# <center>Hello</center>
Hi, my name is Brennan and I'd like to share with you all a little bit about my life and my story, what led me to this place and this point in my life.  This is the first blog i've ever made on any website so please bare with me.

![IMG_0430.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23wC5mQDAmEmb773yfCk1nq81YqwCYrGAEPNhHHJSjf878wRK6uLVmFuVc9wbdDXaaPAS.JPG)

# <center> The Lore (Backstory) </center>

Where to start?  Well, my name is Brennan and I'm a 25 year old from Ohio, USA.  I've been a lover of technology ever since my father first let me use the computer when I was a young boy.  He has always worked in the IT field so luckily for us computers were pretty much always available.  Practically necessary for his line of work.  Some of the earliest gaming memories I have are playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and the original Call of Duty on PC and I still remember those times fondly.  They helped shape me into the gamer that I am today.


![shinedown.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23vhsRwfpSUdxFJcexjuPu7zwJTJ2EV1TANpDT5HVvEN635PD7nXXpXhmiytv7XBG9gHf.jpg)

Both of my parents played a huge role in my love of music as well.  They both are huge fans of Rock and Metal music, which they constantly played and I grew to love.  My younger siblings didn't quite appreciate it like I do but the beautiful thing about art is that everyone can appreciate it in their own ways and express themselves however they feel.  I found myself in an extremely lucky situation growing up, and I consider myself very blessed to have been able to attend some amazing concerts throughout my life.  Shinedown, Three Days Grace, Metallica, Ice Nine Kills, and over the years I grew to love different genres and opened up my mind and found some new favorites like The Midnight, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, and more. 


![wonder woman.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23vhqQJY7jpgeoc78xCcJAejdWFCZaShqA3JckrJvno44GB7siVMLp2MndHV8DSzwcnV2.JPG)

This may not come as a surprise, but I am a die hard Star Wars fan, a lover of Marvel and DC, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and well, pretty much all things fantasy.  I can sit and watch the entire Star Wars Saga easily every few months or so.  My father is also to thank for this, I remember the old VHS box set that we had of the Original Trilogy.  If only we still had that today, I think it would be worth something pretty decent.  I'm always down for movie marathons, but not just sci-fi and fantasy.  I also love Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street, V for Vendetta, and many other movies as well.  I have well over 100 movies in my VUDU library and still need to watch half of them.  I love going to the movies to experience the big screen and seat shaking audio, and to have a few beers with my buddies before hand.


![food.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23vsLEFZGRgRCFT1RT6C56SpupxzoqiKKUgL4TjqZx97WEGb89BYcFmzawyVsSbPNP8Mr.jpg)

<center>(I didn't make this, it was from the Blue Marlin in Anna Maria Island, FL )</center>
I grew up watching not only the classics like Cartoon Network and Nickelodean, but also the Food Network.  I used to watch my Great Grandmother cook in her upstairs "apartment" at my Grandmother's house.  She sadly passed away last winter due to Covid, but luckily she was able to experience 96 years of life before she moved on.  She was a huge influence in my life, and she was the kindest person I had ever known.  I think that's the reason why I have always been one to try and avoid conflict and stay as positive as possible.  I am human so sometimes I have my moments but I do try to do my best, especially for her.  There are a few recipes that I still try to keep alive to this day and I'd like to think she would enjoy them if she were still here to taste some.  Cooking for others is something I have always found myself to enjoy, and I hope to one day own some kind of restaurant or start some sort of E-sports Bar.  All of you are invited by the way.
(Definitely didn't cry a little writing that paragraph...)

![freinds.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23xKvd27k2PM2kpe4phmJt86bUqUrLxWdG31H6ciT9kM9CmncnGMHbVJyPHkZyg9BEWSG.JPG)

I consider myself lucky enough to have met some of the greatest friends that anyone could ask for.  I've been able to experience many concerts and festivals with some of the greatest people and those are things I wouldn't trade for anything and moments I will never forget.  I sometimes feel like I don't deserve them but I realize that I met them for a reason and they have helped me become who I am today as well.


![bby.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/EpC8y7syHzjsLpwpBZrb8seBvqLiaMErvrdZwWC3Rd1fy8LmJzHLTEnapBwQ1ReQYeK.JPG)

Since I was a kid, from the first moment my parents ever took me inside of a Best Buy I knew I wanted to work there.  I had tried to apply a few times after I turned 16 but nothing ever came of it.  Eventually I managed to get an interview at a store that was about 45 minutes away, and secured the job after 2 interviews.  I started as a PC sales associate, rising to become one of the top sales consultant's in the department.  After getting promoted to a Team Leader at a store that was only about 15 minutes away, I felt like I was set.  I worked my way to become a key holding Supervisor and had a solid team of wonderful people under my belt.  I had some of the best years of my life and made some of the greatest memories and friends during my time there.  I also managed to learn a lot and meet some amazing mentors along the way.  It's a time I won't ever forget, for the good and the bad.


