Welcome to the latest episode of the VR Fitness Insider Podcast!
Today, we’re thrilled to welcome Naysy to our show, a dynamic and engaging VR content creator who has made a significant impact in the virtual reality space. Known for her unique insights and compelling content, Naysy has truly become a driving force in the VR community and has amassed over 78K followers on Twitch, 735K subscribers on YouTube and 2.1M followers on TikTok. Listen to her unique perspective and hear about the adventures she’s had in virtual reality and what she thinks is next.
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Transcript:Â
Episode 14 – Naysy
Preston Lewis: [00:00:00] Welcome to the VR Fitness Insiders podcast, for the creators who are building the future of the VR and AR sports and fitness industries that will revolutionize the way the world will play sports, work out and get fit with your hosts. Preston Lewis and Ryan DeLuca, the founders of Black Box vr, who are building the world’s first full fitness VR gym and bring decades of experience from creating some of the largest fitness technology companies in the world.
They’re bringing together the best and brightest minds to help you and your company succeed in the VR fitness revolution.
All right, welcome to the VR Fitness Insider Podcast. Today we have Naysy on the show who is a YouTuber and Twitch streamer, best known for her Beat Saber and virtual reality videos. She has seventy one point eight thousand followers on Twitch, seven hundred and thirty five thousand YouTube subscribers, and two point one million followers on TikTok. Naysy, thanks so much for being here with us.
Naysy: Hey, thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Preston Lewis: Well, why don’t we start off with you just giving our audience a quick intro into who you are and your background.
Naysy: Yeah. I’m Naysy. I’m a [00:01:00] content creator, which means I create content on different platforms. YouTube I do, like, tutorials and just fun videos. And then TikTok and Instagram, Facebook, all of them. But most well known for my Beat Saber videos, like, mixed reality content where you look like you’re in the game.
Preston Lewis: You do such a good job with those. Those are so cool. And those get like hundreds of thousands of views, and super cool. Production is amazing.
Naysy: It’s not something people have seen a lot of, so I think people are like, “oh, what is this?” Yeah, people always get interested.
Preston Lewis: Awesome. So how did you first get interested in VR?
Naysy: It’s been like a long burn kind of thing. Previous to being a content creator, I was working in game development doing marketing. And someone there was like an OG VR game developer, they made Lunar Flight. So they were, like, really into VR. They’re like, “let’s make a VR game”, trying to convince the studio head. So he was always bringing VR into work and, like, getting to test it out and stuff. Eventually a game came out called Rick and Morty, which I was, like, obsessed with Rick and Morty at the time. And so I borrowed a friend’s HTC Vive that he wasn’t [00:02:00] using. And I was Twitch streaming at the time. I was just, kind of, streaming after work and got into streaming VR games once a week. There weren’t really any games, it was like early days. It was, kind of, fizzling out a bit.
And then, I was working with 2K for, like, Borderlands content and they sent me a PlayStation VR to promote Borderlands VR. Played Borderlands, I’m like, “uh, it’s okay.” But then I discovered Beat Saber. So then I, like, fell in love with Beat Saber. I’m like, “oh, I can’t do much on the PS VR, I wanna, like, explore modding and all this stuff.” So got a Oculus Rift, completely fell in love. Learned how to do the modding to get custom songs and then learned all the mixed reality stuff. Because I had a couple of friends that were creating mixed reality content. I’m like, “oh, I need to do this.” So yeah, I went and bought the big green sheet and everything, and learned how to do all the software and it kept just, like, evolving from there. So yeah, it was an addiction. I love it. Yeah.
Preston Lewis: That’s so cool. Was that kind of the first, uh, mixed reality videos you did?
Naysy: Yeah, I think so. I think there were a few others at the time, but [00:03:00] yeah, Beat Saber is just such a good fit for mixed reality.
Ryan DeLuca: What’s so fun is watching your videos and the first thing you notice is one, obviously much better dancer than Preston. Not as good as me, but than, yeah. Alright, than most anybody.
But just how active you are. You know, you’re moving around. Like, sometimes you see those Beat Saber videos, right? Where we would tell people like, “hey, VR’s great for exercise, like Beat Saber.” And they’re just, like, little wrist movements, you know?
