I'm an early Twitch.tv employee and face of a popular gaming meme Kappa - possibly the most digitally reproduced face in the world. AMA!

What do you eat in order to maintain your trademark chubby cheeks?

All the carbs

do you smile the same way permanently now for pictures?

Only when the mixture of milaise and sarcasm is just right ლ(´ڡ`ლ)

What is your favourite alternative Kappa emote?

Golden Kappa

Do you have any funny stories of being recognized as the Kappa face in real life?

Was at a streamer event where I witnessed a hushed exchange that ended with "that's because he is" and some brief shock.

How does it feel seeing your face being used all over the internet these days? Do you ever get tired of it?

Fairly normal at this point. The weirder thing is seeing my face show up outside of the internet, like posters at WWE events or esports crowds

Do you ever get the "Please do the Kappa face for me" or do people not recognize you enough for that to happen?

Mostly at conventions.

do people recognize you as kappa since the lost of weight and hair change?

Haha. I think you mean weight gain but, yeah, if I'm in the right crowd. You have to be looking for the Kappa.

You're face very well may be scrolling through the twitch-chat logs more often than George Washington's face through the U.S. Mint. On that note, how would you feel if your face was on a 47-cent bill?

That I'd be on a really inconvenient unit of currency. 😅

What is the context behind the famous picture of you? Who took it, when, and why?

The pic is an employee photo. I needed an image when I added Kappa to the chat and that one was recent at the time.

What is your favorite video game of all time?

Yikes. That's the toughest question so far. Maybe my top 3 based on hours played would be: Chrono Trigger, Nethack, and Fallout NV.

1. How did the emote end up being called Kappa.

2. I follow you on twitter and github, are you working/planning anything in the near future ?

3. Do you get recognized often in public or twitch-con if you participate?

1. How did the emote end up being called Kappa.

I worked on the Justin.tv chat (which then became Twitch.tv) and I added my face as an easter egg. I used Kappa) because I'm interested in Japanese stuff, thought it was a cool word etc, and also because it was short (all the other emotes at that time had crazy long names: RedCoatBill etc) & I thought it wouldn't be typed often. Boy was I wrong.

What have you done since leaving Twitch?

It's been a few years so there's been a lot since Twitch/Justin.tv. I'm currently the cofounder of a Virtual Reality testing startup

Do you have trouble with noone in the gaming community ever being sure if they can take anything you say seriously? (Kappa)

But seriously is there any link between the way your face is used on twitch and your general personality are you quite sarcastic in person or has your face taken on a life of its own so to speak?

I think it matches my dry humor pretty well.

I know you've talked about how seeing your face everywhere is normal at this point, but can you remember/describe the first time you saw the Kappa Emote being used in such high quantities?

Roughly 2 weeks after I added it to the chat as a secret. There was a decent sized event streaming on the site and some folks figured it out then started spamming Kappa in the stream.

which of the basic twitch chat emotes are your favorite?

what about BTTV?

Tough call. Maybe FrankerZ, PogChamp, or Kreygasm. I'm usually using my phone to catch random streams so I'm not a huge BTTV user.

Since you currently live in Japan(or used to, I haven't checked your twitter in months, so I wouldn't know) what are some of your favorite Japanese dishes that you would recommend?

Currently in the US atm.

Technically Okinawan but, Goya Chanpuru (ゴーヤーチャンプルー) is a favorite.

How old were you when you did the original Kappa picture?

Why did this picture got taken?

Do you have royalties on the Kappa emote?

About 23 I think. Was my employee photo, hence the awkward smirk.

Are you friends with any of the other people that have their faces as emotes?

Absolutely. Most of the global emotes are long time Twitch streamers or employees I know.

What do you do at Twitch?

Programming. Worked on various site features.

Do you own the Kappa username on twitch?

Maybe I should but, I'm lazythunk on twitch

What's your favorite fraternity?

ΛΛΛ

On a personal level, what are some of your favorite films?

The Life Aquatic, Branded to Kill, Pulp Fiction

I miss Justin.tv 😭 what was your favorite channel?

Lot of early folks like DansGaming, MVG, etc. I also sometimes miss the owlet/puppy/kitten cam stuff and a lot of the long-tail content that's completely gone now.

I'm going to be one person that doesn't ask about your face; What are your favorite games to watch and what are your favorite streamers?

I usually check for any interesting VR streams then default to Overwatch since that's what I'm playing whenever I have some free time.

Should I invest in the British Pound? How do you think it will fare over time due to brexit? Should I invest in a Roth IRA or a regular IRA.

I mean cmon' Roth and put the rest into a low cost meme index fund.