Shania: Building a Safe Space While Streaming With Chronic Illness | Ep 13

Shania is a full-time Twitch Partner from Atlantic Canada with 20.5K followers who built one of the coziest, most intentional communities on the platform. But behind the cozy aesthetic is someone navigating POTS, arthritis, autism, and mental health while running a full-time streaming career.
In this episode we talk about going from Animal Crossing streams during COVID to Partner in 8 months, how she built the Cozy Clouds community around real values, selling out at TwitchCon Artist Alley after only learning to crochet months before, and why even she thinks about quitting every single month.

Follow Shania on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/shania

Find Shania everywhere: https://shaniattv.carrd.co/ 

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Transcript

Teaser Hook

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I think about that every month. It's like once a month, I'm like, should I just should I just leave? What if I what if I quit? What if I just never streamed again? No, but then I end up going back to it and then I have a good stream, and I'm like, okay, maybe, maybe this is the reason. Or if someone comes in my stream and says, Hey, you really helped me with my anxiety today. Like this coziness is like helping me a lot. And I'm like, okay, maybe this is worth it.

Patty's Note

Patty 0:34

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 have with me Shania. Editing Patty here, our lovely guest only corrected me on her name at the end of the episode, but I am now aware that her name is pronounced Shania. That name does not exist here. I'm sorry. Just before anyone comes at me in the comments, I'm sorry. Shania is a comfy cozy gamer that loves not so cozy games. She co-works in crochets, and she sold out at TwitchCon Artist Ali on the first day. How amazing

Intro and Welcome

Patty 1:18

is that? Sanya, thank you so much for joining us today. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

I'm good, thank you.

Patty 1:26

I always love to hype out people. I'm like, oh my goodness. I was like, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

I did that. I was actually talking about that recently, how people have been hyping me up, and I'm like, oh yeah, but I always tend to just put myself down or compare myself to other people. Sorry, I'm like already starting a conversation. But people are like, but no, you did this thing, and I'm like, oh, I guess. But like I could be doing this other thing, that's pretty cool. And they're like, no.

Patty 1:57

I I do that as well. Like, you know, people say, You did this, it's amazing. And I'm like, nope, I you know, I I I did that, but I could have done such like a more amazing thing. I could have done it better. Exactly. So I love to start the episodes by asking how your story on Twitch began, like your origin story. How did you start and why did you start streaming?

SPEAKER_01 2:23

In 2020, in the summertime, in like August, I was playing Animal Crossing a lot. I was laying in bed playing Animal Crossing for 15 hours straight. And I made like a little Animal Crossing Instagram and had like a small community there and made a little bit of friends. Um, and then I thought, what if I started streaming? My boyfriend at the time had a whole computer set up. He was at work most of the day, and I just needed to just press the go live button, and that's literally it. And so I started doing that, and I was very shy, very quiet, um, and played Animal Crossing and just ran around like I would if I laid in bed. But the only thing is that it came to the point where I streamed to

Introduction to Shania's Streaming Journey

SPEAKER_01 3:07

get out of bed because it was COVID and I had no friends, I didn't have a job, so I literally just used it as a motivation to get out of bed every day.

Patty 3:19

Wow. Well, that that's interesting. I mean, you're the first one to have that that type of a beginning, you know. Was this like after studying, you were you not doing studies or anything?

SPEAKER_01 3:34

I was in college, but it was summertime, so there wasn't one there wasn't like stuff happening.

Patty 3:40

Yeah. So if you had that uh you know, small group of people on Instagram, did those people watch your streams at the beginning, or did you start with like oh no one watching?

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah, I got affiliate like right away because I've been like, oh, post on my Instagram story. I'm live playing Animal Crossing, come watch me decorate my island. And then I had like a small group of friends and they helped me get affiliate. But I also stayed at those numbers for a while and just kind of did whatever, not just Animal Crossing, I did art. I was in college for animation, I did my animation homework on stream. Um, so I wasn't really growing because I was doing whatever I wanted.

Patty 4:24

What actually kept you going on those early days was that you know it would it helped you with your art in real life stuff, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Yeah. Um it just was nice to just kind of talk to a few people, just be there and talk to people, even when it was like so rough in COVID times.

