Stream Wars Podcast Ep. 5: Streaming From Japan With Top Streamer Captain Catch
In this episode of our Streamer Series I spoke with Captain Catch, a top streamer on the social networking platform Skout, who also happens to live and work in Japan. Captain Catch, who’s real name is Chris, shares why he ended up in Japan, how he incorporates his life in Japan into his live streams, and the ways that streaming has positively impacted his career as an actor and teacher.
We also discuss what makes a good live stream and he shares his tips for becoming a better streamer. Listeners will be able to tell how much Chris cares about his fans. He shares how they have been a support system for him as he navigates the ups and downs of life and how he was nervous to meet some of his fans in real life because he was afraid he wouldn’t live up to their expectations of him. He also shares that he’s constantly trying to come up with new streaming content because his goal is always to keep things fresh and exciting for his fans.
To learn more about Chris and his life in Japan you can find him streaming on Skout as Captain Catch or check out his Youtube channel.
This episode with Chris is part of our Streamer Series where we interview top streamers to learn the secrets behind their success. If there’s anything you’d like to know about becoming a top live streamer, or any streamers that you would like to see interviewed, feel free to leave a comment below or email us at streamwars@themeetgroup.com.
Transcript
Speaker 1: 00:00 You’re listening to Stream Wars, your source for everything there is to know about the global live streaming industry. Here we’ll share insights and trends gleaned from interviews with top streamers, experts, and industry professionals. And now your host, VP of Live Streaming at The Meet Group and former professional live streamer, Lauren Hallanan.
Speaker 2: 00:28 Welcome back to the stream wars podcast. In this episode I spoke with Captain Catch, a top streamer on the social networking platform Skout, who also happens to live and work in Japan. Captain Catch, who’s real name is Chris, shares why he ended up in Japan, how he incorporates his life in Japan into his live streams, and the ways that streaming has positively impacted his career as an actor and teacher. We also discuss what makes a good live stream and he shares his tips for becoming a better streamer. Listeners will be able to tell how much Chris cares about his fans. He shares how they have been a support system for him as he navigates the ups and downs of life and how he was nervous to meet some of his fans in real life because he was afraid he wouldn’t live up to their expectations of him. He also shares that he’s constantly trying to come up with new streaming content because his goal is always to keep things fresh and exciting for his fans. Before we get into the interview, a quick request. If you are enjoying this podcast, please rate and review us on iTunes! And more importantly than that, please help us get Stream Wars out there. Share it on your socials or recommend it to someone who might find it interesting. We’d really appreciate it! And now, on to my interview with Chris.
Speaker 3: 02:08 Hi Chris. Welcome to the Stream Wars podcast. We’re really excited to have you on today.
Speaker 4: 02:13 Thank you for having me. I’m excited to be on.
Speaker 2: 02:16 So one of the reasons we wanted to have you on, besides the fact that you are a top streamer on Skout and we wanted to hear about your experience with that, but we also want to have you on because I think you have a very interesting story in comparison to some of our other streamers. I would love if you could go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us what you’re up to.
Speaker 4: 02:42 Okay. Well, I’m Captain Catch on Skout Live. But my real name is Chris. I live out here in Tokyo, Japan. I moved out to Japan about five years ago and so far I just kind of live my life out here. I do several different things from teaching English at a private high school here in Tokyo, to acting and modeling, Youtube, live streaming. So quite a few things.
Speaker 3: 03:07 Wow, that’s a lot going on. What was, what was your original reason for going to Japan?
Speaker 4: 03:16 That’s actually, well I get that question almost every single day. I’ll give you the short nutshell answer is that basically about five and a half, six years ago I was in a longterm relationship with my ex girlfriend at the time and we decided to break up because of some things and then also at the same time or within like a week, I kind of lost my job and so I had nowhere to go. Nothing, you know, nothing happened at that moment. So one of my friends came over and challenged me to try something new and as a joke I said Japan, just to go to Japan as a joke and it kinda went from a joke to a dare and from a dare to doing it. Within four months I came out to Tokyo from that point and haven’t looked back since.
Speaker 3: 04:00 Wow. Yeah, that’s crazy. I mean, that’s really awesome that you decided to go through with it and obviously it was a good choice if you stayed there for five years, you must be liking it.
