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Episode 13

Avori

Join us as we talk with Netflix personality and gaming influencer, Avori, as she discusses staying true to herself while navigating the world of content creation. In this episode, Avori shares her insights on understanding brand safety as a creator and maintaining authenticity in your work. Listen to her story of fighting through doubt and building a strong, supportive community within the world of gaming — all while seeking to empower women in the space. We also discuss the importance of monetizing content via brand collaborations while preserving the trust of your audience. Follow Avori across channels @AvoriStrib.

Later Beyond Influence Podcast with Avori

Original Video: YouTube

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Transcript

Oops! Our video transcriptions might have a few quirks since they’re hot off the press. Rest assured, the good stuff is all there, even if the occasional typo slips through. Thanks for understanding

Kwame: 

Hello, everybody. Welcome to an episode of Beyond Influence. I am Kwame Appiah, one of your hosts.

Scott: 

And I'm Scott Sutton. Welcome, super excited for this conversation today.

Kwame: 

Our guest today is an incredible barrier breaker, someone who you might know from reality TV but also has an incredible career as a streamer and an all-around incredible person. Let's welcome Avori today. Laurence, how are you doing?

Avori: 

I'm good, thank you guys so much for having me. I'm excited to chat with you because I know you've been through a similar experience with reality TV and now having a platform of influence.

Kwame: 

Well, sweet. Recently you were at Game Con in Canada. I'd love to start off there and talk about some of your recent experiences. How was that?

Avori: 

Yeah. I've been going to gaming events literally since before I was known for gaming. One of my first appearances at one of these events was when I ended up playing in a tournament against Shroud and Doctor Disrespect and won. That was kind of like the start of being on the radar as a streamer.

To be honest with you, it wasn't all me that won. My duo partner was really good and I was just on the team, sitting there. But you know, I can still say we won against Shroud and Doctor Disrespect, so that's awesome.

Scott: 

And how did you get into gaming? How did your love for gaming start?

Avori: 

Oh, would you love to know? This is actually a juicy story. I'll try and keep it short, but basically, I was dating this guy who was really interested in gaming, and I had never seen him be passionate about something. I'm a huge believer in not everyone having to go the corporate route of getting a 9 to 5 job.

When I saw how passionate he was about gaming, I was like, how can we make this a career? So I spent three months over a summer after I graduated college studying the algorithms and learning how the gaming industry works. And then, we both hit the ground running, streaming, gaming, everything.

I wanted to be a part of it because we were together and I was interested and somehow it ended up blowing up for me, and I'm just so grateful for it. I always tell people that's the best thing that came out of that relationship because it was like, I found my thing through the most unconventional way possible.

Scott: 

But it's funny how that kind of stuff starts. And you know, this random relationship sparks this whole interest. Did you take it when you started competitively? Were you thinking about the streamer route?

Avori: 

Well, my initial goal was to sit in the background of his stream doing all of the marketing. I have a degree in business with a minor in marketing. So my expertise lies in doing the marketing side of things. People could see me in his facecam and they're like, why don't you stream your perspective?

I thought maybe since I'm a girl, people will stop by my stream. I swear, I don't have a Bible in here. But if I did, I swear to you, I literally went live so that people would see a girl stop by and I would be like, oh yeah, go watch my boyfriend because I knew that he was the one that was really good at the game.

And so it's just funny that, yeah, we don't need to go into it, but it's kind of funny.

Kwame: 

I love it. It's like the Notebook, but for video games.

Avori: 

But it didn't end well.

Kwame: 

Yeah.

Avori: 

If you can imagine the response to how that whole situation happened from his side, it was like, yeah.

Kwame: 

Wow. Well, I mean, it ended up getting you where you needed to be. So that's all that matters, right? And I think obviously you're in an awesome spot, but we track it back to everything that happened. Were you young when you discovered any kind of love at all for video games?

I know that was way back in the day. There was some talk on the internet about you thinking about pageantry. Right. And having this left or right scenario in life that you had to pick one, so I'd love to dive a bit more into what made you go on either side?

Avori: 

Yeah. So that was right at the same time I was in college finishing up my degree. I love pageants because of all of the community service work. I went through a really tough experience as a kid. My dad had a brain hemorrhage, and he was in and out of the hospital, and my mom was caring for him.

As I was coming into being a young adult and even a young woman, I really didn't have any leadership or guidance because my parents, the people I looked up to my entire life, were in the hospital. So I started doing pageants because I wanted to learn how to be a woman, how to walk, how to talk.

I really attribute a lot of my abilities to speak on stages and in front of people and advocate for the things I'm passionate about to pageantry. But when it came down to it, I was competing in pageants and my goals had just shifted at the time to really supporting this person that I wanted to be together with.

