't have fun.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

Yep.

Patty 10:08

But uh that's a very smart way of putting it. You're doing this for five years. Do you think it was like a very constant growth, or were there times that you noticed like some spikes?

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Yeah, there was definitely it I would say it was consistent growth, but there was definitely points where it went um kind of flatlined. I I wouldn't say that it went down significantly at any point, but it definitely stayed still for a long time. Um and I I always say like I think it was the I got to about 20 to 30 average, I guess, um, for viewership. Not quickly, but in at like at a decent pace, I would say. And then I stayed there for a while, and I I I just didn't know you know, it was at the point as well where that was everything to me, right? That was the the best I'd ever done, and I was happy doing it anyway. So I wasn't upset, I wasn't particularly like trying to break it, I would say, but also it was definitely a thing of okay, yeah, we've gone up, you know, up and up and up. Why is it stayed still? And I think it was at that point where I started doing like TikToks and things like that. And when I started doing TikTok, not just clips, I would do like um streamer relatability

Building a Community: The Role of TikTok and Consistency

SPEAKER_02 11:42

TikToks, like uh like you know, using sounds, using skits, or talking about things that like my experiences and things that people wouldn't talk about on the platform because it's taboo, I guess. And through that, a lot of people found me and then came to the stream, and then that kind of got me out of it. I would say as far as like lulls go, there was definitely points where I would play a game and it would dip significantly, but my my passion for the game kind of always outweighed that. I never really like changed because of viewership, and I I still don't, even though there's definitely smarter ways that you can do it if you're just looking for growth. But I'd rather enjoy a good game that I actually want to play than have that, if that makes sense, because that's why we do it, right?

Patty 12:38

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

So yeah, yeah, I would definitely say there's definitely been ups and downs, and then one of the funny things was the the one of the biggest lulls and and dips that I had was right before I hit partner, which was kind of weird. I I played God of War Ragnarok, which was obviously a big story game on release, very excited for it, and my view was tanked, and then when I beat that game, I started Fallout, which kind of got me on the rise for partner. So it's it's always funny how so I always try to tell people don't beat yourself up if it goes down because you just never know what's gonna come around the corner. Exactly.

Patty 13:18

Because I went from the lowest to the highest, yeah, and it's maybe it was not even the game, maybe it was just like around what time that you play the game. There's like so many variables that would make people maybe a lot of people that used to be on Twitch every day during that time, they have other things to do. There's so much that we can cannot control that you know people only look at the numbers, forgetting that behind the numbers there's people and they also have their lives. But you also said something very important that I I don't know, I feel like if someone watches all the episodes, they they might think I'm like a broken record because one of the biggest tips that I see everywhere is like making shorts and TikToks and reels and whatnot. And I always find it's very, very hard to even if your TikTok do does well to pull those people to Twitch. And you did something that I find interesting that a lot of people don't give themselves the trouble or the work to do, is to not only share stream clips, but actually make content just for the for TikTok or for those platforms. Do you feel like it was really hard for people to transition, or were you just doing them to grow on other platforms?

SPEAKER_02 14:40

It was difficult for for people to transition between like TikTok to come over to Twitch. It was it is it is difficult. And it was at that time, because I was always doing the same kind of content, I was doing uh three a day or about six months. Um, and I wouldn't do them every day, but I would always take like a Sunday, I would set up my camera and I'd record about 20 videos just instantly, which helped. But it was it was definitely difficult, but even out of the there was hundreds of thousands of views that I got in those videos, but I didn't gain a hundred of that thousands of viewers, I maybe got one for every 10,000 views, and it that's very difficult, but it does make a massive difference, and even some of my now very good friends found me on there, and I think everybody says it, and I kind of hate it, but it is true, it's the consistency is key thing. One of the people that is on my team, they found me, and I remember the first thing they said when they came in was they saw one of my TikToks scrolled, they saw another one scrolled by the third one. They were like, This guy's so annoying, he's always on my for you page. I have to follow him. Like, I need to see what he's about because I can't stop seeing this guy, and um and so it definitely helps, but yeah, I I think you've kind of you touched on a good point with it being so many every streamer almost does clips, and not every streamer makes very original clips, and sometimes therefore it's luck, unless they're crazily edited and stuff like that, they have more chance to blow up, but it is just luck, and if you actually make original content on the platforms that aren't just taken from here, taken from there, you're way more likely to get people to come over because you get in a community over there that's separate, and it's the same thing where even if you've got uh you know 5,000 followers on TikTok, there's only going to be a couple of those people that can be bothered to go to Twitch because it's a completely different platform. But those couple of people might be the difference between getting affiliate or not, or getting partner or not, and the difference between having a new friend or not. So yeah, I think uh I think actually trying to make a community and thinking of them separately, but also making sure that they can coincide is is a really good thing. It helped me massively.

