Streaming as an industry requires creators to constantly reinvent themselves. Game trends and stream metas vary wildly, and if a streamer becomes complacent, they can find themselves stagnating. Brian "Aircool" Stern is someone that has made successful adjustments. The popular streamer was a skilled Fortnite player — a game he streamed constantly for years. It was until this year that he found new success as an IRL streamer. Inven Global spoke to Aircool to discuss his thoughts on IRL streaming, Fortnite, and the future of his content. 

Thanks so much talking Aircool! Your content has certainly looked different this year — how has 2022 been different from other years?

I'm currently still living in LA with Corinna [Kopf] — this is probably my last year living with her. But this year has been very different for many reasons. One of the biggest is I don't really play games as much anymore. I was big into Fortnite — streamed the game six to eight hours a day — got into Warzone a little bit, and then barely got into Apex. 

I recently got an IRL backpack, and that kind of changed the game for me. I've been IRL streaming, and people fell in love with it. I don't do it every day and as often as I probably should, but IRL streaming made me go from a 600 to 800 viewer streaming to about 2,000 to 5,000. It's crazy.

In the past, you were notable for being a Fortnite streamer, but recently have been more known for categories like Slots, IRL streams, and Fantasy Football — how does your current content contrast with what you were doing previously?

When I only played Fortnite, it was the same game for six to eight hours a day.  I honestly started becoming kind of depressed. Some people might say, "How could you be depressed playing a video game and getting money?" It just got so boring — it got so repetitive. 

The competitive scene: I didn't have a love for it anymore. I didn't want to do it. And the people I played with didn't really play the game no more either. So I'm sitting here playing this game, and I'm sad streaming. Like depressed. So I said, "I'm just going to do me. I'm going to do what I want to do. If I want to stream a fantasy draft, I'm gonna do that." I kind of enjoy gambling — which I don't recommend people. But I get paid to gamble, so that makes it a lot easier because I'm not using my money. I just do what I want to do now on stream. And if people like it, great. If they don't, I'm happy.

Is your mental health better since switching to IRL?

Way better. As I said, it was the same thing every single day. It was repetitive — it was like a regimen. Which I guess is alright to a certain extent, but I'm somebody that just likes to be spontaneous and do random stuff. And that's kind of what IRL streaming is. Not only that, but also doing things like reactions, fantasy drafts, etc. It's random and keeps me entertained in my own aspect of streaming because I don't even know what I'm going to stream when I wake up every day.

What are some of the challenges you’ve noted with your new branch of content? 

With IRL streaming, it comes down to spending a lot of money — that's what usually goes down. When I IRL streaming, I'm usually on a farm that I live on with Corinna, and I kind of just stream the property, we go and get food, etc. I haven't expanded in IRL streaming yet and took it really seriously, like, "Hey, I'm gonna go travel here and do an IRL stream." And then when that comes into play, you start spending a lot of money.

That's really the biggest downfall I was seeing. And at the end of the day, you're moving. You're walking around, you've got to be entertaining live in public doing stuff — sometimes it can get kind of boring. You don't have the game to entertain, you have to be the entertainment.

You’ve talked on Twitter about how you feel like you’re very much suited for IRL streaming — what sort of qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be good in that category?

People skills — you have to have people skills. I would say that a lot of people that regularly watch Twitch probably aren't as confident. They're gamers and they don't get out as much. That's the stereotype. So I feel like when I'm out there — a guy that got noticed through gaming and esports that sat in his room all day and never really went outside — they see me going out meeting people and interacting. And I feel it motivates them and gets them like, "Oh, dang. If AC can do it, I could do it."

Are there any creators you look up to regarding that type of content?

There would be one streamer — that would be Arab. He motivated me in a way, because I first told him, "Bro, you should do IRL content. You should really get into that." He said. "No, man, that's not me. You should do that." I said I didn't know. And then he ended up completely stopping gaming and everything like that, and really just took the IRL and went with it. He actually did pretty good. And when I saw him, I'm like, "You know what? I could do it." So I'd say Arab was the one I looked up to in a way — he kind of motivated me.  probably you know what, I can do it and so that I guess era would be the one guy kind of like watched. And I guess Yeah, I looked up to I guess in a way because he motivated me.