Patty 4:45

You said that you got affiliate straight away, uh, but you also got partner in like eight months, even though you, you know, you said that you were just doing whatever. So, how how did you get partner so fast?

SPEAKER_01 4:58

I don't know. It was really it was really strange. So I September came around and I went to college, and so I started doing my homework and stuff on stream. I got my first PC because I was streaming from my laptop at the time, got my first PC in December, and I said, What if I quit college? Because I don't like it anyway, it's rough, and I just continue full-time streaming at two beers. This is ridiculous. Don't do this. What if I just become a full-time streamer at two beers? I'm on like unemployment right now. I can like kind of survive for a little bit if it doesn't work out. So I did. I got my first PC in December, and then in January, I started randomly averaging 60 viewers out of the blue, out of nowhere, and I was solely playing Animal Crossing. The Animal Crossing community then really came came up for you. Yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know why. It was suddenly it was like a a switch happened, and I was streaming to 60 to 80 people daily out of the blue, and I was averaging 12.

Patty 6:04

Wow, that was a big jump. Yeah, you would have to go and see the stats what happened in Animal Crossing. Did imagine like a big streamer quit streaming and someone and all these people watched you?

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Maybe I was also villager hunting for like a it was super long villager hunt, it was like 2,000 tickets, and so I think people just kept coming back to seeing if I got that villager. Oh, you you had like a challenge going in a way, yeah. So it was constantly villager hunting, villager hunting, villager hunting.

Patty 6:36

So, how did you go from just streaming Animal Crossing to now you do co-working and then gaming?

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Yeah, it was really hard because when I got partner or when I was pushing for partner, I was like, I gotta keep playing Animal Crossing now. I can't like play something else, I can't go and play Assassin's Creed like I did two months ago. I can't do art on stream like I did two months ago because that's gonna ruin it. So I continued playing Animal Crossing. Once I got partner, I instantly switched over and played Breath of the Wild. And that was it was rough, it was sad because 20 people showed up for that stream instead of my usual 80 at the time. And so I was like, oh, I guess I gotta keep playing Animal Crossing. Um, and it

Transitioning to Variety Streaming

SPEAKER_01 7:21

really hurt me mentally thinking, like, oh, people are just here for one game, they're not here for me. But I kind of after six years, I've I've kind of realized, like, hey, you gotta do stuff and play things yourself yourself for your mental health and not worry about yeah, this game you average 120. But like, do you really want to play that game forever?

Patty 7:46

No, you need some kind of like stability in not just the numbers, but you know, in yourself, because so many people just get stuck in a game, and you cannot just play one game forever.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

It's like, yeah, and then I also feel like I'm such like a variety streamer. It's like I love like story games, story narrative games are my favorite, even if it's cozy or not cozy, like Expedition 33 is my favorite game of all time, and I played it all on stream, but like my average was not great. But like I had the best time. It's not to worry about the numbers anymore. I don't even look at them. I'm like, some people ask me what average you have. I'm like, I gotta go look. I don't I don't know.

Patty 8:29

But that's a good thing, you know. That means that you you have enough to survive to do this full time without needing to know what your average is.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah, it kind of sucks a little bit when uh sponsorships come around and they're like, hey, so we can only I see by your average of this, that we can only offer you this. I'm like, really? I know my worth is more than that.

Patty 8:55

Exactly, yeah. That it's really rough when especially, you know, sponsorships just look at the numbers and not what you can actually bring as a person for them. It is what it is.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Exactly. Like, I have more reach than that, actually.

Patty 9:13

You said when you got partner, you switched to Breath of the Wild. Did you actually play the full game, or did you get that I need to go back to Animal Crossing straight away?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

I got the I need to go back to Animal Crossing. I didn't play the full game, it was I beat it a couple years ago, and I was just like, I just want to play something else. And I thought Animal Crossing or Breath of the Wild would be in the same kind of realm because it's cozy, but it's just running around. But guess not. So I was talking to a few friends saying, like, how should I manage this? And I had a few friends who also deal with the same thing, and they said start with Animal Crossing and then switch over, or do the thing that has the higher viewers and then switch over.

Patty 9:55

Like on the same stream, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

So it's not instantly the same, like it's not instantly 20 viewers, it's 80, and then it it'll might trickle down, but at least you'll feel better about it.

