Twitch ambassador Djarii shares what she wishes she knew before becoming an influencer—and what holds her accountable

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We reached out to some popular creators to get their best tips and tricks for success and better understand the ups and downs of life as a trailblazer on the internet.

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This week, we caught up with Sophia White, aka Djarii, via email. The streamer, gamer, body painter, and makeup artist from England is known online for combining popular gaming characters with “cospaint.” She is a Twitch ambassador and one of U.K.’s top female and LGBTQ+ Twitch streamers, with an impressive 355,000 subscribers. She also has more than 200,000 followers and subscribers across Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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The interview below has been condensed and edited.

What’s the first thing you do to start your day online?

Usually, I will open my emails. I might spend far too long browsing TikTok or IG Reels, but my first official task of the day is emails!

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out as a creator?

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If I had to pick one thing, I wish that I knew more about my value as a content creator. Too many times beginner creators fall into the trap of sponsorships, affiliation programs, etc. I wish I could go back and say, “Don’t sweat any of that! You don’t need any sponsorships to begin your journey, and by the time you’ve established yourself, they’ll flow in naturally.” In the early days, don’t feel the need to chase scraps from brands to feel authentic. Focus on your own content and build your authenticity from there.

When did you realize you’d broken through and become a successful creator?

I wonder if I’ve even done that yet. As we progress through goals and milestones, new ones appear right away. I’m always trying to grow and develop. I’m not sure I would ever say I’ve “broken through” and become “successful”—that’s entirely subjective. For me, I’ve done some neat things, and I wanna keep doing neat things and see where this road takes us!

If you hadn’t become a creator, what would you be doing right now?

I originally planned to study art at the Edinburgh College of Art. However, my first Twitch “explosion” came before I made that leap. So I imagine that I would be following my artistic journey somehow, not unlike how I am now, but probably with a couple less followers!

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What’s one thing you do to manage your relationship with your fans?

Discord Community! Our Discord channel (come hang with us!) serves as a great hub for community relationships, whether that’s between me and the audience, or viewers amongst themselves.

What do you think of the idea of cancel culture?

I think is a bit of a spectrum; there’s a line to be drawn between holding someone accountable and trying to ruin their lives for the sake of your own entertainment. Each case is different, but I at least try to remember that some mistakes are just that, and some problems can be better solved with kindness and education.

How much of your true self do you show online?

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All of it.

What’s one of the best interactions you’ve ever had with someone who follows you?

Hard to say, honestly. I’ve had amazing experiences with my community. One of the top memories absolutely will always be sharing a group dinner with 15+ or so of my core community members at DreamHack. I’ll never forget how much that evening made me smile.

What is your most treasured tool?

My paintbrush! Nah, jk, gotta be my sick PC.

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What holds you accountable?

Great question. I try to honestly keep my mind open for the most part, to listen and understand other perspectives. Granted, I’m not perfect, but as I see our social landscape changing, I always endeavour to be on the open, welcoming, and safe side of that. I feel fueled by wanting to create an environment where folk can feel comfortable to be their true self, something I wish I had when I was younger.

Thank you, Djarii, for talking with us!

We’ll be featuring a new Q&A with a creator every week, so shoot an email to [email protected] for a chance to be included.

Press Releases- MSI Presents

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[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]

A new show featuring inspirational women from the gaming and tech industry!

Following on from a successful campaign for International Women’s Day 2021, leading hardware brand MSI has created the brand-new show – ‘MSI Presents #WomenInGaming’. In an industry predominantly built by men, MSI realises how important it is to help make a positive change. The show will feature some of the leading women from the gaming and tech world, sharing their experiences and advice on life in this space.

“50% of all women in the UK play games, and of which only 28% are acknowledged as gamers or represented in the gaming industry.” *

This six-episode series aims to give an open platform to discuss different topics including the difficulties and issues women have faced over the years. Each episode, hosted by partnered streamer and Twitch Ambassador Djarii, will feature a special guest from the industry aiming to give help and advice to people wanting to follow in their footsteps.

Check out the highlights of the first episode that aired here which saw the brilliant Holiwhirl as the special guest.