And when I started gaming and it started blowing up for me, I actually as well started to get really good at the game, to the point where people knew me as one of the top female players. And that brought me a lot of opportunity to compete around the world. I had gotten an offer to compete in Mexico on Team USA.

So that's only four players get invited, and I was the only female in the arena of 50 players. So I was like, you know, I can either continue on the role of pageantry and compete on stage with 30 other women, or I can go compete on stage on Team USA as one woman in a room with 50 men and really be a way maker.

And I decided to go with gaming.

Scott: 

I love that it's super cool to see, you know, people like yourself who find success in different areas. And, you know, I also love that it breaks the mold of what you traditionally think about for gaming. And I think, if we've learned anything over the last five, ten years, you don't have to look like everyone else.

You don't have to be the nerdy guy in a basement with his buddies playing video games. You can be a pageant queen who also loves video games and love sharing that with folks. I think that's a super cool story. Clearly, you put your entire self into what you do, whether it's pageantry or the streaming piece or the game competition side.

So I'm curious, how did the experience from being on Team USA help accelerate everything you're doing on the streaming side and kind of when did you think, like, hey, I'm going to make this my full-time gig, I'm going to make this what I'm about and kind of launch my career in this direction.


Avori: 

Yeah, absolutely. It changed everything for me because as soon as I got back from that tournament, being in that arena, I had supporters who were like, oh my gosh, there's a female there. And they were so kind and supportive. But there was this other side to it where people were like, she doesn't belong there and get the girls back in the kitchen type of comment.

And so I noticed this huge gap and it was like the females who were skilled enough to play competitively were scared to go into the scene. So I was like, okay, what can I do? And I actually organized the first-ever all-females full-on competitive tournament for this game that I played called PUBG.

And just to throw icing on the cake, I guess you could call it, I decided to make it all for charity. So people joined in. We had an amazing turnout. We had, I think it was over 736,000 live views. and we made it like a huge event and raised over $10,000 for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

And yeah, it was just really cool. And since then I've continued that on. But instead of making it all females, I just kind of put an emphasis on females and encourage them to join. and we also don't really obviously discriminate against any gender, race, religion that wants to join. and we still do it all for charity.

And our last tournament, I think we raised a little over 11,000 just in one single two-hour event. So it was crazy.

Kwame: 

You are making big statements in that place. Yes. I love to see it. I love to see your resolve in it. And I love to see that determination and like to take something where typically it is a bit more difficult for women to be in, to just go in and just say, now we can cross this.

And I think that's really beautiful to see. Now, obviously, there's a tougher side of it. Seems like there's a lot of victory in what we're speaking. But I think when we all think about social media and how we interact with people, there's a lot of positive. And we do see that.

But there's been a lot of negative. Right. And I don't want to say, hey, tell me all the bad things that have happened. But as you deal with these things, as you see these things, what has been an empowering way for you to really like get through the negative thing that you're seeing and what has that felt like?

Avori: 

I'm going to make a controversial statement. for this, okay. Because I think it's important to acknowledge, as a female in gaming, it's no secret that it's easier to get views. I mean, I'm just throwing that out there, and it's a controversial statement because people like to almost play into a victim mentality of like, oh my gosh, it's so much harder for me.

But the reality of the situation is, as a woman in gaming, it's easier to get views. The problem is when the pressure is put on to maybe do things that you wouldn't normally do to maintain those views. and I always like to say, I almost wish I was a guy sometimes because that bromance like that bond that you can create with people as a male, it's so real and raw and genuine.

Whereas as a female, maybe they're just there for the view, you know, and I don't even wear revealing clothing when I stream, but like, maybe it's just because I'm a female that they're there, which makes it, you know, harder to create meaningful relationships. And that's just the truth. So for me, navigating that space has been really, really tough.

And, again, I don't say that as a victim mentality. I'm just saying that as and it's easy to get views, but is it easy to create long-lasting, true bonds with people? Absolutely not. It's actually so hard to, you know, really connect with people in a truthful and meaningful way. when people just expect you to be something to look at.

So that's what I've been having to navigate these past like seven years. And, you know, I think the biggest thing that's been helpful for me is just reminding myself that I'm not going to make everyone like me. I just have to keep doing my thing, and my people will come to me, and just stay true to who I am and not fall into, you know, the people who are doing things to get views that aren't authentic to themselves.

Scott: 

I love that. I think, you know, whether you're a streamer or you're a model or you're just a casual social media user, there's always the temptation to create content, and a whole variety of different ways. And I think everyone has their own comfort level. They have their own style, they have what they want to stand for and represent.