Patty 10:06

I guess that's a nice trick to to do that. I I've seen people like playing two games in one stream. I never thought that that could be you know the reason why they do it.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Yeah, and that's why also cowork and then switch over still doing the same trick.

Patty 10:24

So when did you start doing co-work? Because for me, cowork is like a big part of your identity now. Because it also might be because time zone, when I see your stream, you're doing co-work, and when I go to bed is when you start gaming.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Yeah, so co-working, I actually started two years ago, and I actually started it in this room, which is really random mood back here. It was just kind of like I needed to work on stuff, like I really needed to edit, I really needed to post more clips and be more active on other social medias, and that's kind of what I started doing. I just started doing it on stream, co-working, and it's still what I do now. I edit all my clips and videos on stream.

Patty 11:09

Sometimes I I have to do co-work stream to edit, otherwise, I'm not gonna edit. I'm gonna do other stuff.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

I can't do it. I'm like, I'm gonna sit here and just like go on my phone instead of going to this VOD.

Patty 11:21

Like I open YouTube and I get distracted immediately. So, as a partner, you actually had like a front page experience, right? How did that go?

SPEAKER_01 11:32

When the woman's guild first became a thing in like 2023, I actually was on the front page for three months. Wow. I don't there were it was specifically for a month, but it they kept me there, and I don't know why, which was great. My average was like in the hundreds for three months. It was an incredible time. I played whatever I wanted, knowing the number wasn't like anybody could be there. It was great. I played a lot of Pokemon, I think. I think Tears of the Kingdom came out at the same time. Yeah, I don't know. That time was wild. Like, why am I still

Three Months on the Twitch Front Page

SPEAKER_01 12:09

here on the front page two months later? I don't know.

Patty 12:11

Was it very like overwhelming?

SPEAKER_01 12:13

It was at first.

Patty 12:15

Yeah, I see a lot of people like uh you know, asking the mods to be there because there's gonna be so much more people than usual and all that.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

For sure. I think like there's the front page is a little bit odd because there is like the front center, they call it the hero slot where that's where most of the traffic will go through, and a lot of people click your stream. But like when I was on the front page for three months, I was like a couple of rows over. Um, so you just have to like click, so not a lot of people went through it and clicked it. So there was not a lot of high traffic, but you did get the viewership.

Patty 12:50

That's interesting. I also find interesting that you got in for such a long time when I know of other partners that you know either get denied or you know, only get one day.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

That was that was when the women's guild first like became a thing. So they had people on the front page for a month at a time instead of a day, and then now it's like partners in the partner discord can apply for a time slot, and I've still haven't gotten accepted for that. Oh, so it changed over the years. That's interesting. It changed, it changed a lot, and I'm like, okay, why is it just partners now and not like marginalized creators in the guilds? I think okay, you're still gonna put them white men on the front page, but that's fine.

Patty 13:36

You you have your milestones like on your panels, so you you have like your follower hits and all of that. Do you find that it was like a big difference? Because you hit like 15,000 back in 2023, and then from there till now it's just like a 5,000 change. Do you find it a big difference when you were growing back at those early times and now for sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Um, when I played Animal Crossing, I used to get 100 followers a day. I don't I don't know why, but I don't know how I like that game. But I'm like now I'm like I I don't know, it blew up so much, and then the update came out, and it was just no, I don't,

Does Growth Feel Different at 20K Than It Did at the Start?

SPEAKER_01 14:20

yeah, I used to get 100 followers a day, and now it's like and now I get five, ten. And like I'm not up, I used to be kind of upset about it, or like my average is not connecting with how many followers I have, and that was like really hard for me, but I don't look at it too much. I still celebrate the tiny milestones, like hey, I've hit 20.1, 20.2, like I still celebrate those. Before I used to celebrate the big five marks, but now I have to celebrate the little ones, and that's fine.

Patty 14:49

I feel like followers on Twitch are you know, it's it's really crazy because you can have so many followers from you know being a streamer for such a long time, and so many people just you know leave the platform completely, so it it yeah, yeah, and that's fine, it just makes you just makes people look at your follower and be like, How do you have so many followers and only these viewers? And I'm like, people just shouldn't do that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

For sure. I've compared myself to other people, like, oh, they have 20,000 and they average 300, but like I can't think like that. I'm always I feel like my communities, I'm very much like just come and go at your own pace. You can leave. I've had so many people leave and come back a couple years later, like, hey, life happened. I'm like, I get it. That's so true. Leave and come back whenever you whenever you please, truly. Like, I'll still be here, I'll also remember you.