Patty 17:25

Yeah, that's that's a very important like I wanna say it's a tip, but like uh for the streamers to realize when they see like the tip of me you need eyes on you, it's not just like the things you do on Twitch is because doing videos like that, people got got to know you before they even saw what types of games you play, and that's the most important. So, how long did it take you to get to a place where you thought one that this might actually work? And then to get to partner, did you ever do a partner push or did you just let it happen?

SPEAKER_02 18:09

So when I remember when I was thinking that it could actually work, I I was always I mean we all have ups and downs and we all have doubts, and I had a lot of doubts and a lot of ups and downs. But I remember I remember calling my dad when I hit affiliate because I was so excited, because I I couldn't believe it. You know, uh we'd hit at the time it was 75 followers, I don't think it is that I think it's 50 now. But we hit that and that was you know, I know there's a lot of affiliates and stuff, but to me, especially somebody that doesn't know anything, that was like, okay, I I can do it, you know, like this is 75 people, like I I can do it because I just need to keep doing that, but over and over, right? And and that that was kind of like the first thing that made me go, oh yeah. And then it kind of just snowballed after that, you know. There was many, many moments where the realisation hits that being an affiliate and doing that consistently is

The Road to Partnership: Achievements and Challenges

SPEAKER_02 19:16

not easy, right? It it's not you have to go through so much, and then getting to the next level is is even more difficult and so stressful. But it was main the people that I had in my community, the people that I had in my life were 100% the reason that I didn't stop, I think, at any point. Um I don't think, well, maybe I wouldn't have stopped anyway because I've always been quite driven for it. But it was you just get so much life from people, you know? Like when you're in your chat, whatever it is, like even I never try to bring, even if I'm not feeling good, like a negative energy. A lot of times people don't know if I've got anything going on because I'm just trying to have fun and and get away from it or not bring anybody else down. But then people say things or you have fun with something, and then every single time I would end stream and be like, yeah, this is it. Like this is why I do it. And and that feeling when it became more consistent, I was like, Yeah, no, I've made it, even if I hadn't made it as such. But yeah, what was the second part about partner?

Patty 20:30

How long and if you did a push?

SPEAKER_02 20:32

It took me almost exactly two years to get partner, which is pretty, pretty quick apparently, comp compared to some, but also not uh compared to others, so I'm very grateful for that. But yeah, I I did a push. I was already above partner numbers when we did the push. It was kind of just to keep them kind of thing. So I I started Fallout 4, and for some reason the Fallout community must have found me. I think a few Fallout streamers found me, and it just like blew up from maybe like 50 to 60 average to 80 to 100 or pr almost overnight. So we were there for a little bit, and then I didn't do anything. I was like, okay, it might be a fluke. You know, we've all we've all had big numbers, doesn't mean it's gonna stay. And after about a couple of weeks of it being above, I was like, okay, this is kind of scary, uh, but really exciting. So yeah, then I did a push, and it was kind of just to say, look, we're gonna be doing different things, but if you do want to stick around because we are almost there, then that'd be really cool. And if not, then fair enough. And thankfully, people stuck around for a while.

Patty 21:50

So yeah, that's totally awesome. I feel like um people love the hype. So whenever someone does the you know, partner push, even sub assumption. Fonts, people want to be there for you know this excitement moment. So it's I feel like it's nice the the community that helps in that way. Do you feel any difference in like growing before and after partner? Do you find that you kept and are still growing, or where was it the same as before you hit where you grew a little and then you stagnate and then you grow a little?

