It is often thought that women are a minority within the video game industry — both as consumers and game developers. In 2019, 71 percent of responding game developers were men, while 24 percent were women. However, with self declared gamers, the stats differ drastically at almost equal percentages - 54% Male to 46% Female.

Gamer, model, designer, and streamer, Avori Henderson is one of the many women gaining traction in professional gaming. Avori is best known as s PUBG streamer and professional gamer. She gained notoriety as she began her streaming career on Twitch. Eventually, this led her to run the first ever all Female PUBG Tournament that was professionally broadcasted — a natural cascading of events due to her passion for female inclusion of gaming. Now, Avori streams on Facebook Gaming Live, to her 282,000+ followers. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Alvori Henderson.

Where are you based?
I live in the beautiful state of Colorado!

How did you get into gaming?
I actually was competing in pageants and modeling when I tried my first video game. That same year, I dropped out of Miss America to pursue my dream of being a full time video gamer!

Can you talk about your translation from model/pageant contestant to gamer?
For some reason, a lot of people don’t talk about this, but competing in pageants has to be one of the most money draining hobbies in the world. When you hear about a girl who has competed in a pageant, and thousands of dollars worth of scholarships, and does appearances around the world to spread the word about her passions, everyone always fails to mention the fact that just simply the evening gown dress cost more than the scholarship she will win competing in the pageant. Then, once you add on all of the training.... personal trainers, interview trainers, all of the outfits, makeup artists, photography, and the fact that only one girl will get the chance to win it back, all of that made my passion die down in the industry. When I started uploading my gaming content and gaining an audience as a female gamer, I realized that not only can I make money doing what I love, but I can also be a huge advocate for women in a way that doesn’t revolve around politics. I just simply fell in love with the idea and dove into it head first.

You mostly play PUBG, one variation of the extremely popular Battle Royale genre. What games are you currently playing? What future releases are you highly anticipating? What attracts you to these games?
I had originally fallen in love with the book series and now movies, The Hunger Games, which is based on the same concept that a certain amount of people are placed in one location and only the last one standing wins. I am currently playing another Battle Royale game called, “Call Of Duty Warzone”. One game that I’m highly anticipating is another one that I actually flew out to Montreal to game test for over a year ago. To be honest, I thought that they had scrapped the idea about the game until I recently got a phone call that they are releasing it in a couple of weeks. I am under NDA to speak about anything for the game, but I can tell you that being a part of the process of developing it has made me really proud. I can’t wait to see how it does!

Streaming has a profound impact on the television, movie, and music industries with services like Netflix and Spotify. On the gaming front, Twitch and YouTube has had a huge influence on the consumption of gaming related media. What made you decide to use Facebook to stream your playing? How has streaming influenced your career in gaming?
I decided to go with Facebook over Twitch just simply for the fact that the Facebook team approached me and treated me fairly and kind. I knew that the platform had a lot of potential because the first few friends that I made on Twitch were from Facebook groups, so that right there told me that there were a large amount of gamers on Facebook. The tipping point for me was that Facebook was truly proud to have me on their team. On Twitch, I was in the top 1% of their streamers, and the company literally didn’t even know my name or care about me. Facebook has placed me in positions to do interviews, they have flown me out to their headquarters to record and help smaller streamers grow on their platform, and it truly feels like a community there, whereas Twitch has gotten so saturated and egotistical. Not to mention, the fact that Twitch is releasing DMCA’s for copyright music, and Facebook just enables the capability for streamers to listen to whatever music they want while streaming video games. SO PROUD of my platform for making this happen!

Gaming and E-Sports has come a long way with the advancement of technology, general interest, and profitability. Where do you see the future of E-Sports going?
The sports industry is only growing and it has been for years now. There are millions of dollars in the industry to be made and there are so many people with interest in the entire community. I hope to see the E-Sports industry booming as big as Major League Baseball or National League Football some day, and I truly think it has the potential. I’m so happy to be a part of the uptick in the industry.

Do you find there is an increase of viewership with traditional sports not being played right now?
100%. The amazing thing about E-Sports is that literally anyone can join them. You can join from anywhere in the world and you can do it right from your home. This includes viewers, players, and sponsors. The stability of the E-Sports industry, and capability of each person to be involved, is huge.

What do you think is the biggest attribute that draws people to want to watch a particular gamer? What do you think it is about you that excites people to watch you play?
People watch different streamers for different reasons. A streamer like ChocoTaco, or Shroud, who is quiet but very skilled at the game, is really enjoyable to watch simply because of his gameplay. He really doesn’t have to say much to attract his audience. On the flip side, streamers like DrDisrespect, GreekGodX, and myself, are a bit more like entertainers. We play games and we play them well, but people are attracted to us for the entertainment factor. We tell jokes, share stories and maybe don’t have A++ gameplay all the time.

Female gamers are fairly rare. What are some things you've experienced (social, industry) as a female gamer, that you feel are unique to a participant of the gaming industry? Do you feel that you have advantages or disadvantages to male gamers?
I definitely think the rarity of female gamers has opened a lot of doors for me in the industry that have not been open to all male gamers. On the flip side, I find it significantly more mentally taxing to be a female in the industry simply because of the “trolls” online. As a true female gamer, it is a constant battle to prove to people that you are good enough, even if you already are and have been for a long time. There is constant judgement and stereotyping towards females; it’s really sad to see, but is also a huge reason why I have a passion to combat it.

