During my interview with Melissa, aka "thebesttaco," I wanted to focus primarily on streaming. As the newest streamer for Team Dignitas, my goal was to inquire about as many aspects of streaming for a living as I could, while also sharing some glimpses of her personality. The "stream dream" is one of the most popular professions out there to seek, but is also one of the hardest to obtain due to being such a crowded entertainment space. Read on to discover how thebesttaco's streaming journey has progressed so far!

Welcome to the Team Dignitas stream team! How did you end up streaming for DIG?

thebesttaco: Ever since I started frequently streaming in December of last year, I knew I wanted to join an org to help me get my name out there, but felt as though I was too ‘small-time’ to really be considered eligible for something like that; however, after a month and a half of streaming I saw myself progressing pretty rapidly with things, so I decided to just go ahead and message Meph to ask if DIG would be willing to give me a shot. After that I spent most of February streaming and eagerly waiting to find out if DIG was going to take me on as a streamer - the day Meph let me know that I’d been accepted was probably one of the best days of my life.

Have you seen an increase in your stream activity due to the added publicity of being under an org?

thebesttaco: While it’s still fairly new to people, I definitely think that it’s helped me gain more publicity - especially considering the fact that DIG is a pretty established org in eSports.

How long have you been streaming, and what motivated you to start?

thebesttaco: I first started streaming last October, but my streams were infrequent and few since I mostly squeezed them in-between my college schedule. Over the past two years I’ve had people telling me I should start streaming, so finally I decided to follow up on that advice and try it out - been hooked ever since.

Have you always been a SMITE streamer? Do you play any other games on stream?

thebesttaco: SMITE is definitely the game that sparked my streaming career because I was already semi-known among the community, so I figured it’d be a good place to start. In the future I do plan on delving more into other games, but I’ll always consider SMITE as the game that I started from.

What got you interested in SMITE originally? Are you still interested for the same reasons today?

thebesttaco: My first year of college I spent nearly every day hanging out with my high school friends Andy and Dillon. At the time SMITE had just entered closed beta, and a couple of their dorm roommates were pretty into it. Unfortunately I owned a Mac, but for my birthday they actually bought me Windows for Mac that way I could join in on gaming nights in SMITE, and I loved the way the game played instantly. I’ve tried to enjoy playing games like LoL and Dota but could never really get into them. Smite feels like the perfect bridge between MOBA and FPS thanks to the 3rd-person perspective, and I absolutely love it.

What’s the story behind your username?

thebesttaco: I was 10 years old when I first joined the world of online gaming thanks to Halo 2. I wanted a cool gamertag for my Xbox Live account but I sucked at coming up with a nickname, so since I’m Hispanic and my favorite food is tacos, I decided to just be ‘thebesttaco’ I could be.

What’s the first game you remember playing? What is your favorite game and genre today?

thebesttaco: Star Fox 64 - I was 4 years old and my dad pretended like we were playing together with my brother, but really my controller was unplugged the whole time - still loved every second of it. The Halo series (particularly Halo Reach) will always have my heart in regards to favoritism, but SMITE has taught me that MOBAs actually can be incredibly fun, so I’d say I’m split between MOBA and FPS as far as genre is concerned.

What’s your schedule like as a streamer? Do you ever have trouble balancing your daily life while still having time to stream?

thebesttaco: Since I committed to full-time streaming at the end of last year, I’d say the only real downfall of it is that it’s difficult for me to keep in touch with the few real-life friends I have. Thankfully they’re aware of what it is I’m trying to do so they don’t hate me for it, but I do miss that aspect of my life.

A lot of streamers have built up a unique personality/brand for themselves. What do you think attracts people to your stream?

thebesttaco: I play SMITE at an above average level and my memes are pretty dank so people tend to find me easy to get along with.

What are some of the major ways you interact with your audience? Do you do anything special for subscribers?

thebesttaco: I’ve been telling my day 1 supporters that if and when I ever got partnered, I’d take 1 day out of the week, every week to play games with them. Since I just got partnered 2 days ago, I’m going to start upholding my word at the start of next week. From here on out every Sunday is the 1 day a week I’ll be taking to play games with those who have helped me pursue the stream dream career.

What’s one of your most memorable streams, and why was it so special?

thebesttaco: Honestly the stream where everyone found out I had joined DIG as a streamer has been my favorite one so far. I just felt so ecstatic the whole stream and it was amazing seeing so many people who had been cheering me on since the start come together and congratulate me.

For you, what’s the best thing about streaming?

thebesttaco: The people - ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had a really hard time socializing with others. I grew up with 3 brothers, so I never really developed the social skills you’re supposed to have to hang out with other girls, and I used to be teased for that quite a bit when I was in school. Streaming is different though - I feel like my viewers are my friends, and I don’t really care if anyone thinks I’m silly or lame for that. I like being able to get online and just talk to people about my day or hear about what’s going on in theirs.

We’re all aware that there are a lot of mixed feelings towards female streamers/players. As a lady yourself, have you ever faced adversity or gotten mean comments on stream or at LANs? If so, how did you deal with those issues?

thebesttaco: Personally, I don’t feel as though it’s a “I get mean comments because I’m a female streamer/player” problem as much as it is a “I get mean comments because the internet allows people to be anonymous so every now and then someone is going to be a jerk to me” problem. At least in SMITE, I’ve never had anyone of relevance try to demean me for being a female player - the higher-level players and pros will play with you if you play at their level, and they will criticize you just as they would anyone else. Yes, some people have chosen to insult me with gender-specific comments, but from my perspective it’s no different than the insults I’ve seen happen to anyone else who plays the game. I know some people have mistaken insults as gender targeting in SMITE, but realistically it’s just not there. Some people are always going to try and think of things to say to get under your skin - it’s just a side-effect of the streaming, but for every jerk comment I’ve ever gotten there’s thousands more positive ones to drown it out.

Why do you think streaming and eSports are so male-dominant? What are some ways to empower more women to take part in these careers?

thebesttaco: I think it’s mostly due to the fact that there’s just more guys who participate in eSports in general than anything else. It’s easy for a field to become male-dominated when there’s like a 1000:1 ratio involved, but I don’t believe that the majority of people would feel a woman is incapable of pursuing an eSports career simply because of the fact she’s a woman. The best way for women to get involved in my opinion is simply for them to ignore any gender-barrier mindsets or doubts they may have and just pursue what they’re interested in - whether it’s casting, streaming, competitive play, etc. - the only way to really get involved in something is simply to do it. You might not necessarily become the next LIRIK or anything like that, but if someone is there to appreciate what it is that you’re doing, it’s a success, because chances are you’ve made someone’s day better, and that’s what this eSports business is really all about - entertaining people.

Finally, feel free to give some shoutouts! Who do you want to thank for supporting your streaming career and love of gaming?

thebesttaco: Peter, you are one fantastic man, and I owe you close to everything for helping me pursue the stream dream. Anthony, thanks for being my best friend and never calling me stupid for wanting to stream as a career like everyone else in Fay. Wolfy, Lass, and Gandhi, thank you for sparking my love for eSports, and encouraging me to start streaming in the first place. Lastly, I’d like to say hi to my parents and brother(s) who I’ll be sharing this article with whenever it’s released. Mom and Dad, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye on much if anything, but you will always mean the world to me, and I hope to make you proud.

Thanks for reading! You can support thebesttaco by dropping her a Twitter follow, and by checking out her Twitch stream! To pique your interest, I've included below a short VOD highlighting one of her ridiculous snipes with Chiron. Check it out, and if you like it, be sure to catch similar moments live next time!

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