Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Zaner
Hi Dylan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my journey working in the gaming industry as a full time content creator on YouTube and Twitch. Every day I would upload new videos and livestream Minecraft and The Sims 4 to hundreds of viewers. It allowed me to have a creative outlet and make enough money to support myself for 5 1/2 years.
Eventually I decided that I wanted to think about my career growth for the long term for both myself and for my husband who had just recently moved to America from Ireland. Thankfully I was able to land a job at Twitch as one of the three founding members of their Community Marketing team. It was there that I learned a lot about how the industry worked and it allowed me to build my marketing skillsets outside of just content creation.
I worked at Twitch for about 4 years before I decided I needed to take on a role that was outside of the gaming entertainment sphere since that had been my life for nearly 10 years at that point. I was able to get a job at Roblox as the Global Influencer Marketing Manager and now I work to grow the reach of Roblox across the globe by working with influencers in many different languages every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m very blessed that I have been able to surround myself with friends who have been there for me through the tumultuous times in both content creation and with working in the industry. Growing up poor, I really learned how to be scrappy and it taught me to get to know everyone outside of my own lens because all you really had were those in the community who were able to help you.
When I originally got the job at Twitch it was coming at the perfect time because my husband and I were going through the green card process. He’s from Ireland and we had met each other through content creation on YouTube. The stress of a new job and moving to a new state was already hard enough, but adding on the stress of getting married and dealing with visa issues definitely put my relationship and job to the test.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Currently I am the Global Influencer Marketing Manager for Roblox. That means my day to day involves helping developing our global strategy for working with influencers across many different language regions. Outside of my current job I also still create content on the side mostly for my own sanity. People think I’m crazy, but I do find enjoyment streaming three days a week before work starts.
I am proud of a lot of the things I’ve been able to achieve thus far in my life. From being able to say I helped produce an entire award show, to being sponsored by the entire city of Melbourne, Australia, to being managed by Disney at one point in my YouTube career, to being able to help shape the livestreaming industry from behind the scenes. I am so thankful for all the opportunities I’ve been given and cannot wait to see what the future holds .
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I’m always down to help others achieve their goals of getting into the gaming industry. It is not an easy path especially in this current economy, but always feel free to hit me up and if I have the time I’m down to help any way I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://twitch.tv/8bitdylan
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8bitdylan/
- Twitter: https://x.com/8bitdylan
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/8bitdylan
