“I just want to be as impactful and positive as I can be. There was always so much that I felt I had to dim or codeswitch, but with streaming, this is about me,” Briana Williams, the woman behind the handle, said during a phone interview with Lifewire. “It’s really really mind blowing to have all these people supporting me. I have to pinch myself sometimes because it still doesn’t feel real. I feel so thankful and so blessed.” She’s on the come-up in the Twitch scene, and whether it’s collaborating with popular YouTubers like iBerleezy or hosting the Olympics in Tokyo as an official Twitch host, Williams is dedicated to making an impact and spreading a bit of joyful noise in the process. Storymodebae is seizing the reins of her own narrative.
Story Time
Williams isn’t new to the world of gaming. Oh no, she goes way back. Her father, an avid OG gamer himself, introduced the young Williams to the world of gaming with 16-bit classics like the original 1993 Doom and Duck Hunt, among other titles. The love affair, she says, was instantaneous. Particularly, per her namesake, with story-driven video game content. “I think one of the main impacts I want to leave with my journey of streaming is merging these worlds together of gaming as a hobby and gaming as art to be enjoyed,” she said. “There’s more to being a gamer than shooting and violence. We enjoy so much more than that.” Her parents nurtured her love of video gaming and she stayed up-to-date on the latest systems and technology over the years. The streaming spark would debut a bit further down the line. Perusing YouTube for gaming walkthroughs, she discovered veteran YouTuber xChaseMoney and his comedy-filled playthroughs, which she cites as an inspiration for her eventual foray into the world of content creation. “I was like, ‘okay, wow, that’s pretty cool,’ and started to search for other people who kind of look like me, because you can relate and get certain cultural in-jokes,” she described. “The algorithm wasn’t showing too many of us. So it was hard to find, but [I came] to find out there were actually thousands of us.” She started on YouTube before quickly moving to Twitch in January 2018. Originally, streaming was a way to decompress as she juggled working as a server and student teaching as part of her aspiration to become an educator. It’s a dream she said originated from a desire to impact the lives of others. Unbeknownst to the budding streamer, she would command the attention of 30,000, and her desire for positive influence would be realized far beyond a single classroom.
Get in Formation
Williams’ ascent on Twitch has been a surprise to her and her beloved community, affectionately named The Bae Brigade. Her ardent supporters share her love of music, television, gossip websites, and video games. However, under the surface of her booming community is an all-too-common experience: the unfortunate reality of an often-times exclusionary industry. “As a Black woman in such a, honestly, racist industry, you have to have tough skin. You have two strikes against you. You’re a woman, so you deal with sexism, and as a Black person, you have to deal with racism. It’s not always easy,” she laments about the world of streaming. So, she sought community. The Twitch Team Black Girl Gamers served as an affirmation of her place in the industry. While the algorithm may not be working in her favor, and she has to battle hate brigades, there were other Black women she could connect with and share experiences. “All of our energy and the time we spend is so sacred, so let’s make it count on things that matter,” the streamer said. With the Bae Brigade tightly in tow, the success of her streaming life has afforded Williams with unparalleled opportunities and the development of new loves such as hosting. In the gaze of her camera is a fully realized woman with the drive and talent to fulfill her dreams on her own terms. And there’s no better story than that. “I don’t take any of this for granted, and while I’m able to do it, I want to do as much as I possibly can,” Williams closes. “I’m hoping that what I have done, so far, has left a positive mark and impact on everyone I’ve encountered, and I just can’t wait to see what the future has in store.”
