Interview: Justin Eastzer aka Justin_tech

We spoke with Justin Eastzer and discussed his YouTube channel, Justin_tech, and work in the video game industry.

 

NoobFeed: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

Justin Eastzer: I grew up on Long Island and have always had a love for technology, video games, and everything in between. I got my bachelors degree for Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College. While studying journalism, I focused on technology whenever I could. My dream was to travel the world visiting every tech convention and reporting on every cool gadget. In order to build my résumé, I decided to start a YouTube channel, and now I’m pretty much building my own dream job.

 

NoobFeed: What are your duties at Justin_tech?

Justin Eastzer: To put it simply, everything. I write, produce, host, and edit every episode. I shoot most of the videos where I’m sitting down facing the camera, but I’m also very lucky to have some friends who help shoot me when I’m on location and need to run around. Outside of creating the episodes, I’m constantly on the lookout for the next story or device to review. I reach out to companies I find intriguing and other YouTubers I think I would vibe well with on camera. Instagram has been a key part of this. I can’t even tell you how much business I’ve started over this app.

 

NoobFeed: What about the Easter Eggs that you put inside your videos?

Justin Eastzer: Yes! The Easter Eggs, of course. At the end of (almost) every one of my videos I put a little clip that is either an outtake or something funny that happened during the shoot to keep the energy going until the very end. I found there were always clips that were funny, but I couldn’t find a moment in my cut to put them, so this button is a nice way to use fun footage and not have to worry about correlation.

 

NoobFeed: As a professional Host and Producer, what trends have you noticed in the gaming industry recently? Do you support where it’s heading?

Justin Eastzer: The video gaming industry is becoming more immersive, more compact, and more mobile. Virtual reality is getting more and more immersive every year and with products like the Oculus Quest, the immersive gaming experience can be taken on the road. VR devices will only continue to get smaller and more immersive. Next there’s the Nintendo Switch. I think this is the most innovative console in years. One you can play on TV and take on the go? Sign me up!

Of course I support the direction the gaming industry is going, but I think it’s important for us to have a balance of social life and gaming, so we need to be smart about bringing our video games on the go and not letting them interfere with our lives.

 

NoobFeed: Esports focuses on its social aspect a lot these days. Do you think there’s a lot more potential in terms of the social aspect of Esports than there currently is?

Justin Eastzer: Absolutely. I’m going to have to go back to virtual reality. As I play more and more on the Oculus, I get more excited about interacting with other gamers because it’s like we’re really both there in the game together. Games like Echo Arena (similar to the sport in the book Ender’s Game) have you flying through zero gravity throwing a Frisbee and yelling to your partner to pass it. It’s truly awesome and very exciting.

 

NoobFeed: What is the most challenging part of your job?

Justin Eastzer: The most challenging part of my job is working alone, a lot. Most of my days consist of me sitting at my computer editing, sending out emails, and kind of in my own cave. I’m extroverted, so I can find it a bit isolating. There are many days I need to remind myself to leave the house. Shoot days help make the job more exciting and get me out talking to people.

 

NoobFeed: Have you ever gone above and beyond the “call of duty” for making videos and reviewing gadgets?

Justin Eastzer: Yes I have. I used to be a perfectionist. I would spend way too long on edits and re-shooting the same thing over and over just because I wanted things to be perfect…The best advice I’ve ever received was, “perfect is the enemy of good enough.” Since the day I heard that, I’ve been better at time management and knowing when I should stop. I’ve found that edits I spend an hour on sometimes do better than ones I spent 5 hours on. You just need to get it out and post it as soon as possible in that “good enough” shape.

 

NoobFeed: Have you ever received negative feedback on a piece of your video? What was your response?

Justin Eastzer: There will always be haters and that’s something anyone putting themselves out there will need to get used to. Yes there was a guy who posted “This guy has a f**ked up mustache.” It was actually my first hater comment and instead of letting it hurt me, I made a video about it and called him out. I had to let him know that it was not a messed-up mustache – I have a mole on my lip! Here’s the video.

 

NoobFeed: Can you tell us about a time when you developed your own way of doing things other than following others?

Justin Eastzer: Justin_tech is the first time I have ever gone off and built something completely from scratch and at my own accord. I never thought I could be so motivated and such a self-starter working from home and it has truly been a life changing experience. I enjoy working for myself and I trust myself to lead me in the direction of success. I realize I’m early on in my YouTuber career, but I’m very proud of where I have come in such a short amount of time and can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

 

NoobFeed: We all have experienced this at least once. Will you share an experience when your ethics and patience were tested? How did you keep your emotions in check?

Justin Eastzer: There was one day when I shot a complete video for almost 40 minutes, then I went back and watch he footage and the audio didn’t record. I was so upset I wanted to cry…but I didn’t. I took a breath and decided to just drop it for the day and record it with a fresh attitude the next day. I don’t always have this luxury, but was lucky to have had it that day.

 

NoobFeed: What in gaming excites you the most? Outside of work, how much time do you spend playing video games in an average week?

Justin Eastzer: I spend about 8-12 hours a week playing video games, mostly on my Nintendo Switch. I think I’m most excited about the future implications of virtual reality and augmented reality gaming. The future is so bright with these technologies; it’s just going to take some time for the technology to get to where I want it to be. I want it to be a light pair of glasses with great resolution.

 

NoobFeed: What experiences would you personally like video games to deliver in the future?

Justin Eastzer: This probably isn’t the correct way to answer the question, but I have to say it; I want a Pokémon MMORPG. Pokémon meets World of Warcraft. Done.

 

NoobFeed: As a professional Host, you get a lot of developers trying to get your attention and to play their games, but they may not know the best ways. Do you have any tips that you can impart to make their pitches towards you and other streamers more effective?

Justin Eastzer: I think the best way to get my attention is a well written and thought out pitch. If you put the effort into that email or DM, it will show and I will be more likely to give it some thought.

 

NoobFeed: With so many streamers trying to reach the same target audience segment, do you think the correct messages are being spread across?

Justin Eastzer: I’m going to put this into YouTube perspective. Absolutely. I think everyone has their own point of view and can have something interesting and different to say about the same topic. There are many other tech YouTubers out there, but I offer my very own comedy and unique perspective on perhaps the same devices they are looking at. There is also a community hungry to hear from multiple people. Many of my viewers are fans of other YouTubers as well.

 

NoobFeed: Why is it important for gamers to maintain a healthy lifestyle? What advice would you have for a gamer looking to take the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle?

Justin Eastzer: I think it’s important for everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When I was 21 I was diagnosed with Nueroblastoma; I had a malignant tumor on my spine, aka Cancer. I learned that we should never take our lives and our health for granted. I believe it’s important to control whatever health things we can because anything can happen! I also think we should live life to the fullest every day. Set a long-term health goal, have your eyes on the prize, and find small incremental goals that will help lead you to that healthier lifestyle.

 

NoobFeed: What are the future plans for Justin Eastzer?

Justin Eastzer: My main focus right now is growing Justin_tech, building new relationships with brands I believe in. I hope to work for some tech company I believe in. I’d love to be a spokesperson for a company and product I truly believe in. For now, Justin_tech makes me incredibly happy; I wake up every day ready to seize the day and grow my brand all while learning and growing as I go.

 

Many thanks to Justin for doing the interview with us. We wish him all the very best with all of his ventures. Keep up with Justin Eastzer by following him on twitter, Instagram, and subscribing to Justin_tech on Youtube.

Admin, NoobFeed