In this edition of the Community Spotlight, I had the chance to metaphorically sit down (a large ocean seperates us) with well known member and popular Youtuber, Jeff Favignano. At the time of this publication, he currently has 295,400 subscribers and just over 1,200 videos
So without further ado, let's meet the man behind the videos!
For those unaware of you who are, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sure thing! I am a YouTube Content Creator full-time as my job. I never started YouTube with the hopes and dreams of being a successful channel, I just wanted to have fun with my friends and play games. I started dabbling into my single player stuff more with the concept to help teach people how to play a game etc. I am 32 years old (soon to be 33, man I am getting old) and a gamer just like the rest of us. I live outside of St. Louis Missouri with my lovely girlfriend of over 2 years Nicole.
Aside from Youtube, is there a certain career you’d like to get into one day like a LEO?
I get asked this question all the time! I actually do hold my PPL (Private Pilots License) and was an aspiring pilot. I ran out of money quickly and the help of others to co-sign for more loans, therefore my flying days were put to a fast halt. It is quite expensive to get into that career. I have the utmost respect for LEO's but it is a job I could probably never do. I have a phobia of needles/medical/blood and it would really get in the way of the job at hand. I have always grown up loving police sirens and lights therefore I was attracted to that side of it all.
Can you give a rough estimation of when you first joined the community?
I would say roughly 2009-2010, I played LCPDFR for many hours in GTA IV before I ever thought about recording what I was doing. I saw a YouTube video of someone driving a Ford Crown Victoria around in Liberty City and I was like OH I GOTTA HAVE THAT!!! I had watched people play SAMP and was a lurker at both GPM and LCPDFR.
And what was your immediate reaction to LCPDFR/LSPDFR?
My initial reaction was WOW we really have something here! The first versions of LCPDFR were mind blowing and the fact you could RP as a police officer in Liberty City was a dream come true. I remember back in 08 when I first played GTA IV I would drive around as a police car and pull NPC's over. I loved it and when LCPDFR hit the streets I was lost in that game world. LSPDFR came out much sooner than I had anticipated, I mean we had just gotten the PC version of the game and here we were on a fast track to LSPDFR. I was instantly blown away with how far we have come in animations and abilities. I think most people forget the fact that LSPDFR is still very early where LCPDFR was towards it's end and peak. We have so much more to look forward to and I know G17 won't let us down.
Did you ever imagine you’d become one of the most well known youtubers for LSPDR content?
I honestly never did, I am truly proud to be a part of the community though and have enjoyed getting to know everyone behind the curtain. I just have fun when I record myself playing LSPDFR and if I am not having fun or not up to it I simply won't. I do play it in my free time as I think it is important to love the games you record and share with the world. I always scour the mods section and get excited when new vehicle models are released just like everyone else! The only downside to becoming a popular YouTube channel is that you have to delegate much more time to the channel and the subscriber base. This leaves less time for me to enjoy games in the free time I do get. I spend 2-3 hours a day responding to comments, messages, e-mails and I truly believe that is important with being such a well known person in our community. I take constructive criticism and if it isn't too out there I will usually apply that to my content.
You are a part of Code Zero correct? How did you meet Bugs/Zach/Polecat?
Yes I am still an active member of Code Zero Gaming and very proud of it! I will never forget my roots and where we started building our community together as a gaming group. I first met Buggs in a clan called LCDPS and he was a Deputy Director or something like that. We immediately hit it off as we shared the same interests and values in life. We later realized we weren't into the serious RP as some other people in that clan and left to do our own thing. We wanted to have fun while being semi realistic and that really has stuck with us to this day. Buggs is one of the most genuine guys and has always been an amazing friend to me over the many years I have known him. Zach Houseknecht was a subscriber/fan whatever you prefer and wrote a long message on why he wanted to play LCPDFR with us. It was a well thought out and typed message so we gave him a shot. He clashed with some people at first because Zach is a goofball and never really wanted to be a serious cop. I can't blame him with all of the ridiculous things you would deal with in Liberty City as a police officer! Zach quickly became one of our best friends and we enjoyed playing other games outside of that police realm. I just got off Skype with Zach a few hours ago and we are all still great friends to this day. Polecat became a friend not too long ago actually. I was looking at enb's that were available for GTA IV and came across the one he was working on. I asked if he minded sharing and he openly did with all of Code Zero. I got to know him on a personal level through Skype and really believed his personality could make him a YouTuber. I helped him get his audio all setup and then he was off to the races! I got the chance to meet him in California with Buggs and after the in person meeting I told Buggs "We gotta get this guy into Code Zero." We have all been a tight group ever since. Code Zero is always growing and we have discussed adding new members to help further their YouTube channels. We have quite a few members that we don't game with on a constant basis but we are a tight little family all the same. The newest member is SteveTheGamer55 that is a very popular LSPDFR player as well, we love having him in the group and I will be meeting him soon at PAX East!
Do you have a favourite user modification?
I do have two actually, I call them MUST HAVE MODS! My first favorite would have to be police radio by Finkone and now DCP. I really love what it brought to the table so early and continues to provide. The second would be the man the legend Albo1125's Traffic Policer. Once we had the ability to "mimic" vehicles for a traffic stop it really added to the experience.
Anything you wish to say to the community?
I just have to say THANK YOU to all the people that watch my videos and support what I do, big thanks to the devs and modders that make the game play better and better. I could never make modifications like they do nor do I have the time to learn how to so I always want to thank everyone that takes the time to make mods for all of us.
Got anything you’re working on that you can maybe share with us?
Hehe I do actually, I just got done with the Retro weeks showcasing older vehicle mods during LSPDFR. I thought hey what an idea to move this a little more on the international side of things. I have many subscribers from across the pond and showcasing the very police vehicles they fell in love with may be really fun for them. I know some USA folks may scoff at the idea of using police vehicles from a different country but I think it would be cool and plan to implement that into the channel here and there. I don't have plans to rename the series or anything like that and it won't replace anything. On the other burner I have been getting involved with SantosRP that uses Garry's Mod as the base game for their modifications. I plan to work as a police officer within that community and make videos on the experiences. I am excited about it that is for sure.
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And that about rounds it up for this edition of the Community Spotlight, MASSIVE thank you to Jeff for taking part and to Carrythxd, Double Doppler and LoneWolfSpecter for their amazing images!
If you would like to be interviewed for the next community spotlight, or know of someone who you feel deserves it, please contact me via PM.
Jeff's channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/jfavignano
His Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffFavignano
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