And we’re like, “no, you gotta, like, really dance.” In your videos, you can really see that you were getting a great workout. And even in some of the videos that you’re talking about, more difficult ones, you’re like, “I’m gonna be sore tomorrow, it’s gonna totally, like, kill me.”
Tell us a little bit more about how VR helps you and other people to exercise and what are the benefits of that type of exercise? Using VR for exercise versus treadmills, and ellipticals and things like that.
Naysy: I have a background of dance. I did dancing, like, all my life. Mostly Irish dancing is what I did a lot of. So I think that dance element, kind of, came naturally. And I think it just made it more fun, just instead standing there trying to hit the blocks, like, dancing around. I [00:04:00] think I realized there was an opportunity there for content as well. I’ve seen people upload Beat Saber, but no one’s dancing to it. And I think I was dressing up a bit as well. So I saw that as an opportunity to create different content.
But I think the biggest thing is just, like, the barrier of entry. To an extent. Like, VR can be hard to get into. To go to the gym or to go, like, cycling or whatever, it takes a lot of effort. At the time I was going through some personal stuff. I was really anxious and, like, not in a good mental head space. I just, kind of, found diving into Beat Saber, you know, using it as exercise in a way to distract my mind definitely helped my mental health. And also physically as well, because you’re just, kind of, working out every day, getting that heart rate up. I didn’t do it for the exercise, but then you’re like, “ah, it has all these benefits.”
So yeah, I definitely fell in love with it. And I think, like, especially when you are feeling anxious, it’s hard to just go outside or go to the gym. I find just jumping into Beat Saber so much easier.
Ryan DeLuca: Such a good way to put it. One thing we hear all the time is that people will start doing VR and on accident they start getting exercise. You know? They didn’t [00:05:00] really think about it. They’re just like, “wait a minute, my Apple Watch just said that I was exercising, but I was just playing a fun game.” And it’s such an interesting point that you’re saying about also, the ease of just going in there, and you’re in your own world and you block everything out. And just people that are feeling more anxious or having other issues in their life can really just quiet all that down and let you focus on what you’re doing.
Naysy: Yeah, with the Quest, it’s just made it so much easier for people to just do it at home. So yeah, it’s been great.
Preston Lewis: Just seeing your Beats Saber videos, I’m like, you have some legit skills in Beats Saber too? You’ve definitely put your hours in there.
Naysy: Yeah, it’s just something you just love. Like, when I first got into it, I was just playing it daily. And I never really tried to, like, actively be the best at Beat Saber. So many people that are way better than me. But I think the fact that I can dance as well, kind of, adds a different element to it. I think a different type of skill. I’d rather enjoy it than worry about trying to get high scores. And I feel like going too crazy with some of those Beat Saber maps, you don’t wanna get RSI or anything.
Ryan DeLuca: Yeah, some people beyond an [00:06:00] obsession in a different way. And then they have to do all these little tricks and things to try to make us, like, get that higher score. Which it almost gets frustrating at that point, because now you can’t beat the score you had before and you’re no longer enjoying it. Versus, like, the joy that you have when we’re watching the videos.
Naysy: Yeah. And when people ask me for advice, just have fun. Don’t worry if you’re, like, not beating the song, just have fun and enjoy it.
Ryan DeLuca: Well you mentioned many things that make Beat Saber a very fun experience. What else about Beat Saber specifically makes it so engaging in your mind?
Naysy: I guess the best way to describe it is like flow state. That balance of, like, when you are being challenged, but also having fun at the same time. It kind of unlocks that meditative part in your brain that really just wants to get better and better. There’s such a good, like, high skill ceiling with Beat Saber, but it’s not unattainable. Like, when I first started playing Beat Saber, I’d see these hard songs. I’m like, “there’s no way I will ever be able to do that.” But, like, with a bit more practice, you’re like, “oh, I did that.” And it’s such a good feeling, being able to see yourself get better and better. I think with that element of the physical [00:07:00] activity, increasing your heart rate, and releasing dopamine and all those good things. So I think that mixture of challenge, fun and exercise just makes it really fun and addictive.