Patty 15:43

Yeah, I feel like those moments are also they're really nice. You know, someone just opened a platform and they still remember you and go and say hi. I think that's also a nice moment for us.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah, for sure. I've had multiple people use me as a background for them giving birth.

Patty 16:03

That's a very random.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

And then I met this person at PAX, and they go, Yeah, so my daughter's like six years old now. I'm like, Wow, that's wild. I was there.

Patty 16:15

I was there for the birth. I just did not know it.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Yeah, she's like, Oh, I'm giving birth right now. I just have your stream. I'm like, what? I mean, I'm glad I can be of help, I guess.

Patty 16:31

I want to shift just a little bit because I think what made me want to invite you here is that you know, I feel like you're very genuine and open about who you are and your community. I saw that your community is called the Cozy Clouds. And you know, when I look at your channel, you know, your art has very much this vibe, and you actually have like a big list of values that you want people to follow. How did you like figure out this was the the type of community you wanted to build?

SPEAKER_01 17:06

When I first was on, I feel like when I first was on Twitch and like the first year, I had a big identity crisis of like what I want my brand to be, what I want

Building a Supportive Community

SPEAKER_01 17:15

people to come into. And I've taken inspiration from a couple of other creators who have kind of like similar values and are a little bit bigger. And I'm like, yes, I want this to be kind of the space I give. I reach out to a lot of friends who have similar kinds of values, but very whimsical and soft and cozy, and but also take no shit. Um, and that's kind of the space I want to give, and like have very queer, neurodivergent-friendly, and marginalized, friendly, marginalized folks, friendly, I guess, words.

Patty 17:54

I I feel like that you do give that type of vibe because you know, whenever I want a cozy space and you're you're on, definitely the place that I want to be. I might not talk in your streams a lot, but you know, that's that's fine. It's a very lurker-friendly as a streamer. I kind of want to be like the type of viewer that I also like having, but you know, I also love my lyricers, so they're an important part of it.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

For sure. I wanted to have a stream where I would want to watch, if that makes sense. Like if I clicked my own stream and be like, yes, I want to be here.

Patty 18:31

Exactly. That is that is so valid. You're also very open about like your identity, about being queer, about the pots, and you know, your mental health side of things. What made you decide that you wanted to be like that transparent?

SPEAKER_01 18:48

I just feel like I'm a very open and transparent person in general, but also I've explored my identity and had like realizations throughout my streaming career. I was very like open with it. And even I think it was 2021, I told my chat, like, hey, I think I'm asexual, and they're like, Oh, and I'm like, which is random because my boyfriend at the time told me I maybe was. Um, so we all went through that whole process together on stream

Identity and Transparency in Streaming

SPEAKER_01 19:18

of like, am I ace? Like, is this and then we all had this conversation of yes, I have the same feeling or I feel the same way. And they were also ace, so it was very much like an open conversation with me and my chat of identities and being ace and being bi. And it was very nice, and it was very cute.

Patty 19:43

I feel like you you were only able to, you know, have this open conversation because you kind of curated the community like very similar to you, and because you know you're open and transparent, then your community is gonna be the same.

SPEAKER_01 19:56

Yeah, I always felt like I've been like that as a person.

Patty 19:59

How does like streaming interact with like the physical side of your day? Do you feel like you know having your pots and you know arthritis and all of that? Does it make it harder? Do you do you find ways to go around it?

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yes. So with pots, for me is that I struggle sometimes with like getting up super fast and like I will be super weak, or like if I feel don't feel well, I will like get up and go get food instantly. Like, oh, I don't feel well. My chat's like, eat something, drink water, do something. Or if I don't feel well, I'm like, guys, my stomach hurts, and they're like, and

Health Challenges and Community Support

SPEAKER_01 20:43

go lay down. Like, I guess I will, but I do tend to like push myself even though I don't feel well.

