Broadcasting is a tough business, full of ups, downs, hard work and overnight successes. Few have experienced a rise from anonymity to stardom like Nicole ‘Neeko’ Sanchez, who I caught up with this week ahead of the debut of the second series of her live cooking show, Noms with Neeko. Talking to Neeko about her heritage, her politics and the importance of fostering healthy communities, there’s a deep sense of intelligence in her thoughts that even she seems shy about.
Being a streamer means you’re always ‘on’ and means there’s always someone waiting to knock you down. If you’re a woman of color who embraces her culture and her femininity, that goes double, then triple, then quadruple for Neeko. Her answers are as often guarded as they are profound, and I get the sense that Neeko is an extremely bright young woman with a passion to be the change she wants to see in the world, even as she understands what that looks like. as she goes.
“There’s definitely a little bit of a difference between being a Mexican-American broadcaster and trying so hard to represent your culture and where you’re from,” Neeko says. “I feel like there are Latin American broadcasters who maybe don’t really like to touch it, they just want to be themselves, trying so hard to show your background, where you’re from and be able to touch different audiences I think it’s definitely different, like progressive trying to be that representation. I don’t feel responsible, I think it’s just a passion of mine to be that representation. I don’t think anyone should feel responsible or try to carry the weight of anything that they don’t want.”
Neeko broadcasts in Spanish and English and explains that she thinks it’s important for Latinos to have a face and a voice like they do on Twitch, someone who not only speaks their language, but represents their demographic and the unique position they have. Mexican Americans in the Latino diaspora. There are few Mexican-American streamers of Neeko’s Twitch profile, and she’s aware of the responsibility that comes with it. However, it is not only about protecting its culture, but also about sharing it with the world. One of the ways she does this is through her cooking show, Noms with Neeko.
“Cooking has always been very important to my mother,” she says. “I was raised to be independent at a very young age because my parents have to make ends meet and they were never at home. Although they tried to be involved in my life as much as possible. [my mom] was not able to be there all the time. So it was very important for him to show me how to serve myself food, to teach me how to make meals, so as a child [I could] do something for my little brother A common thing that Hispanic mothers say is, “what if I’m not here one day, what are you going to do, starve to death?”. When I left, I was really surprised at how much I retained. That’s how my cooking currents came about. Just bring it with me, just trying not to spend too much to eat out and incorporate what my mom taught me.”
She adds that it’s also important for Twitch to build different types of communities, and while gaming will likely always be the dominant force in streaming, diversifying content allows for communities made up of all kinds of people. Gaming culture, Neeko says, “can be a little toxic” and “its cooking audience is a little healthier.” Speaking specifically about toxicity, she adds “when you see a hateful comment, you have to act like you don’t see it, even though maybe it made you feel uncomfortable or hurt your feelings,” and that this side of broadcasting is more ” mentally taxing,” especially for a self-described introvert. Part of the reason we’ve seen the nature of Twitch change is the influx of content creators from other platforms; Neeko herself first rose to fame on TikTok, becoming a viral sensation with her ‘Okay, Boomer’ video. Since then, she has worked hard to let people see the person behind the meme.
“The first thing that came to mind when I realized the extent of the meme’s virality is that I absolutely wanted to be my ‘Okay, Boomer’ self,” she says. That’s probably the biggest struggle content creators face. when they move from a social media platform to the giant Twitch, Neeko thinks, streaming is more reactive, pre-social, and requires longer hours of more active participation.
“I think we’re in a world now where a lot of the biggest stars are content creators,” she says. Having that access for a content creator, or the illusion of accessibility, is very popular. These are features that are seen on many different platforms. I think personally being one of the main ones to have that access to talk to your favorite content creator live on air. Maybe they’ll get back to you, so there’s a better chance you’ll engage with your favorite content creator. With that being said, I think Twitch, I personally think not everyone can do that. Being a live streamer is a completely different form of content. I feel like I’m going to see a lot of different people from different platforms come to Twitch to be more engaged with their audience, [but it] it definitely puts people off. Do I think it will be so, [a] big [number]? No, but those people who come in and keep a steady flow, I think are very, very likely to be successful.”
As someone who has been successful on Twitch and migrating from one social media platform to another, I wanted to get Neeko’s take on a growing trend. Increasingly, children are naming ‘content creator’ as one of their most desired jobs when they grow up, often drawing an unprecedented level of disdain from adults when children wish to be singers or actors. This new fame seems to be nothing like the old fame. Cutting through the din of feigned anger, Neeko’s response is cutting and wise rather than defensive.
“I definitely encourage people to follow their dreams and I think it’s very important to listen to the kids out there,” she says. “Even though these kids want to be content creators, at the end of the day, I feel like their true passions and interests will take over over time. Maybe right now, they want to be content creators, but maybe later in life, they find a passion for medicine, theater, art, or music production. I think it’s very important to listen to America’s children and youth about what they want to do and let them discover what they want to do. want to be a content creator, it doesn’t hurt to try and at least give it a shot if you really want to pursue it, but like many jobs in media, whether traditional or digital, it definitely depends on who you you know, networking, persistence and a bit of luck too. It’s definitely something to keep in mind, but I think when kids say that, it’s best to let their interests develop over time. Maybe they’ll change with felt.”
Broadcasting is often seen as an apolitical career. “Republicans buy sneakers too” tends to be the dominant sentiment. However, when Neeko rose to fame, she did so wearing a Bernie Sanders for President t-shirt. However, rather than play it down and cast herself as the same kind of apolitical entertainer that her peers are, Neeko has – somewhat boldly – embraced political discussion. She felt she had no choice. Not because of the blouse, but because of her life.
“I feel like there were points where talking about politics was like a trend,” she says. “So when it’s fashionable, people talk about politics, but when it’s not useful and fashionable, I notice that some people tend to shy away from it. It’s definitely a scary thing to do, so I totally understand that. . But being a woman of color, coming from the background that I am, first-generation Mexican here in this country, it’s kind of hard not to be political because I think my existence is political, right? I mean, in at one point, I was pretty much classified as a baby anchor. My existence is political. It’s hard for me not to talk about these things when they’ve affected me so directly, like so many other POC minorities in this country. It’s definitely something I’m just very passionate about talking about because they’re pretty much who I am. It’s something I still do to this day.”
