With over 1 million followers, Jaryd “Summit1G” Lazar is one of Twitch’s most popular streaming gamers.

Jaryd began his career in the world of eSports as a competitive Counter Strike player before taking up streaming full time and now he spends his days entertaining his legions of fans with daily streams. A successful full-time career as a professional gamer? Millions of fans would do anything to be in his place.

We had a chance to sit down with the famous Summit1G and talk to him about live streaming, his gaming setup, and what it’s like to meet his online fans IRL (in real life).

First to start things off, where did the moniker Summit1G come from?

I originally chose it as a Counter Strike name, really just a random name I picked. I was looking for a name that no one else had used.

Do you remember the first video game you ever played?

I’m not sure that I can remember, but Joe Montana Football is probably the earliest game I can remember.

Now that’s a 90s classic. When did you decide to pursue live streaming full time?

When I had about 300-400 viewers on Twitch, and I hated my full time job, so I decided to take a chance.

With over a million followers on Twitch, what’s a typical day for you look like?

My days involve LOTS of streaming…it’s pretty much eat, sleep and game. You wake up, shower, get ready, watch other streamers to warm up, stream for 8-10 hours, get off and eat dinner, hang with my wife, watch TV, then sleep.

Daily streams from 8 to 12 hours and beyond!? How do you manage these marathon sessions?

It’s my job, so I treat it like one. Plus I’ve been gaming since I was little, so it all comes naturally. It’s just fun!

So then what’s your favorite aspect of live streaming?

EVERYTHING…the whole package. The viewer interaction when new games come out, meeting and playing with other streamers.

Tell us about your gaming setup; what are your streaming essentials?

First a 144hz monitor is a must. You also need a very long table to fit a huge mouse pad and two monitors. Most importantly you need a very comfy gaming headset since it sits on my head all day. I need to feel like it’s not even there.

OK, now that we’ve talked gear, what’s your all-time favorite video game?

This one is easy! Counter-Strike 1.6.

Nice. Well your job just about your marathon streaming sessions, you were recently a guest at TwitchCon 2015 in San Francisco. Is it strange meeting fans in real life?

It’s CRAZY, you feel like a celebrity for a weekend. You don’t realize how many people you affect on a daily basis because of streaming. Twitchcon and other events remind you of that.

Last but not least, can you give some advice to anyone looking to become a professional streamer?

Start doing it for the fun of it, not with the intention of being a professional streamer. Do it because you love it. Pick one or two main games and stick to them while you’re trying to build your community, as your following is very fragile when you first start. Post on Facebook and Twitter whenever you go live, tell your friends and family to hangout in your channel, make a live-streaming schedule so your viewers will know when you will be on then rinse and repeat.

Thanks to Summit1G for taking the time to speak with us! Be sure to follow him on Twitter and catch his daily streams on Twitch.