Patty 20:49

But my chat is very chat is very good at taking care of their streamer though.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Yeah, go lay down, go take your vitamins, go go eat something. I'm like, oh, it's four four p.m. I still haven't eaten. They're like, put on words, birds on stream, go eat something.

Patty 21:06

It's really nice to have like that type of supportive community in that way. Like, we're we'll be here, just go go take a moment and take care of yourself. That's really nice. Because exactly, because I feel like there's there's communities that uh you know are not like that. I uh I followed for some time uh a streamer that does beat saver, and you know, beat saver is like really rough on your body, and if you're gonna stream it for like three hours without breaks, sometimes you know she stops to drink and maybe eat a snack for like five minutes, and she has people being like, Why are you not playing the game? And I'm like, Are you serious? Let the woman eat.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

No, I play one one song and I'm done. Like I get that. I used to play beatzer.

Patty 21:57

But that's crazy. I feel like the having a community like you do, you know, they that they care and allow you to you know be comfortable with this is really nice. Yeah. You also mentioned because you know you have so much information in them in your panels, it was nice too, it was easy to go.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

I like that. Okay, I don't want I don't want panels that are just clickable that have nothing.

Patty 22:26

But you you mentioned that you're autistic, you might not pick up on jokes. Have you have you had like to find ways to communicate with your audience, or is your community so neurodivergent that they all get it?

SPEAKER_01 22:40

It's a lot of my panels are like so specific in like the rules and stuff because it's like they'll say a joke, I'm like, I don't get it. What are you trying? I'm like, I get it, but I don't think this is funny. And they're like, Oh,

Navigating Humor and Communication

SPEAKER_01 22:54

so I do say that a lot. I'm like, or I'll like look at my joke.

Patty 22:58

I get it that you're trying to do it. This isn't funny, but I don't really think it's funny.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

I'm like, this is a this is you're supposed to be you're trying to act funny, right? I don't think it's funny. Or I'll say something, I'm like, that was kind of rude, and they're like, oh, that was a joke. I'm like, oh I mean, there's I I need to do this more often, where there's like a command of um oh, what is it called? Like where you put like slash j at the side at the end, like you're joking. I forget what it's called, but like there's a lot of them, or like slash s if you're being serious, or slash, I need to put that in my chat more often. I usually do sometimes, but I'm like, but I should just be like, hey, we should do this more, and especially if you're trying to make a joke, because I yeah, I have no idea it's gonna go right over. It's gonna go away. Yeah, it's gonna go right over my head, and I'm like, oh, and then I'll think about it be like, oh, I think that was a joke. Literally five hours later. I think I get it now.

Patty 24:03

I think for me it's more because I have ADHD, and sometimes they are like responding to something we talked five minutes ago, and I'm like, I need context.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

I'm so ready for I'm like, what are you what are you talking about? What did I say? And they'll say yes. I'm like, wait, what did I ask?

Patty 24:27

I don't know. What about uh crochet? How how did that all start?

SPEAKER_01 24:33

I started crocheting in January of 2025. I started doing it on stream, and just to like test it out, I wanted another hobby. I tried a little bit a couple months before, but I didn't get the right yarn, or it was really odd. So I was like, okay, chat, I'm gonna sit here and do it on stream. Every Friday, we're going to just do something and seeing if it works. And so I started learning stitches and how to make granny squares, and then a couple months later, I guess I got accepted to TwitchCon as a vendor, and I went. I don't know.

The Journey into Crocheting

Patty 25:12

That's crazy. I mean, was it like uh your viewers that went to and bought your stuff, or was it like anyone random that didn't even know you like your things?

SPEAKER_01 25:23

It was a little bit of both. Like, yeah, I had people I knew, a couple of my streamer friends that came and like running to my booth, but I didn't have a lot. So TwitchCon let me know that I was gonna be a vendor three months before. Yeah, it was like two, three months, and I was like, okay, I have to sit here and I have to grind the crap out of crocheting and figure out what I want to do. Um, so I've made as many bags as I could, I made as many hats as I could, and I put them there. A lot of viewers came by, a lot of community members, a lot of just streamers that I was friends with because I posted everywhere, like, hey, I'm gonna be vending, and then they it sold out. They won.