SPEAKER_02 22:28

Yeah, it it is since hitting partner, it has been very consistent. I I haven't it hasn't really gone down, it hasn't really gone up massively. That is kind of the territory with being a variety streamer, especially for single player games. Because a lot of a lot of people don't always want to see every game, you know. I I think every time I do something, there might be new people that come in and they love it and they're there every day, but then you switch to something completely different and the they're not, and that's fine, that's that's totally okay. But because of that, obviously you're constantly gaining and losing people, and it's the similar thing where even if you do something and you play a game and you get 10-20 new viewers, maybe one will stick around to see what you do in the future, and then maybe as that one person sticks around, somebody from before's gone, you know, so it kind of balances out, but yeah, it's been I definitely have a different approach to Twitch now. I think it's because one, I've

Maintaining Momentum: Strategies for Sustained Growth

SPEAKER_02 23:35

been doing it for so long, and two, you kind of do have to think about things in a different way, especially when you know I've I've got a team and and there's a lot there's a lot of weird things that I didn't expect to come with it, you know, a lot of little nuances, and I to keep myself almost sane, especially because I do it a lot, I've had to change some things, and I think that because of those changes, it's benefited me in some ways and it hasn't in others, and I think I'm still going through the motions of that where I think the benefits are here and still to come as well, but because of these changes, it's also kept things a little bit on the same level.

Patty 24:23

So that's great for like people that because I feel like people have like this goal of reaching partner, and then they kind of lose themselves a little bit when they reach it, and uh that's why a lot of people just stay in that partner numbers or even go down because they didn't have a plan for after. So it's it's good to see that you know you kept it very consistent, but you also touched on the the point of like being a variety streamer. Did you ever do something to like counteract this thing of being variety of like having people join and leave? Did you ever do something to help people stay even when you change game?

SPEAKER_02 25:07

This is something that I've been told from people to a point where I I never used to get it, but now I'm in a mode where I'm like, okay, if people are saying it, especially if people I trust are saying it, it must be true. But I I think one of the maybe differences is I think that a lot of viewers like this, and some people don't like this, but I think what I've been good at, and not on purpose, it's a genuine interest, is actually talking to people and getting to know people, right? I like to enjoy my game, I like to you know lock in and and experience it and for everything that it's worth and and put on a show kind of thing. But what comes first for me is making sure people are seen, people are welcome. I try and remember things about people because I am genuinely interested in who's watching me and who's talking to me. I constantly get people coming in and saying, Wakey, I don't really care about the game you're playing right now, but I like you. And it's like, and I'm like, oh, you know, I wish they could like the game, but also that's the biggest compliment they could pay me, and I'm so grateful for that because that's kind of the only thing, if that is the only thing keeping them around, then that is a good thing. And what is the the biggest compliment for us streamers if not actually liking us, right?

Patty 26:24

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 26:25

Um yeah, I think just making sure that I'm giving people the time that they deserve and they're giving me the time, you know. I I feel very grateful for it, and I think people appreciate that.

Patty 26:41

I have the same feeling because there's people that say the exact same because I do IRL. Uh, whenever I transition from IRL into you know playing games, a lot of people totally tune out the game. They're just talking to me, and we're just talking about something completely different. And uh, you know, I have to pause the game to be able to talk with them, otherwise, I you know, I I will lose focus. But yeah, I I totally get that feeling. It's the best thing as a streamer to have those types of viewers because yeah, you know, if you if they are here for you, it doesn't really matter what you play, so you can play whatever you want.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

Yeah, exactly. I I think that's one of the best things, and it takes a while to get there. But I think when you've got those people, those people are the ones that don't leave, unless they're leaving the platform as a whole. I that's just everything to people, it's everything to me, whenever as a viewer as well, you know, as somebody that now really I love watching people and seeing people with just you can tell when somebody really cares about the people that are there versus somebody that might appreciate it, but that's not their main thing. And I don't I don't have any problems with that. I watch people that do that and I think they're great, but I know that I am more likely to to be there. I watch so many people that I don't really care what they're doing, you know. They could be doing anything, they could be sat watching paint dry, but I'll be there and I'll be watching it and I'll be having fun, and it's because I feel like they care. So it kind of yeah, it goes both ways, I think.

Patty 28:22

Yeah, that's that's the true power of Twitch, I think. Is there something you were very excited about and you put like real work into and completely flopped, or like the opposite, something you almost did not try, but you did and took off?