Ryan DeLuca: So true. And then you’re in this crazy futuristic world with just these environments and the music. An infinite number of mods it seems like, and all sorts of things you can do there. And all the different custom songs. Like, you know, I saw some of your videos, like, feeling sorry for some of the PSVR users. Even Quest users that don’t, you know, not doing the modded version. But there’s so many maps, it’s almost infinite.
Naysy: If I just had the same, like, thirty songs or whatever they have now, I probably would’ve given up ages ago. But the fact there’s just such a massive modding community, where you can just download pretty much any song you want or check out these really interesting maps. Like, they do these crazy things with lights and visuals, and it’s insane what they do now.
But then there’s other niches, like, the dance niche has gotten really, really big. Where people design maps to go along with the song or to match the dance moves of a film clip or something like that. That’s big in the K-Pop community for Beat Saber. And then [00:08:00] FitBeat is, like, I guess the term for fitness Beat Saber maps. That’s getting bigger and bigger now. Within, like, the Beat Saber niches, all these little niches of different maps you can play depending on what you like to play.
Preston Lewis: One thing, just for our listeners is what you’re bringing up is the user-generated content aspect. You mentioned the longevity of the title, in your opinion has been extended by this UGC. So I think that’s a good little point.
Naysy: Yeah, definitely. Beat Saber wouldn’t be as big as it is now if it wasn’t for the custom songs elements. It’s not too easy to do on Quest. It’s really, really hard to do on Quest. But other similar games, like OhShape and Synth Riders make it a lot easier. I don’t think that custom song’s community is as big, but they’re definitely, like, great games as well. And it’s a lot easier to play custom songs on those games.
Ryan DeLuca: The thing we always say about fitness is, you know, it’s very simple as an idea to just work out and you get all these great benefits. But the difficult part is adhering to it over a long period of time and being consistent with it, and making a VR game that has a longevity.
It’s a different type of challenge for game developers, because you can’t just beat the game and be done. And if somebody sticks [00:09:00] to it for a couple months, that’s great, but like, how do you get them to have something that they can stick to for life? And that’s something we really think about at Black Box VR with our gyms, is how do we make it so that it’s infinitely replayable. That things are changing all the time. And that’s such a good point about modding community, UGC, because if you’re not thinking about that as a fitness or sports game, you’re gonna have a pretty short period of time where people are gonna be able to play.
Naysy: Yeah. I think yeah, the more people are, like, jumping back in and enjoying it, the more they’re gonna share it, which is always free advertising, so.
Preston Lewis: I think the other point, too, on Beat Saber specifically is, yeah, everyone has their own opinions, but Beat Saber compared to Supernatural. And also what we’re doing at Black Box VR, is that trying to make it first fun and playable based on the game mechanics, versus kind of the whole fitness in the front. So like the unintentional kind of fitness. So Beat Saber on the spectrum is obviously the unintentional fitness. Like, you’re dancing and flailing around, but you’re in that flow state and there’s no trainer there talking to you breaking that flow.
Whereas Supernatural has an actual trainer talking to you, and makes you focus more in a negative [00:10:00] way, it makes you focus more on the fact that you’re actually working out. That’s one thing we try to do as well, as you brought up the flow state, is trying to keep people in that kind of fun, engaging game aspect, but still have fitness programmed into it, but not having that be as top of mind as maybe a Supernatural.
Naysy: Yeah, definitely. Like, it’s a shame, Supernatural’s not available in Australia, so I haven’t tried it out. I might have to try a VPN trick or something. But yeah, I think with the flow state as well, I played a lot of other fitness VR rhythm games, kind of thing. I think, yeah, it’s something you also have to make sure you do well. Playing one’s where it’s not on the beat, like, the timing’s off and that’s gonna ruin your vibe, and flow state and everything as well. Most of the songs are really good, but occasionally you get some songs that are like, “oh, this is off beat.” And yeah, it takes you away from that enjoyment a bit.