And, you know, I love what you said about being authentic, being you, being genuine to who you are, and reinforcing what you want to stand for and what you feel comfortable doing. And I love the pieces about relationships. I think it is tough in life when you feel like people have ulterior motives or they don't have great intentions and you know you're looking to generate these great, genuine connections with people and having to wonder if they're reciprocating that same type of intent is difficult to navigate.

So I'm curious, as new women come onto the scene or new streamers, male or female, how would you, you know, coach them and help them navigate finding what that is for themselves?


Avori: 

Yeah. I mean, again, I think it really is all about just being confident in why you're there and what you're doing. I think, you know, more importantly than that, actually, I think finding your why is going to make you so successful. Like, for instance, you know, Kwami props you for starting this podcast. I'm sure you had like a thought behind it where you were like, I want to start a podcast because I want people to know or, you know, you have this idea behind it of what you're trying to do.

And I think that people, they think about the end goal before they think about the reason why they want to get started. And I think the most successful people I've run into in my career always know their why and when. It's a strong why and you have a strong motivation, your chances of being successful are so, so high.


Kwame: 

Yeah, I think there's a lot of things that you've said that resonated. And I think one of the important things was the importance of community. And, the way that you relate to your audience. I think when people think about it, you are right. They probably think, hey, like people come in and they see your views and maybe you can, you know, leverage your community in whichever way.

But as guys, yeah, usually guys relate to guys more. Right? So if a guy was watching your stream or I was watching another guy's stream, I think just as a habit, it could be easier for the guy to, I don't know, buy something from the recommended guy streamer as opposed to the girl streamer. So it is like, I feel like, you know, I wouldn't say I suffer from it, but I definitely have a relatable feel and story with my social media audience where I was like 95% of my audience is women because they followed me from Love Is Blind.

So it's definitely something that has been interesting to navigate, you know, and so I agree with you, there is something there that comes in with really, really understanding how to make sure that the community that does come, like, stays and like, wants to be relevant within that community and follows you and cares about what you do. And that takes a while to really, like mold that brand.

It does. Yes.


Avori: 

Yeah. I'm sure that's that's like probably really difficult as well. Like your audience is mostly female, mine is mostly male. And it's like, how do we create genuine relationships here without crossing the line of being disrespectful to both of our marriages? Because I'm married to and I want to connect with these people. It's not that I don't want to connect with guys, it's just that sometimes they expect stuff of me that isn't on par with what I do.

And that's no hate to anyone who does do those things. This is just like me and my personal thing, and it's hard to stay relevant when people want something from you that you can't give them. You know what I mean?


Scott: 

Yeah. I think what you said about finding your why is so important. And when we were talking about the podcast, it's funny because, you know, I'm clearly coming from the business land and trying to grow the business. Kwami is also that, but also has this whole side where he's an influencer. And when we talked about the podcast, what we talked about is we felt like the voice of creators and the voice of influencers wasn't heard.

And a lot of new creators and new influencers were having trouble navigating the journey. And so everyone in the business role is like, why would you make a podcast talking to creators? You should go talk to the brands and then sell them. That's what's going to grow your business. And I was like, that's what everyone tries to do.

And it's very shallow. It's like, just come on my podcast. I'll flatter you. We'll sign a deal. But what we want to do is uplift the influencer and create our community. Tell their stories like, you're an amazing woman. You've done amazing things. We should showcase that and help the next generation of creators walk in those footsteps and not have to experience some of those hardships that you have.

They're going to experience hardship, but at the same time, they don't need to experience all of the same challenges. And so I think we had a very clear why. And it might not be perfectly aligned with what a short-term outcome might be. But long term, I think what you're saying is, if you're centered in your belief, if you're doing things for the right reasons long term, you're going to build the audience and you're going to have the resulting outcome that you're looking for.

And I love that because I think so many people need to hear that long term aligning to your why long term outcome over short-term views, short-term goals, short-term thinking. It's definitely a better approach.


Avori:

Yeah, absolutely. I agree with you 100% and I love that you're doing this because it's true. If I were to have seen something like this in the past, or if I had some sort of guidance or influence that I could have listened to, that would have guided me through those tough moments, because I'll be honest with you, like, there was a point in time in my career where, you know, I really thought about it.

Like, you have no idea. This sorry if this is controversial, please feel free to edit any of this out. But you have no idea how many people at one point like it was like the thing, if you're a streamer, you have only fans like. And I mean only fans, only fans, not just only fans. and that was a hard thing for me to navigate because everyone was like, you'll make so much money, you'll gain so many more followers, you'll just not.

And I'm like, yeah, but at the same time, like, that's just not me. And again, no, hate to anyone who does do that. It's really no hate at all. I really don't care. And I mean, I'm very supportive of my friends who do have it. I, I this isn't a judgmental thing, but it wasn't authentic to my why.