Would you return to Fortnite in any meaningful capacity?

I still play Fortnite here and there — it's still always that game that I feel you can hop on, play with friends, and have a good time. Yeah, I would return, I think. I still do play Fortnite when I get invited to Twitch Rivals and all that. I do love playing the game and I still do enjoy it.

The No Build brought back the game in many more ways than one. It's great. A lot of the old people got back into it because the building is just on another level with these kids and how good they are. So yeah, I would definitely return to Fortnite. Would I stream it every single day all day again? Probably not. But yeah, I definitely still play the game.I do think it's in a good state right now.

What do you envision for the future of your content? What’re some things you’d like to do in the future that you’re not doing right now? 

I really do think I could take IRL more seriously — I do about once or twice a week right now. The reason why I like IRL so much is that I can take what I do on IRL and put it on YouTube. And usually, those videos do well — it's kind of a lazy process. But it's very convenient to do an IRL stream, post that on YouTube, and get traction on multiple platforms. And then now I'm getting more traction on multiple platforms. So that's actually very nice. Just IRL and gaming man. I'm enjoying that right now. Not really a specific game, but IRL and gaming is where I see my future content. 

One thing that I don't do, and I don't know if it's like a clout thing that gets involved with it, but I don't hit up other streamers. I don't know why, but I would love to get over that thing and start hitting up people. Whether it's gamers, people that do IRL content, etc. — I really don't hit up other content creators. I stick to my core friends that I've met and roll with them. And I feel like a lot of streamers do that, and I don't know why. But that's something I would like to do in the future that I'm not doing now. But I feel like I'm not the only one in that regard — people have their community and they rock with it. But networking, as we all say, is the biggest thing in everything.

What are the other most important steps in being a good IRL streamer?

My biggest advice is to find your Robin for your Batman. IRL streaming by yourself is hard in my opinion. And if you have somebody else that can also be there to bring the vibes and energy, it's great. Because at that day, if you're vibing and having a good time the stream seems to all come together. Find your Robin, find somebody that you can go out and stream with to interact with people and have a good time. Find your sidekick — it makes the IRL streaming a lot more fun. IRL streaming by yourself, in my opinion, is not that fun to me. It's way more fun to enjoy life and the stream with one of your friends.

Thanks so much for talking Aircool! Your content has certainly looked different this year — how has 2022 been different from other years?

I'm currently still living in LA with Corinna — this is probably my last year living with her. But this year has been very different for many reasons. One of the biggest is I don't really play games as much anymore. I was big into Fortnite — streamed the game six to eight hours a day — got into Warzone a little bit, and then barely got into Apex. 

I recently got an IRL backpack, and that kind of changed the game for me. I've been IRL streaming, and people fell in love with it. I don't do it every day and as often as I probably should, but IRL streaming made me go from a 600 to 800 viewer streaming to about 2,000 to 5,000. It's crazy.

In the past, you were notable for being a Fortnite streamer, but recently have been more known for categories like Slots, IRL streams, and Fantasy Football — how does your current content contrast with what you were doing previously?

When I only played Fortnite, it was the same game for six to eight hours a day. And I honestly started becoming kind of depressed. Some people might say, "How could you be depressed playing a video game and getting money?" It just got so boring — it got so repetitive. 

The competitive scene: I didn't have a love for it anymore. I didn't want to do it. And the people I played with didn't really play the game no more either. So I'm sitting here playing this game, and I'm sad streaming. Like depressed. So I said, "I'm just going to do me. I'm going to do what I want to do. If I want to stream a fantasy draft, I'm gonna do that." I kind of enjoy gambling — which I don't recommend people. But I get paid to gamble, so that makes it a lot easier because I'm not using my money. I just do what I want to do now on stream. And if people like it, great. If they don't, I'm happy.

Is your mental health better since switching to IRL?

Way better. As I said, it was the same thing every single day. It was repetitive — it was like a regimen. Which I guess is alright to a certain extent, but I'm somebody that just likes to be spontaneous and do random stuff. And that's kind of what IRL streaming is. Not only that, but also doing things like reactions, fantasy drafts, etc. It's random and keeps me entertained in my own aspect of streaming, because I don't even know what I'm going to stream when I wake up every day.

