A Student By Day And Streamer By Night, An Insight Into Herculyse
An insider's look into the life of Herculyse, Elyse Herrera, as a content creator, streamer, and social media star.
Content Creator Elyse “Herculyse” Herrera has made an incredible impact as one of the fastest-growing content creators in the Rocket League and TikTok communities before becoming part of the Dignitas organization. This week, we had a one-on-one talk with this upcoming content creator, streamer, and social media star, and we want to share her story with you.
Early Career & Personal Life
Herculyse first connected towards video games in the early 2000s and late 90s when her father introduced her to the Super Nintendo. While at the time the Game Boy Color was popular, she had no interest even though all her friends wanted it. She only ever wanted to collect the cartridges.
I had like every game you could think of on the Super Nintendo. I was obsessed with Aladdin one because that was the first full story mode game I had ever played.
Her mother was a teacher and her dad worked at an office, giving her lots of time to play video games. Mostly she played off what her parents had growing up, and in the early 2000s, they got a PlayStation 2 only to play Guitar Hero.
It wasn’t until 2018 that Herculyse became interested in Rocket League. Her first introduction with the game was in 2017, as her ex-boyfriend used to play the game a lot during their time together. She always hated the game because of that and didn't understand the addiction towards Rocket League. However, she slowly started changing her mind after seeing the North American Qualifiers of Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) in Las Vegas, where a new chapter of her life started.
I decided to go to Las Vegas for the RLCS, where I ended up meeting my boyfriend Yukeo.
Introduction To Rocket League & Social Media Platform
After RLCS, she began to play the game consistently. This was around the same time she began posting on the social media platform TikTok. Her friend, Chelsea, had initially introduced her to the platform to share cute and funny dog videos, but Herculyse's ‘For You’ page began directing her to the gaming side of TikTok.
At the time, Herculyse only saw two other Rocket League content creators on the app, Widow and Neto. Both only posted five to ten videos, but it was enough to inspire Herculyse into creating her content.
I started making videos and putting them in my drafts, but not actually posting them. It was more so for myself because I really thought I was funny for some reason. My first video had nothing to do with Rocket League, it was a Disney filter. I decided to do a Rocket League one, so I posted it and it did decently as well.
Herculyse made an incredible statement as a female content creator on TikTok who previously had no social media presence. Her viewership on TikTok started snowballing, reaching 7,000 – 170,000 per video. She became one of the fastest-growing creators on the app, creating a one-of-a-kind audience.
In fact, Herculyse's audience is wildly diverse, but it's not as many Rocket League players as you might think it is. In mid-2020, she would follow a trend on TikTok allowing users to lip-sync Rick and Morty. Due to this popularity, she gained 50,000 – 60,000 followers unfamiliar with Rocket League, but who would later start following her gaming streams.
A lot of people never heard of Rocket League or they didn’t play it, but they’re always down to just watch me play.
Currently, she is expanding her audience even further by trying out new games such as Apex Legends, a battle royale first-person shooter game.
At first, she could not stream much because she and Yukeo, her boyfriend, lived in a one-bedroom apartment with their desks side-by-side. Yukeo would attend scrim games and so she couldn't talk much as she didn’t want to distract or interfere with his gameplay. Due to their living situation, she first started streaming without a microphone playing Rocket League, which became a thing in itself.
Numerous esports organizations began reaching out to her due to her online presence.
I had like five or six offers at the time. It was really insane and only one of them did not have a team in Rocket League. At the time it was a massive life flex for me, and it was really cool to experience the process of having the option to find a home for the first time.
She never expected that she could do streaming as a full-time job. The reality of a contract soon became a reality in the Summer of 2020 when Dignitas reached out to her. At the time she was working in a restaurant but took the opportunity to mark her entry into esports, taking a massive step in her career.
Balancing Two Different Goals
Moving in with her boyfriend Yukeo presented some challenges to keep up her streaming schedule. As she needed a visa to live in Austria, she decided to go back to school studying strategic communications and marketing in Europe, and tried combining that with her streaming schedule. However, the schedule of being a student and a streamer is most definitely not easy.
I try to stream a minimum of 4-5 days a week, but ideally, I would love to stream every day. I’ll be honest, it’s pretty stressful. I learned from last semester though, that trying to break my days up throughout the week actually makes streaming a lot more difficult. I really only have two days where it’s really difficult for me to stream.
On Mondays, Herculyse's schedule consists of waking up early in the mornings and attending two three-hour lectures. She stays at school for the rest of the day. Around evening she goes home to have dinner with Yukeo for about an hour and then streams for three hours. After the stream ends, she'll do about an hour of homework and sleep. Luckily, not all days are like this.
Her schedule changes depending on the day, and while there may not be a perfect balance just yet, she's determined.
Trying to do EU school while in NA was a whole thing in itself, it depends on the day of the week it is. I literally take it day by day, it’s really difficult but props to people who go to school full-time and stream. I’m only taking three classes, but it feels like I’m taking thirty.
It's a sight for sore eyes to find someone dedicated to both. Balancing credits and a streaming job can be two different worlds, but Herculyse stays consistent and on top. So, what's her motivation behind it all? Yukeo.
He’s worth it.
What Will 2022 Hold?
Herculyse’s Twitch flourishes with content, but she also plans on expanding outside of Rocket League with first-person shooter games. For a period of time, she streamed Valorant, a tactical precision shooter, because she got tired of Rocket League after such a long time and just needed a change. This created new opportunities to work with Riot Games and meet new streamers.
I made some amazing friends; the craziest one I can think of is when I became friends with Liquid Jonas. I met so many kind people at Riot Games.
Later on, she discovered Apex Legends. Naturally, she found herself decent at the game, even though it may be stressful at times to pick up something new, as she has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD). As she switches to Apex Legends, she hopes to explore the game further this year and possibly post content on TikTok to expand her audience.
However, her heart still lies with Rocket League, and she does not plan to stray away from the game long. Herculyse plans on being a lot more involved in Rocket League than she did in the past.
I love the game genuinely more than anything. I watch RLCS like the way dads watch the NFL on Sundays. I’m beyond dedicated to it. I was watching RLCS before I was even playing the game and was equally as in love with it when I started playing it.
The one thing Herculyse hopes to accomplish at the end of 2022 for her audience is streaming full-time as a content creator. To give 100% effort to her audience and revert back to doing what she loves with all her heart into it, all while learning to come to terms with going to school and streaming. To find a way to balance the two and pursue the things she loves perfectly is her goal.
We want to thank Herculyse for taking the time to talk to us, and we hope to see you in her stream chat or TikTok soon!
