Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Gates.
Hi Justin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always loved video games ever since I was four years old. I knew back then that whatever I got into would involve video games or tech in some form. Around 2011 I got into gaming videos on Youtube. I thought to myself, “I could do that”! What I also noticed very quickly was that there were little to no people that looked like me. I started to look up what equipment that I needed to record my gameplay and upload it to the internet.
A few years pass, and I’m starting to find and network with more people. I meet one individual who goes by the name TheBlackHokage and we start gaming together. Eventually, we decided to start a podcast called “The Gaming Illuminaughty Podcast”. This would quickly turn into a media organization centered around people of color who want to enlighten the youth. We started to expand into journalism (both written and video form), going to events in person and interviewing various game companies, and live streaming. Personally, I start expanding my own content to music, movies, and sports.
Fast forward to 2021, and my content is mainly live streaming on Twitch while handling the day to day aspects of the organization and working an IT job. Brands have been working with us as a collective and individually. The journey continues to put our name firmly on the map as one of the biggest POC gaming organizations in the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t like to always put struggles on race, but it will always play a factor in the overall aspect of “making it”. When there aren’t as many people who look like you in your field, it will be even more difficult to be able to appeal and relate to the masses. When you constantly see others who you know aren’t as talented as you get those opportunities that you want, it puts a damper on your motivation.
My road is one less traveled. A lot of people in my field focused on one game or one genre of content creation. I decided very early on that I didn’t want to place myself in a box. It’s an incredibly slow grind to play multiple games and pivot to other content like music and sports, but ultimately I know it will be worth it once that big push comes.
Finally as a new father of an almost two years old daughter, it has been a teaching time to find out what schedule works out best for me and my family. Time for content creation has taken a significant hit, but I’m gaining my stride as she gets older.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I primarily produce video game content on Twitch and Youtube for myself and for my organization the Gaming Illuminaughty. I stream for mainly 2 hours a day, gather clips, edit and post all of my own videos, and research topics for our podcast. I also handle the day to day operations for my team which includes responding to emails and checking on the team for content ideas.
I am most proud of the fact that people legit look up to me. The goal was never to be a role model, but there are individuals who have been watching me since they were in high school. Long-time viewers tell me often that they not only watch me for gaming content but also life advice. They look at me as the “big homie” and not just someone who they can get entertainment from.
What sets me apart is my realness aspect. A good amount of people have a persona in my field. They just do their content and repeat it the next day. People love that I don’t stick to one genre. You can talk to me about sports, music, politics, relationships, etc. I’m a generally private person, but I am not afraid to be transparent with my audience. Some people wouldn’t dare to touch some of the topics that I talk about on the daily.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Gaming is bigger than it’s ever been. The pandemic forced so many people to stay in their houses. Everyone now wants to be a content creator, so I see more people who at one point never thought about doing video game content taking a chance. It’s becoming easier and easier to make videos and live stream.
Esports is also growing at a rapid pace. A lot of people early on didn’t see esports as an actual sport, but it’s hard to deny that it’s here to stay. In the next 5-10 years, I see esports closing that gap between esports and traditional sports. Some of these tournaments see an upwards of 100k + concurrent viewers watching. This number is only going to grow as time goes on. There will be an increased demand for physical stadiums to be built just for esports teams.
Finally, crypto and NFTs have taken over the entire world. Video games will become in integral part of this and will eventually become a part of every major AAA game and developer you can think of. You will be able to buy games with crypto, and NFTs will be the next ‘special edition’ of your favorite game.
Contact Info:
- Email: Jg@giupdates.tv
- Website: giupdates.tv
- Instagram: instagram.com/utxjgthedon
- Twitter: twitter.com/utxjgthedon
- Youtube: youtube.com/utxjgthedon
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@utxjgthedon