Patty 26:00

I feel for us is harder because I I don't know, I don't know crochet, I do cross stitch. So, you know, when is like physical things that are very time consuming, we're not gonna have as much as like someone that sells prints.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Yeah, like I yeah, exactly. Like I can't stack a bunch of prints and stickers, like I can't mass print stickers. I have to sit there and spend three days on one bag. Exactly. It was it was wild. I actually had to go to um I was like playtesting a game for an hour. And I had my friends stay at my booth while I went to go do that. Um, I came back and I had three things left. I'm like, wow. Guys, what happened? They're like, oh, we were trying to sell you out when you left. What do you mean? What do you mean I have three things? I have a hat and like two bags.

Patty 26:51

But you know, the the good side of that is that for the rest of TwitchCon, you actually went to go and enjoy the event, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Yeah, but I I had to ask, like, so I sold out, like, what do I do? Do I have to stay at my booth? And like, no one could answer the question. And then later they're like, Oh, you sold out, you stayed. What else am I supposed to do? Like, I mean, I have my stuff still here, it's just I don't know. I did stay at the booth, but it was nice though to have like a place where you can just decompress because it's like a boxed-in cube, so you can just like go hide in the corner and breathe for a little bit. I've I find that um, and that was very nice. I've had a few friends who like came by and sat in the corner. My booth ended up being like a meet and greet.

Patty 27:40

At least you found the use for it.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

I ended up moving like some stuff and just had like the background be like a photo opportunity. This is so silly. And like everyone was coming by, and a lot of people missed me while I left for one hour. Like, oh, I missed you. I was I left for an hour.

Patty 28:00

What do you mean? Going on your hobby tangent transition, now you're all about Formula One. How did that happen?

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Oh my god. Okay, so I got into Formula One for a boy back in 2023. Um I I was okay, backstory. I grew up liking cars. I was always in the car scene, so it wasn't like a random hobby I picked up. So it I I always had that interest. So in 2023, I was talking to a guy and he was like, Oh, I love Formula One, blah blah blah. And I was like, Okay, I guess it's time for me to get into it because I've seen it around and I knew I could get I would get a hyperfix it into it, but I would swipe it away. I'm like, I'm not, I don't

Exploring Formula One

SPEAKER_01 28:45

have the time for this. So I'd swipe it away, and then that guy just got me into it, and then I loved it ever since.

Patty 28:54

Just haven't been to a race, I want to, but it's a very time-consuming if you because they the the races are in different places, right? So you have to go across a lot of time zones and everything. I do have some some people in my chat that do, you know, keep with it. Maybe I'll tell them to go to your stream. Yeah, you want to stream where that I'll select it.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

Oh my god, this is so random. I was ranking Formula One drivers on stream one day, and then there is Twitch was doing this thing where they were going into the woman's category section, like front page thing, and gifting subs to people. And while I was ranking Formula One drivers, Twitch came in and dropped a bunch of subs and wanted to know the lore of like why I ranked this person all the way at the bottom. Like Twitch.

Patty 29:45

I love how they they do that. I feel like I I noticed they do that when they're live sometimes, you know, when the Twitch channel is live, they have like a segment where they just go on random people's. It's super random. I don't know why, how.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

But I'm here for it. Um Twitch gave me 10 subs and then another staff member gifted me another 10. I'll take it.

Patty 30:08

You have this like very cozy community and all of that, but then you like the not so cozy games. Does it ever crash or clash when you know you're playing something not cozy? And either you get community members that doesn't don't really align because they came to watch the game. Do you ever feel like there's some disconnect?

SPEAKER_01 30:33

For sure. I try and like make a schedule be like, we're not gonna play, we're gonna play a not cozy game Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then like the rest of the week will be a cozy game. So they'll hopefully know, like, see when, but that's also that's why I start co-working. So if like they want to pop out because they don't like Resident Evil, that's fine.

Balancing Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Games

SPEAKER_01 30:52

I'm gonna continue playing Resident Evil, and I don't, I'm not like upset when people leave either. It's just like I understand, like, I I might not want to watch Resident Evil either, and that's okay, but for sure, I do notice like certain people are maybe not there during a cozy, not so cozy game. But also, like, I want to do this and play these games for me as well, and if like they're not there, that's okay. I'm not too hung up about it.