SPEAKER_02 28:41

Oh something that flopped. God, I've done so many things. I've uh it's hard to say. I don't know if I've done anything extremely like huge that flopped, you know, like where I've put all my energy into something, and then it's just gone no. But there's loads of small things, right? Like um different ways of doing things, I guess, like different ways of playing games. I've tried various kind of just chatting streams where you know, like I do the song thing, that was something that I started that actually did really well, thankfully, and and people liked that. So I kept doing that, which was really nice, but yeah, I'm not too sure about things that have flopped. I've always been quite lucky, but also a bit careful with things as well. Because if if I try something and it doesn't really work, it kind of sometimes takes my enjoyment out of it. Because I think the only things that I've really tried that have been super different haven't been things

Experimentation and Adaptation: Learning from Flops

SPEAKER_02 29:51

that I particularly want to do. It's what I think people want to see, although I think people might enjoy. So getting rid of those things I never really had a problem with. So yeah, that is interesting. But things that I that definitely took off were the again, the song, the song thing, doing giving people the opportunity to submit songs at the start of stream was a like a a late night thought that I had one day that was just oh, we'll give it a go for one day, and then people love it because obviously we all love music, and music's something that brings people together as well, and showing that and sharing that passion of oh, I love this song, I want to see if you love this song, and everybody else will love this song, and so that's been really good. And also, I'm terrible at finding music, so it's been nice for me to steal everybody's taste, and yeah, god, uh thankfully a lot of things have have done well, and it is I think it's just been consistent with it. Well, you know, sometimes things don't always start off doing very well, but if you keep at it and people get more used to it, it's it's a very good thing. Yeah, there's been there's been a lot, there's been a lot of things.

Patty 31:09

I think the the the song thing is it has the exact same feel as when like a friend comes to you with like a video and is like watch this video, and then they're watching you watch the video and waiting for your reaction. I feel like it's exactly the same, and that's why it works.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent.

Patty 31:28

So I want to talk about the rat pack because you're the first person here that actually has built a stream team, and it was actually how I found you. I was watching someone, and as a streamer, I'm very curious. So I always go and open their stream teams. So that's how I found you. Was there something very specific behind it? Did you always want to do it? How did that come to be?

SPEAKER_02 31:55

I didn't even think about it until around the partner, like where I realized, oh my god, we might we might do this, like I might reach partner, and then I I was in a team for a long time when I'd not too long after I'd started, and it was it was good, it helped me for a time, but also there were things that I wasn't particularly fond of in it, and I was like, oh, maybe I could improve upon this idea and try and make it my own. So I think it's something that I always had in the back of my mind, but it wasn't anything that I thought I would get a chance to do or be able to do. And then when we eventually did it, a lot of people were asking for it, which was really nice because with me being very I like to think I'm very community-oriented, I I support a lot of people and I and I'm very interested in a lot of

Building a Team with Individuality

SPEAKER_02 32:53

people's as streamers, but also as people, you know. I I spend time talking to people when I can and things like that. And so I think a lot of people looked to me as one of the first people in the groups that I was in to reach partner to be like, you've gotta do it, you know, like you have to do it, and and I was like, okay, yeah, I'll do it. Um and so yeah, we I created it with with the idea of kind of it was supposed to be more of a thing where it was like, okay, people that I think are one good, real, genuine people, not fake internet personas. I want people that I believe, to the best of my knowledge, I've got some of this wrong. Uh but to the best of my knowledge, just real individuals, and not only that, but people that no matter what their statistics say, that are clearly passionate and want to hone their craft, I guess. People that are are driven and really working hard to the best of their ability, and obviously there's a massive scale to that, and we yeah, that's that's kind of how it started, yeah. Um, it's developed more, but I I always believed in the the kind of the unofficial logo or tagline for the team is that in my head is like individuals together, so I wanted it to be a thing of every person on the team is still their own person. I don't want anybody's personality to be the team. It's not supposed to be like that, it's not supposed to be a pyramid scheme like some are. I really don't mind. It's more of a way of for me to show my appreciation for them and what they do and who they are, but also if people enjoy what I do, I can honestly and earnestly say you'll like these people too.

