Community Content Creator Spotlight Featuring ImTheBlueRanger
The Destiny community is full of talented Guardians. The Content Creators are a huge part of the community and put so much time and effort into bringing something special to the community. DTR (destiny tracker) wants to shine a spotlight on some of the content creators in the community to recognize them for all the hard work they do, day in and day out, on stream and in the community. This week our Spotlight shines on a Guardian that is master conversationalist and has been playing Destiny since day 1 release. Having such a recognizable name in the community I asked ImTheBlueRanger how he got his name, Blue replied saying "A bunch of old co-workers (college era) all played CoD Modern Warfare 2 and one of them made the name ImTheRedRanger, and so people decided to fit the mold and we all ended up with names. By the time it came to myself and my then roommate, blue and black remained. He requested black, I didn't care either way, and thus ImTheBlueRanger was born. For some reason I never even considered looking back". ImTheBlueRanger is without a doubt a people person whether he is streaming, on a Podcast, or on his social media's he is always welcoming and has fun interacting with everyone he encounters daily. Having a fun loving sense of humor at the same time never is afraid to be himself and speak his mind on many topics, he is always constructive and welcomes anyone into the conversations. I asked what inspired him to want to become a streamer/ community personality, and what he enjoys most about the community he has created ImTheBlueRanger replied, " I am a people person and I love entertaining. I had no idea what Twitch was until I needed to log in to watch a Bungie stream. At the time I assumed that Twitch was just a platform for large companies to do live presentation and demos (the way Bungie does) until one day I got a message on my XB1 (my preferred gaming platform) from a friend telling her friends she was streaming and to come check it out. It became immediately apparently to me that anyone could do this with a little know how and 2 days later I fired up my first stream and a month after that I had spent my life saving on my first ever gaming/streaming PC. As for the community that is best known as "Blue's Crew" or more recently "The Crew" I couldn't ask for a better group of people to spend my evenings with. They are fiercely loyal, caring and honest people who have come together to do amazing things. We have raised well over $10k for charity over the last 2 years, we helped send a mod to GuardianCon last year and we even came together in 1 night to raise the money to repair a good friends car after it was totalled moving into their first apartment away from home. I have never met a more generous group of people, and I will always remember what they have done".
ImTheBlueRanger is truly an amazing and talented content creator and our community is lucky to have such a spirited and entertaining person as himself in it with us. He has helped so many with raising money for charities to helping mods in his community that was down on their luck with repairs. He is an inspiration to everyone to always be yourself and to support those around you in the community. He has brighten the days of so many with his high energy interactive streams and his memorable moments in podcasting. I asked ImTheBlueRanger how many podcasts he has guest appeared on and what was a memorable moment for him on one, he replied saying " I have guested on DRP over 10 times as well as the RNGcast and Potato Thumbs podcast, smaller off-shoot podcasts formed from DRPfam members. When I first started streaming I also guested on The Loading Screen with KadexGaming and AngryIceberg, Fitz of Rage with MonterousRage and of course I have hosted two of my own podcasts. The first being the Weekly Apologies podcast which ran for about 6 months and was a very loose format, live-on-Twitch talk show that was just a ton of fun. The second being my current project, Splash Damage Radio with ShadowCawn and CyborgSasquatch, but more on that later. Easily my favorite podcasting moments were 3. On Weekly Apologies when a co-hosts skype froze and we spent a good 20 minutes overlaying mustaches and sunglasses on his frozen face, 2. On Weekly Apologies when a co-hosts daughter mistook me for her fathers (whoops) and 1. The homage I did to This American Life for DRP called "This Guardian Life" which was part of their holiday/new years 2016 episode. That was a riot". Having a great time with everything he does it encourages others in the community to share the same uplifting attitude he does with having fun with the things you do, which make for a fun time for everyone. ImTheBlueRanger is the host of his own podcast called Splash Damage Radio, asking Blue what motivated him to create a podcast and what sort of topic he and his other co-hosts cover he replied ," The current project, as previously mentioned, is Splash Damage Radio with ShadowCawn and CyborgSasquatch (of DRP). It is a more general entertainment podcast covering movies, TV (lots of Netflix), gaming and occassionally music and business news. We upload a new episode every Wednesday and it is available on Podbean, Google Play, Pocketcasts and Stitcher... don't worry iTunes is coming! We did a 3 hours episode on your predictions for the game awards and we did a whole episode dedicated to Star Wars The Last Jedi, but our usual format is more multi topic, now trending or potentially important knowledge for your life as a gamer or consumer. We aren't afraid to get our hands dirty and discuss some taboo things, but its mostly light hearted banter. We have plans to start bringing on guests and we are really enjoying how things are going so far!". I for one can vogue that Splash Damage Radio is on my weekly listen to podcast list and is a great time that is wildly entertaining that has me feeling engaged with the conversations they are having on a relatable level as I look forward to there next episodes it makes my work day more enjoyable listening to ImTheBlueRanger on Splash Damage Radio. He is also apart of an exciting group stream playing the classic game where many of us started to dip into creativity with D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). I asked Blue how he got into the group D&D stream night, he said " That was something I just sorta fell into, then fell in love with. A few of my friends were putting together a D&D campaign for Twitch and I had never played so I asked if maybe I could guest sometime. That guest spot quickly became a permanent spot and THEN became the producer spot! Although the show is mainly on our Dungeon Masters channel, I run the stream from my setup so he doesn't have to concern himself with anything while he is orchestrating the game. It has really opened my eyes up to what table top gaming is capable of, and being a complete D&D newb has actually been beneficial to me. A lof of the other players, which much more experience than I, play withing the parameters of what they think they game should be... I on the other hand am not afraid to throw somebody off a cliff with nothing but a rope tied around them just to see what will happen. We have experienced things I have never been through in a video game, including the loss of a team member. At that point we had sunk something like 70 hours into our characters, and in a moment and a bad roll of the dice one of us was dead. Other times the dice have come up perfect to save the entire team. It's unlike anything I have ever done before and it really allows you to let the creative juices flow and express yourself in a way that Let's Play gaming just doesn't". ImTheBlueRanger has helped grow our community we all share together and his own, I asked him what was his favorite part of the community (vague question) and if he has a favorite artist in the community he repied saying, " Seeing as this question is somewhat vague I am going to rewrite it to say "what is your favorite part of the Twitch community?" I feel we are all too quick on Twitch to treat individual directories as their own communities, and they are, but they are also part of the larger group we call Twitch. I have always said, using sometimes offensive stereotypes mind you, that Twitch "brings gamers out of the basement". We are all there with a common purpose, and many of us would struggle to find like minded people because we tend to be home bodies. Arcades are not what they used to be, and gaming is so much bigger online that it ever was in arcades. Twitch is our arcade, our social place. A place we can all congregate whenever and wherever we are. Here we can make new friends, I know I have made lifelong friends and I haven't even met all of them in person. Twitch is full of negativity and trolls, but thats surface layer. Beneath all of the garbage it is a safe place for gamers to come together and grow. I know in my community I have watched people go from being grumpy trolls to genuinely awesome members of society. Of course that has nothing to do with my stream, it is a commentary on how Twitch can really change lives fort he better through encouragement and support of one another. If we are talking literal artist my favorite is far and away PherianArt. He is not only one of the most talented digital artists I have ever met but he is also unflinchingly kind and will bend over backwards to help in any way he can. I do not have enough kind words for PherianArt. Now if we are talking streamer, I have always been drawn to TigerWriter and Venalis. These 2 broadcasters have so much energy and bring so much to the table in terms of pure entertainment it is astounding. Every time I watch their streams they make me want to be a better caster in my own way and I think that is something hard to find on Twitch these days".