Speaker 4: 04:15 Yeah. I haven’t ever actually had any acting experience or modeling experience really, but since I’ve come out here these opportunities have arisen because of just my situation here, because many people maybe don’t know that Japan is like a very homogenous society. There’s like 98 point five percent of the population is ethnically Japanese. So being someone that’s not Japanese, you kind of stick out really well out here. So it’s provided me a lot of opportunities to be successful out here. So it’s great.
Speaker 3: 04:47 Yeah, definitely. I used to live in China for eight years, so I have a similar experience with that. So how did you get started with streaming and I think you also said you do Youtube as well? How did you get started with the social media scene?
Speaker 4: 05:08 That’s a good question. That actually happened around last year. For the past couple of years I was thinking about starting a Youtube channel because I actually became friends with some pretty big Youtubers here in Japan through acting, but I was always hesitant to start, didn’t know what I wanted to like do what kind of demographic I was looking for. And then I remember last year I went back on Skout because I used to use Skout a long time ago, maybe three or four years ago and I didn’t use it for like two years. So I decided to pick it up again and I saw there was a Live option and that was my first time seeing a Live option. And I remember that first night I was incredibly nervous but I did it and I did like an hour and I had like, I don’t remember how many views, like 200, 300 people viewed it and I realized that this would be a great opportunity to match both my Youtube and Live at the same time. And then I decided to start my Youtube the day after I started my Live actually. So it kinda coincided. They kind of go in hand in hand.
Speaker 3: 06:13 Okay. And when you decided to live stream on Skout, had you heard anything about like live streaming before that or what was your reason for giving it a try?
Speaker 4: 06:26 I remember, I think a couple months before that I remember seeing a live streaming app, I think called Live.me. And I remember one of my acquaintances was doing one of those, but I wasn’t really thinking much of it, but it looked pretty interesting. But when I saw it on Skout I just, I had no real expectations or real understanding of what it was. I just, I know you would talk to people and people could see you on, on, you know, on live and message you, but I didn’t really fully understand everything that was involved. I just, I think I’m a person that likes to just kinda jump in and try new things, like thats the reason why I’m in Japan. So I just jumped right into it and gave it a shot and it worked out pretty well.
Speaker 3: 07:16 Yeah. So nowadays how often are you streaming?
Speaker 4: 07:26 Well the past couple of months actually since summer vacation I’ve been doing maybe five times a week, about an hour and a half, one hour to one and a half hours a day. I’m trying my best to do that. Maintaining a schedule is what I’m trying to do because of the people that are fans, the people that really enjoy watching me. So yeah, that’s usually my schedule recently, but before when I first started I was maybe doing two hours day almost every day a week. Maybe three hours sometimes.
Speaker 3: 08:01 Yeah, it’s definitely helpful, especially at the beginning, the more you can do the better, to just get that momentum going. I’m sure. So you mentioned keeping a schedule for your followers. I’m curious because I do know that Skout has some users from Asia and from other parts of the world maybe more so than, than some other platforms do. So are a lot of the people that watch your streams, are they people from Japan or other parts of Asia? Are they people from the US? Where are your followers and viewers typically from?
Speaker 4: 08:45 That’s a really good question actually. Yeah, it seems, I actually got a nickname from some of my friends, like I was the Asian streamer even though I’m not Asian because of the time zone, when I’m here I’m usually on when many Americans are usually sleeping are, you know, in the middle of the night. So, I get a lot of people from like Philippines, Thailand, parts of China, Hong Kong, Japan here actually. Funny story a couple of weeks ago I was walking here in Tokyo, which is one of the most crowded places in the world. And I had some woman come up to me, she was from, she was Filipino, but she lives here in Japan and she recognized me.
Speaker 3: 09:32 Oh, wow!
Speaker 4: 09:33 That was a big shock. I wasn’t expecting that. But yeah, I do get quite a bit of American and Australian viewers. But I think the majority of my viewers do come from Asia just because of the time zone I stream at. I do sometimes try to, like if I have a day off, like on the weekends, I do try to stream more towards the time that Americans are on. I’m usually about 12, 13 hours ahead of you guys in America. So usually on my days off I’ll try to stream during those peak hours, but it’s not every weekend but I do try sometimes but mostly it’s mostly for the Asian times.
Speaker 3: 10:17 Got It. So, what do you usually do during your streams and why do you think people are interested in watching your streams?