Patty 34:53

That's really wholesome. Like I I always knew that we were very community oriented, and you know, after like knowing the rat pack, I follow like at least 10 people from like the time zones that I can watch, and I can totally see that the vibes are super similar throughout. So I can see I can see that you put a lot of work into like choosing the people that was at the beginning, right? At the beginning you started, so you picked the people. How did it go from there? How did the team grow from there? Do you manage everything yourself?

SPEAKER_02 35:31

A bit less now. But I would say I do mostly everything now, but I'm a bit better at delegating. So obviously, I've got a few people that I trust implicitly that that I'd trust them with my login info for Twitch at this point, where I might take it to them about something. Like if there's an issue or if there's something new I want to do, and I'll be like, hey, you know, we've got this, and also ask the team members as well if it's something that concerns everybody themselves, so that they have a say in something that they're a part of, because obviously it's grown and it's changed. Because one of the things that I didn't really account for is how much effort it is to do this. It is there's one thing managing yourself, and you know how hard it is to even keep on top of your own stuff, never mind trying to keep on top of everybody's stuff, as well as organising events and and doing this and making and making sure you're hyping up everybody's celebrations or or birthdays and all this stuff, which I want to do, and so over time it definitely has taken more of a

The Challenges of Team Management

SPEAKER_02 36:45

casual route where I had all these ideas, but simply put, there isn't the time for it, and especially because we've got people in so many time zones and people that stream, people that you know, you can never really get everybody around in one place at one time, it's impossible. So it kind of has become more of a as much as we are still doing things and there is still help, it's it's almost more of a symbol, I guess. More of like a thing of dare I say a badge of honour, kind of from how I see it. And I've definitely been more careful about who I add to the team, and because I wish I could add so many people, I really do, but I I don't want a team full of like 500 people because it dilutes the experience, I think, of anybody that's gonna go look at the team. So I've had to be very sparing, and there's a lot of people that I've been thinking about for a while, or it just takes time, and unfortunately, one of the negative aspects of having a team is when some people do some not good things, you have to address it. Of course, it reflects you and everybody else on the team, and that isn't something that I ever thought about, uh but it has happened numerous times, and so that wasn't great, but we've been a lot more I would say like effective and and good at making sure that those things don't happen, and if things do happen that they're sorted immediately, or just people's safety, people's safety, making sure that the team values are upkept, and there isn't a lot. I don't really ask a lot from people, I just think be a good person, you know, and just do your thing. That's pretty much it. So, yeah, there's a lot of have been a lot of ups and downs, but I think right now it's the most smooth as it's been, which is nice.

Patty 38:52

Yeah, I feel like people never really put too much thought into like what it takes. You're not managing these people, but you have to keep an eye on what uh what uh is happening because they will reflect on the community. Another thing that he said that I also think is very important, not only as like people that are looking at the stream team, but I feel like people that are in the stream teams when they're too big, it's like you you want to get to know the rest of your team, right? And if it's too many people, you just can't. And maybe you you won't be as invested in the team as itself because over the years, you've been on Twitch for five years, I've been streaming for 10, I've been in so many stream teams, I've been in a lot of communities, I've seen communities start and end, and you can tell when like the community knows the other members of this the team and like hacks them up in like a different way. So I I think it's very important that you're doing that and you know keeping it not you don't want to keep it like a very tight circle, but you also don't want to let it grow so big that people don't know each other.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

A hundred percent. I I think that yeah, that's a really good point. It is I've always tried to make it my absolute um goal to make it so I don't want anybody to think that if they're not on the team that they're any less as well, you know, like this to stop it from being this tight-knit circle because frankly, there are people, some of my favourite streamers, many of them, aren't on the team, and nor have I asked them to be, not because I wouldn't have them, but it just hasn't come about yet, or it hasn't come about that way, and maybe they wouldn't want to, and that'd be great, that'd be fine. Um, but it's very important to me that it's supposed to be kind of like an encompassing thing, where just being I I like to think that just being in the communities of people in the team being associated with it in any way kind of puts you under that umbrella of it, and even though it might not always seem like that, it might not come across that way, that's the way that I see it, and and so yeah, yeah, and it I think you are right, it's very important for it to have that kind of like homely feel, but also without it being so that the barriers of entry to a community aren't impossible, and it's a very fine line, but we're figuring out.

