murderofbirds
patreon
Thank You So Much for 1000+ Patrons!
🕑 Added 2020-12-13 19:38:16 +0000 UTCHello everyone!
I want to take this moment to properly acknowledge and thank every person who has decided to go the extra mile with their direct support of my content, whether on Patreon, YouTube, or Twitch. Your support has enabled me to continue producing the videos and streams that we've enjoyed over the years, and without it, none of this would be possible. While the support across YouTube and Twitch cannot be understated, the lion share of support, and what kicked off my ability to follow my hopes of becoming a content creator started with Patreon.
When I started my Patreon page back in 2016, I was at such a low point in my life. I was 26 years old. I was a Crew Trainer at McDonald's, my first-ever job that I had been working at for six years. I never went to college. I lived at home with my Mom and brother, and I had been making YouTube videos as a hobby since 2013. I kid you not when I say that I was going through a severe "what am I going to do with my life" phase before RWBY Volume 3 aired. I felt like I was living a mundane existence. I had very few friends. I wasn't making enough money to support myself. I had no backup plan, and I felt like an absolute failure whenever I looked online and saw what my former peers and classmates went on to do with their lives. It was a depressing time all around.
But then, RWBY Volume 3 happened, and for some unexplainable reason, people started watching, talking, sharing, commenting, relating, resonating, and expressing how much they enjoyed the one simple reaction video per week that I would post during that time. It was SO bizarre. My videos started getting hundreds of thousands of views per week. I skyrocketed from 3K subscribers to well over 15K by the end of the volume. Even the damn creators of the show, Rooster Teeth, showed me via shout outs on Twitter, their Livestreams, and the infamous reaction to my reaction. It was such a surreal "I can't believe this is happening to me" time. I was at my lowest. I had nothing, but my personality, video games, and this awesome show that I had been watching for a couple of years. But what felt like an overnight success, I had thousands of people who cared, that related and wanted to show how much they appreciated me and my videos.
Very few people know the full story following RWBY Volume 3, but after the volume ended, the community convinced me to start a GoFundMe to help me get to my first-ever convention (RTX 2016). It was an 8-hour success, but again, I struggled to grasp the reality of my situation and the possibility of channeling this growth and support, but it wasn't long. It's hard to put into words but reading a friendly, supportive comment is VERY different from seeing and hearing it come from someone's mouth when you're face-to-face. And that happened to me A LOT. I think over 200 times during my RTX 2016 experience. (I'm so glad I vlogged it) I met dozens of kids, teenagers, people my age, even an elderly couple that would share their experiences with RWBY, Rooster Teeth, how they discovered my channel, and what my content ultimately meant to them. It gave me such an existential feeling of relief.
Like, even though I was in a shitty place in my life, even though YouTube was nothing more than a hobby, where I was uploading one video per week, to those people I met and to the hundreds of comments that I read, it was a moment of escape, of excitement, of joy. It took getting to THIS moment at RTX for it to click for me truly. At that point, I had acknowledged and understood what I had, and I did something that I would never advise anyone ever to do in that "heat of the moment" situation without a backup plan... I quit my job.
Yep! After coming back home from RTX 2016, I was BURNING with passion after meeting everyone that shared how much they appreciated the content; that I decided to go "ALL IN" and harness the growth and support that the community had shown me. I went in for my last shift the following day and quit cold turkey. In hindsight, that was a foolish thing to do because I was essentially relying on faith before seeing if the Patreon page would be considered a success or a flop. But I didn't care. I was committed to making it work somehow. So in August of 2016, I launched the Patreon page that you're on right now, and after 24-hours, I gained enough Patreon to where I made more money than my job, which was an IMMEDIATE sigh of relief as it meant I was on the right track.
From that point, things started falling into place, and my life started to turn around for the better. Initially, I was able to help pay for ALL of my Mom's house bills while she focused on the rent during the remaining time I was living at home. Doing this took so much stress off her shoulders as she was already working two jobs. Still, I was also able to sleep better at night knowing that while, yes, I wasn't profiting from the Patreon support, it was essentially allowing me to do what I loved and helped me support my family. As Patreon support continued to grow, I moved out and roommate with a buddy for two years, where I was able to get better working equipment, upgrade from my laptop to a custom PC, and start living with a lot more independence and freedom.
And at the latest phase of the journey so far, despite 2020 objectively one of the worst years of my life, especially as a content creator, it can't be understated how baffling it is to know that support booming across YouTube, Twitch, and Patreon is at a record-breaking high. I'm fully independent now. I'm living in my apartment; I'm in a committed, long-distance relationship. I'm able to help my family or friends whenever they need it financially, and while I may not be the best at relaying this to my community, you guys changed my life so much. I no longer feel like a failure or a burden. I feel useful now. I feel needed now. It's crazy to think that all of this took place within the last five years, but I mean it when I say you guys have done more for me that I think you'll ever truly know. I couldn't be more grateful for the kindness, generosity, and fandom that you've all shown me over the years, and even to this day, and I promise to do my best to continue doing and being the very best person and content creator I can be.
As I stated earlier, 2020 was a terrible year overall, but with 2021 right around the corner, I hope that it's a chance to start fresh, push myself creatively, try new things and continue to deliver the content that you've all come to know, expect and enjoy.
Thank you all so very much for listening, believing, and supporting me all these years.
