Many teenagers and young adults love to play video games in their free time, but sophomore Drew Maupin has made it his job with an estimated $15,000 earnings coming for 2021.

“The way I get paid is through donations, ad revenue, and people who subscribe to me,” Maupin said.

Maupin makes his earnings off of streaming platforms and social media like Twitch, Youtube, and TikTok.

“A lot of people use twitch as a platform to stream,” Maupin said. “I just play my game with a face cam and with my gameplay as people watch me. I talk to them. They ask me questions and comment on what I’m doing. I just try to be entertaining and be funny. I make jokes but streaming is just watching somebody play a game.”

Maupin plays lots of different games, but the one he usually plays for fans is called Fortnite.

“Fortnite is a game where players fight to the death,” Maupin said. “One hundred players drop out of a flying bus into a world and whoever is the last one standing wins.”

Drew says he likes the game and has been playing since the first day it came out in 2017.

“At the time everybody was playing it because it was a new type of game nobody had ever seen,” Maupin said.  “It was a completely different concept from any other game.”

Maupin soon became addicted to gaming and further developed his skills. He bought his first PC to start streaming and committed after he got his first paycheck.

“I have been in this [seriously] for two years,” Maupin said, “and people will post for a few months and quit when they could have blown up the next day.”

The sophomore loves streaming and creating content but knows it does not come without its struggles.

“People think it’s easy and just enjoying themselves,” Maupin said. “Sometimes I will have low viewers, and I’ll not be happy about things in general.”

To make it in the industry, Maupin recommends staying consistent with the quality of content and content releasing while also posting on as many platforms as possible.

“People think it’s sunshine and rainbows, but the challenge is keeping up with stuff between school and sports,” Maupin said. “People need to know it’s hard, and that’s the biggest thing.”

Maupin realizes that he won’t be in Esports forever and plans to invest his money into stocks as well as potentially start a new business.

“Even big celebrity names came from nothing and had to work to get to where they are,” Maupin said. “Trust the process and don’t think that you will blow up overnight.”