An Interview with YouTuber and Nerd Trisha Hershberger

The first thing you need to know about Trisha Hershberger is that she is a true nerd. On top of her nerdy knowledge, she also has a prolific YouTube career. She's appeared on channels like DNews, The Philip DeFranco Show, Epic Meal Time, The Fine Bros, ScreenJunkies, TechnoBuffalo, Smosh & more. She's won two Streamy Awards as a host on Sourcefed & SourcefedNerd. She now owns and operates her own production company, creating content for her own YouTube & Twitch channels.

Jason: How did you get started on YouTube?

Trisha: By accident, haha! I got a classical theater degree on the East coast and moved out west to pursue a career in TV and film acting. I had a hard time because casting directors couldn't fit me into any one Hollywood "type" but it wasn't until I started auditioning for YouTube content (like Scriptgirl & Sourcefed) that I found my niche. I found a place where I could just be myself and not need to fit into someone else's idea of who I should be.

What's it like being a woman in the nerd world?

It's tough to be anything other than the norm in any culture, career path, etc. You are constantly fighting an uphill battle to defend who you are because people don't expect it. The more people who are outside the norm, whether that's due to gender, age, sexual orientation, age, religion, etc., put themselves out there, the more these stereotypes will become a thing of the past.

What is your favorite nerdy memory?

The Christmas I received my first NES entertainment system. It took me a long time to convince my parents that's what I really wanted and a long time for them to give in, so when I finally got it, I lost my freakin mind!!! I'm on a hunt to find that home video and will one day post it on my YouTube channel.

What gadget are you most excited for in the near future?

Right now I'd really love it if Samsung stepped up to the plate and made the Note 7 that was promised - you know, minus the exploding part. That phone was going to be everything I ever wanted... and now I just cry.

What movie are you looking forward to the most in 2017?

I really have high hopes for Logan. The trailer surprised me in a great way and I'm looking forward to seeing Old Man Logan on screen. But I mean, 2017 has a great lineup - Star Wars, GoTG 2, SpiderMan Homecoming, Beauty and the Beast... it's gonna be a solid movie year.

You helped start a channel called SourcefedNERD, what was it like to be a part of that?

Launching SourcefedNerd was a big, crazy experiment. There were only a handful of channels that focused on things like comics, gaming, anime, tech and cosplay at the time. We had no idea if people would like it so we built a channel based around things WE liked. It's evolved a lot through the years as the hosts have changed, but it still remains true to the initial idea we had for it, namely "what do you nerd?"

Where do you hope to see your career go in the future?

I hope to continue being able to earn a living as an entertainer working on projects I'm passionate about. That's really the dream isn't it? Whether that's YouTube, Twitch, or whatever platform comes next, I'm happy to continue creating content as long as I can.

What is your ultimate nerd dream?

I'd love to get transported to Middle Earth - just for a little while. I did travel to Hobbiton in New Zealand and that was amazing, but that's the closest I've gotten so far.

Check out Trisha on YouTube, Twitch and Twitter. Tell her that Geeks sent you!