Creator Spotlight - kayPOWXD

In our latest Creator Spotlight we have a pirate who you just can’t miss: it’s kayPOWXD! We asked her some questions about her Voyages across the seas so far, and what experiences those travels have brought her.

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[Q]: What was your introduction to the world of games?

[A]: I always thought it was my Dad, as watching him play Crash Bandicoot was one of my earliest memories. When I got Partnered on Twitch earlier this year, however, my Mum told me a story. Apparently, we were walking out of Mothercare and passed a poster advertising Crash Bandicoot – I fell in love with him there and then, according to her. So that paved the way for me and my sisters to begin gaming.

We grew up with Crash, Spyro, Tomb Raider (the butler still terrifies me) and many other games. We later started getting into handheld games on Game Boy Advance SP/Nintendo DS (Animal Crossing: Wild World was our LIFE for a long time). Then I discovered Halo 3 and Xbox, that's when I really fell deep into the world of games and it became much more than just a casual hobby! (Master Chief IS pretty wonderful.)

[Q]: How did you become part of the Sea of Thieves community?

[A]: I remember watching E3 in my room back in 2015, the pirate holding their hand up to the sun then the music kicking in. The art style grabbed me straight away, the music made me smile… I knew it was going to be something special. After that I signed up to all the newsletters, Alphas, Betas... anything I could.

I stood in line at EGX 2017 for two hours just so that I could get my claws on the game! I was accepted as a Sea of Thieves Founder, but I think at the time of EGX I hadn't had time to test it. So I was very excited to see that the game was being shown there. I spoke to so many amazing people whilst waiting in that line, the growing community was so kind even back then before release! After that I went to every demo I could, watched panels and got involved with playtests.

[Q]: How did creating content become your ‘thing’?

[A]: I've been a consumer of YouTube videos since the days of sneezing panda! When I was little, my dream was to be a presenter or actress. So when I saw that people could be on camera from their own homes, that was SO exciting to me! Entertainment has always been a passion of mine. In my friend groups in school, I was ALWAYS the clown, going out of my way to make people laugh and smile.

YouTube never worked out for me, I talk a load of old codswallop and I mess up a lot, I get too excited, and editing would take me a long time because of these things. I made a JustinTV account in 2009, that's when my eyes were opened to the world of live streaming. I watched people playing Halo and just having fun, whilst being able to talk to people all over the world and entertain them!

After years of failing on YouTube, I finally decided to call it quits. It's important to know when something isn't right for you, and it definitely was not. In 2017 I spent a whole day testing streaming on my Xbox One and laptop, eventually I got League Of Legends to work. I had 3-5 people stop by my stream the very first day, I was so shocked! Then Bob’s your uncle! I realised that Twitch was my home, where I would build my internet family.

[Q]: How do you decide what kind of content to create?

[A]: I don't usually plan very much, I just sort of grab a cuppa Yorkshire Tea and push the ‘going live’ button, hoping for the best! When I do specifically plan something, it's usually a charity stream, special event in a game or something involving my amazing community. Like an in-game fashion show or specific challenge! The content I create is just me doing what I enjoy doing, there's no acting or scripting. I feel like that way I can focus on chat and have a better time interacting with my saucy sausages! For me, interaction is SO important.

[Q]: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced while creating content?

[A]: There's definitely been a fair share of challenges on this journey. Learning how to deal with trolls/hate, finding a balance between work and self-care, understanding that not everyone will enjoy what I do and all of those important lessons that content creators face. Though if you ask my lot, they'll probably tell you that my worst enemy is myself. Like many other creators, I suffer with impostor syndrome. I don't even feel like I deserve to be answering these questions right now, I've been so lucky to have such amazing opportunities handed to me over the past three years. Most of the time I just ask "Why me?". I'm getting better with this over time, but I definitely fight with myself a lot over how I got this far. I just need to keep reminding myself that I got this far because I worked hard and put the effort in! I deserve this! (I think? Maybe?)

[Q]: What different channels do you have?

[A]: I mostly stream on Twitch, I'm live there every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 12pm BST! I can also be found on TikTok (four videos a week), Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube… pretty much everywhere. All the same username, 'kayPOWXD'. Oh, and I run a cute little Discord server called 'The Realm Of Insani-tea' where we all hang out.

