An only child, Brianna grew up performing and cheerleading.
When Brianna Arsement was set up on a blind date with her now-husband Preston Arsement, she had no idea at the time she’d leave her job as a nurse to become a professional gamer.
“When I first met him, I didn't know that YouTube was a career,” the 27-year-old from Texas with a combined 9.3 million subscribers on her two channels Brianna and BriannaPlayz told Inside Edition Digital.
Preston’s also a gamer. His two channels, Preston and PrestonPlayz, racks in a whopping 27.4 million subscribers. The two are a gaming YouTube power couple of sorts but in no way did Brianna say he influenced her career.
“It was really my husband who started the whole passion of gaming for me. He definitely helped encourage me, but in no means did he pressure me or say, ‘Bri, you need to do this.’ It was once I was really exposed to it I'm like, ‘I want to join in, that looks so fun."
An only child, Brianna grew up performing and cheerleading. Though she sometimes played solo games like Nancy Drew, The Sims and Nintendo DS as a kid, video games were not a big part of her childhood.
Healthcare was more in her DNA. Her father is a physician and she learned early on about the importance of “putting people first.” She worked in the emergency room at UT Southwestern in Dallas for three years from 2015 to 2018.
While at work one day, a co-worker set her up on a blind date. It was with her colleague's nephew, Preston Arsement. By the end of the night, Brianna says she knew he was the one. From there, she transitioned from a nursing career to gaming.
“I’d never take that back for the world,” she said of her role in the medical field and caring for patients. “It was so humbling, such an amazing experience and really gave me a perspective of how big of heroes that healthcare workers are.”
Brianna’s first YouTube video was posted in December of 2018. Now, she’s part of group of the women who make up 41% of professional gamers. And she didn't need to lean on Preston to teach her everything there is to know about the industry.
“He definitely gave me an amazing background. But if I'm going to start doing something, I want to be independent and learn myself, because I don't want to function having to lean on somebody," she said. "I believe in the past two and a half years, I've really come a long way where I can be totally independent on my own, which is cool.”
Their joint company, TBNR LLC, has built up over the last few years to now employ 50 people, including 10 who were hired within the last year. They have an office, warehouse and another space to record.
And of course, the topic of gaming up often around the house. They try to find time to watch a movie or go on a walk to create balance away from their day-to-day demands. But sometimes, Brianna just wants to play more games.
“After work, [where] we've been filming gaming videos, I come home, and I'm like, ‘What friends can play games with me?’ It's so fun when you can bond over the internet. One of my friends is in the UK, but you can still play with her. It's so fun,” she said.
And there’s always the possibility that if the medical world needs Brianna, she would step back into her scrubs.
“If they ever needed me in the community, 100%. But I do feel like where I am right now is where I'm supposed to be,” she said.
