Interview: Twitch Partner Triceppps Talks About Full Time Streaming

Twitch has exploded over the last couple of years. Personalities such as Dr. Disrespect and Ninja are becoming household names, inspiring many to pick up a controller and go live. Becoming a Twitch partner and making a career out of Twitch is not an easy ride, It’s something Triceppps achieved. Although it appears like just playing games, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.

We had an opportunity to speak to Triceppps and ask him some questions about his Twitch career. Triceppps has 24,210 followers at the time of writing and currently streams Monster Hunter World.

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How did you get into streaming?

I started by being a viewer, I used to play a lot of Diablo and use to watch for tips and help from others. After some time I decided to try it myself!

Have you always been a fan of Video Games?

Always been a fan of video games from my very first console which was a Sega Saturn.

What was the first game you broadcast?

Diablo 3 was the very first game I started streaming with.

Was it an overnight success or did it take some time to grow the channel?

First 3 years of streaming on and off weren’t fast at all; very slow and steady, but just getting regulars for my irregular schedule of streams was fantastic.

Must have been tough during the slow periods, how did you keep yourself motivated through the early days?

I’ve streamed for a long time and I’ve had all the different motivational ups and downs. You learn over time how to cope with the motivation; I stayed motivated in the early days by keeping it more of a hobby, whenever I felt like I wanted to stream I’d jump on.

Obviously sticking with it paid off, how hard was the push to become a Twitch Partner?

Becoming a partner was a bit difficult. I was streaming a very niche game when I got partnered; it was before the affiliate system too, so I didn’t have any goals to aim for. It was a case of hoping and praying I would be accepted. I would reapply every month until I got it; the hardest part here for me back then was not focusing on numbers because of course, that’s what I thought mattered when becoming a Twitch Partner.

Any Tips for applicants?

Just stay focused and enjoy yourself. Don’t make it a goal to become a Twitch Partner otherwise, you’ll get super transfixed on that and start worrying when it isn’t going well.

Staying relevant in today’s growing selection must be hard, what is it that makes your channel unique?

I feel my theme, Communication, Enthusiasm and actual love for streaming as a whole. I’m super active with the community and always welcoming when new people come in.

Speaking of themes, what’s the story behind the Tiki brand?

The Tiki theme picked up after I spoke with the community. we tried to think of something that worked with my name Triceppps. Eventually, Triceppps Tribe stuck after a few days of toying with other ideas.

Does playing one game continuously get boring?

I started to look for more niche games that I really enjoyed and got into them. I choose games I can 100% just play for long periods of time with very little burnout.

Do you think to have a consistent schedule helps maintain your audience?

My schedule is what got me where I am today; I feel having a solid schedule really did help with channel growth, it enables the community to know when you are on air. Obviously, problems crop up, however social media enables me to inform my viewers of any changes. It is fantastic.

Speaking of schedules; how much time do you spend off the stream, working on stream related tasks?

I normally spend an easy 30 hours a week outside of stream if not more, I’m always on the Discord to stay in contact with my community and Twitter.

Sounds like a lot of work, has it had any impact on your mental health?

Mental health in streaming is a huge factor or has been for me; when you hit burnouts in games, or when you focus on numbers far too much you will find yourself blaming yourself. You will not think how it could just be a slow day etc. If you switch games it will affect your mental health in general, If you don’t sleep well, If your routine breaks etc it can all get too much sometimes. Personally, I suffered from all of these and it did take its toll on me.

I decided to take a break from streaming because of this and take the opportunity to re-evaluate myself, and why I went into streaming. I began streaming to have fun, not worry about numbers and things you can’t control. When I had the break which was for 3 months I just thought about things, started getting back into my routine and came back slowly. Integrating a nicer schedule I could stick too helped.

Kudos for sticking with it, what positive impact has it had on your life?

The impact has been amazing, The amount of support from my community is fantastic, the fact I have been given the chance to do my dream job is just fantastic. Being your own boss essentially is a first for me, so sometimes can be hard to stick to a schedule and that’s why I had the break. This gave me time to develop a more sustainable schedule for myself.

For the readers out there; who are interested in becoming a Twitch streamer, what tips would you give?

New streamers I normally have a document I send to people with a lot of useful links and sites I would use. Generally, the best bit of advice I like to give is; don’t focus on numbers, always enjoy yourself. Play a game you love and show the passion to your community, stay humble and again ENJOY YOURSELF!

Finally, can you give us your hardware/software specs?

My setup as it stands; 2x ASUS VG248QE 144hz monitors, i7-8700k, Asus rog Strix GTX 1080 TI, corsair vengeance 32 gig DDR4 RAM, AT2030 mic, Line6 UX2 audio interface, 2x Logitech c9200 cameras and a rog Strix fusion 700.

The software I use is OBS, Stream deck, EXP soundboard, Deepbot, Stream Labs and Podfarm 2.

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We would like to thank Triceppps for taking the time to answer our questions. You can find him on Twitch here, you can also follow The Nerd Stash on Twitch. Hopefully, this has given you some insight behind the glitz and glamour of full-time streaming, let us know in the comments below your opinions on streaming and the Twitch boom.