Welcome to another “Content Creators You Don’t Know!” Today my guest is Choctopus! Boasting the largest YouTube channel in this series so far with almost 70,000 subscribers Choctopus churns out quality videos every 2 days on his channel about Smash and all things Nintendo!
Q: Thank you so much for doing this interview, Choctopus! How long have you been playing Smash and when did you decide to start a YouTube channel?
A: I've been playing Smash since launch day on the 64. I remember seeing a commercial for the game and I couldn't even fathom that it was a real thing. Fast forward two decades and its become one of my favorite franchises of all time. I'm not an ultra-competitive Smash player, though. Most of my time playing Ultimate is casually with friends and viewers or to make content. I've been dabbling with streaming and content creation since 2008, but I started my current channel in April 2016 after I woke up one day and decided I was going to give it my all. My friend, Rhymestyle (also a YouTuber), is the one who encouraged me to do it.
Q: How would you describe the content that you create?
A: My content is a mixture of satire gameplay shenanigans, discussions, theories, guides and news. I play mostly Smash but, with Mario Maker 2 coming out next week, it'll likely be the next big game on my channel. I also like to throw in some variety stuff like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon and other first-party Nintendo franchises. It's funny, because my content has evolved so many times in the last 3 years. I started out with a mix of Pokémon and Dragon Ball because I was having a bit of a channel identity crisis, but now I can confidently say that I'm a Nintendo YouTuber.
Q: Who is your main and why?
A: I'm a DK main! He's my favorite Nintendo character, and the SNES Donkey Kong Country games are some of my all-time faves. Also, I love playing heavies which makes DK a perfect fit.
Q: What do you think is your best video, or the one that newcomers to your channel should watch first?
A: I don't know if it's necessarily my "best" video but The Art of Spiking is currently my most popular.
Q: What do you do outside of Smash and your channel?
A: Outside of YouTube, I'm a huge gaming nerd but that'll come as no surprise. My wife, Carianne, and I love to travel. We also just adopted two sibling kittens, Ollie & Eevee, so our house is a bit crazy right now, haha. I also enjoy fitness and coaching gymnastics!
Q: What would you like the Smashboards community to know about you?
A: If they enjoy Smash and Nintendo, I'd love for them to give my content a try! My goal is to foster a community that welcomes everyone. I also have a very active Discord channel with a lot of talented players if they're looking for new challenges
Q: You have hands down one of the coolest video intros I've ever seen. Did you animate and draw it yourself?
A: Thank you! I sketched the original design myself but I hired someone to illustrate and animate it. Shout out to Mr. Dullpen who is, hands down, one of the most talented artists out there.
Thanks again for the interview Choctopus! If you’d like to check out his channel you can find it here.