Do you feel that the industry has become more welcoming to female gamers?
In some ways, yes, in others, no. I think that people are really impressed when they see a female gamer who is serious about the game and very skilled. A male with the exact same amount of talent probably wouldn’t get the same traction as a female. At the same time, you have females who are way better than most males who simply cannot get traction in their career, because they are women. I can’t wait for the industry to drop the entire male/female thing and just support great entertainers!

Do you have any advice for women interested in becoming a professional gamer?
Yes, this sounds really silly and simple, but ignore the haters. There are so many out there who will try to bring you down just simply for doing and being someone successful. If you let them get to you, then they win. As a professional female gamer, I assume you have a very competitive nature, so don’t let them win. Stay strong and focus on the people who adore you. You never know who you may be inspiring.

As a professional gamer, your career is primarily online. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide quarantine, has there been any change in your daily routine?
My daily routine hasn’t changed much, but my events have changed drastically. Before the pandemic broke out, literally one week after I got back from a back-to-back trip, everything closed down. I really miss traveling around the world and competing, or even just meeting fans. In the past year, I have been to Paris, Stockholm, Montreal, Oakland, Boston, San Francisco, and LA, just to name a few! My favorite part of my career is getting to meet the people who I talk to on my Livestreams every day. I am very sad to not have any social interaction or competition on stage. I really miss it a lot.

You also recently launched your fashion line, Styles by Avori. Can you tell us a little bit about your line and what inspired you to start it?
From my experience in modeling and pageantry, I have learned a lot about the fashion industry. There are things that you learn working one-on-one with stylists, designers, make-up artists, and photographers Other people just wouldn’t know by seeing ‘fashion’. As a female gamer, it becomes hard to remember the girly stuff we love because we are in such a male-dominated industry. I started Styles by Avori because I wanted to encourage and empower women, and teach them, how to style themselves up in a professional way. The unique design of the website allows people to go in and style their entire outfits based off of recommendations that I have pre-placed. Once you click on an item, it prompts you to build your entire look, including bags, shoes, and accessories. This allows women to build their entire look whether it’s for a stream, an appearance, or a professional gaming event. I really hope it makes women feel great about the way that they look and what they’re wearing so that they can feel empowered to take on the world!

We love that your line supports Black Lives Matter (BLM), letting customers purchase BLM T-shirts and have the profits go to BLM. What made you decide to incorporate this into your line?
To be 100% honest, as a white female, I cannot say that I truly understand racism the way that people of different colors do. What I have experienced and seen regarding racism has been very disturbing. Last year, I was taking a trip to Mexico to compete in a tournament and I took my videographer and graphic designer with me to collect some video footage. I didn’t think about it in any way at the time, but he is Indian and I love him to death! I have never experienced racism like I did the day we were traveling from Mexico back to the United States. We were stopped more times than I’ve ever been stopped in my life. We had to wait extra hours just to get him approved to get back into the United States.

He was also separated from me during customs and asked to go on a separate line that took about 45 minutes longer than my white privilege line. The entire way back, my heart was aching for him and his situation. I had heard about racism and I’ve heard people use unkind words toward other races, and I myself have experienced some extreme amounts of sexism, but watching someone be treated so differently because of their skin color was truly troubling to me. That day really open my eyes up to the problems we are having in our country regarding race, and after seeing the George Floyd video, I just decided that I didn’t want to sit back and watch it happen anymore. The problem with standing up for problems like this in our country as a white woman, is that I am either criticized for standing up and saying something because I am told that I don’t truly understand what’s wrong, or I get criticized for doing nothing. I would much rather be criticized for trying to make a difference with my heart in the right place than to be criticized for sitting back and watching it happen. I really hope that this clothing line takes off and we can raise a lot of money for the cause!

How are you staying positive during this time?
The way I’ve stayed positive through all of this is honestly thanks to my best friend. I am dating a professional gamer, we live together, and we have separate rooms in the house for our gaming adventures. We are constantly talking each other through hard times, bouncing ideas off of each other, and supporting each other‘s dreams and endeavors. His name is D__Rich, and I recently made him swap over to Facebook, from Twitch, with me, where he is now one of Facebook’s largest partners along with me. Having a person to share everything with is so therapeutic, and the fact that we are both gamers and support each other in our dreams is amazing!

What is your motto in life?
I have a lot of phrases that I say to myself to get through tough times depending on the situation. I’ll share with you my most used motto, and probably the silliest one as well, “it be like that sometimes.” Sometimes, I just have to laugh and say this phrase to help myself get through the small little things so it doesn’t affect me as much. For instance, I spilled my coffee all over my new keyboard the other day and couldn’t Game that day. I was pretty upset, but, “life just do be like that sometimes” and you have to shake it off and move on!

To learn more about Avori Henderson, please follow her via the below platforms:
Livestream: www.fb.gg/missavori
Instagram: Instagram.com/avoriliz
Twitter: twitter.com/avoriliz
Clothing line: www.stylesbyavori.com

Video Games, Not Just A Man's World, Meet Bad A** Avori Henderson!