Patty 41:28

Yeah, that's awesome. If someone came to you and said they wanted to do like a stream team, something like what you did, do you have some like advice for them?

SPEAKER_02 41:38

Yes, uh, many people have. I always say it's a great thing. I I don't regret making it in the slightest. I I love it, I think it's helped a lot of people. Uh, not only again, not only people on the team, but people that are associated with it, because we pride ourselves on allowing other people to come in and therefore support them, help them if we get on with them and we and we like them and stuff like that. But I do make it very clear about the negatives because some of the hardest experiences that I've had on Twitch have been because I've got a team, it hasn't been the team's fault, but it's like I mentioned earlier where sometimes you don't fully know a person, sometimes you think you do, but you don't, and I think I'm a fairly good judge of character, and I try to be as fair as possible to everybody. I'm I'm quite easygoing, but there have been a few moments where people have done things that I don't agree with and that I think aren't the way that things should be done on Twitch in a bit of a negative way, and unfortunately, it falls

Advice to creating a team

SPEAKER_02 42:55

down to then me to have to do something where if there weren't on the team, I don't like I don't need to care, right? But if somebody's making a Twitch experience worse for people and is having a negative impact and they're associated with that, that has to be I'm very fair, you know. I give people chances, I believe that everybody can make mistakes, and I believe that everybody can rectify mistakes. Sometimes we just need to be aware of them, we don't know what we're doing sometimes, and that's okay. But if it's consistent or if it's something really bad, then you kind of have to be the person that's able to cut somebody off, which is not easy, and I struggle with that a lot, and I think that is one of the biggest things that people don't think about because they're so excited about the good things about a team like the community and the togetherness of it, and so yeah, I try and make people very aware that with all the good, there is some heavy stuff that you may have to encounter as.

Patty 44:00

There's a lot that comes into having to build this because I feel like we we always have this little side of us that has to do this because there's people in our chats, and sometimes they will say something that we don't really agree, but we don't know where they're coming from. So we already have this like micromanagement type of thing, but exactly it's that on a different level.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

100%.

Patty 44:26

And also the you know, getting the feel of the people is probably also very different because you don't don't meet them in real life because I feel like in real life you can get a different type of sense of the people.

SPEAKER_01 44:40

So it's really hard to I completely agree.

Patty 44:42

It's really hard to, you know, get know if they are actually a good person because you're only seeing them through the screen.

SPEAKER_02 44:50

Yeah, it's um it is hard, but I and I completely agree. A lot of the uh some of my some of my best friends I've never met on here, people that I've known for years and years and years, and they've never done anything wrong ever. But I definitely think that when you meet up with somebody, you like you said, you can get a real feel for the character. And I I don't believe that anybody has to be perfect.

Patty 45:12

Again, we all have flaws, we all have mist, we all have our little quirks and stuff, but yeah, sometimes you think you know someone, and then it could be six months down the line, and it's like, oh I don't know about that, yeah, you know, not wanting to stay in the negative for too long, but have you ever thought like seriously about quitting like stream twitch as a whole? Like, not just a bad day, but thinking that this is not for you and you don't you don't want to do it anymore?

SPEAKER_02 45:47

Never, not once, not once.

Patty 45:54

You're the first one that never had it down.

SPEAKER_02 45:57

Wow, really? I yeah, I I there again the there've been low moments, whether whether that's been you know, maybe like drama or or just self doubt and stuff like that. But I am very thankful that whatever reason it is, whenever I have whenever I feel low about something in terms of Twitch at the very least, I might be upset for a day, you know, and then after that day, it's like fuel, you know, it's like a fire. I just think, okay, I've got to work harder, I've got to change something, I've got to do this and do that. And I think because I make sure that I love it every single day. There's definitely been points where I've rolled my eyes and I've gone, oh god, I have to I have to deal with this, or you know, but I think there's nothing in life where you don't have that,

Personal Growth and Resilience in Streaming

SPEAKER_02 46:54

right? So, but no, about actually quitting or leaving, never, not one time.

Patty 46:59

That is amazing. So, do you have like a specific Twitch goals for the future or because you you still do YouTube, right? You do other socials, this not just Twitch. Do you do you see yourself just doing this always, or do you have like other type of either content or not that you would like to do?