And it was hard for me to balance that because it was easier. It was easier to go, oh, I'll make money really quickly. And you know, I won't have to spend long hours coming up with a challenge for myself to make a YouTube video of me playing a video game to, you know, like, it just was easier to do something like that.

And I really had to fight it. And I'm glad that I pushed past those thoughts and kept staying authentic to my why.


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Kwame: 

I think there's just this really weird, like segment of the internet that in some way sexualize everything, right?


Avori:

I get lumped into it like, I'm telling you, I it does it. If I meet someone in person and I go, oh yeah, I play video games, I'm a, I'm a streamer. It could be a 50-year-old man. It could be a 20-year-old woman. It doesn't matter who they are. The next question is always the same.

So do you have OnlyFans? How do you make your money? Same question every single time. And I'm like, no, I play video games. I represent AT&T and Samsung and Sony. Like I work with these high-tier brands and they pay me. They're like, oh, so do you like you make money from your fans? I'm like, no, I don't make money from the public.

Like the public is struggling right now. Like I'm not taking money from the 99%. I'm taking money from the corporations. They AT&T, the Sonys, and Samsung's. Like, that's who I'm working with. You know, I don't I don't want to take money from the 99%. That's not who I am as a creator as well. But anyways, yeah, feel free to edit it.

I know, I know, this is so controversial, but it's it's just true. Like, I don't know what else to talk about now.


Kwame: 

Then I was I honestly, this is probably going to VR. And if you see a bunch of clips line up on our, Instagram, it's probably going to be about this because I love it. You are being very direct about something that is very true and very relevant in social media.


Avori: 

It's hard man.


Kwame: 

It's hard. Yeah. It becomes such a common pivot for a lot of people.


Avori: 

Like I'm like sweating because I'm like, I know that, I know that this type of topic receives backlash, but it's so easy to bandwagon on the people who, you know are the opposite. Thinking of myself. Yeah.


Kwame: 

Yeah. So I'm like, yeah.


Scott: 

I think the important thing I like my big takeaway for creators is like that option's clearly there. Everyone knows is there. Yeah. But there are other options. And I think that's that's important message is there are ways to be a successful creator. There's ways to make a living there way to do a really great brand partnerships.


And again whatever choice you make in life and what you feel comfortable doing, fine. Pursue that. And if you know that monetization comes with it, that's also fine. But I think people not being educated on what options exist to create a living, to pursue what they want to do, very true. They're going to fall into the easiest thing, or the thing that is most stereotypical, or what people tell them to go do who have good or bad intent.


And so I think providing more, more resources, more information can only serve to help people.


Avori: 

Definitely. And there's like there's another thing to that a lot of creators don't know. This is like a secret industry thing. And for me, I'm sure you've heard of it too. Have you ever heard of Brand Safety?


Kwame: 

Yeah.


Avori: 

Yeah. So I think a lot of influencers, they don't necessarily understand the rating or like how it works. But when you work with large companies, I won't name any of them. But the ones that you walk out on the street and you see everywhere. Those types of companies have an internal they do a background check, they do like everything, and they have an internal rating system that tells you how brand safe you are.


Like, are you going to cause a controversy in the future and make them look bad? and they do this by going through your background, your social media posts, like everything. So there is an avenue to go when you work with those large companies. Like you have to stay within those confines. Unfortunately, we don't always know what those confines are.


So you could be staying brand safe. You could not. But hopefully, you know, for the people that do want to make money in that way, you are staying somewhat brand safe within, you know, their rules or guidelines.


Scott: 

It'll live out there with the YouTube monetization rules as the black box and the TikTok algorithm and the, loosely understood that generally understand what it's about.


Avori: 

Very confusing. Constantly changing. Yes.


Kwame: 

Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's all about right. Like you said, just being cognizant of what you want out of. And if you have your why ultimately you know, what you're focusing on. When those opportunities come up, you're like, well, this doesn't necessarily fit my why. You know? And so for some people it doesn't. It's for some people it does.

And so take the path and tailor the path that's most comfortable. and best for you and your growth as a creator. And that's what's important. Right. And, you know, we've talked a little bit about being a creator and focusing on now we're going to get to, I think, the brand partnerships and a bit more of that, but I want to have a tiny segue, because obviously you had a, you know, we'll call it kind of a stint on Netflix as well, which is what connected us.

But, you know, Netflix fam, so I'd love to know about your experience on the more how that got started and, and how that actually impacted your brand.


