MADEatREC is a series focused on highlighting cool sh*t our members are creating, planning or collaborating on. Think of these spotlights as an inside look into the life of a creative entrepreneur at REC. Our first feature is with: Gamer, Streamer and Model Lexi Miller aka Lex Milli. Scroll to check out our conversation with Lex and learn more about how she is handling going from 9-5 employee to full time creator.
Can you introduce yourself — tell us more about who you are, where you’re from, and what you do creatively?
Im Lexi Miller or Lex Mili, I’m originally from Maryland but have been living in the Philadelphia area for almost 7 years now.. Philly is definitely my second home and I just love this city so much. I consider myself sort of a multipurpose creator, I’m a Twitch streamer, TikTok content creator & model.
Can you walk us through a typical day in the life? (As a model | artist | content creator)
A typical day for me now is waking up around 9am, eating a quick breakfast, meditating and/or heading to the gym for a workout and then back home to figure out what my mission is for the day. Being as though a lot of what I do now is based off my creativity, my mood for the day really is what comes into play with what I choose to work on… whether that be working on improving my Twitch stream or working on content for TikTok or even getting an idea on new pictures to take, it’s all mood based, so it’s very important for me to start my day off right. My daily routine is still a work in progress as this is a new journey that I’m exploring day by day coming from a full time 9-5 job.
Do you have a day job or are you all in as a creative entrepreneur? Working as a creative is both taxing & freeing; how do you balance maintaining creative freedom while staying focused on your personal growth/career goals?
So I do have a day job but the start of this past February I finally dropped to part time at my 9-5. That alone has been the biggest stepping stone for me in my creative entrepreneurial journey, for so long I was juggling working a 40+ hr work week at a job that became so mentally draining and then still coming home and trying to be in the mood to do my creative passions. It’s was really so hard and a lot of time discouraging b/c I would be so exhausted some weeks where I wouldn’t work on anything.
I felt very trapped and finally reached the point to just give my energy more to where I want to be and less at where I currently was. It’s definitely been a challenging transition but I honestly know it was the best decisions for me.. I’m so much happier and it honestly has set a fire underneath me b/c I still need to make up financially for the hours I’m losing at my day job b/c I still have the same bills and life doesn’t stop. Balancing my creative freedom has been interesting to say the least though, I find myself working more at night now b/c my brain just is so active when my body is so use to me being up at 5am for my day job.
This has caused me to have actually not even be sleeping as much as someone would think simply b/c I don’t want to get in the habit of wasting day time by sleeping and being up all late in the morning. I’m honestly still trying to figure out the best avenue for me.. and so far I’ve been letting my late nights become my creative idea process where I come up with the plan and then let the day side be when I execute the ideas… it’s all about balance and I’m slowly getting there day by day.
What project are you working on?
Right now my top goal is to be upgrading my Twitch stream week by week for my viewers, I’ve recently started collaborating with my guy @FictionFrank with the graphic design part of the stream. The goal is to make the stream more of an event every time I’m on instead of just a come watch me play videos games. I’ve also finally been able to give my viewers a concrete schedule so they know the exact days I’ll be on. And then I’m always consistently working on TikTok content daily, I recently just started gearing my content more to my niche which is gamergirl, and building my community more around that.
In an ideal world where do you see your career in 5 years?
My ideal 5 year goal is to be deep into the esports world. Especially with the new esports arena that’s being built right here in Philly, I want to not only be in there on a competitive level as far as Tournaments but my goal is to be a host & be a top face for Philly esports. I want to take over and really bring something new to the gaming world & open it up for more females to be involved in such a male dominant industry.
How have you or how do you plan on taking advantage of having access to REC’s space?
I plan to continue using space to network and meet dope creatives like myself, which in that alone has been the biggest game changer for me, just being around people who’s energy inspires me is what fuels me everytime I leave REC. I also plan to continue using the studio spaces like the visual lab to make dope content and sometime soon I’m gearing up to use the podcast room which is another avenue I’m planning on going into, so I can start using my voice more and telling my story & just over thoughts that’s I know people can relate too & know they aren’t alone in 🙂
