Tyler ‘Trainwreck’ Niknam is Twitch’s “black sheep” in his own words. Fed up with the platform’s actions, he’s unveiled a dream of setting up his own streaming service to help “small-mid size creators” who are “the backbone of the entire industry”.
Trainwreck has found plenty of success through streaming on Twitch. He’s been at the forefront of some of the platform’s biggest metas such as gambling — no matter how divisive they may be.
However recent actions and drama pushing him away from what he does best has him looking at other options. Known for being supportive of his community and rising stars, he wants to put his words into action by creating, or at least partnering with, a rival to Twitch.
His reasons? He wants to highlight the “backbone of the entire industry” and support smaller creators.
“I’m going to create a platform or team up with one and instead of only contracting large creators, I want to primarily contract small-mid size creators,” he said on Twitter. “Current platforms deem you irrelevant but you are the backbone of the entire industry, and you deserve at least a little security.”
i'm going to create a platform or team up with one and instead of only contracting large creators, i want to primarily contract small-mid size creators, current platforms deem you irrelevant but you are the backbone of the entire industry, & you deserve at least a little security
— Trainwreck (@Trainwreckstv) October 19, 2022
Many have jumped on board with Trainwreck’s plan. Although, some are questioning the logistics of it all. Web hosting is expensive — it is the reason Twitch used to slash creator pay from subscriptions — and the competition in the space fierce.
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However, he believes he’s built to thrive in an environment like that, and he wants to prove doubters wrong.
“As the actual black sheep of Twitch, I’ve single handedly created four different massive waves and trends across all platforms over the last four years,” he said to quell doubts.
“I have a vision, [the] chance for failure is high, but that’s the exact environment I thrive and excel in. I’d rather fail than be constantly disrespected by people and a platform who I know aren’t even [a hundredth] of what they appear to be.”
Whether it’s just a pipe dream or something he can realize remains to be seen, but Trainwreck will do what he can to show the smaller streamers who make up the majority of Twitch’s users their worth.
