The Australian streamer ‘Whippy’ took a huge risk for a career on Twitch. He streamed at night for more viewers, nearly ruined his life and health to succeed on the streaming platform, and made it big. MeinMMO shows you his story.
A career as a streamer on Twitch is not a safe bet. It takes a lot of dedication, determination, patience, and a certain ‘personality.’ Even then, a good portion of luck is needed and a lot of time.
Twitch streamer ‘Whippy’ has made it. The 22-year-old Australian had a plan and the drive to succeed. His story shows that it is possible – but also what risks some people take to fulfill their dreams.
‘Sometimes I didn’t see the sun for days’
In an interview with Dot Esports, Whippy described his life before Twitch. In school, he was always ‘the dumb kid,’ and that affected him greatly later on. He felt, ‘I will never amount to anything.’
Whippy lived in the rural part of New South Wales, Australia, found himself in a job he disliked, and had a high mortgage to pay off.
He started his streaming career in a shabby shed. The windows were covered with garbage bags and there was no sign of insulation. Summers were hot, winters were cold.
His plan was to reach the large American audience. And that was somewhat of a unique selling point. As an Australian, he spoke the native language of Americans but grew up in a different cultural environment.
However, to pursue his dream, Whippy had to turn his life upside down and stream at night. From 10 PM until 9 AM, he was live. ‘Sometimes I didn’t see the sun for days,’ he recalls.
Another country streamer who has made it is Tyler1. More about that in our video:
Everything was wrong – Honestly, it ruined my life
Additionally, his internet connection was not optimal for streaming. He had to pay 1 AUD per gigabyte for streaming – 1 Australian dollar is currently about 0.67 euro cents. Per session, that could easily add up to several dozen gigabytes.
The first two years were tough for Whippy: ‘I was in the wrong time zone, had the wrong internet. Everything was wrong. […] Honestly, it ruined my life’ – His wallet suffered, as did his health.
Moreover, he supported his mother with her debts, as Whippy explained in a clip:
But Whippy was determined to succeed. He faced a crossroads: accept the situation or continue hoping for that one moment of luck. And that moment was about to come.
Roleplay in GTA 5 brings the turnaround
Through his stagnant yet existing fan base, Whippy made it onto the well-known GTA roleplay server ‘No Pixel 3.0.’ Here, he played with streaming stars like xQc, Valkyrae, and Sodapoppin.
And the GTA roleplay was set to explode on Twitch during this time. Whippy had experience with GTA roleplay and the stories of his two main characters were well-received – both of whom are Australians: Irwin Dundee, a drug-addicted gangster boss, and Crocodile Steve, the most petty cop on the whole server.
His numbers on Twitch skyrocketed. While a little over 850 people were watching his streams on average in January 2021, it was over 6,600 viewers on average in April 2021 (via twitchtracker.com).
His numbers have dropped a bit since then, but it’s enough for a good life. Whippy moved from the countryside to the city of Brisbane.
The streamer is now simply grateful for his successes and the support of his community:
If you had told me a few years ago that I would have so many viewers, such a community, I would have laughed at you. ‘Yeah, right,’ I would have said. And it makes me so happy that they are here now.
Even now, I still think it could all end at any moment. But I am also so grateful for having this community.
Whippy on Dot Esports
The streamer recently announced that he has signed an exclusive contract with Twitch and will spend the next few years on the platform. For this, Whippy made a short video:
In his stream, he feels at home, his chat is his best friend. Whippy has made it and announces alongside his contract with Twitch another milestone in his life: He was able to pay off his mother’s mortgage: ‘I have made something out of my life.’
Another high-risk Twitch story can be found here: Man leaves secure job, switches to gaming dream job with DrDisrespect – Quits due to awful boss
