The COVID-19 lockdowns boosted user engagement for both video games and video streaming services, Twitch, for example, have seen record-breaking numbers in players and usage around the world. Two avid gamers from Singapore; Kyle Coughlan and Daniel Abbasi began streaming on Twitch during England’s first lockdown in 2019. Over a year later, Kyle and Daniel built a brand called Kyzen, based on the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, centred around two things: gaming and fitness.Today I sat down with Kyle and Daniel to discuss their message of self-improvement, barriers in the gaming community, and their successful fundraising for charities such as Mind UK and the Irish Cancer Society.
What was your inspiration to start Kyzen?
Daniel: We started streaming for fun whilst playing video games in Singapore and kept it going during lockdown. We decided that this was something we wanted to continue after University as a hobby, so the idea of creating a brand came after a few months of streaming.
Kyle: Our inspiration and current vision stems from big brands such as GymShark and Faze Clan, which are brands that are very successful in the gaming and fitness industry. This is also part of our long-term goal in terms of having a purpose to our brand which will inevitably become something we will be able to continue after University.
What is the message behind your brand?
Kyle: The core of Kyzen is the Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement. Essentially, if you improve by 1% every single day, this will compound and provide you with long term success. The same thing can be said about gaming and fitness. If you improve by 1% each day, you will end up achieving a lot in the long term.
Daniel: This mindset of continuous improvement can be seen in avid gamers who use, for example, strategic Youtube videos to improve themselves. The same can be said for those who are into fitness who track their pbs. We want to be centered around this philosophy and market it towards gamers who want to get fitter - especially since gamers are often seen as nerds or geeks. We want to continue to break this stigma and build a community through our brand.
What would you say has been your biggest achievement to date?
Kyle: I would definitely say our biggest achievement so far has been our 24K run and 24HR stream charity event. The tournament we organised allowed us to raise over 2000 pounds for Mind UK. Our Kyzen48 event was the first showcase of our brand, and it started with me reaching out to some medium-sized streamers who participated in the tournament.
Daniel: The tournament needed an incentive since players wouldn’t win any money (since it was for charity) so the winning team was able to pick the charity. This actually made things hard because people would join during a stream and ask where to donate money but there was nowhere to donate since the charity hadn’t actually been chosen till after the tournament was over.
Kyle: We set up a fundraising page on JustGiving for Mind UK but we definitely would have raised more money had we picked the charity before. Daniel and I also trained for 2 months before running the 24K which was not easy.
What goals do you both have for your brand in the next year?
Daniel: I think putting any high expectations on our brand is a bit dangerous so for now I’d say that one goal for our brand would be to have consistent content on our social media. If people were to look on our page it would be great for them to see that once a week we have a Youtube video and approximately 3 posts a week on Instagram/Twitter. This organised method of content creation being pushed out on our socials would make it easier for us to slowly build our following.
Kyle: Definitely having a stronger social media presence. Having a good team and content is important but if we don’t have a strong presence it won’t go anywhere. Therefore, it’s important for us to be consistent and optimistic especially if you’re putting in money and time. I think another goal for us would be to nail our branding as well as building a strong team.
What's the biggest obstacle you've faced and how did you go about overcoming it?
Kyle: I think one one of our biggest obstacles is communication. Dan and I haven’t actually seen each other in real life in maybe 5 or 6 years - we actually connected through streaming. At first I took the reins on our plans without keeping Dan in the loop and since I’m quite impulsive it put a strain on our dynamic. Luckily for me, Dan is incredibly patient and I think our chemistry is ideal. He’s also a yes man which makes it a lot easier for us to be optimistic about the future.
Daniel: I think communication is incredibly important, as Kyle said. I think it’s also worth mentioning that since we’re both so optimistic we have had a few people play devil's advocate and give us a bit of a reality check from time to time.
Kyle: I think another obstacle we’ve faced and are currently facing is nailing down our brand. Our brand needs to have a solid foundation in order to invest money and expand our platform. We have a long-term vision right now - we just need to execute it properly.
Daniel: I agree. I also think dedicating time to the brand and balancing university at the same time was another obstacle we both faced this year.
What barriers exist in the gaming community?
Kyle: One of the barriers is definitely having proper equipment. At the beginning Dan and I had a very basic set up. Another would be networking. Networking is extremely important - streaming and gaming success is really dependent on who you know in the gaming community
Daniel: I’d say another barrier would be having enough time to invest in a game, being able to stay consistent on social media, and continue to grow your community. It’s a challenge to immerse yourself in all of these things (whilst also having a social life).
Would you say gender is a barrier in the gaming community?
Kyle: Gender is a huge barrier in the gaming community. There’s also a lot of scrutiny around female gamers. I think the idea that girls shouldn’t game or that gaming isn’t a ‘girl thing’ is something that needs to be challenged.
Daniel: Yes, definitely. It’s also common for girls not to turn on their mics or cameras because of the abuse they may get due to their looks.
Tell me more about your charity events, I think it's pretty incredible to be able to raise money doing what you love
Daniel: About 2 weeks ago, a fellow Warzone player named John contacted Kyle and wanted to organise a COD tournament with some of the best players in the UK. He wanted to organise this tournament with the objective to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society in the UK.
Kyle: John said he wanted to host this fundraising tournament for this organisation and was willing to put in £1,500 for the prize pool. He didn’t want to put his name on the tournament but actually wanted our name and our brand to be on it. I then reached out to Dan to help participate.
Daniel: We had over 140 players and got some of the best Warzone players in the world to participate in the tournament. We raised nearly 4,000 pounds for cancer research. It was incredible to see how the community came together to support this fundraising event, the engagement on Twitter was amazing.
Kyle: Standing for things that people can relate to is important for our brand to grow. Self-improvement is great but what is most important is that your self-improvement is sustainable and healthy. The idea of the ‘grind’ can have detrimental effects on your body and mental health and it shouldn’t be as glorified as much as it is.
Daniel: We essentially want to glorify a more sustainable grind - one that ties into a healthy lifestyle because optimising your health is crucial in being successful in whatever it is you’re doing.
Kyle: And a large part of the gaming community is recognising that - we want to continue to preach this healthy mentality and lifestyle towards working hard and grinding at whatever it is you’re passionate about. We just want to continue to help people.
You can stay updated on Kyzen's work on their Instagram page and you can watch Daniel and Kyle stream on Twitch here.
You can also find my article on Fourth Floor's website:
Fourth Floor is a West London based collective dissecting the world and promoting young creatives across the globe.