Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Strong
Hi Derek, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As an actor, and musician I’ve been studying my craft since a very young age. I began singing and playing the piano at 5, and growing up in Kentucky, I never knew exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do something in the entertainment industry, but I was unsure where I’d fit in. In 2007 I auditioned for American Idol on a whim and was told I wasn’t marketable. I didn’t let that get me down. I continued to pursue my dream of being on stage by studying musical theater in college. After a few productions, as much as I loved doing musical theater I abandoned the dream after being told that it would be hard to cast me in productions as I am a bigger-sized person. I had moderate success in local productions. There was a lull between my years after college and 2020 when I focused on joining the workforce. I studied cybersecurity and began working as a regional manager in the cybersecurity field. 11 years later, I’m still in the same job with the same company. I went fully remote and moved to Florida, before moving to Austin, TX. But during that time, I focused on the community and giving back. As an LGTBQIA+ individual, I focused on charity work benefiting great causes such as The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline. After spending my years between 2016 -2020 traveling, fundraising, assisting with community and charity events, the pandemic washed over the nation, forcing us all to retreat into the safety of our homes. It was during this time while supporting Drag Artists who took to Twitch to perform during lockdown, that I discovered content creation. I had already been a fan of creators like Markiplier, Razzbowski, and Jacksepticeye. I also loved playing video games. Much like music, they offer me an escape. I took the opportunity to begin teaching myself the necessary skills and tools to become a content creator. During college, I had taken a few film and film editing classes. I was proficient enough to edit my own content. I began streaming on Twitch in 2020 and my whole life took a turn as I began investing my time and effort into content creation. During this time, however, I went through a rough patch, an identity crisis if you will. A bad date led me down the road of trying to find out what was wrong with me. It was during this time that I took responsibility for myself and sought help. I discovered that I have Autism and ADHD and that I’m bipolar. I knew I struggled with severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD from a bad car wreck in 2017. But now I had answers. With those answers in hand, I began focusing on bettering myself and utilizing therapy to treat aspects of my autism. My big break would come at the end of 2023, right before my birthday in December. I applied to join Mob Entertainment’s partner program called the Partners in Crime. Mob Entertainment is known for the mascot horror game, Poppy Playtime, of which I am a huge fan. I immediately hit the ground running, ordering merchandise from Poppy Playtime to unbox and review on YouTube. Covering Poppy Playtime news, I recorded a reaction video to a song released by CG5 for Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 called Sleep Well, and in my reaction video, the song really touched my heart in a way that brought so much emotion out of me. The video went a bit viral and obtained the attention of CG5 who commented saying that I was a true Poppy Playtime fan. This was the spark that I needed to know that I was in the right space. I was discovered by a voice acting director for an animation studio through my Twitch page. I was offered an opportunity to voice some characters in a couple of animes, something which I had been wanting to do for a long time. I figured if I couldn’t make it as an on-stage actor, voice acting would be another great opportunity for me as I love making voices, and just being silly in general. Acting is a great output for me. All the while working full-time, and making content part-time, I traveled to various conventions to present at content creator panels and began growing my brand through networking. I was featured in a Mob Entertainment ad campaign for Chapter 3 of Poppy Playtime, and during that time I was investing and nurturing my love and passion for music and songwriting. I was inspired by artist CG5 to start writing my own nerdcore music. I covered their song, “Sleep Well”, before venturing off to begin my own songwriting and recently released my first song “Fragmented Echoes” based off of the mascot horror game Indigo Park (streaming now). I recently announced my first main voice role in an indie horror video game called ‘Whispering Death’ (which is in production). I plan to continue to hone in on my craft, and continue to grow as a creative individual, writing music, creating content for YouTube, and just being silly and playing games on Twitch. I’m happy with what I create, and my brand of being kind, and reminding everyone that no matter what they are loved and wanted in this world. I do what I can to continue to give back to various communities, and I am hosting a charity event at the end of September to raise money for a new children’s cancer word for the Great Ormond Street Hospital located in the United Kingdom and will be working with other developers from Mob Entertainment, and other content creators to raise money for a great cause. What’s next for me? Who knows. I have many projects that I’m working on in the background. What I do know is that I would like to at some point be a full-time content creator, and devote my time solely to what makes me happy in this world: acting, making music, playing video games, making new content to share with the world, and bringing a smile to peoples faces. My ultimate dream would be to land a role in the upcoming Poppy Playtime movie, that would be the biggest dream come true. While this is a brief overview of where I started and where I am now, there’s a lot that people don’t get to see, or hear about. I’m a very open and vulnerable individual. While my upbringing had moments that have left its mark on me, I channel that into treating the world better than I had been treated. Kindness takes zero effort.