Today we’d like to introduce you to AlexNorimaki.
Hi AlexNorimaki, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been the “dramatic child.” My mom likes to say I had comedic timing as soon as I could speak, I’ve always loved to sing and dance around the house, and I’ve got this weird talent for remembering song lyrics and the scripts of movies I enjoy. In short, I’ve had an artistic and entertaining personality my entire life. I also grew up with one older brother (almost 9 years older) who would play video games and let me hang out and watch while he did. Many summer days and weekends (we weren’t allowed to play video games during school days as kids) were spent with me sitting on the floor in my brother’s room with a snack, watching him play through games. My favorites were The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Phantasy Star Online. When I got older, and my brother had moved on from these games and others, I would play them myself. I’ve been an avid gamer my whole life.
The only downside to being a little Black girl who liked video games and cartoons was that I never really had friends who looked like me with the same interests, and I certainly didn’t see any people on TV who looked like me and had the same interests. I would largely hide those interests from everyone to try to fit in.
When I went to college, I met my best friends who enjoyed video games just like me! I also discovered a YouTuber named CoryxKenshin, a hilarious Black man who plays video games in his videos. I would spend evenings watching his videos before bed and, over time, started thinking, “I could probably do this! Make videos playing games I love, commenting as I do, and just being myself.” I started my YouTube channel in December 2019. My screen name, AlexNorimaki, is half my name and half the last name of Arale Norimaki – the protagonist of the 90s anime Dr. Slump. Arale lived with her father in Penguin Village, which became the name of my community!
My very first video was of me playing the Shrek 2 video game for GameCube. I recorded my face with my iPhone camera and edited the whole thing on my laptop, which could barely run the programs for it! But you have to start somewhere, right? I kept making videos and grew a small following on YouTube when the pandemic hit in 2020. Since I was stuck in the house during quarantine, I spent my time making more gaming videos and meeting other creators on Twitter and Discord.
Over the summer, I met some YouTubers who also streamed on Twitch. At first, I had no interest in live streaming – you can’t edit out all your awkward moments if you’re life! But my friends eventually convinced me to try it and helped me set everything up. My brother even gifted me a strong PC to stream for my birthday. On July 26, 2020 (my 23rd birthday), I went live to play video games and celebrate my birthday since quarantine meant I couldn’t celebrate in real life.
I’ve been streaming now for almost 3 years. I still stream a lot of gaming content, but I also live-stream myself cooking, building with Legos, painting, and so much more! My community on Twitch has grown to almost 5,000 people, and I stream on a schedule every week. I’ve also had many amazing opportunities to work with brands on promotional campaigns for products and indie game developers. I’ve also been able to raise more than $7,000 for charities during my live-streaming career! I had taken an extended break from YouTube, mostly due to time constraints, but I’ve also come back to making content for it in the past month. I picked up cosplaying (dressing up as characters from different forms of media) in October 2020 as a hobby and have had so much fun meeting other cosplayers and dressing as my favorite characters from childhood, too.
I’ve always had difficulty describing my content to others and spent years describing myself as various content creators. But, I realized (very recently) that I make content for my younger self. All the things I would daydream about – having the powers my favorite characters had, wearing their outfits, having friends to enjoy video games with me – I do them now. I play video games I love and am interested in with a community of viewers. I’ve cosplayed my favorite Zelda characters and more. I geek about things I find interesting on YouTube. I do these things for little Alex. Little Alex was made to feel weird and outcast for having differing interests from my classmates as a kid, so she hid those interests. Adult Alex hides none of that and creates things she would’ve loved to see when she was little.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been fairly smooth?
It has been a challenging road! Being a content creator is a challenging thing. You can put hours into creating a video or a cosplay only to post the results and receive very little response. Developing imposter syndrome or comparing yourself and your journey to other creators can be so easy. It’s so important to remember why I started doing any of this in the first place. And it’s important to remember that everyone’s journey as a creator is different. What worked for my friends may not work for me, and it’s up to me to find my way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a content creator who livestreams on Twitch, creates videos on YouTube, and cosplays! My specialty is playing video games and commenting on them, but I’m getting better and better at cosplaying! I’m most known for being a Legend of Zelda content creator since I often play games in the series and have cosplayed many characters from it! I’m most proud of my community – the Penguin Village. It’s a very active and wild community that has fun with each other as much as it has fun with me. I couldn’t be prouder of it because, quite frankly, I didn’t go into this expecting to create a community at all! What sets me apart from others is my personality. I’m not just one thing; I cannot be placed in a category. Believe me; I’ve tried. I’ve even asked my friends to describe me, and they say something like, “You’re just Alex. There isn’t a word for it.” There isn’t a word for me. One day, I can be a chill streamer, calmly playing video games in her pajamas while she sips tea. The next day, I can be a loud, over-the-top gamer making the wildest comments about what’s happening in-game. One day later, I’m dressed as a powerful and elegant Mayor Pauline from the Mario series. I’m something you have to experience for yourself because words can’t describe me.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’d love to meet more creators and cosplayers in the San Antonio area! We exist; we just haven’t found each other yet. I’m also open to and available to work with brands and collaborate with other creators like me. I’d love to work with brands in the home decor, lifestyle, and gaming industries, particularly.
Pricing:
- Please email for pricing!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/alexnorimaki
- Instagram: instagram.com/alexnorimaki
- Twitter: twitter.com/AlexNorimaki
- Youtube: youtube.com/alexnorimaki
- Other: https://twitch.tv/AlexNorimaki
