Community Spotlight: Jesse Cox
After he recently visited Blizzard to interview World of Warcraft Assistant Game Director Ion Hazzikostas, we were thrilled to spend a little time talking to community leader and all-around beloved personality Jesse Cox.
Before he had a big audience, Jesse stepped into the spotlight at BlizzCon 2011, and he was armed with a picture of the tail of a snake in Gundrak.
That moment opened a door of sorts, and Jesse has grown his influence in the World of Warcraft community ever since. His main focus these days is his Youtube channel.
Q: What’s on your Youtube channel?
A: “It’s your standard let's play stuff, except instead of scare-cam videos, it's all about a grown man looking for every single bit of loot and story he can squeeze out of today’s games.”
About four years ago, in what would become the stuff of new media legend, Jesse hooked up with Eric “Wowcrendor” Hrab and began producing podcasts and videos under the moniker “Cox N Crendor”. In less than four years, the Cox n’ Crendor Youtube channel has accumulated over 26 million views.
Q: How would you describe Crendor?
"Crendor is one of the funniest people I know. He's like the love child of Eeyore and a unicorn: monotone, disinterested, and somehow magical.” – Jesse Cox
There are hundreds of hours of Cox N Crendor productions to consume, but if you’ve never checked out any of them, we suggest you start with Nerdlords of Draenor. That one was a lot of fun.
Q: How did you get here from there?
A: “I'm just blessed to have a job that involves playing video games, and grateful for a fanbase that is cool with the fact that even though I play all sorts of things, it usually comes down to what I enjoy. One minute I'm doing FPS, then stealth, then action, then RPGs. And of course, recently I've been enthralled with Overwatch.”
Q: What’s coming up for you?
A: “I've been a Blizzard fan for going on 20 years, and I'm that guy who buys every game from every franchise Blizzard has. I still jump around between them all every time something new happens, like a new season of Diablo, or the Nova Ops missions. And of course this means I'll be headed back into Azeroth for Legion.”
Q: What’s your message to the World of Warcraft community?
A: “Play how you want. Do what you want. It's Blizzard's game, but it's your world.
For years, people would flip because I didn't use the right addon, or the right build, or the right cast order. I would try my hardest to be the healer or damage-dealer they wanted. I've since learned that I really have more fun not caring.
Look, elitist jerks or whoever clearly know what they are talking about, and I'm not saying they're wrong, but sometimes being highest on the meters isn't the most important thing.
Although, I know a certain guild leader of mine who would disagree.”
Check out Jesse on his website, Twitter, and Youtube for more!
