In 2013, when senior Ayden Lienau was only six years old, he uploaded a Minecraft video to his YouTube channel now known as “The Confident Diamond.” He had his dad help with the set up and relied solely on the inspiration he gained from watching popular Minecraft content creators at the time. Now, Lienau has more than 98,000 subscribers on his channel, where he mainly posts videos on Roblox roleplay games. Lienau’s nearly lifelong commitment to his gaming content has truly made his YouTube channel a world of its own.
Lienau began posting Minecraft content on his page, but he gradually grew in the direction of the little-known Roblox game, Monsters of Etheria. Monsters of Etheria, originally titled “Pokémon Fighters EX,” is an interactive game that allows users to explore maps, design avatars, utilize powers, and battle against other players. It began as a Pokémon game, but rebranded due to copyright issues in 2018. The game still holds onto many of the original elements of its predecessor. Lienau, however, mostly sticks to the roleplay side of the game. “I’ve been just going fully into the roleplaying aspect of it and making my own stories out of it,” he explained.
While Lienau is following in the footsteps of many gaming YouTubers who came before him, he credits his success to his dedication towards this niche part of the Roblox community. “I started doing Pokémon games on Roblox, and there were some genres that no one else was covering. So, when people went to look for videos on those, I basically was the only one doing them. That was how I got my first amount of viewers,” Lienau explained. Since then, his focus towards Monsters of Etheria has led to his almost 100,000 subscribers on The Confident Diamond.
From his beginning on YouTube, Lienau has grown up alongside his audience. His gaming channel has seen him through middle school as well as the last three years of his high school career. Though many of his viewers are still on the younger end, Lienau explained, “I’ve gotten a lot of audience members that have been watching me for years too, and they’re on the older end.” To interact with his fans, Lienau uses Discord, a popular community-based social platform in the gaming sphere. He often hosts game nights, facilitates communication about his videos, and engages in discussion with his supporters through his server.
Lienau has managed to consistently post on The Confident Diamond for several years now. However, with the shift into senior year, and consequently the introduction of college applications, Lienau has had to work harder to maintain his posting schedule. “I’m feeling optimistic [that] after the college applications are done, I can have more of an opportunity to focus on my YouTube channel more than I have in the past,” Lienau said. As opposed to an early release, Lienau opted for a late start this year, meaning he has 1st block free. In order to keep up the channel, he devotes his mornings solely to YouTube content. “That’s been very helpful, just dedicating that time,” Lienau mentioned.
In terms of college applications, Lienau is certainly planning to include it on his list of extracurricular activities. “I feel like that would be, I mean, from my perspective, my spike,” Lienau commented. He does not just plan on mentioning his YouTube channel to get into college, though; Lienau fully intends to continue his YouTube journey well after high school. Though his commitment to the channel is mainly for his own enjoyment, there is also the added bonus of earning money through video uploads. By being accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, Lienau is able to receive compensation through ads that Google places on his videos. “It’s going to come more into play when I start needing the money for college and, you know, being more independent after high school,” Lienau mentioned.
As a Roblox YouTuber, Lienau is a part of a vast community of other gamers, developers, and creators who are all passionate about what they do. This is noticeable to viewers as well. Landon Hershey is a senior and an avid Roblox player who recognizes how YouTubers shape the website’s experience. “For people who are more involved in the Roblox community, YouTube does add to the liveliness of [it],” Hershey shared. As for Lienau, the time and effort he has put towards his channel are what make him strive to keep posting. Lienau looks forward to the future of his channel: “I’ve been doing it for so long, it’s hard to imagine I’d ever stop doing it.”