Avori: 

It was a crazy experience. I don't know how your filming was, but I heard that your filming was also pretty tough. so how do I say this without breaking NDA? I have had a lot of conversations with people from different shows like The Circle and Love Is Blind. You know, all of the Netflix OG shows.

And I kid you not, I have had people cry when I tell them how the filming was on the mall, and that's no shade at the production company. They did an amazing job, but it's just it's a hard show to be on. The filming is two and a half months and they want all of the interactions on camera.

So when we're not filming, they put you in a hotel room, like alone with no TV, no internet, no phone, no music. Like no space to move around. Like I was doing yoga in my room with, like, my leg up on one shelf and then like, I was re folding my clothes over and over again to entertain myself.

And I was telling a friend about this and like, her eyes started tearing up and I was like, are you okay? And she was like, no, it's just like really sad. Like, it seems really lonely and I was like, it was. But, you know, it was tough. The filming process.


Kwame: 

Yeah. I'm with you on the filming process. I show you this on an earlier episode. I remember, like they say, I forget what the exact word is. Ice. That's it. Ice means that, like, don't like, don't talk.


Avori: 

We want to make sure there's no conversation.


Kwame: 

Exactly. Yeah. Any dialog that's being shared has to be shared when the cameras rolling, because we need this content and so for a vast majority of like being part of this experiment, or being like on the set or whatever the case, like you are on ice, therefore you're separated. And, you know, I talked about the difference between once we, you know, go through our, engagements and then transition on to like, Mexico.

There's about like 3 or 4 days there where you don't have your phone and you have nothing. And, you know, obviously you're you're being fed and all that good stuff. We got to throw that part out. Okay. But I remember I watched the same episode of friends like 3 or 4 times. I mean.


Avori: 

At least you had that. We didn't even have that.


Kwame: 

Oh, my.


Avori: 

I'm telling you, we do have TV. But know that that's super rough. It's like you enter a relationship, you're super excited. You're like, do they feel the same way? Like, how is this going to go? And then you're just stuck in a room for four days like we had, we had, a 13 day halt in filming because something happened with like one of the borders closing in Australia during filming because of Covid.

So I kid you not, I had a knock on the door like twice a day for food and I did not leave for 13 days. I broke down, I was like sobbing and production felt so bad that they gave us wait for it. A ten minute phone call.

Literally, my family thought I was kidnaped because I could not speak, because I was.


Kwame: 

Crying. I was like, can I just.


Avori: 

And I'm not a crier. Yeah, I don't cry. I swear I do not cry unless it's extreme.


Scott: 

Like I complain about like two hours without Wi-Fi on like a short plane.


Kwame: 

I know I got.


Scott: 

No I 30 days.


Avori: 

Yeah, it's I mean, the filming process is hard. it's it is, but it's worth it. Like, I think, you know, you found your love through it. And I loved your guys. A story that was so beautiful to watch. And even seeing you guys now, like, you know, you just notice the little things, like seeing her commenting on your stuff.


Are you commenting on hers? And it's just all around supportive and, such. We need things like this. Like after Perfect Match season two dropped, I was like, please take me back to listen, Zach to me and Chelsea like I need healthy relationship ups in front of me.


Scott: 

That's so funny. We, we talked to Izzy yesterday, and it's it's pretty funny here. Reflecting on season two and his experience, but he's.


Avori: 

Yeah, he's good people. I like Izzy.


Scott: 

100%. So, coming out of the Molly like you obviously did pretty well. Like, what was the splash like after that? Like, was it life changing? Was it, you know, because you were already out there in the public eye was a different like, how did that dynamic shift for you?


Avori: 

you know, I'm used to interacting with people online, but the one thing that was, crazy for me is I'm not so used to people not knowing me as a person because as a live streamer, you really spend a lot of time, you know? Hi, welcome to the chat. I hope you're having a good day. Like that's the type of streamer I am.

And so all of these people are watching me be deceptive on a deception game, and they're judging my personal character off of it. Yeah. And so I had a lot of people that were like really mean to me. And, you know, I can take hey, it's, you know, it's no big deal. But it was honestly just more sad to me that people didn't actually, like, know me or take the time to get to know me before making all these judgments.

I'm like, chill. It's a game. Like it's literally a game that's not my character. It's just I wanted to win, you know? Yeah, I've seen hard.


Kwame: 

I've seen like so I oh, there's a part of me that really, really, really wants to go on traders and do it.


Avori: 

And you should do it.


Kwame: 

I really want to go on traders. However, there's a part of me that also like I see the backlash from from the internet towards people who are traders. And the thing is like, especially when you look at a game show where in the US traders, it's a bunch of celebrities who go into a house, right. Like most of these people don't really need this money, right?

