Meet Edwin Es | Digital Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Edwin Es and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Edwin, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind the success of my brand is being my authentic self. I am a strong believer of representation mattering. When I became a digital creator back in 2018, I started off streaming video games on Twitch, a live-streaming platform, and I could never find anyone who looked like me or shared my experiences; a queer first generation Mexican-American. A few months after I decided to take content creation a bit more seriously, Twitch announced their list of highlighted creators for Hispanic Heritage Month and I vividly remember seeing no dark-skin Latine creators. After that day, I made it my mission in the digital space to be the representation I always looked for. It’s the reason why I always introduce myself as a queer Mexican-American digital creator. I want Latines to see folks like me and realize that they can chase after their dreams even if our families may think it’s impossible. In 2021, I had the honor of being invited by Twitch to participate in their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration and be on their front page, a space dominated by white men. My identity is a large part of who I am and I’ve worked so hard to cultivate a safe space for the queer BIPOC community.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hi! I’m Ed, also known as iGeekedOut, a queer Mexican digital creator. I create content on platforms like Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. I began my career as a digital creator back in 2018, primarily as a broadcaster on Twitch. At the time, I streamed playing video games with friends for fun. Over the next few months, I began realizing that Twitch was missing a space for the queer Latine community, so I entered this career with a new purpose and goal. I wanted other LGBTQIA+ Latines to see me follow my dreams and inspire them to pursue theirs. As a first generation Mexican-American, I grew up thinking that the “American Dream” was going to college, graduating and working a corporate job. I did that for 6+ years, but deep down I’ve always wanted to do something that allowed me to express and explore my creativity. It’s why I began streaming on Twitch and then uploading videos on YouTube. With my content, I want the Latine community to realize that there is more than just working the corporate jobs our immigrant parents often push us to do. I want the Latine community to realize that they can become vloggers, streamers, editors, artists, etc (all within reason of course). It’s the reason why my identity plays such a pivotal role in what I do and I strongly believe that it’s the reason why I am at the place that I am now. There are so many big Latine creators out now, but many of them revolve their content and work poking fun at the stereotypes people think of us. My work is different because I’m authentically myself. I’m a queer Mexican-American who loves playing video games, collecting cassettes and records, listening to Kpop and my work revolves around that. I want folks to realize that we are more than just “funny accents, hot cheetos, and chanclas”. We’re multi-faceted people, just like everyone else, and our work can reflect that too. In 2021, I had the honor of being invited by Twitch to be a part of their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, I got to work with H&M, participate in the Pride event for Dead by Daylight (one of the most popular horror video games), and so much more. Through all these big events, I’ve met so many other wonderful Latine creators and received so many beautiful messages from the Latine community thanking me for being the representation they needed. Those messages are what continuously motivate me to keep going. These past 6+ years as a digital creator haven’t always been easy and there have been many times when I considered just going back to my corporate job, but the Latine community is my motivation because I truly believe that we deserve to be represented, seen and heard in the best way possible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a big homebody and introvert so our day would be very chill! We’d start off grabbing an iced coffee. We can’t start the day without iced coffee! I’d then take you to my favorite record shop, ‘Hub City Vinyl’, which I’m pretty sure is the biggest record store in Maryland. I’ve been collecting records since 2014, so record shopping is a must for me! Be prepared to spend hours there because it’s literally full of nothing but new and used records and cassettes of all genres. You’ll probably see me leave with a bunch of records too.

For lunch, we’d get bubble tea and then pizza from one of my favorite shops that specializes in using pretzel dough for their crust. It’s so good when it’s fresh! I’d then take you to a store called ‘Lil’Thingamajigs’ that sells a lot of cool stationary, model kits, figures, and Kpop albums! Can you tell I like shopping?

For dinner, we’d go home for a nice homemade Mexican dish by my mom. She’s always loved cooking for our friends. One of my favorite dishes from her is ‘Tostadas de Tinga’, which is a tostada topped with shredded chicken in a red chili sauce. You’d also get to meet my 7-year old English Bulldog, Benji. He’s such a sweetheart who loves meeting new people and treats. He’s very spoiled by my online community!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to credit my siblings for my success because they are the ones who have always pushed me into pursuing and following my dreams. Being one of the youngest in my family, my siblings have always ensured that I do what makes me happy. At the beginning of my digital creation career, I was also working a full-time job as a 3D content developer for a software company. There were many times when I thought I could balance both careers. I ended up doing both jobs full-time for almost 6 years when burn-out finally kicked in. My siblings knew I was no longer happy working as a 3D content developer, so they reassured me that if I wanted to cut down to part-time work so that I could fully pursue my career as a digital content creator, I should. I feel so grateful for all the support I’ve received from them because they are the reasons that I am where I am today. On the days when I didn’t believe in myself and wanted to give up, they reminded me about why I was doing this in the first place. Growing up with immigrant parents, we were always told that success looked one way. I saw how my older siblings were forced into fields they were never truly passionate about and for them to make sure that I followed my dreams and not end up like them really means a lot. They sacrificed a lot and those sacrifices are immensely appreciated because they have allowed me to pursue my dreams. To Rolando, Jenny and Jose: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/igeekedout

Twitter: www.twitter.com/igeekedout

Youtube: www.youtube.com/igeekedout

Other: Twitch: www.twitch.tv/igeekedout TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@igeekedout