Ryan DeLuca: You know, obviously people watch your channel. It’s very entertaining, and informative and just an exciting experience. But also people are seeing the exercise. I’m sure you’re getting feedback from people that are saying, like, “this has encouraged me to try these games and it has helped me to become more healthy and fit.” [00:11:00] What type of feedback, specifically, on the fitness side do you get from people when they’re watching your videos?
Naysy: I guess the positive ones of people like, “oh, I got into this game because of you.” Like, that one’s always really good. But I, like, love the ones from older people. Like moms or dads or even grandparents messaged me, and be like, “I got into this game and I’ve lost all this weight.” Because they’ll buy it for their kids or they’ll see my video and, like, wanna check it out. And then jump into Beat Saber. And I think that’s been really cool, because I think people think, “oh, VR is like a gaming thing.” But I think it’s got all these other lifestyle elements that I think are really great and people don’t consider. Because I know my mom, I got my mom into VR stuff as well. Into Beat Saber, she really likes. And I think usually she’s like, “ugh, gaming, whatever, not interested.” You’re like, “no, you gotta try it.” So I think, yeah, it’s not just for, like, gamers. It’s yeah, for everyone, which I think is really cool.
Ryan DeLuca: You know, I’m sure the number of people that you’ve inspired to pick up a headset and to start exercising without maybe that being the intention. The amount of lives that you’ve changed and helped has gotta be almost countless with how [00:12:00] many people are following your videos. And so it’s just quite an inspiration for us.
Naysy: I love to see it. I think guessing other creators come through, as well. Focusing on, like, sharing their story about how, like, Beat Saber’s changed their life. Yeah, they wanna really push that fitness element as well, I think that’s really cool.
Preston Lewis: One of the things that you mentioned, I think we talk a lot to our guests about, and the whole industry is having a hard time with or has struggled with, at least in the early days, is getting the actual adoption of the experience of the headsets, of the hardware getting into these experiences. And so, I guess it’s more of a thank you to you than anything, but the fact that you have created all of this MR content. Beat Saber MR content is some of the most, kind of, viral VR content out there. So thanks on behalf of, not only Black Box VR, but the whole industry for all the content you have done, for sure. I’m sure it’s definitely gotten people interested in just trying it out. Which is a huge hurdle.
Naysy: Thank you, yeah. Well, I guess, you know, it’s not just me. I think LIV, like, the mixed reality software’s, like, been such a game changer. Because I think I saw that viral clip they posted, like, years and years [00:13:00] ago. Of the girl playing VR. Yeah, Beat Saber in mixed reality. And I was like, “oh my god, like, this is so cool.” Definitely something I wanted to do. So many other content creators have jumped on board and shared it as well. I think it helps, like, translate what VR is a bit better, like, the mixed reality. Because usually it’s just, like, a shaky camera and I think it’s better now, but at the time it’s like very shaky camera. But I think because Beat Saber is stationary, you can just watch it and understand the game mechanics. And I think most people go like, “oh, that’s cool, like, I think I could do that.” I think mixed reality’s been a big game changer.
Ryan DeLuca: For creators that want to also create VR fitness content, kind of, more of physically active content. Obviously, like you just mentioned, mixed reality is a critical part of it, because being able to really show it versus just the headset or a separate webcam, kind of thing. What other tips would you have for people on how to best create that type of content?
Naysy: I guess finding something different if you’re, like, wanting to create content around it. Like, how can you add value to the space that’s already there? And I think understanding what people want or enjoy about the content as well. Like, [00:14:00] are you creating a service for your viewers? Or are you, like, just creating like entertainment? And stuff like that. So I think just understanding what the hook is and what are you adding to the space that’s already there.
Preston Lewis: Next question is what advice would you give to VR fitness game creators to help improve their chances of success? We talked a lot about Beat Saber, we talked a little bit about the flow state. You know, we have seen your other channels that are very popular, that aren’t just Beat Saber. So, kind of, what have you picked up over the years, as far as some nuggets that you can help our audience, some of the game creators, for them to consider as they’re trying to improve their chance of success, whether they’re working on, like, a bigger title or an indie title.
