Jerma985

Jerma was born on September 22, 1985, to Irish and Polish parents.^[7][8][9] Upon receiving a Bachelor of Science in communication studies, Jerma became a substitute teacher, and was a freelance wedding videographer.^[10][11]

Early work and voice acting

Jerma previously owned a now defunct website called "jermanet.com". It contained video and audio clips, largely from his college years.^{[12][non-primary source needed]}

He has given his voice to characters in multiple indie games, such as "Matt" in Galactic Phantasy Prelude,^[13] the Engineer in Cryptark,^[14] and the Horse Lord Hipparchos in Apotheon.^[15]

YouTube

Jerma created his YouTube channel, Jerma985, on June 11, 2011.^[16] His content primarily focused on the video game Team Fortress 2, which he used to help raise money for the non-profit organization Camp One Step.^[17]

On October 8, 2011, Jerma announced his partnership with the online entertainment network Machinima.^[18]

In March 2014, Jerma released the first "Jerma Rumble", an annual production which used the WWE 2K games to make primarily quirky or strange characters, often based on characters from past videos and live streams, and watch them wrestle in-game.^[19] In August 2016, Jerma released a live-action wrestling sketch as that year's Jerma Rumble.^[20] In 2015, he played multiple low quality Grand Theft Auto clones through the Apple app store, which is to date his most-viewed video.^[21]

Twitch

Jerma did not fully transition into Twitch streaming until 2016.^[22] He primarily streams video games (such as The Sims) while interacting with viewers in the chat.^[23] After transitioning to Twitch as a main platform, he became well known for his "unconventional streams" and green screen performances, which fans used to edit comedic videos.^[24]

On September 21, 2019, Jerma hosted a real-life "robot carnival" stream that used viewer-controlled robots, allowing members of the live stream chat to control the aim in carnival games such as ring toss and dunk tank.^[25][26]

In March 2021, Jerma hosted a real-life archaeology and geology stream with a paleontologist from the Nevada Science Center.^[27] In the stream, he "unearthed" Grotto Beasts!, a fictitious trading card game from the 1990s based on Pokémon.^[28] The cards were produced in collaboration with multiple artists. Fans played along with the joke, producing fan art in the form of found footage-style art, such as a website for the eponymous card game made to resemble a GeoCities webpage from the 1990s.^[29][27] In early 2022, he donated $10,000 to the Nevada Science Center.^[30]

In August 2021, Jerma began his real-life The Sims-inspired "Dollhouse" streams, which he described as his "biggest project yet".^[31] The first of three streams, entitled "The Jerma985 Dollhouse", was aired on August 18 and began with a prerecorded video of Jerma choosing his outfit. The streams allowed viewers to control Jerma's actions similar to the way one would control a Sims character: keep him fed, happy, healthy and energetic.^[4][32] The Dollhouse series is notable for its high production value^[33] as well as the level of control that viewers were allowed to have over the events of the stream.^[34] These streams used a combination of visual effects and a real set.

On August 19, 2022, Jerma hosted a streamed baseball game^[35] at CarShield Field, featuring the fictitious Jerma Baseball Association. He later compared the game to a "live comedy improv show".^[6] During the stream, two fictitious and comedic baseball teams, the Maryland Magicians and the California Circus (made up of semi-professional baseball players and circus performers), played a modified game of baseball with various gimmicks,^[6] such as "Power Cards" which provided advantages to the team that played them. Jerma played the role of the umpire.^[6][36][37] The event received financial support from sponsors Fansly and Manscaped.^[6]

On December 17, 2022, Jerma hosted the 'Jerma Christmas Special', initially posing as a straightforward end-of-year awards stream. Instead, the main channel was then 'hacked' by a character named "The Extinguisher",^[38] in which he played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's campaign mode as retribution for various broken promises Jerma had made to his community. The awards show continued on an alternate Twitch channel. After an hour of both streams being up simultaneously, Santa Claus appeared and helped the two make amends. This stream was produced by OFFBRAND and Beyond The Summit.^[39]

At the end of February 2023, Jerma revealed that Grotto Beasts! was officially being released nearly two years after the initial reveal. The 'revamped' trading card game features artwork from 20 different artists, including Jerma himself. There are currently 200 unique cards with four types: Grottos, Beasts, Wishes, and Challengers.^[40][41]

On June 12, 2023, Jerma joined Offbrand, a production company co-founded by fellow streamer and occasional collaborator^[42] Ludwig Ahgren, as chief creative officer.^[43][44]

• Jerma985's channel on YouTube