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, they say. The road has not been smooth. I’ve suffered major traumatic events in my life that have left me in a very vulnerable state. I provided childcare for my brother at a young age while my mom worked in a hospital during the night shift. My mom did the best she could, and I had never met my father. At one point she was injured on the job and had to stop working due to the damage that it caused in her spine. Poverty was the life that I knew from middle school all the way through college. I worked as hard as I could to provide for my mom and my brother up until college. After college, I returned home and continued to provide care for my mom while my brother went to school. I supported my family all the way up until 2019 before making the difficult decision to venture out on my own, right before the pandemic hit. But even during that period, I still struggled with a lot, on my own. It made me realize that I needed to care for myself as much as I cared for others and to seek help. This is when I discovered I was autistic, had ADHD, and was bipolar. Before this, I was in a bad car wreck in 2018 which left its mark on me. While I wasn’t terribly injured physically, the PTSD from the wreck was enough to have a long-lasting effect on me. To this day, I still wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming of the accident in a cold sweat. As far as content creation and being creative go, it also has its challenges. Finding the right algorithms, advertising, and getting your content out there is tough. It’s hard to not compare yourself to another content creator and get discouraged when a stream or a video doesn’t do as well as you had hoped. Costs for content creation can be high as well, computer parts, software, software subscriptions, and other costs really add up quick. So these things tend to hinder me as well. I’ve been streaming on Twitch for 4 years, and while I’ve seen growth, I’ve not seen the growth that others have had within a month, quickly becoming Twitch partners within 3 months of beginning to stream. It does make you question what you are doing wrong as a content creator, a lot. While I do have more followers on my Twitch account than I do subscribers on YouTube, I have found that my growth has been more successful in the YouTube and TikTok spaces, and continue to promote content there to hopefully grow my Twitch page. Finding voice-acting roles for non-union voice-over talent can be difficult as well.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a creative individual, music, singing, and acting are my passions. I have been singing and playing the piano since I was 5. I could easily sit down listen to a song one time and play it back with minimal issues. That has stayed the same for me throughout all these years. I continue to create music and sing, and while I am not an actor on stage, I have been utilizing my skills for roles in voice acting. But skills don’t just stop there. I also have a talent for editing, both in film and photography. I also truly enjoy educating others on content creation, music, singing, acting, etc., and love to travel to various conventions to present. I am known mostly for my video game content, usually of me flailing and screaming as I’m being chased by something. But I’m also known for being a funny, chill, and kind person to be around. I’m also known for being that one guy who was crying in a Poppy Playtime video, I’ll never live that down! But I’m also known for my music, for my cover songs, and for singing. As mentioned in the beginning, I’m also known for my titles, and the work that I have done in the LGBTQIA+ spaces. I’m most proud of landing my voice acting roles that have allowed me to grow as an actor and experience acting in a new light. Voice acting is so much fun. I truly love being in an acting role as it brings me joy to sit down and just be silly, or serious even as I’m being another character from the safety of my recording closet. But the highlight would be getting into the partner program with Mob Entertainment. I’ve met so many amazing individuals, have learned new things, and grown as an individual. It also has sparked new interests for me as I study more in sound design. What sets me apart from others is my distinct content, my drive and passion as an artist and as an individual, my music, and my kindness. It’s funny how many people have said that they thought I wouldn’t be approachable, but it’s quite the opposite. I’m a genuinely kind individual, and I love meeting and chatting with everyone especially if it’s about any of the major subjects that I love. Oh, and I’m a total nerd.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I think many of us learned more about ourselves because of COVID. Being locked in for almost 2 years really puts life into perspective. You’re left alone with your own thoughts. You want to go see friends and family but can’t. It was tough. But what it taught me was that I needed to be kinder to myself. It taught me how to utilize therapy to better myself. It also taught me to wear a mask at events to help prevent getting sick, something that I prefer to do in large social gatherings even to this day with a vaccine.
Pricing:
- Voice Acting – Standard Rates
- Twitch – $6.86 (Tier 1 Subscription)
- YouTube – $4.99 (Member)
Contact Info:
- Website: http://Tibbers.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tibberrz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/puptibbers
- Twitter: https://x.com/TibbersTTV
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Tibberrs
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14944277/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Image Credits
Pixelishious
Derek “Tibbers” Strong
Rokems
WizradYeen