Naysy: Yeah, like, I see a lot of indie. This is gonna sound biased, because I come from, like, a marketing background in game dev, but I just see so many game studios just not marketing their games. Like, enough or not early enough. Like, I’ll get an email the day of the launch and be like, “hey, can you promo this?” And it’s like, “I’m busy.” And I think TikTok has been just such an amazing tool for any creator that you can just create really easy [00:15:00] content and it has the potential to go viral. And you can just reach so many people.
Game devs have been on there, just kind of, day-to-day stuff. Or even just talking about their game or just joining in fun little memes, and stuff like that. I think marketing your game is so important. If you have the best game, or app, or fitness app or whatever in the world, if no one knows about it, then they’re not gonna find it. And I think you can’t just rely on the platforms to promote your game. Because that is a really big deal if they can. But just getting on the platforms can be really hard, so trying to build an audience yourself and getting that feedback early on can really help you with that development process.
Marketing early on as often as possible. And it doesn’t have to be super, like, high quality. It can just be super casual and you just keep experimenting with stuff. Same with, like, content creators. You just experiment with stuff and be like, “oh, okay, this worked.” Or people asking questions about this, I’ll make content around that answering that question that they asked. So TikTok, because it’s just so constant and fast moving, it’s a good way to experiment with your brand and what works. [00:16:00] From there you can then go on YouTube with a clear idea of, like, this is what I’m gonna do, this is what I’m gonna create content on and make that more high quality stuff. Just create content, see what happens. But I think, yeah, I see so many developers not do enough marketing or not early enough. And then I think, “you’re missing out.”
Ryan DeLuca: Such a hard part, because a lot of times developers are more, you know, developers. Not marketers and salespeople. And there is this idea that just if you build this great product, it’s just gonna, kind of, sell itself. But we all know that that’s not the case. Also, what type of features do you think are good inside VR games? Especially the ones that are trying to promote physical fitness or just on accident, you know, physical fitness. What kind of things would you maybe avoid that you tried some games that you’re like, “oh man, this is just not good, because of certain mechanics”, or something like that?
Naysy: Yeah. I think with fitness, especially rhythm stuff, like, it needs to be pretty polished and feel good. I’ve definitely played ones where you feel like you’re not hitting anything, it just doesn’t feel good. So getting that down I think is just so important.
In terms of stuff that I really enjoy from VR fitness games is a [00:17:00] leaderboard. There’s a leaderboard in Beat Saber, but I think Les Mills Body Combat have an active leaderboard where you can see yourself moving up the ranks. And that, like, motivates me so much. I think that’s a really good implementation of that. Opportunity for custom stuff can be a big game changer, but I know that can be difficult where your community can make stuff for it. I think Pistol Whip have just started to add this, so I’m interested to see how that goes. So I think it’s just making it as easy as possible, because if you start to make it too hard, people don’t get involved.
Preston Lewis: What do you think about social features? Just kind of throwing that out there as far as, have you seen any specific social features like the Beat Saber multiplayer? It’s not an actual, like, fitness feature. But do you see things like that as key to helping people stick to fitness, or?
Naysy: Like, with Beat Saber you can watch your replay. But I think sharing it you’ve got your inbuilt sharing feature, which I think a lot of people work. Or anything that can, like, stabilize the camera, I think depending on the game, that can be a big one as well. And sometimes it can just be, like, an on and off switch. I think Beat [00:18:00] Saber kind of has, like, a stabilized on and off switch. Being able to challenge, like, a friend or something, pretty easily can be good. I’ve been wanting to, like, create a link that I can invite, just send to people and they can challenge me. So create, like, a group rather than challenging one person. I’d love to be able to share, create a link and be like, “okay, everyone come challenge my score in this game and be able to see the results.” So I would like something like that. I don’t think it exists.
Preston Lewis: Oh, very cool. So basically like you’d share out an invite link and just the people you invited would be on that private leader board.
Naysy: Yeah, because then you’re not versing randoms. And I don’t wanna, like, friend everyone on my Quest. It can be really hard to friend people on the Quest. So it’s just, like, something external like that. Yeah, I think would be cool.
