We were lucky to catch up with Bryan Dixon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bryan , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

The idea of streaming was a long shot at first. I was told by so many people that it wasn’t a legit way to make money or I’ll just be wasting my time. I was just having a baby at the time so people really thought I had no chance whatsoever. I was determined to make a name for myself in this content creation community. I started streaming in 2017 in a exes spare room with nothing but my PS4 and a Shoe to put my phone in to prop up to the TV for Mobile streams. 6 years later I just stream from my PS5 and a camera. Life has been rough within the last year so I haven’t been able to make content in the way I fully would like to.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

If this is your first time hearing about me you are about to get the Raw and Uncut Version. My name is Bryan Dixon. I’m 29 years old from Washington DC, I grew up in a single parent household. Dad was in and out and mom was mom. I had a okay childhood just really kept to myself. I’m an only child so my talkative nature comes from me making friends at school or anywhere really. I was the kid in school who was cool with every social class of people. I felt like that would get me far in life being able to relate to everyone in the room in some way or form. How I got into gaming ? It happened at 3 years old when my first system was a Sega Genesis. The very first game I ever played was sonic the hedgehog 2. From then on it was just immersive when it came to games. I’ve always had the dream of making money playing videogames but like I said, it was a long shot. It’s very hard to cultivate a dream when at every turn someone is telling you it’s a waste of time. The pandemic is what helped me succeed crazy enough. Because we were stuck in the house I had nothing but time on my hands to really work on my content creation. I hit Twitch Affiliate in 2021 and since then have been earning money from my streams. It’s not a lot because I usually can only do content on my off days from work. But it’s an income nonetheless. The main thing that I’m most proud of is that I can make this an avenue for my daughter. I can give her all the knowledge I have on the subject so she can be better than me at it one day and make money at her own pace.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative to me?

I believe it’s the connection. You never know who’s watching you and you never know who you’ll inspire on your journey. A lot of people have ideas or dreams of doing something they love. But the main reason they don’t follow through with those goals is because if I’m being honest they don’t have someone besides them who believes they can do it. I know you are your own person but some people need that added motivation from a friend or family member to give them that confidence boost they need to see it through. I just want to be able to inspire anyone to see their dreams and goals through to the end.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I first started taking social media for my brand serious it was about 2 years ago. I built my community on social media by just being as authentic as possible. No one likes a yes man or woman. I consider myself a free thinker so sometimes you really have to give people the uncut version of things so they understand. If you’re just starting out the main advice I can give is just be yourself. Make genuine connections with people and always lead with respect.

Contact Info:

• Website: Twitch.tv/ShadowXiaolinTV
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ShadowXiaolinTV
• Twitter: Twitter.com/ShadowXiaolin
• Youtube: Youtube.com/@ShadowXiaolinTV

Image Credits
BlackGamerLeague