TK Cooper: The Twitch Messiah
“I DO FEEL like once I turn the stream off I’m like ‘phew’,” those are the words of TK Cooper, someone who has performed hundreds of times in front of hordes of clamouring wrestling Fans.
You wouldn’t think that a wrestler who has experienced the types of highs and lows that come from a career in front of crowds would think twice about streaming online.
But TK is acutely aware that when he starts up his Twitch stream and the fans come flooding in, he is, once again, a performer of sorts.
Speaking to Grapple Theory, he said: “I never feel like what I’m doing on the stream is a fake representation of myself, but I am subconsciously aware that I’m live on the internet in front of people.
“It’s not like I’ve got to put on a smile, it’s just like, I don’t know how to explain it. I’m not pretending to have a good time, but I am wary of censoring myself to a point.
“There are some things I don’t want to bring to the stream, especially if it’s something that doesn’t need my opinion.”
TK and Mambo regularly team up on Twitch.
Photo: @puretkc
Cooper initially started his Twitch a few years ago, after breaking his leg, but when the pandemic hit he felt inspired to fire up his webcam again and start bringing his gaming sessions to an online audience.
And, in a time with little to no wrestling to speak of, TK is glad he can keep connected with his fans – as well as people who may have never seen his in the ring.
“I wanted to find a way to engage with the wrestling audience,” He said.
“It’s so much more of a direct connection for the fans to us and us to the fans.
“If you Tweet me saying ‘great match’, I can like and RT it but there’s not a huge way to engage with it. But on Twitch if you say ‘hey’ while I’m playing a game you can actually interact with that.
“It’s hard to gauge whether people who watch me on Twitch will come to shows and vice versa. But, a month ago I was raided by a Twitch streamer in Australia and it was all because there was a wrestling fan watching her stream, who was a fan of mine, and he told them to raid me – so 20 or 30 extra people came to my stream.
“They started asking about me being a wrestler. The fact that people were interested beyond what they were seeing was great. I told them I’ve wrestled all over the world and they start following for me and for the content. So it’s a cool example of how wrestling makes me interesting to the internet.”
The New Zealand-born fan favourite added that starting a Twitch stream has given him the opportunity to learn new video creating and editing skills, which he may not have come across without having streaming as an outlet.
Wrestling is slowly returning to normality across the globe, and with it comes the chance to see TK, and plenty of other BritWres stars, in action.
Cooper has returned to ring with Progress, once again pairing up with best friend Chuck Mambo - with both looking set for a push in the ring.
TK and Mambo have recently reunited at Progress.
Photo: @puretkc/@ringsideperspective
But as the conversation progresses, TK ends up brilliantly convincing himself that perhaps a full-time career as a Twitch streamer could be in the offing.
“I enjoy doing it because it’s fun. I feel like that’s the same with wrestling, I enjoy wrestling as my job because it’s the most thing I could do.
“But then maybe so is Twitch. Because I like playing games. I like interacting with the people who watch me play.
“I like all the features Twitch brings to me. I enjoy the building of my Twitch channel. So…no, I feel like I’ve just talked myself into it. Yeah, I would enjoy it.”
Whether it’s in the ring or on Twitch it seems for certain that TK, and his fellow wrestlers, are discovering plenty of other opportunities to interact with their fans during what’s been a tough time for BritWres.
You can check out TK Cooper’s Twitch stream online at twitch.tv/puretkc
