Streamer Spotlight: Glenn Ángel
Welcome to a new Streamer Spotlight where this time, the spotlight falls on Glenn Ángel!
Have you ever wondered what streaming would be like as a telenovela? Then look no further than Glenn Ángel for his high energy streaming with enough gasps, pouts and fast Spanish to make anyone scream escándalo!
I sat down with Glenn for a chat about his stream life and where it all began.
Robin: Hi Glenn! Tell me when and why did you start streaming?
Glenn: I started streaming in February 2019. Before then I wasn’t very active on Twitch, usually hopping on to watch a Starcraft II or Heroes of the Storm stream here and there. However in January of that year I was introduced to Angelxoxo and essentially the LGBTQIA2+ side of Twitch. I had so much fun in her chat and even played Overwatch with some of her community members. There was this one person that, when we played together, felt like we would be perfect for Youtube or Twitch. I brought up the idea to them and they told me no. So I thought to myself, “Why don’t I try it anyway?” And here we are today!
What games do you prefer to stream?
I really enjoy playing MMOs on stream. I used to play a lot of online multiplayer PvP games like Overwatch and Apex Legends, but I had a hard time dealing with the toxicity that would come out of text and voice chat. And I have a very short temper so it would bring down the mood of stream if I had “bad” games. When I switched to playing MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV, I thought no one would want to watch me roam around and do quests but I’m very happy to say I was completely wrong.
What can people expect from your stream?
A loud, chaotic but wholesome hangout with friends. I love to talk, so no matter what game is listed as the focus for stream, we will in fact stay on one line of text for 40 minutes while we explore at least 5 different topics in that timeframe. Also, whenever anyone comes into chat for the first time that day, we like to use a sound command “!hola” that plays a recorded greeting taken from Jenny Lorenzo, one of my favorite Latina content creators. It’s in Spanish and translates to, “Hello my child. How are you?”
You bring a lot of energy to your streams, doesn’t that exhaust you?!
It does actually, yes! I naturally get very excited over things, and chatting on stream is no different. I unfortunately learned just how much energy I use up streaming when I attempted to do a 90 Day Stream Challenge. By Day 30 I had this nagging feeling to take a break but I ignored it thinking I could push through. However a week later, the exhaustion was too much physically and emotionally so I had to step away from streaming and social media for nearly a month. It was not fun to say the least. But it’s always good to learn your limits so you can navigate them in the future. I spent most of my time off thinking ‘why can other people breeze through daily streams but I can’t.’ Then I realized, “Oh yeah, they aren’t as explosive as I am!”
How do you find being an out LGBTQ streamer?
I want to first say I am very lucky that so far *knocks on wooden desk* I have not been the target of mass trolls, a hate raid or anything similar. So with that in mind, I’ve felt being an out streamer has been very freeing. There’s something magical about being authentically yourself and having people gravitate towards it, especially people with a similar background to you.
I’m a gay man who is Latino in a very religious family where things still feel up in the air. There have been so many people that have come to my community with that same story, or something similar, and it’s relieving to know my experiences are shared outside of social media and I’m sure those same people feel a similar comfort seeing someone online that knows their struggle. But even outside of streaming, being able to be my loud, energetic, bubbly feminine self when it comes to video production on Twitter and YouTube and to have it received so well cements it in my mind that it pays to be yourself as authentically as you can be.
What’s your main goal as a streamer for the future?
My number one goal is to always be entertaining. Ever since the first time some told me they came to my stream specifically because they had a bad day and needed a smile have I tried to continue the high energy and “hangout” vibe of the stream. However, in terms of the future, I would love to evolve my online presence to a place where I can take on acting roles such as commercials and shows. Let’s just say I always dreamed of being an actor, but there was a bump along the road where I thought that would never be possible. Well, here I am showing my face and getting laughs across the internet so it’s safe to say anything is possible… as cheesy as that sounds!
What do you enjoy the most about streaming?
The conversations. There is something about the LGBTQIA2+ side of Twitch the viewership that just cracks me up. I swear it feels like everyone is just so naturally witty and it leads to amazing chats that have wheezing from laughter. But I also enjoy the educational conversations I have on and off stream. I’m human with my own background to frame my understanding of the world and that means I’m still ignorant about a lot of things. I feel so lucky and blessed to constantly meet new people with different experiences that I can learn from. For example, before Twitch had little to no understanding of the various gender identities and expressions. But now I have vocabulary, respect and a better grasp on it even if there’s still much more to learn.
What would you say to someone who wants to get into streaming?
