Thamziri (Thami) is a Twitch Streamer, YouTuber, Podcaster, voice-over artist, and author, among other things. With so many accomplishments under his belt, it’s easy to see why we wanted to interview him.
We first met this exceptional video creator on Twitch, and since then, we’ve discovered that he has so many intriguing facets that we wanted to highlight him and his passion for gaming.
We were able to catch up with him in the midst of his hectic schedule, and here’s how the conversation went:
Of course, as with any interview, we want to learn more about the content creator, so we ask the obligatory questions. Who is Thamziri? and what is your backstory?
“Thamziri is your next-door neighbour you call to come play games with you on the couch with a box of pizza and snacks. My real name is Thami Phakathi. I first began my content creation adventure on YouTube, posting videos of my Overwatch POTG (play of the game).
I’d also post videos of myself and my friends playing Overwatch, PUBG, and Rainbow Six Siege. From the reception of the videos, it was clear to me that people were enjoying my content and the fun I’d have whilst playing games. 2016 thus became the defining year of my content creator career after my first few videos were posted to YouTube.
It eventually got to a point where I streamed on YouTube for the very first time in 2018. It was scary for me to consider streaming because it meant NOTHING could be edited out so I had to watch what I say at all times. I also wasn’t sure how long one was meant to stream and so it turned out to be too long for most people.
Nonetheless, it felt more freeing than video creation – because I didn’t need to edit things out. Eventually, streaming became a usual thing for me, something I really preferred. Then came a day that I was told about Twitch and that I could make money off of it. I could make money on YouTube as well, but Twitch was all the rage at that time. Thus, I made my switch over to Twitch.
My gamer name at the time was KuroKai / KuroShounen. I had a favourite Rainbow Six Streamer named ‘Tatted’ on Twitch who I loved to watch. I would be known in her chat as “Thamz” and one day she called me “Thamziri” and thus THAMZIRI was born. I switched all of my names on every platform to that and since then, it’s been my persona. Balancing work, content, and social life is by far the greatest challenge for me.
In 2020 I was ready to call it quits on streaming and revert to YouTube videos. But even with that, finding time to edit – let alone record gameplay – was becoming too taxing, as aforementioned, I work full time. I had made the decision to end my content creation for good in 2020. However, fate had something else in store. Besides watching Tatted’s streams, I would also watch Sam “TechGirlZA” on Twitch and sometimes be able to join in for a game of Rainbow Six Siege.
It was until October of 2020 when she told me about Logitech’s Creator Academy competition. She encouraged me to sign up for it and I kept the fact of my retirement a secret and gave myself a chance. Honestly, I had nothing to lose. And by grace, I was accepted into the competition with my submission. To this day I’m still grateful that she saw something in me to spur me towards entering the competition. I learnt so much through that experience and what it meant to be a content creator, aside from what I had been doing since 2016.
There was so much that I wasn’t doing which explained my very slow growth and cause of wanting to retire. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the final three at the end of the competition, and it was a week after the competition ended that I did my final stream ever… or so I thought. My last stream was in December of 2020 where I thanked everyone for the support and announced my retirement.
But again, fate was not done with me yet. In February of 2021, I was approached by Super2Bit. Having met them through the Logitech Creator Academy, they too saw something in me and, lack of more words, I was signed to them as a content creator. At this point, I knew that this was where I’m supposed to be.
Making content. My first year of signing to an organization – I was stocked just as much as anyone would be. I have my viewers, my community, friends, family, Super2Bit, and especially TechGirlZA to thank for believing in me and my abilities. Without all of them, that retirement in 2020 would’ve been permanent and I wouldn’t be a known name today!”
So, what is Thamziri’s role in the gaming community?
“I’m still unsure of where my ‘niche’ lies in terms of gaming. I consider myself a variety streamer as I can’t hold myself to one single game.
I tend to enjoy a range of different games, mainly depending on my mood for the day, to be honest. I have also enjoyed streaming for charities such as SAACA and I’m in the works for doing another charity stream soon. So, as for my role… Honestly, I cannot tell you.
