Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Jackson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rachel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

It’s crazy how one day you’re hanging out in someone else’s Twitch stream, talking with everyone in chat, and then a few months later you’re taking that risk and pushing the ‘Start Streaming’ button yourself. I started off as a viewer. I signed up for Twitch and started watching one of my now good friends sometime in early 2017. She and I come from the Halo community, and I used to spend hours watching her stream. I chatted with everyone, and we all became really close. Eventually, the community pushed me to start streaming as well. I went live for the first time in November 2017, and became an affiliate on January 9th, 2018! My stream was such poor quality in the beginning, it’s amazing I had any viewers, really. Eventually, I was able to start upgrading my equipment and my stream quality got much better. I built my first PC in 2019, and it’s the same one I use today! I love gaming. I love how I can bond with people and meet new friends through gaming. Gamers are some of the most supportive people you will ever meet.
Ever since I’ve started streaming, I’ve taken a lot more risks. I competed in a couple of online Halo tournaments, attended three Halo Championship Series events between December 2021 and September 2022. I met so many of my online friends in person and connected with some of the coolest people I have ever met. If it weren’t for gaming and streaming, I wouldn’t have met some of my best friends. If you told me in 2017 I would be where I am now, I would’ve never believed you. I’ve gotten to do some really awesome things because of streaming and the online community!

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.

My name is Rachel Jackson, aka spookypengin, and I’m a variety streamer on Twitch! I’m 26 years old, and I’ve been streaming since 2017. I primarily play first person shooters, like Halo and Call of Duty, or cozy games, like Minecraft and Stardew Valley. In addition to being a gamer and streamer, I am also an artist and somewhat a chef! I like to share my passions with others, so I also do art streams and cooking streams on occasion! Unfortunately, I’m not a full time streamer, and I do have a regular job, but I consider streaming to be my second job as it is something I’m very passionate about and try to do consistently! I’ve always had a knack for creativity, and I love it when I can merge hobbies. As I mentioned previously, I am an artist and I dabble in many different mediums. I make acrylic pour art, crochet amigurumi plushies, and digital art! I sell my pours and plushies at local craft shows and on my Etsy store! I take any chance I can to be creative, and in fact, most of the elements used in my stream are ones I created myself in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. I have a BA in Communications with an Art minor, and with streaming, I can really mesh the two worlds!
I’ve always kind of known I wanted to do some type of video content creation. I used to post makeup tutorials on Youtube in high school. I wanted to be the next popular beauty guru back then, and even now, makeup is another one of my many passions. I loved talking to the camera and editing my videos. I stopped making videos sometime in 2014, but it’s something I’m still really proud of!
I would say I like streaming now more than making videos for YouTube because I’m not only showing the good parts, and the barrier is smaller between viewers and streamers. You can relate a little more to your audience. Everything is in real time, so the viewers get to enjoy and experience moments with me simultaneously. If I laugh, they laugh. If I get jump scared, they do too. It creates a really special bond and promotes growth.
When I was younger, we would crowd around in my living room and watch my brother play Resident Evil. Streaming kind of reminds me of that. It’s a lot more fun to play a game when you have an audience backing you up!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My ultimate goal is to become a full-time content creator. I love interacting with my viewers and bonding over video games, so if I could do that as my full-time job, I absolutely would. I’m sure a lot of people think streaming is easy, however it is one of the hardest, yet most rewarding things I have ever done. Sometimes, it’s hard to put on a happy face and get on stream, but the viewers, the friendships, and the memories are what really make it worth it. They are what help me stay motivated and keep striving to show up and stay consistent. I like being able to make people smile. I know watching my favorite streamers always brightens my day, and if I can do that for someone else, I want to.

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

There are so many things about streaming that make it so rewarding, but for me, I think the two most rewarding aspects of streaming are the community and seeing all your hard work finally pay off. Reaching milestones like finally hitting 50 followers or getting your first subscriber feels incredible. Networking is really important, especially when you’re first starting. Over the (almost) 5 years I have been streaming, I worked hard to promote myself and meet other creatives, like me, who I became close with and who now promote me, too! It’s a great trade, because you get to share viewers and collaborate with other people who understand you. Like I said before, the people I’ve met make it worth it, and I would not be anywhere without them and their support. They helped me grow my community and make it what it is today!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.twitch.tv/spookypengin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spookypengin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spookypengintv/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/spookypengin
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/spookypenginart https://www.instagram.com/spookypenginart/

Image Credits
@shonenLewis (Luis Ortiz)