How Brisbane woman went from a bad break to earning thousands in just months

A devastating break up was the catalyst for this Brisbane woman to buck from the norm and move into her dream job where she earns thousands of dollars.

A bad break-up led this Brisbane woman to her dream job where she is earning thousands.

Tiarna Kettley, 25, who goes by the moniker of Chopstix, has become one of Australia’s largest videogame streamers in the last 18 months.

The Brisbane woman had previously worked in a range of roles in the health industry before making the jump to streaming in 2020.

In that time, her streams have attracted millions of viewers and after barely six months of making videos online, she was able to quit her government job and stream full time.

She is now in the highest paying job of her career. Picture: Instagram.

From her Brisbane home she streams to thousands each week. Picture: Instagram.

She said the break-up of a long term partner gave her the kick she needed to finally start streaming in March 2020.

“I had fallen into this deep depression,” she told news.com.au.

“I’d been in this secure well-paid job for nine years. I’d been in a long-term relationship for nine years when that ended, I’d fallen to the lowest of lows but I was still able to play games which really helped.

“I’d struggle to go to work, I couldn’t really talk to my family or friends. I’d separated myself from everyone and the only communication I had was online.”

After falling back into gaming and streaming she started to grow her online presence.

The numbers of people viewing her Fortnite streams, mostly from North America, grew from dozens, to hundreds to thousands in a matter of weeks.

Her viewers found her content on Facebook Gaming – the social media giant’s new video streaming platform. It was launched after the success of Twitch – a video streaming platform – which has earned millions by having content producers stream themselves playing video games.

In 2020, Twitch reported a whopping $2.3 (USD) billion in revenue with an average of 2.84 concurrent viewers.

She has not gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend. Picture: Instagram.

While Facebook Gaming is clawing for viewers in the highly competitive streaming market they are offering partnerships and programs to content creators who use its platform.

This is how Ms Kettley became involved with the online goliath.

“Becoming a partner really meant that I had security. It is considerably a lot more money than what I was earning in dental. It is the highest paid job I have ever worked” she said.

And her success caught the eye of her ex-boyfriend who helped start it all.

“No,” she laughed. “We are not back together, I’m on my own and that’s that.

“It ended abruptly and negatively … he has tried to reach out but that is the end.”

Originally published as How Brisbane woman went from a bad break to earning thousands in just months