Speaker 4: 10:33 That’s a good question. I keep wondering that myself. Why am I so interesting? But jokes aside, I think maybe because I try to be as positive as I can. I do try my best. I am human, so some days I’m not , but for the majority, about 80, 85 percent of my streams, I do try to stay as positive as I possibly can. I respond to as many people as I can. Usually I can respond to everybody, but that’s my goal, to respond to 100 percent of people. Also I do things like play guitar. I sing. Just anything that kind of fits my fancy, but usually just keep it positive as much as I possibly can.
Speaker 3: 11:14 Do you ever go out and, and stream out in Japan? Or are you mostly indoors when you’re streaming?
Speaker 4: 11:21 Oh yeah. I do during the week I’m at home, but on the weekends I do have a schedule. My fans and the people that watched me they know that usually on Fridays and Saturday nights here my time, I usually go out to a Tokyo bar or a restaurant and show them around Tokyo at the same time either by myself or with some of my friends joining me. So that’s usually on the weekends. I do, we do like a tour around, my live tour basically. But yeah, on the weekdays I do, I do stay here and stream here on my own.
Speaker 3: 12:02 I’m sure that’s pretty popular. People probably like to see you do some outdoor streams. Have you found a difference as far as what people like more? Or do they like both types of streams, you know, like the indoor versus outdoor kind of streams?
Speaker 4: 12:18 Ooh, that’s a good question. I guess it really depends. Like when I’m out usually it’s going to be at nighttime, so usually there’s alcohol involved and they like to see me drink. Um, but I’m a happy like drinker, so it works out really well. But when I’m home they like to see me play guitar. Uh, I would say, I would say they would like the outside versions, outside tours more. A little bit more. Yeah, because I also get to meet with the locals here and they like to see me interact with the locals and the locals interact with me here. Yeah, they would probably enjoy that a little bit more.
Speaker 3: 13:06 Yeah, I mean it’s good to have a variety of content though, of course. Oh, I’m curious though, what is it that you like about streaming? What has kept you doing it consistently for so long?
Speaker 4: 13:30 Um, the people. This year has been full of ups and downs as I’m sure that everybody experiences a lot of ups and downs in life. But the great thing about streaming is I get so much support from my people, my audience, my fans, they’re always supportive. So again, like I said, I try about 80, 85 percent of the time, I try to keep it positive and I try to always keep my streams full of positive vibes, but there are some days where I’m just not feeling it, you know, maybe something happened or maybe I got some bad news, but I still get on and the greatest thing is that they’re, my fans are there. They’re there to support me and it’s just a great feeling having that support, even though I’m here in this apartment by myself, I know that there’s always people supporting me out there and I think that keeps me staying more than anything else. It’s just the connections you make with people on these live streaming apps and especially on Skout, MeetMe. They’re so big and there is such a great community of people on here. I think that’s what keeps me more than anything else.
Speaker 3: 14:40 Yeah, like a support group almost.
Speaker 4: 14:43 Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 3: 14:45 Got It, got it. Is there anything that you find difficult about streaming?
Speaker 4: 14:55 I guess at times you want to keep up some originality in your streams, you want to keep things fresh, you don’t want to keep doing the same thing over and over and over. So sometimes I find myself struggling with some new ideas on how to like entertain my viewers instead of doing the same thing over and over. So that, I would think, is my biggest difficulty with live streaming, but I do try my best to find new and fresh ideas. But yeah, I would say that would be the big one.
Speaker 3: 15:27 Okay. I’m curious also about your Youtube channel, what kind of videos are you making for Youtube?
Speaker 4: 15:39 Mainly I do blogging about stuff here in Japan about whether it’s visiting shrines, food places, just Japanese culture in general. Also, last August I was able to travel to three different countries. I was able to go to Italy, Philippines and Hong Kong. And actually in Hong Kong and in the Philippines I was able to meet some of my support group, I mean supporters, um, my fans, from live. So I was making videos about that too. So stuff like that, just about my life experiences and just Japanese culture mainly.
Speaker 3: 16:21 So it sounds like they’re probably pretty complimentary, the live streaming and the Youtube channel.
Speaker 4: 16:28 Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 3: 16:30 How was that getting to meet some of your viewers?