Okay, so you watched the 10-20 youtube videos on how to get started. You surfed through Twitter and Reddit to see how your favorite streamers made it to where they are now. You installed one of the many streaming programs downloaded and downloaded a free theme. And you even told at least two of your close friends, well honestly the only thing you have to do now is just PUSH THE GO LIVE BUTTON!
In all seriousness, streaming is meant to be a hobby first and then a tool for content creation later, especially if you have no prior following on another social media platform. I started because I wanted to be silly on camera and pretend like I’m famous, and I still do that 2 years later!
Also, be prepared to trial and error anything and everything when it comes to streaming. Some games you love to play may not be fun to stream, especially if backseat viewers start cropping up in your chat. Also, if you like a specific thing in someone else’s stream, try copying it and see if it’s fun for you too. No idea is owned by someone, and who knows, you may take that idea and change around to your own “needs” and come up with something better.
Also, last bit of advice: If someone makes you uncomfortable, do not hesitate to get rid of them. A big part of streaming is curating your space. Keeping someone around that you don’t particularly like will make it all the more difficult to part ways later on when you do have a more solid community.
You’re a member of the Rainbow Arcade, what do you think is most important about being on a stream team?
Be there to support others just like you hope others would support you. Being on a stream team isn’t about the title or the vanity. It’s amazing to share a spot with your peers, but it’s more of an opportunity to learn from them and grow. This all sounds like very obvious advice, but truly being in the Rainbow Arcade and seeing how others handle: streaming, chat, social media, resting, identity has been unbelievably helpful. Especially because I THOUGHT I knew most of what I needed to know.
You’re also Rainbow Arcade’s resident video editor, what’s been the most fun video to produce for them?
Oh that’s like picking who is your favorite child! If I had to think of one then I would choose, “What does Pride mean to you?” The team, as a whole, came together to bring up various topics of how they view Pride. We then wrote out a script and had everyone record themselves. It was the first time I made a video with those types of quick cuts, but it was so fun making it all come together. To be honest, it was a bit stressful trying to fit everyone into the video. I actually had to cut myself out in order to get all the other submissions in!
I really enjoyed the recent video revealing the new team members, what did it take to pull all of that together?
I didn’t personally work on the video edit, but I did take part in getting those grand reactions. I can’t remember the specific person who suggested it, but the members at the time all agreed to get together at specific times to enter the chat of the newly accepted members and go ham once the official Rainbow Arcade channel followed, similar to how some new Twitch Partners are surprised by Twitch staff while they are live instead of by email.
It was some of the most fun and stressful times being in the Rainbow Arcade discord, all of us very giddy about surprising these streamers! There were many close calls of current members writing out their Welcome message in preparation and almost pressing the enter button before the planned time! Once the official channel followed, we saw the slow realization in all the new members’ faces. It was beautiful.
What have you learned about yourself through streaming?
I mentioned it before but streaming helped me realize that I am capable of being an entertainer and that entertainment brings value to the world. When I was younger, there was that pressure from society to not work towards the arts because it wasn’t sustainable for a comfortable life. On top of that, I grew up in an underfunded urban school district where creative programs weren’t well developed so it felt like the only way “to get into a good school” was through the math and sciences. Spoiler alert: I didn’t find much success dragging myself through those programs. But ever since I started streaming and content creating, I’ve found excitement and happiness along with success. Even though they are small for now, I know it’s only going to grow going forward.
What’s the game that defined your childhood?
On my 10th birthday, my dad surprised me with a Game Boy Advanced and a copy of Pokémon Ruby. This was essentially my first video game device, besides all the Flash Player games on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, and I was drawn in!
Hoenn is known for having a lot of water so whenever my character was by the beach, I felt like I was on the beach. When I couldn’t go through the desert because I didn’t have goggles, I felt like my eyes would burn if I wasn’t careful. When I went to a town that always had sootfall, I didn’t understand what soot was at that age and I remember the levels of confusion until I finally googled and did the research. I loved that feeling so I kept following the Pokémon games and getting the new generations up until before college. My first starter was in fact Treecko for those wondering!
What are you looking forward to most this year?
Last year I was very fortunate to learn that I have ADHD. I say fortunate because it felt like I had been navigating my whole life with a foggy windshield and now I’m just becoming aware of it. It’s been rocky so far coming to peace that some things just aren’t my fault but also dealing with the disadvantages I’m now painfully conscious about. I’m looking forward to taking all of this one step at a time and improving my quality of life with ADHD. I did not know a thing about this condition until I was 26 years old, but I hope openly talking about it can turn on the lightbulb in people’s heads. As of this interview I’m close to trialing some therapists!
To find out more about Glenn Ángel, head on over to his Twitch channel.
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