Patty 31:21

Yeah, I feel like I always need to find an extra mod when I do horror games because my mod does not like horror, and then I don't have a mod. I don't have a mod. Really? That makes sense. Going into like big picture twitch, you went full-time from you know the beginning with two viewers, but when did you actually you know reach the the point where you were doing this full-time like revenue-wise, let's say probably right before I got partner because people love supporting affiliates and like hyping them up and giving a lot more money to smaller creators, and then I probably made more money being an affiliate than I did as a partner.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Yeah. When I first got partnered, I got a lot of sponsorships and they paid me a lot, they paid me like a thousand plus,

The Reality of Full-Time Streaming

SPEAKER_01 32:18

which is wild, and now I don't even get close. And a lot of the reasons why I stay full-time, or I can say I stay full-time, is because I have people around me that help me. So I pay very little rent. Like right now, I lived in my sister's house. Before I lived with my boyfriend's house and he paid a lot of the bills, I play very little rent. I paid very little. And it's because of that privilege that I had I was able to go full-time. And I feel like that's the case with a lot of other people. So what I would say to other creators is like, don't feel hard on yourself if you can't go full-time, because everyone who is full-time has help some way or form.

Patty 33:02

Yeah. We did have a guest here that you know was a streamer full-time for like 10 years, uh, but was always living with like his parents. Yeah, there's always that that little help. There's always um yeah, but was there a moment where you like really wanted to quit that you know if you thought this was not for you?

SPEAKER_01 33:28

Honestly, I have that I think about that every month. It's like once a month, I'm like, should I just should I just leave? What if I what if I quit? What if I just never streamed again? No, but then I end up going back to it, and then I have a good stream, and I'm like, okay, maybe maybe this is the reason. Or someone comes in my stream and says, Hey, you really helped me with my anxiety today. Like this coziness is like helping me a lot. And I'm like, okay, maybe this is worth it.

Patty 33:55

I feel like that that goes that was around a lot. You're not the first one that you know, we have so many self-doubt,

Overcoming Self-Doubt in Streaming

Patty 34:03

but then uh something good happens, and you know, that why would I quit?

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Yeah, we're like, hey, you just want Twitch rivals, and I'm like, oh, maybe I don't quit. Maybe I'm maybe I'm good at games.

Patty 34:16

Is there something you wished you knew like way back the first time you went live?

SPEAKER_01 34:24

I when I first started streaming, I never saw people who were like me that were more quiet and not loud and not obnoxious. So because when I opened up Twitch, I saw people loud people, people like who are very more entertaining. I'm gonna say this and then who I would say are more entertaining or have a very loud personality and like really big presence. And I wasn't that, so I very pushed myself to be that loud, entertaining, um, full of energy person when I'm

Finding Your Authentic Streaming Voice

SPEAKER_01 35:00

not, and I burn myself out super fast, trying to have full max energy for five hours and being like, This isn't me. And so I found a streamer that was kind of similar vibe, and I'm like, hey, if she can do it, I can do it. So I started being more of myself. I started being more quiet. I started, you know, not being very loud. I'm like, why was I being someone I wasn't just to try and make it on the platform when there is an audience for everyone? Literally, there's content out there for everyone. So I I really had to be like, okay, just be yourself.

Patty 35:36

That's um like a great advice because I feel like when I started, it was very similar because the big streamers are all like gamers that you know they either play these games that the reactions are what you know gets the views, so they react, they overreact all the time. And I was like, that's exhausting. I no, I can't I can't do that.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

I get that. I I have a lot of facial emo and emotions and facial expressions. So I I was do something, and then people be like, Your face, I'm like, I don't even realize I did that. Fix your face, please.

Patty 36:11

I don't know if I have that, but I don't know. Sometimes someone says something in chat, and you know, I give them a stare and they're like, Oh my god, her face, and then they try to get that out of you know, they they try to say something that would get that reaction again, and you know, now uh whatever.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

Yeah, I'll be co-working. Someone says something first time chat, and I'm like, I feel like what is this person talking about?

Patty 36:38

I feel like it's good that we have like the you know, we talk with our face because in cowork we're muted, we need to react somehow.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Sometimes I go cry in the corner when they're like being way too nice to me.

Patty 36:50

Like so you've been doing this for a while. Is there something like you're excited to build? Is there something you have planned for the future, or is it just going with the flow?