Like they don't need, you know, like and so everyone is there to play the game. And I've seen people like, I see people be like, oh, you're such a trader. You're such a lie. You're such a bad person. Your character this. And I'm like, it's it's it's like playing Deal or No deal. Yeah. It's my job.


Avori: 

To say it.


Kwame: 

Ain't that serious. At the end of the day, we'll all go to the reunion or whatever, like. And we'll all be happy. We'll all laugh a little bit. Maybe if I win, I'll buy everybody some drinks or something. I don't know. But like that is a really difficult thing because you start to realize like people associate especially with like competition games, they associate the things that you have to do in the competition games with, like your personality or your character.

And that's a really, really tough thing to deal with.


Avori: 

And editing because, like, they made it seem like I really duped over my, my ally Pranav, when I tell you, I don't know how they put that together. He knew the entire time, like I never he, him and I were like this and to this day, like we just played Call of Duty for four hours yesterday. If I would have actually done that to him.

Don't you think he would hate me like he knew everything and I don't know their editing team. I don't know where they got that from or how they pulled that story together. But people were like, how dare you? Like, you're such a scumbag for screwing over your ally, like you're not a real friend. And I was like, guys, I, I have, I have no words because that was just really good at.


Scott: 

Yeah. So I I'm traders are watching Trishelle and C tier like did that really happen. Was that an ad like but it was fun to watch on traders like that was a whole nother side. Like you get this leg. All American pilot loves his mom. And then he's just like, I'm going to get all he is. So like.


Kwame: 

Yeah, I mean, I, I talked to Pete about, like, I wanted to say, I've got some feelings about you. We'll talk about it another time. I got a lot of claims about Pete and the trailer, but he was. He was so good in his, like, tactics and his, like, strategy. The only issue that I think Pete had was like, he got a little too confident about the fact that it was going good.

And that's where you, you know, whatever. You got to keep the time when you and enough of other cheaters, we'll so we'll, we'll dive a little bit into like your experience with, you know, growing your brand and then taking it on to partnerships. You know you mentioned the slew of really, really awesome partnerships and brands there that you're, you know, people you're making money from.

So first things first, you know, what's been some of your favorite partnerships that you've worked with and how did those end up, you know, happening?


Avori: 

I mean, anything gaming makes me excited. Whether it's like a free keyboard. I'm like, yes, I'm your girl. Sign me up. but I will say, I think some of my favorite partnerships have involved travel. So, I did a partnership with Expedia and we got to they had us rent a car for free and take this, trip with my husband and I, and we made these really cool videos, and they gave us a free stay.

We had all of our food covered, and one of the things I value the most in life is just experiences. And I know a lot of other people do, too. and that's the great thing about being a creator, is when you put a lot of effort into your creations, you know, sometimes that means that you get to have these experiences that you wouldn't normally get to have or, you know, maybe wouldn't normally get to afford.

So, any time I can take my creative mind and use that as a tool to create better experience for both myself and my family or, you know, just for other people to enjoy online, too. That makes me feel good. And whether it's working with a headset or a keyboard or a game company, my main goal when I create content is just creating something that inspires others or, you know, makes them feel good.

So if I can do that, no matter what I'm doing, that makes me a very happy girl.


Scott: 

That's awesome. We we definitely see a common theme of travel. It was funny, we did, an interview with basically Eddie work, and he was like, just send me toilet paper or send me anything like out. So good luck. So I was like, I guess he's the anomaly in in the streamers. If they don't want keyboards, he wants that household.


Avori: 

Look, all I have to say is I tied toilet paper to a fan two months ago, and it has 160 million views. I'm not even kidding.


Kwame: 

There's my most recent video of all time.


Avori: 

The toilet paper brand nails through the roof. That's awesome. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

But no, I, I really did. I really, really did, get 160 million views from tying toilet paper to my fan.


Scott: 

It happens. The internet is an amazing place. That's all.


Kwame: 

Good.


Scott: 

And, so we asked this question. If everyone if you could have one aspirational brand that you would just love to do a collab with, you know, what's your what's your dream brand?


Avori: 

Man, that is so tough. I actually thought about this for a long time because I do a lot of brand deals and eventually, like, I'm not even trying to plug. I won't even say what it is, but I got so tired of plugging someone else's brand and making someone else money that I decided to make my own thing that I feel like, you know, would be beneficial to the people that watched my stuff.

So, if I could have any brand come to fruition for me, it would be, you know, success of something that I've created myself that is both helpful for me and my followers. Whatever it may be.


Scott: 

So it's awesome. So maybe unpack that piece, because we haven't talked a lot about people who have started their own products or done their own merch, or tried to venture into partnerships to create products. Like, how have you explored that process? Like how is that gone?


