Asmongold revealed the heartbreaking reason he decided to start streaming on Twitch. He mentioned several things, including the need to care for his mother, a lack of money, and more.
Asmongold is one of the biggest success stories on Twitch. After joining the platform in 2013, he rose from the bottom and ascended to the top. Today, he has almost 2.5 million followers and, when active, thousands of subscribers.
But although this isn’t an unfamiliar story for some of the other top streamers on the platform, Asmon’s rags-to-riches tale goes back even further than that.
On November 22, he revealed the heartbreaking circumstances that drove him to start streaming. This included the need to care for his mother, the destitution that resulted from that, and the subsequent health issues it led to.
“My mum getting sick forced me into streaming,” said Asmon. “I couldn’t leave the house because I had to take care of her.” This happened in 2012 after she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which obstructs airflow from the lungs.
“That’s why I started making YouTube videos,” he explained. “I couldn’t get a job. I could barely go to school because of that.” However, he wasn’t making much money, which caused his own health to deteriorate.
“Ironically, most people say they didn’t start streaming for money. I did. All my teeth were falling out because I could never afford to go to the dentist or anything. They were getting so bad that it was just terrible.”
The condition of his teeth worsened to a point where a dentist told him it would cost a whopping $50,000 to fix them. He was somewhere between 24 and 25 years old at the time, and it absolutely shattered him.
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“I went home with that bill, and I wanted to kill myself,” said Asmon. “I was like, there’s no way I can ever get above that. This is it. This is the end of my life.”
But despite feeling down and out, he was determined to find a solution, and he did. “I started streaming because I knew I couldn’t pay for it with the money I made on YouTube. That’s why I started streaming.”
Asmon’s trip down memory lane ended on a positive note. “In a way, I’m glad my teeth fell out,” he said. After all, as difficult as it was to go through at the time, it was the precursor that ultimately led to his success.
Asmon overcame one hardship after another and rose from the ashes to become the Twitch powerhouse he is today. However, based on his emotional reflection, it’s clear he hasn’t forgotten the roots that served as his foundation.