Rising Stars: Meet LastBlackSpartan of West Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to LastBlackSpartan.

Hi LastBlackSpartan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started streaming mostly as a way for my friends to watch us play league whenever someone else couldn’t. Back then we mostly played league of legends so I got the idea to start making content around the game, mostly on Youtube at the time. It wasn’t the best but it was me, so I enjoyed it. I had so much fun doing it I made the decision to give it a more consistent go once I got a new computer. Took about a year or so to get all the parts and get the PC built but by May 2019 the journey started!

It started off real rough though. I was very VERY green to the streaming space and had a lot to learn about a variety of things. A few of those included navigating the space, looking out for scammers, certain etiquette in chats or other people’s spaces, the right and wrong ways to grow, etc. That first year I made a lot of connections with people who’s hearts honestly weren’t in it. Eventually I found my tribe but I was still learning even then. Luckily a lot of them were more open to genuinely helping others, open to collaborating, and even just having a mutual respect was nice. I learned a LOT my 3rd and 4th year of streaming but I was starting to find my stride and really started to understand how to navigate with more finesse. There were highs and lows but I started feeling more confident in my content.

By Year 5 I was really cooking. I joined some collectives, I joined the Black Guild, I had consistent collabs, events, and even a strong brand that I was known for starting to really take shape. Now in year 6 I’ve started to niche down to games I truly enjoy and focus more on building a community. I’m also taking a shot at being a guide when it comes to the marketing and branding side of things, earning a spot as a Mentor in the Twitch Black Guild.

So as I approach Year 7, the goal is to really take the next step and be a shining beacon in the community at large, continue to define my brand, and build my community to something I can truly be proud of.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road was definitely rocky, mountainous even. Especially that first year. As I said before I was VERY green to content creation when I first started. Definitely fell into a few “Follow For Follow” and “Support For Support” kind of “communities” if you can even call them that. There were definitely some real ones around that I learned a good amount from and had genuine connections with but there were definitely some folks taking advantage of my, as well as others’, kindness and willingness to support for themselves.

Even after that there were some rough patches here and there. They were mostly outshined by finding some genuine connections with people I still collaborate, game, and even visit IRL to this day. But there were definitely times were people would be weird, make me look bad, pretend to be supportive expecting things in return, act shady towards me for no reason, and just some all around immaturity towards me and the people I’m connected too.

These times were just lessons for me on how to move forward and have lead to a lot better times, especially the past couple of years. It’s how I move and how I’ve always moved, so no love lost.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think at this point I’m known for a couple of things. Being an all around nerd gave me a reason to brand myself as the “Nerd of All Trades”. I can yap (talk) about almost any topic from either an area of expertise or as a student just yearning to learn more.

I mostly play RPGs when I’m live, with the occasional new release or community night. We play “Brain Games” on stream too once a month like Wordle, Connections, Bandle, Guess the Game, etc. My community/chat can earn points towards gift cards just for participating on nights like that.

Every Wednesday is “Woke Wednesday” where I create a meme by putting a Kufi style hat on something random for the day, posting it on socials, and wearing a Kufi myself on stream that night.

Something I’m working towards is sharpening my gift of gab and being a subject matter expert in the content creation space when it comes to branding/marketing. So I’ve been working on presentations/panels behind the scenes that I’ll present to groups I’m a part of. Eventually I’d love to take this to conventions and even be paid for it but for now I’m okay with helping people in my network strengthen their own brands. I still have a lot to learn myself in this area but the plan is to learn as I go and improve.

How do you define success?
Success for me will be feeding my family while doing something I’m truly passionate about. When “work” becomes “fun” and money is no longer a concern. When I wake up looking forward to what I have to work on.

That’s how I’ll know I made it.

Pricing:

• Twitch Sub: $6+
• Youtube Membership: $2+
• Merchandise: $8-40 per item
• Viewership: Priceless

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lastblackspartan.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/lastblackspartan7/
• TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lastblackspartan2/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lastblkspartan/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LastBlackSpartan/
• Twitch: https://twitch.tv/lastblackspartan/
• Other: https://lastblackspartan-shop.fourthwall.com/

Image Credits
Dreamhack