A week ago, two members of the MeinMMO community won a trip to Finland for an event by OnePlus. The winners were a father-son duo who run a Twitch channel together. Our author Irina Moritz accompanied them and asked them a few questions about their streaming everyday life.
In collaboration with OnePlus, we launched a giveaway on MeinMMO at the beginning of March. Thanks to the paid partnership, you had the opportunity to win a trip to Finland for the Snowbots event by OnePlus.
The winners were accompanied by yours truly and were able to try various winter activities together with the winners of other community giveaways in Finland.
Who were the winners? In our giveaway, the reader Andreas won, who was able to bring his son AJ as a companion.
- Andreas works in marketing,
- while AJ, like all kids his age, still goes to school.
Together they also run a streaming channel on Twitch, which revolves around their concept of “father-son streams”. AJ is a talented shooter player, so he and his father have embraced the theme of e-sports.
I found it exciting that Andreas and AJ run a streaming channel together and even want to enter e-sports professionally. That’s why I asked them about it during our journey together.
It all started with Lego, Minecraft, and Fortnite
First of all, I was naturally interested in how the idea of streaming together was born. Andreas explained it to me in our conversation:
I worked professionally in marketing and also in influencer marketing […] That’s why I dealt with the topic more intensively.
That means we watched a lot of YouTube at home, watched many streams, looked at influencers we could potentially collaborate with. And AJ always watched along.
Since Andreas was also trying out various new media channels, he and AJ decided to give Twitch a chance as well. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to pursue it further.
For AJ, it was something special:
It was my passion. I really liked it, it was fun. When others play football, I play my games.
It started with a Lego game. Lego Marvel’s Avengers, I think. Then we went to Minecraft, then to Fortnite, to CS: GO and I stayed with it.
AJ
From Minecraft and Fortnite to CS:GO
Now AJ is obviously very young. The age of AJ is kept secret by the two streamers, and they also do not reveal which grade he is in.
They believe that knowing the age wouldn’t make the stream any better or worse for the viewers. It also has to do with the fact that the topic of streaming and e-sports has not yet arrived in society, and people cannot cope with it properly, according to Andreas.
We have also addressed the topic here on MeinMMO:
While it is perfectly normal for kids today to play games like Minecraft and especially Fortnite in their free time, I was a bit surprised when AJ also mentioned CS:GO in his list above. According to the USK, CS:GO is only rated for ages 16 and up. Even though AJ’s age is not revealed, it is clear that he has a few more years before he reaches 16.
I wondered where the decision to play CS:GO came from, given that AJ is still so young.
This is how Andreas and AJ got into CS:GO: The suggestion that he should try the Valve shooter came from a viewer with whom AJ had played a few rounds of Fortnite in duo:
One time, someone came into the chat while we were still playing Fortnite and said, “Hey, you’re actually quite good, why don’t you try out CS:GO?”
AJ
Andreas believes his son can definitely handle a game like CS:GO properly. Regardless of the fact that he has not yet reached the recommended age by the USK.
This is partly because Andreas is always present during the streams and keeps a close eye on what his son is doing in the game. The streams are also discussed and evaluated afterwards:
- What went well?
- What didn’t go so well?
- What could be improved?
- How could we prevent it from not going so well?
Above all, Andreas strictly ensures that no one behaves poorly in the stream. AJ should learn to deal with defeats sportingly and not let them throw him off.
This also applies to his gaming partners. Father and son both believe that playing with others in a team is more fun, but as Andreas stated, “I’m completely unsuitable for games,” AJ plays with people from his chat.
However, they must adhere to the rules. If someone starts to behave poorly or throw around insults, they will not be invited again.
Another reason is that they view CS:GO as a “sport,” as a strategic game in which teamwork is important. And this also includes behaving professionally and not being rude.
I don’t worry at all because I see it as e-sport and not as a “shooter game.” As a tactical and strategic game where you have to work with your team and not just run around to kill everyone.
Andreas
? LIVE
— Kung Fu AJ (@KungFu_AJ) March 1, 2020
? https://t.co/ywXVWMf5wy ?
⚠️ Rage Kiddy in 2020 pic.twitter.com/q8R7h4MjeO
This is how education is handled: Andreas also has confidence in AJ’s development so far:
It comes from my professional life that I said from the very beginning, I make no distinction between an intern and a full-time employee. Everyone is equal.
And that’s how I handled AJ’s upbringing too, that I said, “Everyone is equal.” Whether at home, behind the camera, he has just as many rights to speak as an adult. The classic “Now the adults are talking, you must be quiet” does not exist with us.
That’s why I think AJ is already much further in his head. Because he has asked questions that we have answered instead of saying, “Here, you will learn this later.” On average, he is estimated to be 3 years older than he actually is.
Andreas
To the relief of both, their community reacted positively to the switch from Fortnite to CS:GO, for which they were very grateful to their viewers.
Since the shooter was well received by the people and AJ also enjoyed it, it was decided to stick with it.
Some play football, others play CS:GO
A proper streaming channel naturally has impacts on everyday life, especially for children. In the past, we reported on young Fortnite pro gamers who were taken out of school by their parents to train more.
But in the case of Andreas and AJ, school must not be neglected. Even though the two are very ambitious in their e-sport plans, they ensure that everything runs smoothly at school. AJ said about this:
My academic performance is actually quite good. I just recently wrote a 2+. I do my homework and study, which is why I got the 2+! Just like all other children.
AJ
The father-son duo sees no difference between streaming and “traditional” leisure activities for children. Andreas said:
If a child goes to football training 3-4 times a week, it’s nothing different than if we turn on the stream. […]
And that’s how I’m always involved in the streams. It’s fun father-son time that we spend together. […] I observe the chat that runs on the side, answer questions, coordinate a bit, but I always have the opportunity to do something else in the meantime.
Even the mother fully supports the streaming and enjoys watching the two. Without her consent, streaming would not have been possible, Andreas laughed.
This is what happens with the money earned: Twitch offers streamers various ways to make money from their content. You can also subscribe to Andreas and AJ’s channel.
For the money earned, the two have very forward-looking plans. Andreas said:
AJ gets the money 100%, and all the expenses we have for the stream are covered by me personally. It’s like when the little one needs new football shoes or a sports suit. And so I cover the costs for the stream and everything we earn goes into AJ’s savings account for his driver’s license or his first car.
The father has been accused in the past of “only exploiting his son for clicks” or to earn extra money. But both Andreas and AJ emphasize that for them, the streaming channel is primarily about having fun together.
The money earned is a bonus that flows into long-term planning.
MeinMMO as a place to find new games
In the end, I asked Andreas how he even got to MeinMMO and became part of our community. He told me that it happened during his research on Fortnite, which AJ was extensively playing at the time.
Fortnite is a game that frequently receives updates: balancing patches, new skins, events, etc. There’s a lot going on there, and the father-son duo wanted to be well-informed about it.
Over time, however, their focus changed.
Staying on the site was more about me looking for variety. For example, if he [AJ] doesn’t feel like playing Fortnite or CS:GO.
So we wanted to see what other games were out there left and right, that we could discover and showcase. And that was the background, to see what else is happening in the multiplayer area. […]
What I really like to check out are new introductions of games. If something catches my interest, when something new is happening on the market, a new game is coming out, or new information about a game. That’s the area I’m looking at.
Andreas
The conversation with AJ and Andreas will stay in my good memory. It was exciting to learn more about their streaming everyday life as a father-son duo, which is why I am happy to share the conversation with you here.
Nowadays, it is not all that unusual for young kids to step into streaming and e-sports.