[Q]: What’s been your most memorable Sea of Thieves moment so far?

[A]: Oh my, there are SO many marvellous memories to choose from! I think it has to be the first time I encountered a Skelly Ship, I was playing with the cheeky beans JoshAndKato and they took me to the location to start the event. I had no idea what was happening, because I almost never read event details, I like to jump in and experience it all first-hand. I SCREAMED when the ship came up out of the water, and Josh was shouting "SHOOT IT KAY SHOOT IT" while laughing maniacally, it was chock-a-block with chaos. We ended up forming an Alliance with two other ships that day and had such a wonderful time with them, Meg made an appearance as well. Lots of tea dropped at the end, I like tea a lot so I was happy to have so many tea crates!

[Q]: What do you enjoy most about the game now, and what are you looking forward to in future?

[A]: I mean, obviously I'm so happy to have pets in the game! I have asked at pretty much every panel I've attended "When will pets arrive?"... BUT I've really been enjoying the Flameheart Ghosty Boi event. I think this has been the best encounter so far and every time I see his stinky 'flame-fart' face in the sky I get so excited. I love that you can go start the event even if you have just spawned, the spooky storage crates are such a great idea! As for things to come, I'm just excited for whatever comes next. The SoT crew do such an amazing job at constantly surprising me and I LOVE surprises. (But I would love to have a little Captain Kato by my side!)

[Q]: What’s something you’re particularly proud of accomplishing in gaming?

[A]: Honestly, I think the thing that I'm most proud of doing in gaming is creating an amazing community of Pirates and/or Guildies. In every game we play, with Sea of Thieves being no exception, we have the very best time. Everyone that I play with is so positive, helpful and the furthest away from toxic you could ever find yourself. I'm so happy to be surrounded by such wonderful, goofy sailors! Together we have achieved so many great things and built memories that I will never forget.

[Q]: How did you come up with your channel name?

[A]: I've had the nickname 'kayPOW' for years, it's a play on my name and 'KAPOW', because I'm quite loud and hard to miss I guess? The 'XD' came later down the line when I ended up getting locked out of an old account and had to make a new username, but I ended up quite liking how kayPOWXD looked so I stuck with it for my social media. Most people just call me 'kayPOW' still so it's not like I lost my nickname!

[Q]: What advice would you give to a new content creator?

[A]: When you're live, never stop talking. Not many people will stick around in a channel if it's silent, so find something to change that. I've always found it quite easy to talk to myself, so I'm lucky (I think?) in that regard. However, I know it's not that simple for everyone. Sometimes it's a good idea to have a list of topics to speak about, you could even make some of those topics open questions! Ask the question, but NEVER wait for chat to reply. Always give your own answer first and you'll fill in any blank spaces until someone in chat does reply. If they don't, move to the next topic or even just talk about what you're doing in game. You never know if a new player is watching and they might like the advice/tips!

[Q]: What’s one thing you would advise a content creator not to do?

[A]: I think the most important thing is to not burn out. A lot of people when they're starting out think that you should be streaming as much as possible to succeed, which is simply not true! Self-care is so important, keeping in your best mindset will ensure that you're putting out your best content. Keeping to a healthy sleep schedule is key to that! Instead of constantly streaming, set a good schedule so that people know when you're going to be live and spend your non-streaming days improving behind the scenes. Work on your overlays, social media and building your community.

[Q]: Could you give us one more random fact about yourself?

[A]: I'm absolutely obsessed with campervans! Split screens are my favourite, if you look around my room they're dotted absolutely everywhere. Coasters, candle holders, wall decorations... everywhere! If I ever won the lottery, I'd probably buy a Volkswagen T1 before anything else. I love surfing, bodyboarding and cliffside walks along the coast, so I feel like that's part of the reason I love them so much. They fit those vibes perfectly!

That’s all for today’s Creator Spotlight. Thank you to kayPOWXD for letting us delve into her life as both a creator and a Sea of Thieves fan! We’re off to hoard tea crates and protect them with our lives…

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