SPEAKER_02 47:21

I I always want to do this. I I really do. At least I'm if I'm still having fun, I do. If I if I feel if I continue to feel as I do now about it, then 100% I want to keep going as long as possible. Um I definitely want to branch out maybe a bit more as well. You know, I I want to keep the YouTube going and and making different types of content that complements the streams and vice versa, and and my passion for for example on YouTube, the they're very difficult to do, so I can't always do them. But I love making essays on games, I like analysing them. I'm very nerdy and passionate about it. I would like to do more of that as well and fall into it, and um yeah, I but as far as my actual Twitch goals go, I really of course I would love to see things keep going up and up and up. I don't want to ever lose that community feel, I guess. I don't want to want it really to ever be at the point where chat's

Future Aspirations and Content Creation

SPEAKER_02 48:26

moving so quick I can't read anything. I I still want to be able to actually like get to know people and talk to people and actually have a proper conversation, not just me yapping to a billion people. But I'm really happy as I am. If I'm able to continue living my life and and with it being full-time, then I I'm just really happy where I am, to be honest. I I definitely always want more, but I I don't think that there's a particular goal as such. You know, I'm not going for a particular follower goal or viewer goal or something like that. I think I just want to hone my craft, try more things, and see what sticks and what doesn't.

Patty 49:13

Yeah, that's awesome. I I feel like you're the the first person that you know has this view and this is it, and you're like very this is exactly what you wanted to do. And I I I find that's amazing. Do you feel like after reaching partner you had like more doors open, like more ways of growing than uh before?

SPEAKER_02 49:37

Yes, yeah, 100%. I used to see it as this grandiose thing, like, oh my god, you know, that this is a life's gonna change when I get that partner tick. And it does, it definitely opens more doors, and it's definitely a good thing. And I think that if you want it, people should definitely go for it and strive for it. A lot of it though is down to still what you do yourself, but because you do have that, there are a lot more doors. And I think one of the biggest things is for better or worse, uh people just put more worth on you, I guess. Which is not I get why they do. It's not always the right thing, but I I think I think people instantly see you as uh maybe I don't know, maybe it's like consistent, maybe obviously just good at what you do, maybe people think that they can get something from you. So it's you know, like companies that uh I've gotten game keys and sponsorships and things like that, because obviously, like yeah, your audience might be bigger because you're a partner, uh so we're gonna give you something and you'll give us this. But I I think even in general,

The Value of Partnership in Streaming

SPEAKER_02 50:52

a lot of a lot of people do just look at you a bit different. Uh and I've really tried hard to not be the person that people see you as in a way. Uh because I know that a lot of this is no shade to streamers, but a lot of people can get a bit lost in the source, so to speak. Where because people might put them on this pedestal, they then believe that they're on a pedestal and so therefore act like it. I don't ever want to be that person. I don't like being that person. Uh as much as I'm a streamer that loves attention, because I guess all streams do to an extent, we all want attention in a way. I also am not I don't like being the centre of attention in a way. It kind of contradicts itself, but yeah, yeah, there's definitely a lot more opportunities and a lot more ways for people to people see you as more without you having to do more. I would say is the best way I could put it.

Patty 51:53

It's like it's like a role in a company, like if you're if you're just like the everyday worker, or if you have like a role as like, you know, we have a little tag or everything, people will see you differently automatically.

SPEAKER_02 52:06

100%, yeah. Very similar.

Patty 52:09

Wakey, before we close out, is there something we didn't touch upon that you wouldn't would like to talk about, or any final thoughts for our listeners?

SPEAKER_02 52:19

Yeah, I I'd like to say, I guess there are a lot of things with Twitch and and a lot of mindsets that people have, or people think that they've got to have a Twitch that some of them are very good and some of them aren't. And I I don't always like giving the most generic maybe advice or whatever, but what a lot of people don't always have is the ability to uh disconnect themselves from uh statistics, numbers, and things like that, and to passion and what they really want to do and what they're doing it for. And I'm also I've been very guilty of this, which is exactly how I know what how people think, and I've had a lot of people come to me. I I think uh being happy on the platform is the what 100% uh the most powerful thing that anybody could do. So if anybody's listening, if you don't quit, you can't lose. It's that simple. If you don't quit and you don't stop, and you keep uh learning and adjusting and trying new things, uh some things might flop, some things might blow up, some things might not change anything.

