Into the streaming life - Interview with Forest A. Crown

Content creating takes time, skills and a passion for doing so. For upcoming youtuber and streamer Forest A. Crown, all three of these traits are a core part of their content.

Starting their journey at 12 years old on YouTube, they have been making content for quite some time. They properly started to make consistent content about a year ago, with the addition to streaming on Twitch. As of right now, they have 127 subscribers on YouTube and 1.2k followers on Twitch. To some this may not seem so much, but to get not only a decent following count and for people to interact with your content, Forest is definitely doing something right on their end.

I had the pleasure to chat with them about their experience so far with content creating, and the challenges they have overcome to make it this far.

'I make vlogs on YouTube and I try to make stories as I'm really into writing and art and making whole stories come into reality.'

As a self dubbed variety creator, Forest makes content on many different genres, from Minecraft and gaming to animation and art. Their streams are treated as a relaxed environment where anyone can join in, making them engaging to watch. I asked them what first inspired them to start making content.

'It was a gradual transition from YouTube to Twitch and YouTube.' 'For content wise, I would watch youtubers like TheOdd1sOut, DanTDM, Yogscast, and those with big milestones. With big Minecraft youtubers like DanTDM, Yogscast and Ssundee, I wanted to make Minecraft videos. From there, I transitioned from Minecraft to Story Time animations, and from there it went from making vlogs, making anything as a creative outlet. From there, it transitioned to Twitch.'

Despite the enjoyment they get from content creating, it has come with its fair share of struggles.

'There was a reason why I started creating content when I was twelve. First of all, the biggest factor was definitely not being able to do big tasks and focus, and I found out recently it's because of ADHD. So I would make something and be really hyper focused into it.'

After streaming during that summer, they managed to gain 100 followers and 13 views per stream, which made them feel proud of themselves at the time. However, that was not the be all and end all for success.

'It would just be very hard to focus on other things, like on task again. I would get a lot of imposter syndrome even as a kid, so whenever the view count lowered under 10 people, it would kill me so much.'

'I took a long break from content creating. When I was doing story time animations I loved it (and I still love animating now), but the problem was I couldn't finish the videos. I would get to the point where I would be absolutely miserable finishing the videos because I couldn't finish tasks, which was a symptom I had for ADHD.'

'My mental health dropped during the summer recently, I was at the lowest I'd ever been. I was severely anxious and severely depressed, and streaming was sometimes the one thing that kept me going.'

Since then, they have gotten help for their ADHD and mental health and I am pleased to say Forest is doing better than last summer. To make the topic more cheery, I asked them what their favorite thing to do on stream and content wise.

'For streaming, there's two things. One new thing is just taking quizzes, which I like doing because I really like putting on a show for the chat.' 'Setting up a joke on stream is really fun. It's like improv, which I really like. Probably my favourite thing on Twitch.

'Content wise, I love editing the video and going out on the adventure. Going out on the adventure is something fun to do, and it gets me out of the house.' 'Editing the video, setting up jokes and creating footage into a full is really really cool for me. I can set up the theme for the video, add songs, envision it in my head and put it into reality.'

With so much passion for what they like doing, it is no wonder so many people end up getting drawn towards their content. As an exclusive to this interview, I did ask Forest if there were any upcoming projects they would like to share.

'I have a video that I'll be posting in December, I think. I wanted to make a video with the theme of a 60s cooking show. I wanna do that and I wanna make gingerbread cookies, like if someone found a tape, put it in and it pans to the footage. The story behind it is that it looks normal, just someone making gingerbread cookies, but slowly if you put together the pieces, as some bits will be off, and I want it to be more of a witch who turns people into gingerbread cookies...'

Much to look forward to near the end of the year for Forest content, especially with the hundreds of ideas already in their head. It was a pleasure to interview them and I highly look forward to seeing what they do next.

If you are curious about Forest, then check out their Twitch and YouTube:

https://www.twitch.tv/forest_crown https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWWH9v1fUWL8M7gH4A5Thig/featured