In this latest installment of our Streamer Spotlight series, we spoke with VernNotice! If you’re behind, you can catch up with our previous spots on TheHaleyBaby and LadyDevann here.
What made you decide to get into streaming, & how long have you been doing it for?
I’ve been playing video games my whole life. I found a love of editing montages and other gaming videos way back when I was a freshman in high school, and that led to the birth of a YouTube channel in 2007. It focused mostly on gaming montages and editing tutorials until I started recording commentary videos. This is when I found my passion for not only video games, but entertaining and interacting with people as well.
From there it was a natural progression into streaming. I don’t remember the exact day I started streaming, but I want to say I’ve been doing it for about five or six years now. I’ve only been a full-time streamer for a little over two years, though.
Could you walk us through an what a typical streaming day looks like for you? From waking up all the way to when you head off to sleep?
Keeping a schedule is without question one of the hardest things to do for me. With all the traveling and random events throughout the year, a normal sleep schedule is not something I’m accustomed to. When I am home though, and things are going as usual, I’ll typically wake up around noon — I’ll eat a light breakfast and then head to the gym shortly after. I spend a couple of hours at the gym before coming home and getting whatever random chores need to be done that day (cleaning, laundry replying to emails, etc.). That will usually take me up until stream time which I do my best to start at 7pm EST every day. Then I’ll stream for about 6-8 hours. Finally it’s shower and bed time.
That is an ideal day. Though, sometimes things don’t go as planned.
How do you stay healthy and active with a hobby or passion that requires that you game/stream a certain amount of hours every week? Do you have a workout regiment or diet you try to stick to?
Staying active and living a healthy lifestyle was such a struggle in the beginning. So much so that I completely neglected my personal health for a long time. Growing up I’ve always been a bigger dude, but I was always heavily into sports, too. When I started streaming full time and really grinding out streams and games to make things work, it was easy to forget about something as important as taking care of my body. Recently though, I’ve been taking steps and making improvements to ensure a more healthy and fulfilling life. I purchased a motorized standing desk, and I’ve developed a regular gym routine that I’ve absolutely fell in love with. I even started doing cooking streams three times a week in hopes that I’ll stop eating so poorly. It’s all a work in progress, but that’s life.
When it comes to your community, what characteristic do you like about them most?
The community that has gathered around my channel has become sort of like a little family for me. I do my best to interact and get to know every name. We laugh and joke and just have a great time with each other every stream. They are always so supportive no matter how I’m feeling or what I’m doing. It’s why I’m so comfortable branching out from the normal “gaming” streams they’re accustomed to, and streaming things like me cooking dinner or even reading a book. Streaming can take such a mental toll on a person and it provides such relief knowing that those people are going to be there for the ride no matter what.
What made you want to get involved with a non-profit like Gamers Outreach?
For one, as content creators, we have the potential to reach a lot of people. While the streams are focused on having a good time and entertaining people, it’s nice to take a step back and talk about real life situations and issues. Giving charities the spotlight on our streams is a great way to bring awareness and actually do some good on top of the everyday entertainment factor.
I’ve done a lot of traveling and events for charities throughout the years but being from Michigan, Gamers Outreach is literally in my backyard. On top of that I’ve used a GO Kart myself after a tonsillectomy and more recently my brother had one available to him during a stint in the hospital. As someone who loves games and has had extended stays in the hospital, GO hits pretty close to home.
Do you have a favorite memory from your work with us?
The fact that this year (2017) was my first ever Gamers for Giving event is actually disappointing. It’s been so close for so long and just now things have finally worked out to where I was able to attend… And I had an absolute blast the entire weekend. My favorite part had to be the Bob Ross challenge. It was an insanely fun challenge where the streamers had to follow along with a Bob Ross video and try to paint with him (me being ignorant to any sort of creativity made it a little intimidating). The “challenge” part was trying to do this painting with the basic colors and one paint brush we were provided with. Throughout the event your stream was able to donate to unlock different colors, brushes etc. “Sabotages” were also introduced, as a way to mess with the other streamers participating. It was an amazing part of the the event that was filled with laughs and some backstabbing and ultimately raised a ton of money for the cause.
The question on everyone’s mind… What are you currently playing? And in addition to that, what game have you had the most fun streaming to date + why?
As a variety streamer, I bounce around a lot of different games and try to keep things interesting in the channel. We are currently playing games that range from Outlast 2 and The Walking Dead, to Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds and LawBreakers. As far as picking favorites it really depends on the day. The Gears of War franchise always provides for some good times with friends — though, I’m a very competitive person so things can get pretty heated. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is also one of my favorite games to stream. I’ve logged so many hours in that game that I could practically play it with my eyes closed which makes it perfect for “chill” days or when I just want to hang out with chat while still providing some sort of gameplay. I’ve also logged a ton of hours into GTA V which have provided some amazing memories throughout the years.
Want more Vern? You can find him on Twitch here, and keep up with his Twitter musings here.