Preston Lewis: Okay, so how do you hope that VR hardware and software improves in the next few years to help make it more popular and useful for exercise?
Naysy: The potential of the, like, full Color Passthrough slash AR, whatever you wanna call it, I think is really, really cool. I think if you’ve only used the Quest 2, it’s just black and [00:19:00] white. But if you tried the Quest Pro or the HTC Vive XR Elite, that full Color Passthrough is really cool.
And I think it’s been a while since I’ve been, like, wowed in VR. But that Color Passthrough stuff, I’m like, “woah, this is, like, cool.” And it definitely feels like that’s gonna be the future. I’d love to see some fitness games utilize that, because I think it’s more accessible. You can see your environment. It’s less scary for people who are new to VR, that they’re not claustrophobic. I think it’s better for motion sickness and better for safety where you can see your environment. And if you are just doing any kind of fitness game with that, I think it’ll be a lot more accessible for people who don’t want that kind of claustrophobic feel of VR. Will definitely happen.
Preston Lewis: So you mentioned the Passthrough you think is good for adoption, which I think is a great note. I’m personally, like, really into, like, the full immersion aspect of it, right? I guess I just never think about the adoption piece, because we’re early adopters and so it’s like, “oh, well that’s not even a factor.” But really interesting point for our listeners that it could actually be something that makes it a little easier to ease into[00:20:00] the technology, less scary and stuff like that.
But what about weight, right? The weight of the headset. Do you wanna talk a little bit about the Apple headset and, the design specs and stuff like that. You wanna address any of that?
Naysy: Sure. I guess, like, yeah, with the new Apple headset, it’s gonna have like an external battery. I guess you could put in your pocket. And then just runs a cable up to the headset, which I think is pretty interesting. Because I think with the Quest and a lot of headsets, because they’ve got the battery in it, they’re so uncomfortable and they’ve tried different things. I think some have it at the back. They’ve tried different stuff and VR headsets are just so uncomfortable. Like, if I don’t have a different strap or something, after an hour, I’m like, “I just wanna get this thing off.” So that’s why I opt for PC VR a lot of times, because I just find it way comfier. So if Apple can remove that battery element, which adds a lot of weight, hopefully it’ll be a lot comfier. And I think that’ll help with adoption as well.
You have better eye tracking stuff, which it’s like less strain. So yeah, hopefully we’ll see.
Ryan DeLuca: I think the big question mark we all have is, like, what’s the software experience gonna be like? Because Apple’s obviously known [00:21:00] for great software. And are they gonna copy what’s currently out there? Will it be kinda like that? Or will it be something that just is amazing to us that becomes the new best practice going forward.
Naysy: That’s where, yeah, Apple can definitely shine. Like, the Quest experience isn’t great. They keep changing things, especially in the iPhone app. I’m like, “where do I see my games?” Like, “how do I do, like, half the things?” Because I try and get my mom to use it, like trying to explain it to her, and then they change it a month later and you’re like, “oh my god, okay.” Yeah, I think user experience is where Apple can really improve that. As a gamer, I’m nervous that they’ll go more the lifestyle route, which isn’t a bad thing. I think that could be interesting. Or whether the games would be, kind of, basic. I think, like, Crossy Road, those type of games in VR could be interesting, but it’s like still a very casual audience. It’ll be interesting to see how casual or hardcore they’ll want to go. Or whether they’ll try and do both. I think that’ll be interesting.
Ryan DeLuca: Now I’m imagining Crossy Road with my grandma. Like, actually getting ran over by a bus, you know? I’d like to see that actually, that’d be very exciting.[00:22:00]
Preston Lewis: If you wear the headset, you just walk out into the street with Passthrough on, and you’re good. The real Crossy Road. You don’t even need the game. So, you know, we watched some of your videos as well and I kind of perked up over it because it was, the weight aspect is actually something that has been a gating issue early on. People wanna be comfortable when they work out. Especially when you think about VR fitness. People are like, “oh, so I actually wear the headset when I’m working out. What? Aren’t you gonna get sweaty?” And so, that’s been the question kind of since day one. Especially when we started Black Box VR. And the cool thing is, of course, a lot of these headsets have gotten lighter and lighter in weight.