My streams are the moments I get to wind down and play games after work, have some fun banter with the chat and just blast tweets on Twitter. If I had to guess, I’d say my role in the gaming community is the Gaming Comedian. Streaming and content creation is a time for me to be creative and to put on a show. A great performance! Lights, camera (in partnership with Logitech *plug plug*), and ACTION!”
What is his favourite genre of game you ask?
“MMORPG! Hands down. If you give me a game whereby, I am awarded for my progression per completion, AND I GET TO BE WHATEVER I WANT? Sign me up!
Battle royales have been getting to me as well, mostly because I love being the best and better than the rest. But I’m a sore loser so bleh. The only issue with MMORPGs is that I am yet to play a game that is better than World of Warcraft. I’ve played WoW since 2005, a year after it’s been out. And I’ve been playing it ever since.
The second most played MMORPG is Elder Scrolls Online with 535 hours. As for WoW, well, take into account I’ve been playing since 2005. It’s just that the subscription for the game is too much and so I retired from WoW this year (2022) in February. Should Microsoft succeed in putting WoW subscription within the Xbox Game Pass subscription (which is way cheaper), then I’ll be back on the game like white on rice.”
What is his preferred gaming platform?
“I prefer the PC as my platform. My real OG peeps will remember my first stream and gameplay on YouTube to have been done on my PS4. I only build my first PC in my second year of university.
I would play WoW on my parent’s laptop and the home PC as a kid until I got my own laptop for university. But since those were not strong enough to stream, at the age of 20 I amassed enough to buy my very first PC which I still use to this day.”
His favourite thing about gaming?
“Most people would say it’s their escape, and this and that. For me, gaming is being able to live out a role of someone else.
I guess then you can say it’s an escape from the boring normal me. But how I see it, it’s like saying there’s a role to be played, and only I can fulfill that role. That’s what I like. An NPC needs a hero to save their Python/C++ coded life, but for me, it’s someone needing a hero and only I can be the one to save everyone. Gaming to me makes me feel important.
Makes me feel needed. Like I matter. (Sure, I matter to a lot of people in real life, but that’s a conversation on my depression that we can have another time xD).”
Lastly, we wanted to know What his current projects are, and what does he have planned for the future?
“Aside from streaming, I host a podcast called ‘Close To Midnight Podcast’ on Spotify, Google Podcast, and Apple Podcasts. This podcast is about the thoughts I have on dating, relationships, and life.
There’s no consistent posting of episodes, but with over 90 episodes available to listen to, it’s a project that I don’t see myself ending any time soon. I also do voice acting but purely for another stream of income. I am also a writer with a profile on Wattpad.
There’s a free book on there now as we speak, Reaper Young God.So, with those projects, I plan to eventually get the podcast sponsored but that will take time as it’s the lowest on my priority.
As for my writing, I have 2 completed books ready to be published. It’s just a matter of getting a publisher to be interested in my work.The voice acting… well, what happens will happen, I guess.
Then the main project is content creation. What I have planned is to integrate more into YouTube as I’ve neglected it ever since I grew on Twitch. I’ve had many streamers say that in order to succeed, one must not place their content in one place. As the old saying goes, “Don’t put your eggs into one basket.”Personally, I’m not interested in sharing clips of my gaming and skill and whatever.
If I’m going to make content, I want people to come away from watching my content feeling amused and entertained. Far too many just post clips of themselves getting an ACE or killing a hard boss… I want to make content where something hilarious happens in the game where the viewer is left hosing themselves!
If it’s horror, then I want people to come away from the vid with fear of sleeping that night. THAT is what I aim to evoke within people. HILARITY and THRILL! Otherwise, I’ve failed you as my viewer.”
There you have it folks a peek into the interesting and multifaceted life that is Thamziri, if this has piqued your interest you can check him out via his socials:
https://www.twitch.tv/thamziri