Advice for Aspiring Streamers

SPEAKER_02 53:34

But if you just keep going and stay healthy with it, healthy mindset, healthy body, then I don't see any reason why people can't do it. Because a lot a lot of people have met me when I've been quite successful, I guess. But not as many people have seen what I had to go through to get to that point. And I'm just a guy. You know, I'm not really doing anything particularly crazy. I'm just a guy that tries to make people feel welcome. I talk about my passions, I try to crack a joke that might may or may not land every now and again. And and that's it. I and I really do believe that if I can do it, so many people can do it. I think that's a a thing that people need to remember.

Patty 54:23

I think there's a lot of value in there because I've definitely had times that I was streaming just because I had to stream, and I've had times that I streamed because I was very excited about stream, and you can tell, chat can tell, and the the whole live is different. You should you should really do it because you want and you're excited about it. If you're just forcing yourself, it's the same as having a nine to five job.

SPEAKER_02 54:50

Exactly. Yeah, 100%. And I think on on that, the sometimes we all have to work through it, right? Like maybe people think that streaming is always going to be sunshine and rainbows, and it isn't, and well, that's okay, that's life. Nothing in life is always sunshine and rainbows, but it's just about how you manage that, how you deal with it, and how you get yourself forward and past it. And if you can do that, what I mean, I don't what can stop you?

Patty 55:24

Yeah. So, wakey, this is your moment. Plug yourself in. If people want to find you out in the internet, where can they go?

SPEAKER_02 55:32

Uh thank you. Um, yeah, I I stream most weekdays, uh, Monday through Friday at 2 pm UK at twitch.tv forward slash wakey x with two y's. Same on YouTube for various content shorts and video game stuff. TikTok, same over there, but not it depends, very sporadic. But yeah, I'll everybody is more than welcome. I really try and give everybody the time that I can, and uh I'm very grateful. And Patsy, thank you so much for having me on. This has been really fun. I love talking about this stuff, and I'll I've loved the questions. I really have.

Patty 56:10

I try to be very like there's questions that I have to ask everyone, but there's like so much, so variety in the answers that it's okay that it's the same questions, but I always try to, you know, uh go into the streamers and see what particular thing I can ask that only this person will have an answer for.

SPEAKER_02 56:31

Yeah, yeah, you I think you definitely did that. And um, it's been a long time since I've done something like this, but you you really did a good job and I've had fun with it.

Patty 56:39

Thank you. So, one last question. If I could have any streamer on the podcast, whose story do you think deserves to be heard? Who would you like to see as a guest?

Where to find Wakey

SPEAKER_02 56:51

Oh, that's good. Any streamer, hmm, that is very interesting.

Patty 56:57

It's hard when we know so many.

SPEAKER_02 57:00

Yeah, that's it. It is very difficult. I would say that Milady Katie is definitely one. They have uh an interesting story, and they're definitely they do something very different, and they are a very good example of somebody that does so well, and yet a lot of the time they they're a Minecraft streamer, but they also do variety as well. And I don't even really care about Minecraft, but they capture me, like absolutely capture me. Um, but they're also one of the best people ever. Um and another one would be Brian Branston, I think. Uh a Scottish streamer. Yeah, yeah, he he's um Branston's a really nice guy and a very, very passionate, but also again, very genuine, down to earth, no nonsense. So uh I think for for conversations, I think you'd have you'd have a time with those two people.

Patty 58:03

Oh, that is wonderful.

Suggestion for future episodes

Patty 58:05

Thank you again, Wakey, and thank you to all our listeners at home. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to give us a follow. You can find the growth raid wherever pods are cast. And if you can, tell a friend about it because word of mouth means the world. We'll see you next time on the growth raid. The growth raid was created, posted, edited, and produced by me. If you like the show, feel free to rate it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. That really helps a lot. And don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel. If you would like to listen ad free and see all of this episode's bloopers, join us on Patreon at patreon.com slash thegrowth rate. We also have a Twitter, Blue Sky, and Instagram at thegrowth rate. And if you know a streamer that would have an amazing story to share, leave your recommendation in the comments.