Avori: 

Well, I don't want to like, plug it. Like I feel weird doing that. So I'll just say that, I think when you realize that you have an influence over a group of people, if you can come up with something that you feel is authentic to your brand and also is helpful, and that's the key word is a lot of influencers.

They're like, let me drop a shirt or, you know, a skincare line or, you know, whatever it is. But it's not like authentic. You're basically white labeling something, slapping your name on it and hoping that your followers buy it. People can sense that that's a cash grab, that it's not authentic. And, you know, they can basically get these products from anywhere else that just don't have your name attached to it.

And I think that that is like the biggest mistake influencers make. So if you can come up with something that you, you know, truly feel and let me give one example of this is Skims. You know, Kim Kardashian is known for, you know, her curvy figure. And I really feel like that is why Skims has become massively successful is because she created something that her followers basically followed her for, you know, this unique body shape that she has, and she solved a problem by giving them something that they can also wear and use to give them that similar shape and feel.

And I think a lot of influencers don't understand the business side and the marketing side behind giving your followers something that they need, that is truly authentic to who you are. So that makes sense. Yeah. So that's what I try and do.


Kwame: 

Yeah. And we love that for you. And I think if you ever have anything that you really want to directly point to and say, hey, this is my thing, go buy it. That's we're okay with that on this platform. I mean, we we have your time. So you are welcome to do whatever you want with it.


Avori: 

Well, I appreciate that. I, I recently released a board game, and that's my thing, but, but yes, I you can cut this out. By the way, I really like. I'm not that type of person to, like, plug my stuff, so.


Scott: 

So go buy backstabber first edition.


Avori: 

Yeah, it's it's called backstabber. it's based off of, my experience on the mall. And I also know that there's a huge problem in the gaming community where people are basically at their computers and not social. So I wanted to release something that gets people together in person, physical touch, physical interaction, and, you know, solves that problem of of not having someone to play with.

You know, you have a game like that, you want to invite people over, have a game night and, you know, really create that personal in-person connection.


Scott: 

Kind of bring back LAN parties.


Avori: 

Stop my heart.


Kwame: 

Yes.


Avori: 

It that is one of my dreams too, is to open a huge land studio.


Scott: 

I would love to like those are some of the best memories. It's funny. So fun fact about me I worked at Circuit City during college.


Avori: 

Really? Oh my gosh, I remember circuits. Is that even still in business?


Scott: 

Not at all. I'm not.


Kwame: 

At all.


Avori: 

Circuit City. Oh my gosh, I remember that.


Scott: 

But it was so funny because after the store would close up, we would have these like huge TVs and we would set up the game consoles, getting together with the land cable, and we'd play like back to back on Xbox and whatever it was back in the day. But it was. And that's why they went out of business, because the workers were gaming and not working the job.


Scott: 

It was after hours. But I'm.


Kwame: 

Kidding. I'm kidding.


Scott: 

Now it was funny. but no, like that getting together, you know, having that human interaction. And it is tough with the internet, with social and everything. It's like you feel the most connected and disconnected all at once.


Avori: 

Yeah.


Scott: 

It's weird. It's like such a weird kind of paradigm, especially for those of us who, you know, live the majority of their life in like a physical in person kind of paradigm. Like obviously now it's different. Everyone's like digital native and connected. But it is weird transitioning where you know what you know what. Being in an office, you know what?

Being in the same room as people trying to be social. And now it's like, is this whole new Wild West?


Avori: 

Yeah, it's it's difficult. It definitely is. But you got to have a good balance of both.


Scott: 

So I'm curious on the on as a streamer, you know, how do you do you feel like you're really connected with people. Like I feel like the one to many. And then.


Avori: 

Like me out.


Scott: 

There, know the rolling the rolling chat. It feels like like I put myself in your position. It would feel really hard to digest everything going on. You're kind of doing a performance, you're playing a game, you're trying to digest chat, you're trying to digest all these relationships. I'm like curious how, yeah, how connected you feel with that experience or just kind of in the moment and it kind of a blur.


Avori: 

I mean, I have my core followers that are there every time and I feel super connected to them. even my core community, you know, they've been with me through everything, like seven years now. So I feel super connected to them when it comes to new people. it does get a little difficult to balance. You know, the game and juggling chat.

But at the same time, you know, once people become a part of the community, like they're in and, the thing that makes me the most happy is when I'm gaming and I'm distracted by the game trying to entertain by, like, you know, hitting crazy head shots. But, I see people in chat adding the adding each other and talking to each other, and I look over and it's just I'm like, yes.

And then I'll, like, make jokes and I'll be like, you guys didn't even come here for me. Like, you came here for each other. And that makes me really happy. So it's all. It's all a girl can really want, like I really do. I love seeing that people are making friends. That's like the main thing.