What are some of the challenges you’ve noted with your new branch of content? 

With IRL streaming, it comes down to spending a lot of money — that's what usually goes down. When I IRL streaming, I'm usually on a farm that I live on with Corinna, and I kind of just stream the property, we go and get food, etc. I haven't expanded in IRL streaming yet and took it really seriously, like, "Hey, I'm gonna go travel here and do an IRL stream." And then when that comes into play, you start spending a lot of money.

That's really the biggest downfall I was seeing. And at the end of the day, you're moving. You're walking around, you've got to be entertaining live in public doing stuff — sometimes it can get kind of boring. You don't have the game to entertain, you have to be the entertainment.

You’ve talked on Twitter about how you feel like you’re very much suited for IRL streaming — what sort of qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be good in that category?

People skills — you have to have people skills. I would say that a lot of people that regularly watch Twitch probably aren't as confident. They're gamers and they don't get out as much. That's the stereotype. So I feel like when I'm out there — a guy that got noticed through gaming and esports that sat in his room all day and never really went outside — they see me going out meeting people and interacting. And I feel it motivates them and gets them like, "Oh, dang. If AC can do it, I could do it."

Are there any creators you look up to regarding that type of content?

There would be one streamer — that would be Arab. He motivated me in a way, because I first told him, "Bro, you should do IRL content. You should really get into that." He said. "No, man, that's not me. You should do that." I said I didn't know. And then he ended up completely stopping gaming and everything like that, and really just took the IRL and went with it. He actually did pretty good. And when I saw him, I'm like, "You know what? I could do it." So I'd say Arab was the one I looked up to in a way — he kind of motivated me.  probably you know what, I can do it and so that I guess era would be the one guy kind of like watched. And I guess Yeah, I looked up to I guess in a way because he motivated me.

Would you return to Fortnite in any meaningful capacity?

I still play Fortnite here and there — it's still always that game that I feel you can hop on, play with friends, and have a good time. Yeah, I would return, I think. I still do play Fortnite when I get invited to Twitch Rivals and all that. I do love playing the game and I still do enjoy it.

The No Build brought back the game in many more ways than one. It's great. A lot of the old people got back into it because the building is just on another level with these kids and how good they are. So yeah, I would definitely return to Fortnite. Would I stream it every single day all day again? Probably not. But yeah, I definitely still play the game.I do think it's in a good state right now.

What do you envision for the future of your content? What’re some things you’d like to do in the future that you’re not doing right now? 

I really do think I could take IRL more seriously — I do about once or twice a week right now. The reason why I like IRL so much is that I can take what I do on IRL and put it on YouTube. And usually, those videos do well — it's kind of a lazy process. But it's very convenient to do an IRL stream, post that on YouTube, and get traction on multiple platforms. And then now I'm getting more traction on multiple platforms. So that's actually very nice. Just IRL and gaming man. I'm enjoying that right now. Not really a specific game, but IRL and gaming is where I see my future content. 

One thing that I don't do, and I don't know if it's like a clout thing that gets involved with it, but I don't hit up other streamers. I don't know why, but I would love to get over that thing and start hitting up people. Whether it's gamers, people that do IRL content, etc. — I really don't hit up other content creators. I stick to my core friends that I've met and roll with them. And I feel like a lot of streamers do that, and I don't know why. But that's something I would like to do in the future that I'm not doing now. But I feel like I'm not the only one in that regard — people have their community and they rock with it. But networking, as we all say, is the biggest thing in everything.

What are the other most important steps in being a good IRL streamer?

My biggest advice is to find your Robin for your Batman. IRL streaming by yourself is hard in my opinion. And if you have somebody else that can also be there to bring the vibes and energy, it's great. Because at that day, if you're vibing and having a good time the stream seems to all come together. Find your Robin, find somebody that you can go out and stream with to interact with people and have a good time. Find your sidekick — it makes the IRL streaming a lot more fun. IRL streaming by yourself, in my opinion, is not that fun to me. It's way more fun to enjoy life and the stream with one of your friends.