Meet bbjess | Streamer

We had the good fortune of connecting with bbjess and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi bbjess, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I became a full time streamer during COVID. It started as a fun hobby- a way to interact with others in a time where we couldn’t go out and socialize. It kind of just took off from there and became a full career.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I live stream on Twitch, Kick, and TiktokLive. I don’t really refer to myself as a content creator- but as a live editor. I have multiple cameras that I switch between with a reprogrammed hand held keyboard. The goal is to produce a stream that looks like it took an entire production team- on my own. I have dozens of ways that the viewers can interact with and directly change my stream in real time.

I have a BA in Theatre and a background in management. The collision of all the mediums while getting to run the show/my brand entirely on my own is the type of creative freedom I never knew I craved.

The largest challenge I’ve faced as an online creator is, of course, the online hate and safety concerns. When my first tiktok went viral and received millions of views overnight- I stayed up and read EVERY comment about me. Mostly very negative comments about my body or assumptions people made about me without ever watching my streams or bothering to look into who I really am as a person. I’m still learning to have thicker skin- but having a great team of moderators and a solid foundation of friends is integral. Everyone will receive both valid and invalid criticism if they spend any amount of time online. What’s important is remaining true to what feels best and right for you. As for the safety concerns- it seems like you get thrown in the deep end and have to figure out how to swim. Myself and my family have faced very serious doxing and swatting attempts. You’d be shocked at how common these very illegal and dangerous acts are. I’m very lucky that local PD and SWAT teams are educated in online threats and work with me to ensure safety. So thank you to them if they are reading this 🙂

I’m most proud of my charity work. When I first started streaming- I had no intentions of doing anything other than just having fun. But after one charity stream where we raised $20k in just a few hours for the American Cancer Society- I realized the power my community had to make the world a better place. in 3 years my streams have raised over $250,000 for various causes. I’m MOST excited for an event I have planned at the end of July called BB’s STREAMER SHOWDOWN- THE FIGHT FOR GOOD. I’ve organized a week long charity streaming tournament where 150 Twitch and Kick streamers will raise money for the charities of their choosing. I feel most fulfilled when I’m using my platform for positive change.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The San Diego Zoo has a very special place in my heart. I hope to do a live stream there someday to raise money for their non-profit SDZWA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Matt Lieberman @mattlieberman was a streamer on Twitch who I’d watch every single day. I never missed a stream and I’d spend every hour of every day in his discord with the community of amazing people he’d attracted. That community showed me the vast power of the internet- especially during quarantine. These internet strangers who lived all over the world became a family. We’d send digital bday cards, root each other on during huge life events, eat dinner together in video chats, ect. All because we all enjoyed the same streamer. It was so beautiful to not feel so alone during a global pandemic.

Website: https://twitch.tv/bbjess

Instagram: instagram.com/bbjessttv/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bbjessTTV

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bbjessttv

Other: Twitch: https://twitch.tv/bbjess Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/@bbjessttv Kick: https://kick.com/bbjess