Chasing Dreams & Reaching New Heights: What We Can Learn From Loco Streamer Snax

While most of us talk about the glitz and glam of the esports scene, seldom do we delve into the hardships and struggles that players or those around them experienced to reach that stage. Looking closely into these storylines, we understand that these legendary gamers have had humble beginnings and testing times just like the lot of us. The life journey of Raj “Snax” Verma is a testimony to the fact that hard work and resilience always pay off and one can chase their dreams and achieve them with the right mindset.

Snax has been a part of successful Indian esports organizations including TeamIND, MegaStars, and Team XO. He steadily rose to popularity, thanks to his BGMI Assaulting drills and guides. Loco’s Dream Karo Stream Karo encapsulates Snax’s journey from perfecting diamonds to chiseling his gaming career and becoming one of the top streamers in the country.

The biggest takeaways we learned from Snax’s gaming journey

Work through your struggles

Snax and his sister Simran Verma shared some of the struggles from their childhood. They grew up in Hyderabad in the Old City and then shifted houses numerous times. Snax said that their house in the Old City was literally the size of a kitchen. Simran Verma stated that growing up Snax and her were close and that they grew up watching their parents struggle. The siblings took their parents’ struggle and turned it into their motivating factor. She added that their parents always wanted both Snax and her to earn a name for themselves through hard work and merit. Snax said, “Whatever struggle you undergo, you will see the result. Whatever hard work you do, continue to do it. Now is the age, do it with full force and do as much as you can.”

Making the right decisions

Snax stated that he was not interested in studies and that after completing his 10th grade, he had two options: take after his family business of jewelry and diamond-making or follow his father’s graphic design career. He said that he did not want to get into graphics designing since he’s seen his father’s struggles. “Seeing dad struggle, I did not want to do the same and I won’t be able to make an impact.” So, Snax went to Gujarat to learn about diamonds and the art of diamond-making. As a 16-year-old, Snax lived away from home and worked in a factory, and did menial jobs. He revealed that he then learned all the work in the factory related to diamonds and relocated to Surat to save the travel time. Snax said that he was crazy and obsessed with diamonds and that pushed him to learn everything about the trade swiftly.

Sticking to a schedule

Initially, Snax was playing games on his phone after his work hours and before hitting the sack. After placing fifth with his team Encore Paradox in a LAN event in Delhi and earning $10K USD in the finals, Snax wanted to take gaming a bit seriously. “I would get up at 5 am in the morning, go to the gym, return at 6.30 am, catch a train at 7 am and stay in the factory till 9 pm, then catch a train and return home.” Snax added that he had a routine where he played games from 10 pm to 2 am in the morning and then got a few hours of sleep. However, Snax felt that there was not much room to be impactful with a 9-5 job and that he viewed gaming and esports as an industry that would allow him to be himself, earn well, and also be impactful. He revealed that he was invited to join Fnatic and Entity Gaming and that he chose Entity, only to be dropped a couple of months later.

Following dreams, unmindful of haters and trolls

Snax had made up his mind to forgo gaming and focus on his diamond-making business after being rejected by Entity. However, after receiving an opportunity to play alongside TeamIND in a Hyderabad LAN, Snax wanted to convince his parents about his future in esports. He added that they were not sure about his move at first and that there were quarrels in the household. Simran Verma said, “My parents’ major problem was that what people will say. ‘What should I tell my relatives when they ask what my son does for a living’” After joining TeamIND, pushing aside all the doubts, Snax felt that the vibes from the team were perfect and went to Delhi with them for a bootcamp and was locked down during COVID-19 with the team and called it a turning point in his career.

It was only uphill for Snax from there, who later signed with 8bit Creatives after hitting 700K followers and later joined the Loco army. He felt streaming through Loco gave him a unique audience and allowed him to interact personally with them. “The audience that I’ve gained on Loco, they love me dearly. I can say that confidently.”

If you are inspired or intrigued by Snax’s journey or if you just wish to vibe with him, you can follow more of his journey exclusively on Loco.