 Okay, the title of this video is not really clickbait. Coming this August I will have been on YouTube for 11 years. I have been making stuff for a really, really, really long time. I am 26 years old now. I was 15 when I started this. You guys all know the story. But the channel started with me and my best friend, Andrew, and we wanted to make gaming videos. And so we started recording stuff and when it got to making the actual channel, we sat there for a while and we were just like, huh, what should we call this thing? And at the time, my dad owned a graphic design company called Crank. And so in my bedroom I had a little poster of his logo that just said Crank. I was like, well, what if we just call it Crank Gameplays? And it stuck. And so we started making videos under Crank Gameplays. Eventually it turned to just me and for the last almost 11 years I have been making videos as Crank Gameplays. Throughout the years there has been a lot that's changed, but gaming has always kind of been the foundation and the base of the channel. But over the last few years, I feel like my stuff has started to change a lot and I feel like I've started to change a lot as a person and as a creator. And I've started to want to branch out more outside of gaming and do more stuff that's a bit more creatively fulfilling. Because gaming is fun, but it doesn't really scratch the creative itch that I have. And so I've started sort of transitioning away from gaming and probably most recently you guys have seen that I haven't really been doing any gaming stuff on the channel at all. And that is because as of this video, for the most part, I'm not going to be doing gaming stuff anymore and I'm not going to be going as Crank Gameplays anymore. I'm doing a big ol' rebrand. I think since the channel was created because it has gameplays in the name, it's always inherently like pigeonholed me a little bit where I've felt like people expect gaming content. Obviously, because it is a gaming channel and it has gaming in the name. But now that I want to transition away from that, I feel like it's a good time for me to also step away from the name Crank Gameplays because I don't think it accurately describes the channel anymore. I think that I've in a way sort of outgrown it a little bit and I feel like it's kind of time for me to graduate and to take the next step in my career if we can call it that. I still like gaming stuff a lot. It's still really fun, but I don't really like recording it as much anymore. I like playing games on Twitch with my friends and stuff like that and that's really fun. And I'm still going to be doing that, but as far as the channel goes, I'm going to be taking kind of a scary little step and not uploading gaming stuff anymore because I think I enjoy non-gaming stuff a lot more. It's a lot more fun. I think you guys also enjoy it. And so because of that, I want to do the name change because I think just going by my name, Ethan Nester, which is what everything is going to be changing to, just Ethan Nester on everything, you know, while it doesn't describe the channel, it doesn't describe it incorrectly where if I keep using Crank Gameplays, I feel like people are going to be like, okay, wait, but why is he called Crank Gameplays? He doesn't do gaming stuff. And I think also for finding channels now, gaming isn't as popular as it used to be. And so going by my name, I think we'll help new people find the channel and get interested in stuff like that. But yeah, I've thought about this for a really long time. And it's a really, really, really scary thing to do because Crank Gameplays is, like it's me. Crank Gameplays is like who I've identified as for a really long time on the internet. And it's what other people obviously know me as. So it's going to be a weird change, I think. And I mean, it won't be that bad because most people know me as Ethan and call me Ethan and stuff like that, but it's very scary doing this change. It's scary doing the rebrand part and like, you know, not going as Crank Gameplays anymore, changing up the icons and the logos and everything like that. But it's also scary changing the content and making a commitment to not doing gaming stuff anymore and doing stuff that is more fulfilling and more challenging and more fun. And there might still be gaming videos every now and again. And again, I'm still going to be streaming on Twitch. That's where basically all of the gaming stuff will live is Twitch and then on the VOD channel. I think that gaming has always been a vehicle for me to create. It's always been a way that I can make stuff and it was a really good entry point because it's fairly accessible. But I don't think that gaming stuff is where I shine. As hard as it is for me to compliment myself, I do think that I'm funny and I think that I have fun ideas and I think I'm really good on camera. And I don't think that doing gaming stuff is a good example of what I can do and the creativity that I have. And I don't think it's a good example of my comedy. I think that I can make really fun, really cool, hilarious stuff sometimes. But 99% of the time that's not in gaming videos. It's in other things. And so that's what my channel is going to be from now on. I'm going to challenge myself to do cool, newer stuff. A lot of the videos that you've been seeing recently, which usually come out on Saturdays, that's kind of what the channel is going to be now. It's going to be those videos, those kind of videos, intersplice with maybe some reaction stuff and still do TikTok reactions and shit like that. But as far as the main channel goes, stepping away from gaming. And for those of you who need it to be more clear, this channel isn't going anywhere. I'm just changing the name on everything. So everywhere you can find me at Ethan Nester on Twitch, Instagram, Twitter, except for here on YouTube. It's just at Ethan, which is funny. But I hope you guys are excited. I hope that we can hold the memory of Crank Gameplays near and dear. I hope you guys understand where I'm coming from with this and I hope that you're excited for this new sort of era. I'm really excited to make newer, cooler stuff and I've been really excited about the rebrand. Even though nothing about my day to day or the content that I'm making because I've been not really making gaming stuff for a bit, even though none of that is really changing, finally ripping off the Band-Aid and doing it. It's a really big deal for me. So I hope that you guys are excited. Yeah, thank you guys for being here for over 10 years of Crank Gameplays. I hope that you're excited to see more of Ethan Nester, I guess. But thank you guys for everything. It's been really fun, but it's time for the next step and this is part of that. So I'm not going anywhere, don't worry, obviously. I hope that nobody thinks that I'm quitting. I don't know how people could get that from this, but so long Crank Gameplays. I'm really excited. Anyways, I'll see you guys in the next video. Bye.