We recently connected with Brian Haynes and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Brian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I learned how to create a higher quality of content by diving deep into the content creation community. I met TONS of amazing people and was able to learn a little about production quality and creative content from each one. I was never afraid to reach out and chat with others on how they got their stream quality so good, their microphone silky, or their visuals so smooth. It took a lot of time and fine tuning, but I was able to learn a little bit every day. Honestly, it was a lot of work, but well worth it. My favorite part of the learning process for content creations is that there is something new to learn every day, and there will always be something I can do better. There isn’t really any one shortcut to learning the craft, but the best way to learn is to continue to hone your craft every day. Take a few minutes to learn about the software you are using, and how to best incorporate everything for your audience. Take the time to learn what your audience does and does not like. Trends will come and go quickly, so it’s important to stay up to date on everything!
The most difficult part of the learning process for me was the information overload. There are a lot of small nuances that go into creating unique and fun content. It can quickly become overwhelming, but don’t be afraid to take a step by and take it little piece by little piece.
Two of the most essential skills for content creation are learning simple editing and where to post your content to. Don’t be afraid to put your content out there in as many places as possible so it gets noticed better. Fine tune your content for the different social medias (Tiktok wants a different aspect ratio then YouTube or streaming platforms.).
Most of all, never stop learning! It’s important to always do what you love and enjoy the journey. Help out your fellow content creators and don’t be shy about making new friends.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
To those that have never heard of me, my name is Reaperofhugs or Reaperofhugs42 (AKA Brian). I started streaming in October of 2018 on Twitch, because my friend wanted to watch me play PUBG. I started my journey on Xbox at the very start and shortly after, upgraded to a low-end gaming PC. When I started streaming, my content quality was low, but I was always eager to interact and engage with others. It was an absolute pleasure getting to meet so many new people and have fun gaming together/sharing our interests. I slowly began to try a variety of games and expand my content to other platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Facebook Gaming, and YouTube. Thanks to the support of community members and viewers, I was able to create much higher quality of content through production upgrades such as my webcam and microphone. Me and the community were able to create a comforting and entertaining environment that people could come and go from as they please. My primary goal from content creation has always been to make someone else’s day a little bit better. I’m blessed to be a full-time firefighter and get to do a job I love, while creating content part time on the side. It’s rewarding to help others no matter how big or small the emergency. Through hard work and constant perseverance, we were able to achieve Partner status on Facebook Gaming in November of 2021. To those who don’t know, this is one of the highest honors a streamer can have on a platform. This enables the creator to make higher quality content for everyone to enjoy. It’s a tough road to get here, but all me and the community’s hard work has continued to show.
One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is the amount of charity work that has been done. The community raised over $5,o00 for varying charities. Most of which were for Mental Health organizations such as NAMI or to benefit those who have dealt with the hardships of Cancer. It is rewarding to know the community’s efforts have been able to impact other’s lives in a positive manner.
I’m proud to also support a local, grassroots, Esports organization as well called Kansas City Pioneers. This team has been a pleasure to be on, and will one day be a name brand that everyone knows.
I hope that people continue to see this brand in a positive manner and remember to take care of each other. Something that may seem small to one person could turn someone else’s day around entirely.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As many content creators know, “fame” comes and goes quickly. What is popular one day is simply the past the next. That’s why it’s so important to constantly learn, be adaptable, and never give up. Our channel on Twitch (Reaperofhugs42) had the honor to apply for partnership on 3 separate occasions. When I started streaming, I never even considered we would make it this far. After all, I began this journey as a hobby and for fun. I never planned to stop working my full-time job as a Firefighter, as I just loved content creation. The criteria to apply for Partner alone is rigorous, and not many get the opportunity to try. Sadly, we were rejected every time. Each time, I felt that I had let down the community that worked so hard to build us up. It was a tough feeling to get rid of and continues to eat at me from time to time. “What could I do to be better for everyone?”. “What can I change about the content to take it to the next lever?”. Everyone continued to rally around and be positive influences on each other. It made my heart happy to see others find comfort with each other and a simple happiness. Thanks to some amazing individuals that I’m lucky enough to call friends, I was able to keep pushing forward and working hard each day.
After many years, and a lot of failures, we were able to achieve partner on the Facebook Gaming platform. This was an enormous milestone and showed the community’s resilience to what they believed in. I’m forever thankful to any single person that has become a member of the community and the kindness that they’ve shown each other. If not for you all, this brand would not have come as far as it did, and our message would not have reached the eyes and ears it has.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much. I’m so proud of every single one of you, and you have helped me be resilient throughout the years.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Funding content creation can be easier than some think. I always say, “it all has to start somewhere.”. The easiest way to start is simply through your phone. You have access to so many small ways to create funds. There are also plenty of free apps to take your content to the next level such as Capcut. When you begin, have a goal as to what you want your content to revolve around. Would you like to be a streamer, influencer, tiktok personality, podcaster, etc.? This will determine the type of equipment that you will eventually need. You don’t need the best equipment out there to start. All you need is an idea, motivation, and the willingness to learn. Personally, I started with the cheapest USB mic I could find, a cheap webcam from best buy, and the cheapest PC parts that would allow me to stream. The quality wasn’t the greatest, but the personality and originality was there. People enjoyed what the channel was about. I slowly began to accumulate new parts little by little until I had a PC that could stream better quality games. This took years, and definitely didn’t happen overnight. As always, I was blessed by the community’s support. I would set sub, bit, and donation goals. I made it clear what the goals were for, and people were kind enough to help,
Eventually, I was able to amass a setup I was proud of. I went from a USB MIC to a Shure XLR microphone powered by GOXLR, a Sony A5100 mirrorless camera connected to an Elgato capture card, and a high-end PC that can create the best content possible for viewers.
This was all possible because I set clear goals for what I wanted for the future and made a reasonable budget and plan. Make goals that will work for YOU, and continue to work towards them every day even if it’s in a small way. DO NOT feel pressured to buy the most expensive equipment possible as soon as possible. There is nothing wrong with starting off with something lower quality and learning all the ins and outs of the products. Having the knowledge to make the products work to their full potential is just as important as eventually upgrading the equipment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/reaperofhugs42
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reaperofhugs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reaperofhugs
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/reaperofhugs42
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Reaperofhugs
- Other: https://www.twitch.tv/reaperofhugs42 https://www.kcp.gg/