Streamer Spotlight: LukeBoogie
Welcome to a new Streamer Spotlight where this time, the spotlight falls on LukeBoogie!
LukeBoogie is a giant hairy Scottish non-binary streamer, DnD lover and aspiring personal trainer. They have only been streaming for a year but have already grown a significant fanbase of followers who love to watch them play games and have a laugh with them.
I got to chat with LukeBoogie more about their journey into streaming and also discuss their work as an aspiring personal trainer.
When and why did you start streaming?
I started streaming near the beginning of the pandemic after my friend encouraged me to try it out. They had not long started streaming and were really enjoying it and thought I might too.
What games do you prefer to stream?
I like to stream anything and everything. I’ve been through an indie phase, a horror phase, and I think I’m currently at the tail end of a just chatting phase. Every time I think I’ve pinned down what I like, I end up falling into something new! I’m too easily distracted, it’s like the shiny objects from the Resident Evil games where you go straight for that sparkle just to find out what it is, but everything is sparkling and I can only play one game at a time!
What can people expect from your stream?
To laugh and feel safe, I think that both are super important. I worked security for a long time and I’ve been an out & proud queer masc presenting person for just as long. I no longer suffer people who are “just asking questions” or “playing devil’s advocate”. Google is free and people are here to get an escape from their day to day. I have loads of trans people in my community and I’m going to protect them as best I can.
How do you find being an out LGBTQ+ streamer?
It has its pros and cons like anything. I love love LOVE being queer and being a part of the community and meeting so many cool, fun and interesting people from all walks of life and from all different cultures. But, we have a unifying experience that binds us and I think that’s a really important thing to celebrate. It’s not so bad now but earlier on in streaming I used to get trolls every single day. As someone who suffers from ‘man face’, yet has this bright colourful makeup on, I will always attract attention. It got exhausting, but we pushed through, built a wonderful caring community and I’m really proud of all of us for looking out for each other.
Have you always been out and proud on your stream?
I have! Listen, I spent 21 years being a shy closeted kid and when i came out it was like a weight being lifted from my shoulders. I also think it’s important for someone like me to be loudly out and proud. I am a big. muscly, hairy, masc-presenting non binary person who wears makeup and fem clothing. When I was a kid, if I saw someone who looked how I do now, I would have been amazed. I always wanted to grow up big and strong like my dad, but I also stomped about in my mum’s heels. I felt conflicted and hid away anything considered feminine as I grew up in a rough area, now however, I realise that I can have both! I can grow up big and strong but still look GORGEOUS with a full face on! Have you seen these legs in a skirt?! They don’t deserve to be stuck in some jeans!
You say you’re an aspiring PT, what is it about gym and training that you enjoy the most?
Fixing my mental health and building confidence. I first started doing exercise in my room with a set of dumbbells because I was too anxious to go to the gym. My dad had just died and I was depressed but didn’t want to take any medication for it, so I looked on the NHS website and it said I should get sunlight, socialise and exercise, and it helped to a degree. Having a consistent fitness routine helps me so much and I’ve really struggled over the pandemic, but I know how much better I feel from the gym. I feel more focused, relaxed, and I can sleep easier. Don’t get me wrong, it’s taken a long time to get where I am, and fighting your demons is hard, but it helps so much. I now take anti-depression/anti-anxiety medication every day and I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of.
What are some of the easiest steps a gym beginner can take?
Okay let me throw some tips at you real fast…
1. Don’t do it for anyone but yourself.
2. Don’t compare yourself to anyone but who you were a week ago. It’s really easy to look around the gym and get disheartened but these people were EXACTLY like you once upon a time.
The easiest way to start feeling confident in the gym is to book a PT, even if it’s just for a month. You’ll gain confidence in going to the gym, you will learn a basic foundation and starting point for your fitness journey, and you’ll have a professional to help you along your way. I understand PTs can be expensive though, so make sure you find a PT that works for you not everyone has the same style or wants the same thing
Should there be more gamification of exercise and personal health?
I have mixed views on this. Anyone who had Wii Fit has the traumatic memory of being told you were obese – remember, BMI [Body Mass Index] is bullshit, please never use it! – and then giving up on it two weeks later. HOWEVER, have you played Ring Fit!? It’s amazing! It’s like a circuit course and HIIT training wrapped up in a colorful and fun bow! My motto for when I’m PTing is “make fitness fun”. I hate this ‘rise and grind grrr feel bad for eating’ mentality that a lot of PTs focus on, and the Ring Fit hits it spot on. It’s fun, educational, and has a nice focus on stretching before and after training. You can set the difficulty accordingly, and it makes sure you’re not pushing yourself and taking appropriate breaks, it’s a really amazing game. If you want to mix fitness and gaming, have a look at Ring Fit.
What’s your main goal as a streamer for the future?
At the moment, I want to grow my community and continue meeting new people and new friends, eventually hit Partner and just keep going from there. I want to go to TwitchCon and meet the people I admire in person, but most importantly, I want people to feel less alone. There’s such an amazing and diverse queer community on Twitch that could have really helped me as a younger person.
What do you enjoy the most about streaming?
Meeting people! Twitch is global and the world is big! I’ve learned so much about different people, cultures, religions and the difficulties that people can face in their day to day. But also I love celebrations, like the community banding together to celebrate birthdays or successful job interviews. It’s really sweet and brings me so much joy.
What are you most proud of since you started streaming?
This year we’ve raised over £1000 for LGBT Youth Scotland both from my 1 year streamiversary and from another event earlier in the year. I’m so proud of us for raising so much for such an amazing cause. I’m lucky I’ve got Ellie Diamond (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK) as a friend and she came on stream with us to talk about what she’s been up to recently, and even talked about what LGBT Youth scotland has done for her.
What have you learned about yourself through streaming?
I’m not an idiot. Don’t get me wrong, I fly my Thembo flag high and I do dumb shit all the time, but I’m smarter than I give myself credit for. I’ve also learned I’m a lot more confident than other people I’ve met on Twitch… streamers need to learn to know their worth, they work hard!
What games do you enjoy playing when you’re off stream?
Aha! This one is probably surprising but I LOOVVEEE strategy games, or i think they’re called 4X games now? Like Solaris, Age of Wonder and Civilisation. The game I have put the most hours into on Steam is Rimworld. It’s such an amazing game that I have burned over 1000 hours on it. As someone with ADD, I get distracted by new games so easily but Rimworld keeps me coming back for more.
What’s the game that defined your childhood?
I’m gonna be cheeky and say two games for this… the first is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It makes me happy cry. It has this beautiful art style and soundtrack and it’s not the usual story of Link, Zelda and Ganon, it’s just some kid that loves his Gran’s soup, wants to save his sister, and finds a suspiciously handsome talking boat on his adventures over the seas.
The second is the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. It was the first proper open world RPG I remember playing and I sunk all my time into it. It’s where I found my favorite gaming exploration strategy of “pick a direction and run”, and that dark brotherhood storyline?! The pivotal scene with Lucien Lachance?! Duplicating a sea of cabbages and dropping paintbrushes to build a stairway to the top of the white gold tower?! So many fun and wild memories!
What are you looking forward to most this year?
Going back to drag shows. Scotland has such an amazingly talented drag scene and I have so many friends who are drag artists. The pandemic has been hard on them mentally and financially and I’m excited for them to be able to go back to doing what they love and getting paid for it – and TIP YOUR PERFORMERS!
To find out more about LukeBoogie, head on over to their Twitch channel.
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