Imane Anys (Arabic: إِيْمَان أَنِيْس Iman Anis), better known by her alias Pokimane (or simply Poki), is a Moroccan-Canadian Twitch streamer, YouTube & Media personality and gamer. Anys is best known for her live streams on Twitch, where she showcases her gaming experiences—most notably with League of Legends and Fortnite. She is a graduated member of OfflineTV as she decided to step away from her position as a full-time member in order to focus on the next chapter of her life & career in 2023.[1]
Career[]
Twitch streaming[]
Anys attended McMaster University and studied chemical engineering but dropped out later to pursue her streaming career full-time. She gained 450,000 followers on Twitch in 2017, earning her account a place within the 100 most followed on the platform.[2] As a result of her account's rise on the platform in 2017, the Shorty Awards named her as the Best Twitch Streamer of the year.[2] The Shorty Awards detailed that her Let's Play streams of League of Legends (LOL), a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game, propelled her to popularity on Twitch.[2] Anys had a cameo appearance in a LOL trailer announcing a new game mode.[3]
Anys also has been noted to stream gameplay and commentary of Fortnite, which she first streamed as part of a sponsorship.[4] At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2018, Epic Games, the developers of Fortnite, arranged a pro–am event.[5][6] The event paired streamers with mainstream celebrities in a match of Fortnite's Battle Royale mode; Anys was paired with rapper Desiigner but shortly before the event, he was replaced with Josh Hart.[5][6]
Tech news site Digital Trends described her "laidback but enthusiastic personality" as "perfectly suited to long-form streams."[7] The site also detailed that she frequently interacts with her audience.[7] Aside from streaming gaming content, Anys also streams miscellaneous real-world moments, as well as a podcast.[7]
As one of the more popular streamers on the platform, Twitch has directly partnered with Anys. In July 2018, Twitch selected her as one of 15 ambassadors for the 2018 iteration of their TwitchCton event.[8] A TwitchCon Ambassador is one of Twitch's partners that headlines programming for the event.[8] Later that month, Twitch also scheduled Anys as a partner for their Twitch Creator Camp, a series of broadcasts and articles designed to help content creators build successful channels.[9] Social Blade, a website which tracks social media statistics, lists Anys as the 14th most followed user on Twitch, with over 2.7 million followers as of 18 January 2019.[10]
In March 2020, Anys, through United Talent Agency, signed a 2-year $62 million exclusive contract with Twitch. This made her the second-highest paid female content creator behind Valkyrae. Anys has stated that she turned down larger offers from other streaming services in order to stay on Twitch. Anys became a free agent on January 31, 2022 following the expiration of her 2-year deal.
YouTube[]
In addition to streaming on the Twitch platform, Anys also has three active YouTube channels: Pokimane, Pokimane Too, and Poki ASMR.[11][12] The former includes clips of her gaming content, vlogs, and podcast. The latter channel features videos that are part of a broader community of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) channels. Like other channels in the community, Anys creates ASMR experiences for her viewers, with the intent of triggering pleasant tingling sensations.[13] On the topic of ASMR videos, Anys expressed, "ASMR is not a sexual thing. I wish people wouldn't dismiss it as being sexual," and noted that many of her viewers use her ASMR videos to help with falling asleep.[13]
Anys is also a graduated member of "OfflineTV", a collaborative YouTube channel made up of content creators.[14] Speaking about the channel, Anys stated, "it's not fun being a streamer and living alone, so we decided to come together in a way so we not only keep each other company but we can also collab and actually do good work and content for everyone else."[14] Pokimane lived in the Offline TV house until moving out in June 2020. She stepped away from her position as a full-time member in 2023 to focus on the next chapter of her life & career.
Other ventures[]
On October 2019, it was announced that Anys, among a number of other internet personalities, would appear in the film Free Guy, directed by Shawn Levy, which was released in August 2021.
On June 2020, Anys joined Markiplier and Jacksepticeye's fashion brand Cloak as a partner and creative director.
On October 2021, it was announced that Anys had helped launch a talent management and brand consulting firm called RTS, where she will serve as the Chief Creative Officer.
Awards and Nominations[]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 10th Shorty Awards | Twitch Streamer of the Year | Won | [2] |
| 8th Streamy Awards | Live Streamer | Nominated | [15] | |
| The Game Awards 2018 | Content Creator of the Year | Nominated | [16] |
Personal Life[]
In June 2020, after it was revealed that Fedmyster had sexually harassed fellow OTV members Yvonnie and LilyPichu, Anys released a statement about his abuses of power and toxicity in hers and Fedmyster's friendship. In particular, she discussed multiple instances in which Fedmyster had lied constantly, and told people the two of them were in a relationship.[17]
References[]
- ↑ OfflineTV on Twitter
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Pokimane. The Shorty Awards. Retrieved on 2018-08-01.
- ↑ Dedmon, Tanner (2018-05-20). League of Legends' New Clash Trailer Offers Advice From Faker. ComicBook.com. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ Nicol, Will (2018-06-15). Twitch streamer Pokimane on playing 'Fortnite' full-time, building a community. Digital Trends. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bishop, Sam (2018-05-24). Fortnite's Celebrity Pro-Am gets more details. Gamereactor. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Goslin, Austen (2018-06-01). Here’s everyone playing in Epic’s major Fortnite E3 tournament. Polygon. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Gurwin, Gabe (2018-04-19 April). Here are 8 fun Twitch streamers you should start watching. Digital Trends. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Weiss, Geoff (2018-07-06). Pokimane, Avajaijai, Djarii Named First-Ever 'Ambassadors' For Twitch's TwitchCon. Tubefilter. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ Chan, Stephanie (2018-07-24). Twitch Creator Camp has both crash-courses and master classes for streamers. VentureBeat. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ Top 100 Twitch Streamers Sorted by Followers. Social Blade (2019-01-18). Archived from the original on 2019-01-18.
- ↑ Pokimane – About. YouTube. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ Poki ASMR – About. YouTube. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Gutelle, Sam (2018-06-23). ASMR Creators Rustle Up Some Revenue On YouTube And Beyond. Tubefilter. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lee, Julia (2017-07-14). Pokimane on Offline TV, trying new things and why Scarra is most like Zilean. The Rift Herald - Polygon. Retrieved on 2018-08-02.
- ↑ 8th Annual Nominees & Winners. Streamy Awards. Retrieved on 2018-10-27.
- ↑ Wade, Jessie. The Game Awards 2018 Nominations Announced. IGN. Retrieved on 2018-11-13.
- ↑ Appleford, Danny (2020-07-02). Pokimane responds to Fedmyster allegations. Retrieved on 2021-07-26.