Anyone can be an entertainer, but it takes a certain type of person to be successful on Twitch.tv. One has to be approachable, ready for anything and charismatic. Alumnus Casey Cockrell, who now goes by Neurometry on the site, works to incorporate these characteristics in order to build a following on the site.

Boasting nearly 150 followers on Twitch, Neuro maintains a small community stream which provides an island of comfort to those traversing the sea of dangers and malignant content that is Twitch. He spends his streams playing a selection from his personal library of games which he updates constantly, and includes such titles including Doom, Final Fantasy VII and Dishonored.

“I had a big list of games I wanted to play through, some of which I’ve played through many times and others I’ve never even touched,” Cockrell said. “I was following this list for a while but I found myself not really having fun streaming them. So I gave the list up and started streaming the games on the list I really wanted to play. This way, I can keep my energy up during the stream and I’m playing a game that I’m passionate about.”

Cockrell met his close friend Ryan Memarzadeh in 2016; Memarzadeh not only serves as the inspiration for Neuro’s streams but is one of his most frequent viewers.

“He joined my channel when I was streaming my playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,” Memarzadeh said. “He became a core member of my community, and eventually became a moderator on my channel where he helps me run events with viewers, [and] implement and maintain content around the stream, and is generally a crucial part of helping me keep my own streams running smoothly. He’s grown a lot as a person since I met him a little over a year ago, and I’m immensely proud of his personal growth.”

When Cockrell first started out, he did not have much to work with. Unlike professional streamers, he did not have fancy soundproof gear or a fancy microphone, or even a quality computer.

“When I first started, I streamed entirely off of my brother’s computer, using all of his equipment, since my laptop at the time could barely handle an internet browser,” Cockrell said. “This made scheduling very difficult, since I had to accommodate not only for what times I wanted to stream, but also what times my brother would not be using his computer. So, after saving up about $1,300, I purchased my own PC and assembled it with the help of my brother. Now, my schedule is in my own hands and I dictate when I do and don’t stream.”

According to Cockrell’s brother Cody, streaming takes up a majority of Neuro’s life, and has a heavy impact on his daily schedule.

“A typical day for Neuro is usually him on his computer all day,” Cody said. “Whether it be playing games, moderating Twitch chat, streaming on Twitch itself and other things like that.”

One paramount importance to Neuro is his community of followers and subscribers on Twitch.

“Without a Twitch community, I’m nothing,” Neuro said. “If I didn’t have a community to stream to, I would be streaming without a purpose, it would be gigabytes of data being transmitted into nothingness. I’m always thankful for the people that watch, even if just for a moment. Anything beyond that is simply a bonus.”

Cockrell has one piece of advice for those looking to brave the waters of the internet, make a name for themselves, and become livestreamers.

“What was it that Shia LaBeouf said? JUST. DO IT,” Cockrell said. “The longer you wait, the more people you’re essentially going to have to ‘compete’ with. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can start building a community. Even if your first stream is just you and a few friends hanging out playing Overwatch or something, anything is better than nothing. If video games aren’t your thing, you can stream art and music. If you think you’re a good artist or musician, there’s communities set up to stream those kinds of things. But more than that, it’s very important to have fun with it. If you know you’re not going to have fun streaming, don’t force it.”