Speaker 4: 16:34 Oh, it was honestly, it was a bit nerve wracking at first. I remember I was sitting there waiting and because in my head I think the people that watch these top streamers in live, they create this idea, this image of these people without realizing that we’re just normal people. That’s why I was afraid of that they were going to think too highly of me and be disappointed when they see the real me. But honestly it was fantastic. They really liked me and we had a great time. We actually went out to lunch and it was just a fantastic time. It wasn’t like that at all. Um, so yeah, I was a little nervous but it turned out to be a really amazing experience.
Speaker 3: 17:18 That’s awesome. Some of the people that you were meeting up with, are they people that you interacted with a lot on the app? Like did you know a bit about them before you met up or was it kind of like they knew a lot about you but you didn’t know much about them? How did it feel?
Speaker 4: 17:35 Oh yeah, that’s true. Actually I do know quite a bit because the majority that I met, they knew me from maybe the first couple of months I started streaming. Um, so most of them I knew quite a bit about, so it didn’t feel like it was one sided, like I didn’t know a lot of information about them. There were some people that were kind of newish, but most of them, the majority I did know quite a bit about, they were my bouncers. I don’t know if the people that are reading this or hearing this this know about bouncers on Skout and MeetMe, but these are people that are specific people that, as top streamers or streamers on live, we can make them our bouncers and they can kind of, how would you say it? Kick people out? You kinda raise bouncers up to a higher level of audience member.
Speaker 3: 18:27 I would say they’re like an administrator and to help get rid of trolls or monitor comments and help on your behalf because you can’t do everything while you’re streaming. It’s a little much to be trying to monitor all of the comments and be responding to comments and doing things. And so they’re just kinda there to be like an assistant.
Speaker 4: 18:53 Exactly. And most of the people I met were bouncers.
Speaker 3: 18:57 Okay.
Speaker 4: 18:58 Yeah. That was, that’s why I knew quite a bit about them. So yeah, it was really good. It was good to meet them and yeah, it was just a great experience.
Speaker 3: 19:05 Right. And I’m sure that’s really nice for them because you know, you kind of gave them that role as the bouncer because they were probably consistently watching your streams and someone that you felt like had good judgment and you trusted them and they probably, you know, spend a lot of time coming to your streams and helping you out. So it’s nice that you were able to meet up with them and, and uh, you know, give something back to them, you know, make them feel appreciated more for, for doing that.
Speaker 4: 19:38 Exactly. And that’s really what I really want to do that, that’s exactly the point. They’re always there to support you. They are giving gifts or always watching your live stream. So, you know, it feels good to just be able to meet them and to personally show them your gratitude for everything. So yeah, it was great.
Speaker 3: 20:00 Um, I’m curious. So you said you’re teaching and you’re acting and you’re streaming and doing Youtube. All these things, what are your goals for your streaming? Do you have anything that you’re kind of heading towards with it or, you know, how do you think about it?
Speaker 4: 20:17 Well, I do definitely want to continue streaming. My goal is to continue streaming, but again, when I started getting busy, the difficulty that I have is keeping things fresh. And so, um, I feel that personally, I worry about things too much sometimes. And so recently I’ve been worrying that I’m not keeping things fresh enough even though my audience thinks I am and they love what I do. So what I’m trying to do right now is I’m trying to think of new ideas on how to entertain my audience and to gain a new audience members and supporters. So my goal is to continue and to, uh, get better basically.
Speaker 3: 21:05 Yeah. You’re talking about getting new followers and keeping followers entertained, you know, are you concerned at all about other streamers? Do you ever feel competitive with them? Are you worried about losing your following to them?
Speaker 4: 21:21 Oh yeah. That’s a good question. I’m a very competitive person and I remember when I first started streaming, when I started gaining a good following and became a top streamer, I became quite competitive. But then I realized that as I started checking out these other guys’ live streams I changed and these other top streamers became more like friends and became more like support. Like, I guess I use the word support so much, so maybe team members, like we’re, we’re on the same team almost. So at first I was very competitive, but now I don’t really have a feeling of a competitive spirit when I’m on live anymore. I do like to support other top streamers though. But the competitive spirit is gone, I would guess for now, for now.
Speaker 3: 22:23 Um, yeah, I mean I think that luckily for you you’re at a very different time zone than a lot of the other streamers are and you have very different kinds of content and things, so it’s probably a little bit less of a concern for you as well.
Speaker 4: 22:43 That also is true. So yes.