![100 followers.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23wWuAg8VoXn2xMTc67FqvFgpE2AFH8pRRMsWc61KXhamr62WvZjHeLMxNeFb46PugnvA.JPG)

Throughout my childhood and teenage years I had attempted to make YouTube videos and channels but never really found myself sticking with it.  I had always spent a lot of time watching videos on YouTube and then finding myself on Twitch watching live streams.  In April of 2018 I decided I wanted to start a stream of my own, and using a name that a co-worker had bestowed upon me and I had used as my gaming alias for years, twitch.tv/xxxZapfBrannigan was born.  I had spent a solid 6 months or so grinding to reach Affiliate status, but in the same fashion as my YouTube attempts, I sort of fell out of the habit of streaming and only streamed off and on every few months for the next 2 and a half years.  I finally reached 100 followers after 3 years of starting my stream.


![gunloco.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/EqjYEZLa9rKsD382QTFWvvo6Hrq6fedE67ZHXRpKCp6AkTRFw2JYjymjhawmDLKYkFh.JPG)

# <center> What lead us to now </center>

In January of 2021 I left my job as a Supervisor at Best Buy.  I didn't have any sort of plan really, but many things built up to the point where I couldn't take it anymore.  I had put up with so much and enough was finally enough.  Not having a plan sort of took its toll when I pretty much spiraled into a depressive hermit state where I never left my room and never saw anybody.  It wasn't until the point where I literally had to move back in with my family because my power got shut off, all of this being my own doing, that I decided that I was the one who put myself in the hole, and I was the only one who could try to get out.  I figured since I don't have a job that I would use my time to focus on my main dream, becoming a full time streamer and being able to live comfortably from that. With encouragement from my close friends, I started focusing on streaming again on August 3rd, 2021 and managed to hit 147 followers by October 31st, 2021.


![386 followers.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/23vsLXBAHxxRvUiWzFEpAujmxSFypTFL2kpTM3CNjMzPVjVorWSsEr3cmLrdj9DyzTM9e.JPG)

By complete chance, or destiny maybe, I had started to research and play Town Star, a free to play Blockchain game on GALA network, and it wasn't really getting anywhere.  One morning after I ended an 11 hour stream, I had started to watch videos on Town Star, which led to videos on Axie Infinity, which led to videos on this game called Splinterlands.  I had decided that I might as well try out Splinterlands on stream since it was free to try, not having looked up any streams or videos aside from what I had watched on YouTube.  To my amazement, about 30 minutes into starting to mess around and sign up I had started to get some new viewers.  Then, my mind was completely blown when a group known as No Sleep Gang essentially raided my stream and started following in huge numbers.  Interacting with them was so much fun and they helped me achieve my first Hype Train ever on Twitch.  It seems like the feeling I had that morning to watch videos on games instead of go to bed may have actually been on to something.


![aligator.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zapf-brannigan/AJL2X2KbdUV4e2qbjGZwDAD6waPJsaT2hWmXy1edA8nWR1ULDZm4ycPhrWzSNME.JPG)

Although I still do not have a job or source of income, I have been treating streaming as if it were my full time job, and this past week alone has been an incredible experience.  I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people who have been helping me learn about the HIVE network and blockchain gaming in general.  I'm almost at 400 followers on Twitch and I have learned so much already, with a lot to go.  Learning about amazing projects like Splinterlands and Rising Star and the people behind them has been a pleasure so far.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about how this past week has gone and what is possible in the future.  To anybody who has tuned in to any of my streams, Thank you.  Without you, I wouldn't have a reason or motivation to come back and stream these ridiculous 10-14 hour streams almost every day.


# <center> A message to anyone who made it this far </center>

As someone who has had many opportunities in life and messed a lot of them up, trust me when I say that if you work towards your goals and dreams, one day the work will pay off.  I may not be financially stable at the moment, but I'm lucky enough to have a family that supports me and I know not everyone has the same opportunity as I do.  That's one of the reasons I have already tried to give back as much as I can to the community, and will continue to do so as the stream grows.  But lately I have a feeling that maybe all this work will pay off.  Follow your dreams, and even if you don't believe you can achieve them, I believe in you.  Although it isn't money, the feelings of satisfaction and reward can come from other things, like meeting all of you beautiful people.

Shoutout to @drabs587 @cmmndrbawang @rentaw03 @mhowii  and so many more for inspiring me to continue my journey into the HIVE ecosystem.

If you'd like to join me at all on this journey feel free to follow me at https://twitch.tv/xxxZapfBrannigan

Thank you for reading my first ever blog post on any website <3

-Brennan