 Welcome to the wide world of eSports, a show devoted to all things eSports. I'm your host, Katharine Noor. Today we're talking about the gaming community in India. With me is Sharuk Tanveer. Welcome, Sharuk. Hi guys, how are you everyone? This is Sharuk, Sharuk Tanveer, and people call me Jack. Thank you, Katharine. Thank you so much for inviting me on the show. Fantastic. Okay, so you are in India, is that right? Yes, I'm in India. I live in Delhi. That's the capital of India. It's really a beautiful place. Fantastic. Okay, and I understand you had to get up pretty early for this. What time is it there? Right now, it's 3.30 a.m. Actually, I was really excited about the interview, and I was like, I'm a wake up already like three hours ago. Oh, good. Okay. Even I forget that it's a short time, and I was a little late on the show. Well, fantastic. So, Jack, I understand you are spent some time in the United States. Is that right? Yeah, it's pretty different. I mean, it's 3.30 a.m. there, and you are in Hawaii. I think it's 12 p.m. there. But didn't you go to school in Florida? Yeah, I was in Florida. I was in the University of Florida, I'm a Gator. So I was in UF. Okay, fantastic. And then what was your degree in university? I've done their animation. I was completely into animation and visual effects, and I was there for five years completely there in Florida. Even I've done with work with some of the big companies there. After my graduation, after my education, completely done, and then I came back to India, and I started my gaming activities here in India. Okay, and why don't you tell me about Arthuris? Okay, Arthuris, let me start how things get started in Arthuris. Actually, I'm a gamer. Professionally, I'm a gamer, and I used to play on my PlayStation on my computer, but then I decided to bring up my level, my skills. So I decided to start doing live streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms like Twitch. So the date was 17 April 2019. I started Arthuris, and I started with a zero. That's it's really an interesting story. I do streaming every day, and I have a lot of fans here. It's a great story that I always tell them not to give up, because what I did is I started doing streaming every day, and from 17 April 2019, and I started doing this streaming from that day. That day, I had only zero subscribers and zero views on my live streaming, and I used to do five hours of streaming every single day. And from next seven days, I was doing streaming, and no views, no subscribers was there. But after seven days, I got one hit on my subscribe. So that's how, and that when I get that hit, I get that pop-up that I still know the name of the person he is still connected with me, play games with me. His name was Vipul. And when that pop-up came up into my alert box, and I was like, okay, thank you so much for the subscribe Vipul. That day, I decided that I'm going to hit 1 million subscribers one day, so we are on the way to hit 1 million now. Fantastic. Okay. Well, before we go much further, what I'd like to do is show the video. Did you, is that your creation? Yeah, I created this. I used to play a game PUBG. It was actually a mobile game, and I used to play with my subscribers. Then we came up with this, and we created this video. So we came up with all the skills that I've gathered, all the clips one by one, and I created this along with the music background. Terrific. Okay. So are you still streaming for quite a few hours each day? Yes, I do streaming every day for at least six hours, six hours a day. And so I understand that Arthymus has some role. You have some goals in terms of with gamers in India, and tell me about that. Yeah, Arthymus, I started this just for myself first. Arthymus, I was just doing the streaming, so I wanted to get things done, just a little fan following I wanted to create. But when I saw that how things are going in India with a gaming community, I changed my goal. I changed my mind because most of the subscribers, most of the fans were coming to me, they were calling me, they were calling on my number, they were calling on my Instagram, our Discord, and they were saying one thing, the Jack sir, we want to be with you and we want to represent Indian gaming community. Now the biggest problem that we guys are facing in India is that people don't support games here. They believe that video games is just a waste of time. And I don't believe in this because I know how gaming works for me. I know how gaming works for other. I've also created a presentation that how video games make kids smarter. And I have really show that how video games helps kids to increase focus, to increase concentration and help them to get out of their depression. That's what my numbers are. That's what my research is. I start helping other people. I start helping them to get into esports industry. They never knew what esports industry is because here in India the biggest problem we gamers are facing that most of the parents, they don't believe that gaming is, that gaming can be a career. They believe that gaming is a waste of time. They believe that they are wasting their time while playing the video game. So I'm, Artemis is becoming a hope for other gamers, those who wants to be into gaming industry, those who are seeking to become a, to have a career in gaming industry. That's what Artemis is. That's why we have our tagline that gamers are never alone. And it's not just about Indian gaming community. We have our fan following from all over the globe. So that's what Artemis is. We are helping gamers from all over the globe. So this concept of gamers are never alone. For those people that may not understand how that works, could you explain it? Yeah, let me help you how gamers are never alone get started