Kwame: 

Yeah. I love a good self-sustaining community. Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome. it means, like, it's building and it's. It feels good, you know, when it starts from you. I've heard them not saying it as too right, but when it starts from you, it's a whole different feeling. I love culminating that. And, you know, as we get closer to the end of this, couple things that I, you know, wanted to ask in terms of everything that you've gone through, all the steps that you've taken to get to where you are, when you reflect back, do you have anything at all that you would tell yourself as you were starting that would, you know, maybe

Alter things in a better way for you? Or do you think of anything you do that you would change?


Avori: 

Good question. I think, you know, I wouldn't be where I am without, you know, struggling through what I struggled through. But, I definitely know that I had some weak moments where I really have questioned myself in my content creation journey and this is really vulnerable for me to say, but I'm sure every content creator has gone through this, so I'm just going to say it.

The highs are high and the lows are low. And what I mean by that is when the views are up, when you're getting invited to events, when everyone you know, it seems like everyone wants to be your friend. Like it feels so good and it's so validating and you know, you feel important. But the negative side of social media is that sometimes there's a dip in views and, you know, there's a dip in getting invited to events and sometimes even when you are at events or you are an important places, you're the most, you're sorry, you're the least important in those important places and you know it.

But positive self-talk is like a game changer. You have to keep reminding yourself that you're in that room for a reason. Whether you have the least amount of followers or you have the most. And instead of looking at it like, why didn't I get to this point? Or how come I can't get these views? Or why is no one interested or what?

Whatever it is that you're thinking about, instead of thinking about it like that, you have to focus on the things that you're doing right. I know I'm talking a lot, but let me just give you one example, because this year was actually a little difficult for me mentally. and I had to shift my mindset. I got nominated for a Netflix Award, and I didn't get it.

I competed for a pageant and I didn't win. And there's something under NDA that I also had on my plate, but it didn't come to fruition, and it was hard for me to, like, swallow all of that. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm just losing, losing, losing like every single thing I'm doing this year. And then I was like, oh my gosh, like, you got nominated for a Netflix award.

How many people can say that? Oh my gosh, you got top 15 for the Miss Arizona USA pageant. How many people can say that? And then for this other thing too, it's like there were so many people that wanted this and I at least got the chance. How many people can say that? So it's really a shift in mindset to, you know, be proud of yourselves and continue to look at things for what you have done and not what you're lacking.


Kwame: 

Anyways, a moment I know that.


Avori: 

Was like a line I can talk for forever. Sorry, but it's just true. Like we're so hard on ourselves.


Scott: 

So it's interesting. We talk a lot about. It's like this interesting cause of wanting to be better, knowing you're capable of doing more, but somehow finding perspective in that moment. I like recognize accomplishment, and it's always a tough balance, especially for people who have an achievement, mindset or have big goals and aspirations. Is reflecting back and taking stock of where you're at, being thankful for the blessings you have, the relationships you have.

But then also getting back to it and turning that into motivation to go and pursue the next kind of piece of your journey.


Avori: 

It's hundred percent, and that's the cycle and so on. It goes.


Kwame: 

Well, that's awesome. And, you know, we're gonna we're going to close this up with, you know, first, like a big thank you, to you for joining us. I think that this was an incredibly deep, meaningful, thought-provoking conversation. So, Avery, we really appreciate you taking the time today. This has been a great chat. And, I'll pass it to Scott because he has he always has a great way to end these.


Scott: 

No, I just I think I'm super happy for your success. I think, you know, I'm always reassured when when we meet great people. And I think these are the side of people, you know, when you're trying to be funny or trying to entertain people, we don't get to see this kind of side. you know, and we talk a lot about the majority of creators, and especially the ones doing brand deals are female.

And it is a tough space. And I think about like the modeling of the 90s and body image, there's a whole new set of issues and a whole, kind of set of challenges for females entering into the gaming space, into social media and having to navigate a lot of tough decisions. And I just love the perspective that you have.

And it's not coming from a place of judgment, but coming from a place of confidence and being centered in who you are and what you want. And I think there's a lot of creators, male, female, otherwise that should hear that message. So keep doing you were so for your success will always advocate for you. Keep crushing it. And, thanks for joining us.


Avori: 

Thanks for having me. And hopefully, you don't have to edit out too much.


Kwame: 

Yeah. I'll, we'll tell our, editing guy David to watch out for just about anything you say.


Avori: 

Oh, man, I ruin the podcast.

Kwame: 

All right, everyone, thank you so much for joining us on today's fantastic episode of Beyond Influence. We will see you next time. Bye-bye.

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