Having built an incredible stream I asked ImTheBlueRanger what advice he could give to someone in the community looking to build a stream setup to become a streamer themselves he replied saying " Pretty straight forward advice honestly: Just do it. Get a console (PS4 is better for streaming) and see how it feels. You never know until you try. Then if you enjoyed it and wish to upgrade, upgrade SLOW! Put your attention towards your microphone, I used an AT-2020usb for a long time and loved it. Audio quality is way more important than facecam or even gameplay quality. Lots of people will only listen to your stream, so make it sound good. Do not over invest, and this goes for more than just money. Only buy what you need to get started, and only invest the time you can afford to lose. I spent every penny I had and now I am broke. I streamed every second I wasn't working or sleeping and now I am massively overweight. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. They are the most important part of your happiness, and a happier streamer means a better stream". It was an honor to have ImTheBlueRanger as this weeks content creator spotlight, he is such a talented and entertaining person that comes so naturally to him, and is an inspiration to be yourself and to have fun with what you do. ImTheBlueRanger as of the beginning of 2018 will be taking a break from Twitch streaming to focus on his health, and over all well being. He will continue to create content in the form of continuing to host on his podcast show Splash Damage Radio and the weekly D&D Twitch stream The Riot Sessions. Never forget that everything we do because we have a shared passion for playing games and interacting with the communities we all are apart of and love. Health and well being always come first, Blue is an inspiration to everyone that your own health and over all well being comes first over games or streaming. Take the time needed to be healthier and take steps to be healthier, whether it be eating better and getting rest, or going outside and exercising the games we play will always be here when we get back and the communities we are all apart of with be there to show support and will always be here for you. ImTheBlueRanger is truly a treasure to have in our community with creating amazing content for everyone to enjoy he also is an inspiration to be more motivated to take time for yourself for a healthier life that will benefit your over all well being. Asking ImTheBlueRanger where you can find him he shed some light into why taking time for your health is important, Blue said " This question is actually a lot more difficult to answer these days. I made a promise to myself at the end of 2016 that if I was no a full time streamer come 2018 I would stop streaming to focus on my wellbeing. This has never been more important than it is right now. I want my story to be a cautionary tale so I am not afraid to share it. I started streaming 11-12-2015 and weighed 230lbs (former MMA fighter, lots of muscle, I was in good shape considering the weight). Today, over 2 years later, I sit in front of the computer over 320lbs with more physical problems than I have time to list off. I did not take care of myself, and for that I have to stop and get my life in check. My stream is going on indefinite hiatus starting 1-1-2018. As for where people can find me, Splash Damage Radio will still go up every week, The Riot Sessions: A D&D Campaign will still air every Sunday @ 7:30pm EST on twitch.tv/theriotsessions (we are just launching this channel when we return in 2018 so drop it a follow and come on by!) and I will still be present on all of my social media @ ImTheBlueRanger. This includes Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and occassional uploads to my YouTube channel. Low key, doing an experiment in 2018 with any down time after taking care of myself and seeing what it takes to start a new stream from scratch in 2018 with zero community support, so who knows... maybe you will find my new channel". From me and all of us here at DestinyTracker and the Tracker Network Thank you for everything you do for the community and being an incredible content creator! We all here support better choices for over all wellbeing and a healthier lifestyle and thank you for being such a inspiration to never lose focus on ones own health. We look forward to everything ImTheBlueRanger has in store for us in the future and look forward to meeting him at this years Guardians Con.
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Seriously thought, Twitch has been a chapter in my life I will never forget. Before Twitch I was a fighter, before I was a fighter I was a reptile breeder and before that I was in a shy band. All of those chapters in my life have been important in helping me learn and grow as a person, but none of them have had the emotional impact that Twitch has. A long time viewer/mod of mine asked me to officiate her wedding this spring. That kind of stuff doesn't just HAPPEN, and I think it speaks volumes to the realness and depth of the relationships that are available to the open minded on Twitch. Thank you so much for providing me with this opportunity to a spotlight, its honors like these that make walking away from Twitch so difficult, but also help make the memories so special. I truly, truly appreciate it!* -fin- **ImTheBlueRanger
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