Here in the Philippines, game streaming has become big due to the large gaming community in the country, especially on the eSports side. Some streamers have become local celebrities even at a young age and have actually used this platform as a way to gain income. There are just some gamers who just love to watch their idols play their favorite games. And some of those streamers would like to hire outside help to assist them with processing streams, making logos, etc. due to their busy schedule. One of those streamers was ZenPro, but he made a mistake that would stain his career for the rest of his life.
You see, ZenPro here wanted to hire a freelance editor who could edit his videos with 1080p, 60 fps framerate and 50k bitrate. Sure, that seemed okay, but then here comes the part where he drops the price for helping him out. He would pay the guy he would hire PHP 200 (roughly $4) as a start per video and then for 3 videos he would pay PHP 500 (almost $10) if he thinks you’re good with your work. That is for full-time work, and not just some amateur doing it.
This received a lot of backlash from the video editing community, but to make matters worse, he made a rant video to counterattack. Most of his statements are in Philippine Tagalog language, but here is the short and translated version of it. He made very condescending statements against the video editors who complained and the community itself and he just buried himself deeper and deeper to his “grave of shame.”
And to make even matters even worse, ZenPro is affiliated with Predator Philippines, Acer’s answer for computer gaming accessories, desktops, and laptops. He is a very popular streaming partner and widely known by the eSports community in the Philippines that he is associated with the said brand. All hell breaks loose.
To protect its assets and other streaming partners that they are associated with, Predator Philippines released a statement in regards to ZenPro’s actions. Long story short, he has dropped from their roster of streaming partners and has apologized to the freelance editors for his actions. They highly respect the community and believe that due to these hard times we live in, everyone deserves compassion and respect.
After a few hours, ZenPro seemed to be mindful of his mistakes and has released his own apology letter in regards to his shameful actions. He asks forgiveness from the freelance editing community for his actions, apologized to Predator Philippines for bringing their name to the mess he made, apologized to other groups he is associated with, and to his fans and community that might have now turn their backs on their ex-idol.
If there is one lesson to be learned here, it would be to respect the work of others whether it may be small or little and pay them due of their work. If someone wants full-time work done, then they should be given the proper pay even if the job is small.