SPEAKER_01 37:01

I'm going with the flow. I would love to one these days be like Twitch ambassador. I didn't apply recently, but I don't know. I would love to be Twitch Ambassador. That's like my biggest thing. I would love to get invited to like the Twitch HQ and be like a face for TwitchCon. You know, like you see all those faces of streamers. I would love to do that, but I like I don't know if that's ever the case. Maybe. Yeah, I don't know. That's like my biggest goal. Or be on like a billboard.

Patty 37:33

It's really fun going to TwitchCon.

Future Aspirations and Goals

Patty 37:35

Not even for Twitch. The only person I knew on the walls was Rosanna, and it was like, her face is everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

Yes, Rosanna. And then in TwitchCon uh US, Nimbly, my friend Nimbly was faced there as well. And I'm like, oh my god, that's these are my friends.

Patty 37:53

I feel like this was like a very fun and very different conversation. You're like the first, like more near diversion like me that you know have this different perspective on Twitch. And you know, the on the quiet side, I feel like I only started, you know, seeing more quiet people, even that do games when I started getting into the co-working community because co-working is a very you know cozy, calm vibe, and then when these people play games, they continue the cozy calm vibes. Uh I feel like that's that was like the time where I thought, you know, being like this, it's okay, and you know, I will find people that will enjoy this for sure. Before we wrap up, is there something like we didn't talk that you would like our listeners to know?

SPEAKER_01 38:44

I know we talked about Formula One a little bit, but I also do love like a lot of sports, other sports, and I talk about them a lot. So right now, like the NHL playoffs are happening, and every day on stream I'll be like, this person did this, this game went to double over time, this person got this many goals. It's bad. I watched the Olympics, not on stream, but like co-worked and the Olympics were on, and I reacted to a hockey game on stream, and it was the most funniest thing ever. I was hiding behind my chair. I couldn't so if you ever want to yap about

Shania's endless hobbies

SPEAKER_01 39:22

sports, I'm your girl. I also love baseball, the MLB hockey, Formula One.

Patty 39:29

Yeah, I think that people would go on your stream and be like, this is not the type of girl that talks sports with that.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

No, I know it's so funny. They're like, I never knew you were in Formal One. I'm like, I don't know, the my Formal One shirt I'm wearing right now doesn't tell you.

Patty 39:46

So tell our listeners where they can find you out there on the internet.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

You can find me on Twitch, uh twitch.tv slash Shania, and I'm Shania underscore TTV on every other platform.

Patty 39:59

Is that how I say your name? Because you know, not to be Shania.

SPEAKER_01 40:02

Yeah, yeah, you yeah, you pronounced it wrong earlier.

Patty 40:06

I didn't correct you, you know, because I don't know, because a lot of the times is it is it like an English name or is it like a very specific yes, because I'm Portuguese, right? A lot of the times when I don't know the word, I will read it as if it was a Portuguese word because I don't know how to pronounce it if it was an English word, and that's and that's fine,

Where to find Shania and Guest recommendation

Patty 40:30

and that's fine.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

I'm not gonna judge people who are not like English, who like if you were English and lived in America, I would call you out so hard, but you're not, and I'm not gonna worry about it. I had friends and being like butchered, I'm like, do you not know who Shania Twain is? And they're like, Oh my god, yes, done, like, because I was named after a big country singer. Yeah, so and that's and that's fine.

Patty 40:58

Like, just one last question before I let you go. If I could have any streamer having a conversation similar to this, who would you like to see on an episode?

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Oh, um maybe jewels. Hi jewels, high jewels, yeah, another coworker. I think she'd have a lot of information about. I know she does, I think it's environmental science, but I could be wrong, but and does a lot of work there.

Patty 41:28

Um, so I think it would be really really good conversation. And she's also like on the Latin Guild, right? Yes, she's she's she's really nice. It's hard for me to catch a lot of you know people on your side of the globe because of time zones, but she's really nice. But yeah, thank you so much for being here and talking with us, of course. 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. 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.

outro & credits

Patty 42:29

We also have Twitter, Blue Sky, and Instagram at the GrowthRate. And if you know a streamer that would have an amazing story to share, leave your recommendation in the comments.