actually. There's a girl and she used to come on my stream every day. She only watched. She never done the chat with me. She never played with me. She used to watch my stream every day. And after one month while watching my stream, she sent the pop-up message, the live chat we have on our stream. And she introduced herself to me. Her name is Sia. And she is from India. She is from a city named Calcutta. She said that, Jackson, I'm watching your stream from a very long time. I was like, okay, Sia, welcome to our stream. Then I told her that this is what we do. And she already knew everything because she used to watch my stream every day. But she was so shy that she never sent me a message. She was a little scared that what will be my reaction to her, what I'm going to response to her. So after one month, she decided to send me a message and she did it. And I respond politely to her. Then she said that, Jackson, I want to play with you as a subscriber on your stream. We start playing. I get to know her. She was really shy. She was like, she had no friends. She was completely out of the things. She was not socialized. She didn't knew what to do. She was not on social media accounts. She was really shy. And then I start telling her that you have to come up. You have great skills. You have great skills in gaming. You have to come up with your skills. She started talking. She learned our native language in India is Hindi. And she is from a place called Bengal and they casually talk Hindi there, not much because they talk Bengali there. So she was a Bengali girl and she is only 16 years old. She goes to school. So at that time, she told me that she is feeling shy and other things. Then I told her that you don't have to feel shy. Be open. Now she started doing things. She is now socialized. And the best thing is that now she is favorite of ours. Every fan, every time when I do streaming, they are like, where is she? We want to see her. We want to listen to her voice. She is very beautiful. She is really cute. She is only 16 and she is like a very cute girl. She is very pretty. And now she is the favorite of ours. So her confidence is boost up now. And just because of Artemis, it has, this thing has done. So she always thanked me that Jack said, just because of you, things are done. I was not socialized before Artemis. I was scared what to do, what not to do. But now just because of Artemis, I'm confident. I know what my goals are. I know what I have to do. And she believes in Artemis so much that in coming years, she wants to represent Artemis. And even she said this thing that she, once we reach 1 million subscribers, she is going to do streaming. She'll retire me. She keeps saying to me that, Jack sir, once we hit 1 million subscribers, you will take your retirement. I'll start doing this streaming. And I'm like, okay, you'll do it. So that's how things become started for gamers. I'm never alone. We came up with this tagline, me and my friends, that we should came up with a line with a tagline that should be so strong that that should be impactful. Now there's an another story. His name is Abhinav Abhinav Tiwari. He's only 12 years old. He also came to my stream from a friend reference. And he started telling his story that this is how he wants to do, but no one is supporting him because he's just only 12 years old. And his parents wants him to focus on studies, not on video games. He came to me. He came to my stream and he said that Jack sir, I want to play video games. I want to set my career into video games, not completely career, but yes, he wants to get into video gaming things. So he said that can you please teach me how to do it? And now he is the second favorite of ours that we call him scout. That's his name is actually his real name is Abhinav Tiwari. And we call him a scout that is a gamer tag. And he named himself Arthimus fan boy because he is just 12 years old. So that's how these things get started. And when I did these things for two, three people, I start believing in myself that if I am going to do it for these two, three people, I am going to do it for millions of them. Those who are looking for help, those who are actually looking for things to get into the gaming industry, to get into the esports industry. That's what we are doing now. And every day we are growing, every day people are coming to us and they are joining us, subscribers, followers, members. So that's how we are growing. And that's how Arthimus is actually helping Indian gaming community to get into esports and gaming community. We are trying different kinds of games. We are organizing tournaments so that other people can come into the tournament. They can show their skills. We are doing giveaway, prize money. Things are there. So I think it's a good start and it will keep growing. Fantastic. How many viewers do you have or subscribers do you have? Now we are on 3000. Every day it keeps increasing. That's really good. And the best thing is that people are actually supporting. People believe that Arthimus is going in the right direction and we are taking baby steps. We are not in a rush. We are doing great things. Every day we are growing. Every day we are making things for others, for ourselves. And that's what our goal is to hit one million subscribers. But the best thing is like people have a belief, people have confidence in me that yes, that Arthimus is not going to give up on them. And we have a saying in India that if you believe in 1000 people, you can win one war. 1000 people believe in you that you can win every war. That's what we believe in India. So that's what I believe that 1000 people have a belief in me. So I'm going to do it. Fantastic. So Jack, how often do you have tournaments? For the tournaments we have organized