Speaker 3: 22:47 I was wondering, I guess it was a couple of months ago now, when, the audiences of MeetMe and Skout, were merged together. Did you feel an effect from that at all?
Speaker 4: 23:04 Oh yeah. I think everybody felt that effect. That was, that’s actually when I got a majority of my American viewers was because of that merge. I remember it was very, like a lot of people around me were like saying like it’s, you know, they had like big, strong opinions towards it and I, I was trying to hold my opinions back because I want to see how it turned out and after a month of it I ended up loving it. I think it was a really great thing, because I remember, I think when it started out, it was said it might be temporary, but then it changed to being permanent and it was such a, it was a great idea. So yeah, I felt a huge change. A lot of American viewers started coming in through MeetMe. They were great people and I was very happy to entertain as them as well. So yeah, that was great.
Speaker 3: 24:03 Yeah. I’m sure that other people had mixed reactions, but in general I think it’s been a benefit for streamers both on MeetMe and Skout because they’ve been exposed to new audiences to many more viewers. And the users on both of the platforms were similar enough that, you know, of course there’s gonna be a little bit of adjustment at the beginning, but after a while it’s fine. It’s not like you’re taking two completely different user bases and throwing them together.
Speaker 4: 24:37 Oh, definitely, definitely.
Speaker 3: 24:38 Yeah. Okay. Interesting. Well, I would love to just kind of switch topics slightly and ask if you had any tips for other streamers, because I know that some of the streamers are listening to these podcasts. So if you have any tips for other streamers who are looking to grow, what might you say to them?
Speaker 4: 25:05 Okay. Well there’s a couple of things I would think of. First, if you really want to grow, it’s most important to visit other people’s streams and to interact and be interactive in that community of either Skout or MeetMe, you want to really interact with the community to be a part of it. Another thing is find your niche, something that you like to do, whether that be playing guitar, singing, dancing, something that you really enjoy doing and do it because Skout and MeetMe are such a huge community of people, there are so many different people that like different things and you can find a group for anything and just keep doing that. So I would say at first be as interactive and a supportive community member as possible with the MeetMe and Skout and then second, find your niche and just really work on that. Those are my two big tips that I can think of right now.
Speaker 3: 26:10 Is there anything else that you would like to like to share about your experience?
Speaker 4: 26:19 All in all live streaming has been a really positive experience in my life and I think on many people’s lives and it’s just a really another way of connecting people. I hear this often now with especially even my really big Youtube friends here that have some of them have like over a million subscribers and they watch these people on live apps and they say this is the next thing because what’s great about live is that the audience members or fans can directly connect and ask questions and communicate like right immediately with the person they enjoy watching and it’s just, it’s a really great way to connect. And it’s just been a very positive experience for me and my life. An it’s kind of benefited me in my other work. For example, like when I do acting some points I have to do some Improv and being able to communicate and react to every single person on my live stream has really helped me with that ability to improvise, and even with teaching. So yeah, it’s just, it’s had a really great impact on my life.
Speaker 3: 27:47 Yeah, that’s super interesting. I agree as well with, with both of those points, just that the connection that you feel with a live streamer is definitely more intimate than what you would feel just watching a video of someone, because like you said, it’s in real time. You can interact with them right away, as opposed to leaving a comment and they leave a comment back and, you know, it’s much more immediate and you can also see their facial expressions and hear them actually responding to you. So I definitely think that there’s a deeper connection that’s able to be formed. You’re able to get to know each other faster as as well. So I definitely think that that’s very true. And that’s interesting to hear that those other creators are saying that as well. Well that’s awesome. Thank you so much for coming on. You have such a great story and I love to see how streaming is fitting into and complimenting your life and career as a whole. I think it’s really interesting.
Speaker 4: 29:01 Oh, well thank you so much for having me. This is actually my first podcast ever. So it was a very interesting experience.
Speaker 3: 29:10 Awesome. Awesome. Well thank you so much, Chris.
Speaker 4: 29:14 Thank you so much. You have a great day.
Speaker 2: 29:18 I hope you found this episode with Chris to be insightful. This episode is part of an ongoing series where we interview top streamers to learn the secrets behind their success if you’re enjoying the Stream Wars podcast and would like to learn even more about the live streaming industry, check out our blog themeetgroup.com/blog. Thanks for listening and talk to you next time.