As part of a new, on-going series, we wanted to get some time on the books with the streamers that have lent a hand in making Gamers Outreach what it is today — by some measure or another.
Lady Devann is without a doubt one of those people. Hailing from the midwest (much like our organization), she’s made a name for herself in the cosplaying world on top of having built her own streaming community from the ground up. We were lucky enough to get some time with her recently to find out how she got her start in the scene, how she came to be involved with Gamers Outreach, and what she does when she’s not busy trying to hide from Jason in Gun Media’s recently released “Friday the 13th“!
How long have you been streamer for now? How did you first get into the scene?
I first started streaming in 2015, started off with no cam, no mic, no social media backing and started the long crawl! I previously was writing articles and video games reviews for a couple different websites, and wanted to do more with video but I hated editing for YouTube. My boyfriend suggested with how eccentric I am that maybe streaming would be a better outlet to share my love for games. He introduced me to Twitch and I’ve been hooked ever since!
Could you walk us through a day in the life of a streamer?
My days vary a lot. I try my hardest to wake up before noon and get active, but a lot of times I find myself having stayed up way too late the night before. On a good day, I wake up, go through my social media from overnight, check emails, do any errands or Discord calls, edit vlogs, and spend time with my cats (who get very cranky and demanding if they’re not given enough attention before my casts.) My boyfriend and I usually take our corgi for a long walk after lunch to get some movement, so I usually get online around 6EST and stream until midnight or 1 am. It’s hard to wind down after that and I usually turn to reddit or social media to do so, but lately I’ve been trying to read before bed instead.
How do you stay healthy and active with a profession that requires that you game/stream a certain amount of hours every week?
Honestly, this is, in my opinion, one of the hardest aspects of being a streamer. It’s something I struggle with on a daily basis. Working from home, and not really needing to leave my house often has definitely made my depression a lot worse. To counter this, I’ve been setting daily goals for myself; making sure I wake up at a certain time everyday, playing Just Dance to get some cardio in, taking my dog for a walk — little things. I have a Fitbit to track how many steps I take in a day and actively try to drink more water — but even with all that, being so sedentary leaves me naturally tired being at rest so much. I got a gym membership and a personal trainer that I meet with once a week to try and motivate myself to be more healthy, so while I still struggle to go to the gym on days I’m not meeting my trainer, having his guidance and advice on different work outs to do and having that human interaction has helped tremendously. I also created a section in my Discord where my subscribers and I can keep each other motivated by posting fitness memes, healthy food recipes, work out advice and more!
I love video games, they are my passion so playing them for long hours is the easy part — it’s the physical part and making that step to be active and move around that is hard. I wish I could say there was one simple trick to make those steps, but it’s really just determination and motivation.
What would you say is your favorite aspect of your community or following?
My community is so supportive of each other and welcoming it’s amazing! There have been times when chatters have entered my stream depressed, and my community members reached out to them to talk to and to be friends with to change that around. I distinctly remember an email I received from one individual who said he was planning on committing suicide, but the community was so kind and caring to him, he felt like he found a home and changed his mind on ending his life. This was something that really touched me, because I didn’t have much involvement in that.
I don’t recall if I saw his initial chat messages that day or not, but several regular community members went out of their way to change a strangers life and to be kind, and that’s something that I will never forget. It could have happened in any chat, in any stream, but the fact that it was my regulars was beautiful to me.
What made them want to get involved with a nonprofit like Gamers Outreach?
I am a firm believer in giving back to make this world a better place. I was volunteering at a Stack Up booth at a Halo tournament when I happened to overhear Zach Wigal talking to the other booth member about the tournament and the charities. Being the nosy person I am, I had to learn more.
After talking to Zach and hearing about Gamer’s Outreach and what it does I felt so inspired. My mother was a RN at a childrens hospital, and having previously worked in the medical field myself I knew the importance of emotional support and finding things to lift the spirits of those hospitalized.
What’s your favorite memory from any Gamers for Giving you’ve attended?
This year TheHaleyBaby and I “competed” in raising money for the children. Our stations were next to each other and our communities were trying to out-raise the other (in a completely playful way, switching from each stream to contribute to both of our campaigns.) In the end, together we raised over 20 thousand dollars for the charity. We each have two karts in our communities’ names, and we also decided to use the remainder of both of our amounts raised to make a kart together in the name of the Chipmunk Army and the Devannation!
To celebrate all of this, we played the “Pie Face” game where we took turns turning a dial that had a chance of hitting us in the face with whip cream. There’s about a 1 in 6 chance that you’ll get hit with the whip cream, so I had Haley turn the dial first — of course she doesn’t get hit, passes it to me, and I immediately get hit! I passed back over to Haley and she avoids yet ANOTHER hit, so it comes back to me and I was hit once again! I have never seen the whip cream triggered so fast, so close together. I think I still have some whip cream in my nose from laughing so hard!
And last but certainly not least, the question on everyone’s mind… What are you currently playing?
Friday the 13th! I’ve been completely addicted to it and can’t put it down!
If you don’t already, you be sure to subscribe to LadyDevann’s Twitch channel, and give her a follow on Twitter to know when she’s going live!