If it's on TV, it must be true

It's been 24 hours since the Patreon launched, and enough people have joined up to give me a full-time content-making salary for the first time since September 2023. That's baffling, humbling and means so goddamn much to me.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I wanted to pen a quick update to show my appreciation, and also clear up a few things about how I see this Patreon working over the next few months.

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Is it just wrestling then?

Some of you have noticed that there's a lot of wrestling stuff mentioned in the £5-10 tiers, and not much board game content. Does this mean I'm phasing out board games? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

There's a focus on wrestling stuff because it's the easiest to make right now with the tech I have. Predictions are just pointing a camera at myself, same with reviews, and livestreams. Also, even after years on NRB, still feels like my bread and butter, y'know? And hey, WWE's good again! Didn't see THAT coming!

However, this is very much designed to be a living, adapting Patreon. Whatever you guys want to see, I'm going to try and make. If you want to commission specific Top 10s (doesn't have to be about wrestling), or Fantasy Bookings, there's ways to do that, but if I have a clean content slate and no commissions on the go, I'll still be making stuff for you guys, stuff that interests me. I'm thinking video essays about wrestling and other forms of pop culture, board game masterpieces, alternate film plots, character comedy, who knows?!

The podcast will cover a wide range of hobbies, not just wrestling; heck, even the livestreams don't have to be all about The Graps - we can livestream movies together, stream some video game content, paint minis, or just hang. I want to make sure this Patreon feels like good value, and I do think that means a certain amount of wrestling, but talk to me about how you're feeling about the stuff I'm making. I'll read, consider, reply! Yay, transparency!

(Also, I'm planning on making a lot of two-player board game content in the future, but I'm waiting until a table I kickstarted a while back arrives before I build a set-up around it. Look how pretty it is!)

(GeekNSon Megan Hex, for anyone wondering) 

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Are you putting any videos on public YouTube?

Yes, but not right away.

Eventually, I'd like to run both a public channel and extra stuff on this Patreon, but when I do finally upload videos to the public, I want to hit the ground running. Feels like first impressions mean a lot on YouTube and I want to make sure that camerawork, editing capabilities, sound quality are all professional quality before I try to attract a wider audience to my solo stuff.

Of course I want this Patreon to flourish, and I know that public YouTube feeds into private Patreon, not the other way around. However, I'm very lucky to have a fanbase willing to support me as I get to grips with making stuff again, and for a few months I'm going to do exactly that: invest in better equipment, outfit my flat to make it a decent place to shoot, discover what kind of content creation brings me, and you, the most joy. It'll be a fascinating few months, and I'm insanely lucky to have the financial security to spend them building something away from a general public who can take me or leave me.

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Is it just you?

Pretty much, but I'll be bringing in a lot of outside help. I'm starting with the podcast, but I'll also be adding watch-partners to the livestreams. When I have enough tech to film board games playthroughs properly, I'll bring in some pals for that too. As much as it's my name above the shop, I'm only as good as the people I collaborate with, and I happen to know some wonderful folk...

I have plans to teach myself the rudiments of editing (I've already been ferreting away on that for a while) but if the Patreon hits a level whereby I can hire an editor, that's the plan. I've been making contacts with some brilliant people, and once I can bring more people into BlampCo, you best believe I'll be making that jump.

Oh, and everyone you ever see share the screen with me on this Patreon, rest assured they'll have been paid, and a good rate. That's super important.

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Any more questions, let me know, I'm off for a long-planned weekend away with some lovely chums, but after that I'm diving into next week full-throttle. I'll be making plans, buying sound tech and writing some Royal Rumble predictions!

See you soon, and again, thank you so much for your support so far

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