The second episode featuring BlueEyed_Beth will air on Wednesday 28th 6pm BST here: https://twitch.tv/Djarii

*Statistics from the UKIE player diversity and demographics 2020

[About the host] Sophia, known as Djarii online, is the UK’s most followed* female broadcaster on Twitch. She has been streaming since 2014, originally alongside education and other jobs, she is now a full-time content creator and can be found streaming most days here on her twitch channel.

*Information from - https://djarii.tv/about Djarii’s roots on Twitch, like many, began in gaming. She dabbles in video games across a wide spectrum of genres, from MMORPGs to FPS. Nowadays, Djarii is best known for her creative body art content. After her NYX Face Awards finalist position in 2017, Djarii began combining her passions for drawing, gaming, and makeup, thus introducing bodypainting to a whole new audience through Twitch. As a result of these innovations, Djarii was invited to become one of Twitch’s first ambassadors in 2018.

[Previous Campaign] For the previous international women’s day campaign, MSI invited female users to ‘Show off what you do best’. Using the #WomenInGaming platform women shared anything that they are proud of, such as their streaming highlights and artwork.

[#WomenInGaming episodes]

Watch the full first episode here on Djarii’s twitch channel which saw her and Holiwhirl help the listeners by answering questions that were being put to them live by the Twitch community. They cover the tough discussions of internet bullying and sexism in the community among many other topics. Ensure you save the date in your diary for the next episode on the Wednesday 28th 6pm BST and follow MSI on all socials for more updates and information regarding the project.

MSI GAMING: https://uk.msi.com/ MSI Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MSIUK MSI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msigaming_uk/ MSI YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MSIGamingGlobal MSI Twitter: https://twitter.com/msi__uk

Subscribe to MSI RSS Feeds via https://uk.msi.com/rss for real-time news and more product info.

PRESS CONTACTS

technikPR

Jake Woof PR

Account Manager

Email: [email protected]

MSI UK

Cynthia Hsu

UK Senior Marketing Manager

Email: [email protected]

About MSI

As a world leading gaming brand, MSI is the most trusted name in gaming and esports. We stand by our principles of breakthroughs in design, the pursuit of excellence, and technological innovation. Integrating gamers’ most coveted extreme performance, realistic visuals, authentic sound, precise control and smooth streaming functions into its gaming rigs, MSI frees gamers from tedious trial and error and pushes gaming performance beyond limits. The determination to surpass past achievements has made MSI a ‘True Gaming’ brand with gaming spirit throughout the industry! For more product information, please go to https://uk.msi.com.

Nickmercs Is Under Armour’s First Content Creator Ambassador

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FaZe Clan co-owner and streamer Nickmercs (6 million followers on Twitch) is the first content creator to be named a global ambassador for Under Armour.

The massive sportswear and equipment brand’s other ambassadors include seven-time NBA All-Star Steph Curry, World Cup alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn, and NFL MVP Tom Brady.

Nickmercs announced the partnership in an Aug. 4 Twitter video that showed the Under Armour logo matched up with the logo for MFAM (aka Mercs Fam, the collective name for his fanbase).

Financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed. In an interview with Dot Esports, Nickmercs–real name Nicholas Kolcheff–said he and Under Armour have “crazy stuff” planned.

“You know what I said about seeing MFAM in places we never thought we’d see it?” he said. “Just hang tight. We’ve got a lot of stuff in the works.”

Kolcheff, like many members of FaZe Clan (which he joined in 2019 after a terse departure from fellow esports/entertainment org 100 Thieves), is primarily known for playing Fortnite and Call of Duty on live streams. But in recent months, Dot Esports points out, he’s been mixing in workout broadcasts, too.

Per stats site SullyGnome, Kolcheff has streamed 42 hours of workout content in the past six months, with an average viewership of 22,000 people.

“The fitness grind is a big part of my life,” Kolcheff told Dot Esports. “It’s been a staple in my life for a long time now.”

Kolcheff’s other sponsors include Barstool Sports, Cash App, energy drink brand G Fuel, and gaming tech company Scuf.