Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Hicks.
Hi Kevin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Right after graduating high school, my parents gave me my first laptop. I learned about YouTube in 2006 and started watching videos there, thinking, “I’d love to make videos like that.” So I signed up on my Chicknwings account in September of that year and started fiddling with Windows Movie Maker and a webcam. Then, a year later, someone came across my webcam vlogs and wanted to use my voice for their Deathnote Abridged series. I was already a fan of other abridged series like Little Kuriboh’s Yugioh Abridged and Lanipator’s Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged. Still, I knew next to nothing about voiceover or acting. But I took them up on their offer and voiced the character of Lind L. Taylor with very below-average results.
While I didn’t do a great job, I still enjoyed doing the role and wanted to see what other fab projects I could share. So I messaged two channels, one just doing their Rurouni Kenshin Abridged and the other doing a Peace Maker Kurogane Abridged series. I am doing permanent roles for both, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do regarding content. While doing voiceovers and the occasional vlogs on my main account, I wanted to do something that I felt had something for people to watch or listen to. That’s when I came across the channel Nathangraves989, where the host had on some of the more well-known names of the abridged community. But what confused me about the channel was that they didn’t have smaller content creators who did the same thing, only those who were overly popular. That’s when I talked with a few people to start up a website, then turned to a YouTube channel called TAC, where everyone could come together to share their projects with others, post updates, and more. The original website was a mix of social media and forums, whereas the YouTube channel would house podcasts and interviews with various content creators.
Originally, it was meant for those with only 500 subs or less, but over time, it was open to everyone in the community. I did all that until 2012 when I had to take a break from YouTube and all forms of content creation. I did make the occasional video on my Chicknwings account, but I wasn’t doing it consistently like I once was before. During this time, I ran a video game store in Muscle Shoals called Game On Muscle Shoals for over 8 years. It was a passion project that was started up originally by my friend Ryan getting screwed out of trade credit from GameStop, and I wanted to offer a better option. So we set up a booth at the North Alabama Flea Market in September 2012, and it did very well in its first weekend. After that, I started working on building up inventory and eventually got the physical storefront in March 2013. It was a slow start initially, but it grew into something I could call my dream job over time. Right around the pandemic, I made the tough decision to close the Muscle Shoals location and move out of state to be closer to my family in Ohio.
For the next year, I’d do online sales, but I would not have any ambition to make videos. That was until 2021 when I’d have that creative itch to make videos again. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to do it, but I knew I wanted to take a wack at it again. But I couldn’t do the same videos on the old TAC account cause there wouldn’t be enough of a reason for me to continue making videos there again. So, I decided to start fresh like I did many years ago and wanted to make a new channel. But I couldn’t just do interviews like before, and I wanted to make something that would be fun for me to make. I was a fan of series like Gaming Historian and fond of rare and uncommon video games. Since I saw that there weren’t enough people doing videos like that, I decided that was what the channel would be about. So, I named it Uncommon Valley, and for the past few years, I’ve made over 40 videos for it. While I was happy to make those kinds of videos, I wanted to do something else that was easier to edit and put out. I started reminiscing about the old TAC interviews I did before and thought about making those kinds of videos again. But it couldn’t be the same style as before; I had to make them longer and throw some unpredictability into the mix. So, a year after the Uncommon Valley channel was made, I opened up the interview channel at the time was called Select Screen.
For over a year, I grew the lineup of names from smaller content creators like Retro Gaming Pandemic and TigerChainsaw to popular creators like Happy Console Gamer and Derek Buck from CGRUndertow. Then, this past year, I wanted to work on doing more videos for the channel that wouldn’t just be interviewed but other gaming community-related videos. So, the Select Screen channel would be rebranded to Game On Network, and have introduced other videos for the channel. One was a game show called Console Conflict, and we had our first live show for Southeast Game Exchange in Greenville. That’s how I got started and where I am now.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were hurdles to get through. Like I said before, I only started using Windows Movie Maker and used a cheap microphone from Walmart for only $10. I knew I wanted to do better-quality videos, so I had to learn everything from scratch. I have been editing my videos through Vegas and recording audio using Audacity. You’re never done learning tricks of the trade, but that’s why YouTube can be helpful.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Running a video game business in Muscle Shoals for over 8 years was a game changer. This was my first time running a business, and the first two years were rough. At times, I had to eat on the cheap, even to the point of being unable to have lunch to keep the lights on. But after the first year, it finally started to turn around. People found out about us, and I started using social media in any way I could to get eyes on our store. The first time we knew we had made it was when Polygon’s website interviewed us for their article. After that, we started getting many calls from people out of state. Even from Boston, Massachusetts, to Seattle, Washington.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
As a guy who grew up in the South, I grew up on many bbq. I’ve heard stories about Carolina BBQ but only got to try it the weekend of Southeast Game Exchange. Let me tell you, they weren’t lying.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thechicknwings?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@GameOnNetwork
