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“Don’t sacrifice views and followers in the beginning by trying to be, you know, acceptable or appeasable to everyone. Just be yourself, be genuine. There’s enough people in the world that are going to find you and resonate with you.”
GoofyWise
It’s almost the end of our Black Excellence in Gaming series, and we’ve had an amazing time not only interviewing our amazing feature subjects so far but also having the opportunity to showcase each and every one of them. We’re not done just yet, however, and we’re excited to be able to share with you on our last day of Black History Month a little bit more about Twitch streamer GoofyWise.
Having always been interested in all things nerdy since he was young, GoofyWise is a former Division 1 athlete who made the transition to gaming after reaching a crossroads in his athletic career. Trying to maintain the balance between being a full-time student and full-time athlete and having a part-time job became too much, and he made the decision to quit sports after reflecting on whether or not this was something that he could handle. Goofy was left to pick up the pieces, having spent so much time being a dedicated athlete, and had to decide what it is that he wanted to do now.
He made the choice to go back to one of his first loves of doing smaller content creation projects of compilation videos of some of his gameplay. Goofy describes the experience of beginning to do more of what he had always been passionate about a refreshing experience and gradually began doing more videos and playing more games that he liked. It was when one of his clips went viral around two years ago that he gained the confidence to believe that this was something that he could really do, and he began working harder from that point on to continue to make good content.
GoofyWise is a self-dubbed variety streamer, playing a variety of games and enjoys mixing it up on his channel. He hosts Mindful Mondays, where he and his community will do yoga and meditation together to start off the week. He and his community will host discussions of enlightening and sometimes controversial topics, ranging from mental health to Black excellence to calling out the systemic inequalities of racism, in order to encourage more thoughtfulness and kindness in everyone’s daily lives. His favorite genre of games to both play and stream are story games, with Final Fantasy 7 being one of his favorite titles of all time. Goofy’s main goal when it comes to his channel and his content to find balance and just keep being authentic, which allows him to always try new things and continue to be his genuine self.
We talked a little bit about some of GoofyWise’s goals when it comes to 2021, and at the time he shared that he would love to hit Twitch Partner at some point this year. Coincidentally enough, he achieved that goal earlier this month, which is a testament to his skills and dedication as a content creator. While he is excited to have hit Partner, Goofy mentioned in our interview that going forward he wants to stay focused and driven towards goals that will best benefit his community and reflect his values to make this space more open and safe for Black and POC creatives.
This has always been one of his main values when it comes to his content and his community. GoofyWise reflected on how he has always advocated against bigots in his daily life, and it was this past year when it began overlapping into Twitch. He sees having his channel as a space to discuss and further advocate as a way to talk about these issues that are difficult to carry from day to day. At first, he was worried about potential backlash or saying the wrong thing, but kept going forward and has since learned more about how to hold these conversations as well as healthy ways to process the emotions that come with them.
“But also on the other side of things, is how to deal with this [racial tension in America] as a black person. How to deal with this stress, how to deal with your mental health. You know, like practicing self care. And self care is so important. In a world where your existence is hated, self care is revolutionary. And when I say that, I’ve learned so much on this journey, it’s been crazy. I started out not knowing so much about self care, being emotionally available as a man. I’ve just learned so much through this medium of being open online with my team, with my tribe, my village.”
GoofyWise
This has been something that he has especially been working hard to continue during this past month. We asked him what his plans have been for February, and GoofyWise shared with us that he worked closely with those in his community to plan for this month. Their intent was to keep up their Mindful Mondays while simultaneously dedicating time during streams to highlight the a lot of good that has been done and that is currently being done in the Black community.
When it comes to Goofy’s overall experience with Black History Month as a content creator, he spoke on how many of his past interactions have been shallow. Not enough light has been shined on Black creators and some attempts by corporations to support them oftentimes will be hollow or not what it seems. He had his own encounter with this recently as part of the StreamElements Diversity Program, which was an initiative done by the platform to fund and support underrepresented creators.
His initial expectations fell along the lines of what to anticipate from a large corporation in general, but what followed was something much different. Many members selected for the program have now come forward to express their frustrations and stress with being a part of the initiative, stating that it felt somewhat disorganized and disconnected from the creators themselves. Goofy shared that his own experience was stressful, mainly because it seemed like those helming the program did not understand the nuances of Black creators. This caused him issues when looking for artists, as many of them were unable to depict Black features.
GoofyWise gives credit to fellow content creator ZombaeKillz for being the first in the program to come forward and voice her frustrations. She subsequently led the push for those involved to advocate for themselves towards those leading the program. While his experience was a frustrating one, he commends StreamElements for now owning up to their mistakes and doing right by those who were impacted. They have been going above and beyond to do right by those who were selected for their program, such as extending their program, helping creators to build their portfolios, and helping them to secure sponsorships. He hopes that StreamElements will continue to listen to the critiques and feedback of the creators so that they may better curate their program for any and all future efforts to support marginalized content creators.
After watching various events and encounters unfold on his timeline, GoofyWise’s main hope going forward is that there will be more equity for Black creators. When dealing with unfair harassment and having to work twice as hard, it’s the only real way to have a lasting impact and truly support content creators as they continue to do their work. With this in mind, Goofy’s main piece of advice to Black creators is to stay genuine and not be deterred from what may happen.
“Being a Black creator in the gaming space, much like many other spaces, is, quite frankly, exhausting. But don’t let that stop you from being you. Don’t let that stop you from shining your light on the world because the world needs it. You know, keep being you, lead with love and the rest will figure itself out.”
GoofyWise
As you start to take those words of wisdom to heart, we want to take a moment to thank GoofyWise for taking the time to speak with us as we begin to wrap up our final moments for Black History Month and our gaming series. It is our sincerest hope that he will continue to reach new heights, and that he and his community will continue to grow and thrive and do the good that they have set out to accomplish.
On behalf of the Off Colour team, we thank him for taking the time to chat with us and share more about his path as a creator!
You can be sure to support GoofyWise by visiting their Twitch channel and other socials as well. Be sure to check back soon for when we share our full interview on the Off Colour site!
Thank you so much for reading, and we hope you enjoy the rest of our series!