different kinds of tournaments. It's like T1 tournament, T2 tournaments. And I have been collaborating with different gamers. They were organizing it. I was casting. So people were enjoying it. And we have done a big pool prize giveaway. It was a money giveaway. Then we started doing it gaming headphones, gaming keyboards, gaming mouse, and people started enjoying it. It's not just because they were getting things like they were getting the material keyboards or mouse or anything. They were enjoying because they were on the live stream. So that they want to be, that they want to see themselves, that they are in the live stream on an official gaming YouTube channel. So that's what they were happy about. They were calling me, they were sending me messages on my DM, on my Instagram, on my Facebook, that they were really happy when we organized the tournament. Every day they came to stream and they are like, Jackson, when we are going to have another tournament, when we are going to see ourselves in the next video. So that's what they want. Have you had opportunities to be a caster for other tournaments or other endeavors? Yeah. Now most of the, when we start doing it for Artemis, other people also saw it, that how things are going on. So they start sending me messages that Jackson, we are going to organize our tournament. Would you like to cast our tournament? Because they like my, the way that I talk in my native language, even in English. So they really enjoyed it. Sometimes I make moment really entertaining, funny. So they really enjoyed it. Sometimes I make really emotional. So everything is there. It's like a mixture. Drama is there. Entertainment is there. So they really enjoyed it. And yes, I am actually getting opportunity for, for, from other people to, to the casting for their official tournaments also. It's not on a big platform, but yes, I'm actually doing it. So I think that like, as I said, we are taking baby steps. And I think Artemis is going to be really, really big one day and helping these gamers from all over the globe. You mentioned earlier that in India, people, parents want their children to do something other than gaming. Do you feel that you're changing minds with what you're doing? Yes, I am actually trying my best to convince parents because I know some of the kids, those who have skills better than any other player in the world, I can bet on this. They are really great. They are not using any hacks or any other things. They have their real skills and those skills are incredible. But they are coming to me. They are saying, Jackson, our parents won't allow us to play games more than 45 minutes or one hour. So they don't have time to do practice in just one hour. They are giving their 100% best shot. So now I get a chance to had a conversation with some of the parents. I had a conversation with them. I told them that your kid is incredible. He knows what he is doing. And what they believe is that gaming is a waste of time. What I'm doing is just for the entertainment, not for the money, not for the career. So what they want them to study hard from their schools, from their colleges, not to focus on the game, but to focus on studies, they want them to become lawyer, doctor, engineer, not a gamer. They don't see gaming as a career opportunity. They believe that gaming will not give them any money. Gaming will not give them any kind of fame or something. But to be honest with you, this platform, this gaming platform is something that can make you anything. It can make you rich. It can make you famous. That's what I'm trying to convince parents that what I'm doing is nothing wrong because my parents had a belief in me when I told them this is what I'm going to do. They said, yes, go ahead and do it. We believe in you and I'm doing great now. And that's what I wanted them to believe that gaming is not a waste of time. It actually helps you to get out of depression. It helps you to increase focus, to increase concentration, and it will give you whatever you want one day. If you look at the big streamers, those who are living king life, they are doing great. So there's nothing wrong. And most of the gamers, if you look at the number of the gamers worldwide, big streamers, big gamers, big eSports players, they are from 80 to 25. They're not 40s or 50s. Right, right. Well, you know, I'm an eSports attorney, so you can do both. We do have a question from someone. Do you think it's easier to become a professional gamer in America rather than India? Yes, it is true because the difference is, like as I said, gaming is growing in India. So it's a growing phase. But in America, in the United States, it's already established. People know what gaming is. So there's a huge difference between numbers in the gaming in the United States and India. If you want to see yourself a gamer, a streamer in India, you have to work really hard. You have to work eight hours a day, like a true job, like a true gamer. You have to work on everything. You have to take it off your every subscriber. You have to take it off your gaming skills. That's how you're going to grow. But in the United States, I really believe it's a little easy because people already know. So you don't have to tell them where things are going on. You don't have to explain the entire theory, the gaming theory that how things go, how things work in the gaming. So I think, yes, in the United States, making a gaming career is much easier than in India, because in India, you have to explain everything. It's like ABC. You have to explain everything to them that this is how it works. This is how it goes and this is going to be. So it takes time. You have to pick every single person. You have to tell them that this is going to be and this is how it works. So that's a huge difference. Okay. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted um, Arthramas and gaming in India? To be honest with you, okay, this is, this actually become an opportunity for me because most of the kids, most of the subscribers are from school. Okay. And as you know, just because of the COVID-19, schools are off. Colleges are off. So they are doing lives. They are doing online classes and on a single side, they are doing, sorry, there's online classes and on the single side, they're watching my stream. That's what they do every day. This is actually making me feeling uncomfortable that you guys should focus on your online classes, on your teacher, not on my gaming. And they have their earphones, plug on their ears. One side, they're watching my stream and one side, they're watching their online classes and they're like, okay, we are doing it. We are also watching your stream. They are also chatting with me and they are also replying to their teacher. So they are doing multitask and this is, that makes me feel uncomfortable. Just because of me, they're losing their online classes and I'm like, you should focus completely on your study. I do this stream later on once your classes are done. They are like, Jack, Jack sir, we are good. You keep doing it. I don't know, like they want to skip their classes or they don't want to study, but to be honest with you, I really want them to study hard, to focus just because of the COVID-19. Entire world is on a big loss about the education, about the financial and everything, but I really want them to focus. Most of them are like, if they are getting history classes, so they are like, Jack sir, can we watch your stream? And I was like, why do you want to watch my stream? It's like free, you can watch any time, whenever you want. They came to me and they're saying like, Jack sir, we have to bunk our class because history class is actually going on and it's really boring. I feel sleepy. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to watch your stream on a one side and history class will go on. That's what they do actually. So they make really funny of this thing and just because of COVID-19, my viewers are increasing. Oh, that's interesting. We do have another question from a viewer. You have a great opportunity to continue to mentor your gaming kids. Will you form a program to inform their parents of your responsibility? Yes, I think like they believe me as they mentor, they believe me as their teacher. They really respect me in this. And these kids, most of the kids are like 12, 14 and 16. I don't have a mature audience. Some of them are like 20, 24, just like me 25, but most of the kids, they believe me as their teacher because they are apart from gaming. I'm also telling them what to do in their life. It's not just they want to become a gamer, whatever they want to do, if they want to become an engineer, if they want to become a lawyer, doctor, or whatever they want to become, I'm telling them what to do in their life, not to give up on their life, whatever their dreams are. Because now what their age is, they are dreamer. More than a gamer, they are dreamer. They have dreams. So that's what I'm telling them that not to give up on your dreams because giving up is not an option. So they believe me as their hero. They believe me as their mentor. Every day they call me and they came to my videos, they do comments on the videos and they say that Jackson, we really believe that Artemis is going to do something good for them one day. And that's what my hope is that I should do something for them at least, some of them. Yeah, you certainly make a big impression on lots of people and that will increase over time. And before we close today, can you tell people how they can reach you, how they can see your streaming and how they can subscribe to Artemis? Yeah, it's just simple. You just have to visit on our, just visit to Google and search Artemis because that's a unique name. You will find all our social media channels, there are YouTube channel, our website, their Facebook channel, everything, Instagram, all the things are there. You just have to go Google and type AR3, 3 is a number, Artemis and you will see our logo there and people can find me easily there. They can watch our videos. They can watch our live stream. They can do whatever. Everyone is welcome. It's not like that because I have seen and I've experienced this thing. Most of the subscribers, those who are new on my channel, they came and when they do a real-time conversation with me while on that live chat, they actually say this thing that you are unique. You are actually responding to our messages. You are reading our messages. You are giving us shout out because when we go to other streamers, we have to wait for 15, 20 hours. We have to do spamming and you are the first one who is actually giving us attention. So that's what I'm doing. I love to have an interact with my subscribers because I have these two screens, this gaming set up on my one screen. I'm playing my game and on the other screen, I'm having this live chat tool on my screen. So I love to have a conversation with them. I love to share my stories with them. We share funny moments. We share good things with them. Even they came up with their stories sometimes. They said that Jack said I got breakup with my girlfriend. Advise me what to do. Well, I've sure enjoyed our conversation with you today and we've learned so much about gaming in India. Thank you so much, Jack. Thank you, Catherine. Thank you so much. Really great. So I thank all of you for joining us today. Thanks to our sponsors and thanks to our viewers. Next week, my guest will be attorney Kimberly Kulp. We'll discuss intellectual property as it relates to eSports. See you then.