But as you were explaining the Apple disconnected battery thing, or the PC VR thing you mentioned, that’s a really interesting use case. I would say that what Apple’s really good at is the user journey aspect of it. Of, like, thinking about what’s a day in the life look like with this tech? And so, just thinking about that battery pack detached, it’s kind of this odd, like, “oh, is that kind of dorky? You have this cable going into your pocket.” But then if you think about it, as I was watching some of your videos, it was like, “well that’s kind of what the iPod was on your arm when you go running.” Right? Like, the cable is just [00:23:00] your headsets and your ears. That’s a really interesting use case to detach that, make it way more comfortable overall. That’s gonna make it comfortable for, like, whether’s meditation or just passively viewing stuff.
Ryan DeLuca: I think the biggest thing that Apple can bring might just be making it cool, you know? Nobody really looks that cool wearing a VR headset. It’s like, it looks cool when you’re in it, you know? And it looks cool when doing things in there. But if they could just make it so it’s no longer this like dorky thing and it’s like this “I want to have this, I want to be seen with this.” That would be huge. Think what they’ll probably do is get, like, celebrity endorsements and musicians, of course. And you know, people that are creating content with this where it’s like, “oh, this is like the cool thing now.” It used to be, like, using computers in general was the dorkiest thing ever. And then all of a sudden it became cool because of Apple. Now you got this cool, sexy, what was it? The iMacs, right? They’re all different colors and you know? If we could do that, just that alone, would make adoption go up dramatically.
Naysy: Yeah. Another conversation I’ve seen is just like, “if Apple doesn’t do well, they screw it up, then that’s gonna scare everyone off VR.” I think [00:24:00] I have faith Apple are pretty switched on, but yeah, entering XR is a whole new thing. So hopefully they do it well.
Preston Lewis: The other point with Apple, in general, is that they’re really good at the ecosystem tie together. And over the years they’ve been investing in these ecosystems, and it’s really interesting to think of how that will also elevate the experience. If you imagine Apple Music. The biometrics coming in through like the Apple Watch. They already have existing Apple Fitness+ trainers. Potentially the lighter form factor. I think just the fact that it’s all tied in, as well. I imagine myself as, of course, as an early adopter, but also as someone that, like, just loves tech. And honestly is, kind of, a fanboy of Apple in general. But just thinking about if they tie all those things together, it’s gonna feel like, of course, still an expensive three thousand dollar headset, but something you can see yourself using. Not just for a novel, kind of, temporary experience. I guess.
Naysy: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Again, like people hate Meta. There’s a whole other bunch of people that hate Apple, because I think they hate their whole locked in [00:25:00] ecosystem. So I guess yeah, they’re probably gonna make you need an iPhone and an iCloud accounts will use it. So it’s gonna be that whole argument. There’ll always be those naysayers.
Ryan DeLuca: What’s next for your channel? What’s the next couple years look like for you?
Naysy: I’m kind of at a point where I’ve, like, spent a lot of time on Beat Saber and creating entertaining content. I wanna help people a bit more. Whether it be through tutorial stuff or just informational new stuff. I’m trying to explore ways that I can support game devs better. Because there’s so many cool games, I struggle to just keep up and cover everything. So yeah, exploring ways to share more of that stuff. So much cool stuff happening. I get excited, but I’m like, “oh my God, I don’t know where to focus.” It’s a good problem to have, I guess.
Ryan DeLuca: We need to get you over to San Francisco to our gym, Black Box VR. Love to have you try it out. I wish we could send you the experience, our machine, but someday. And hopefully get it over to Australia.
Naysy: I need to do, like, a tour of America and just collab with, like, everyone. Everyone’s over there. It’s a long way from Australia, but yeah. One day I’ll get over there.
I definitely wanna dive more into, like, the VR [00:26:00] fitness world and add it more to my daily routine. Cause I go to the gym like twice a week, but I love that cardio element as well. So yeah.
Ryan DeLuca: You know, more tutorials and more examples of what you’re doing, and how to get a good workout using these games and, you know, how to put them together to get a little bit of routine. And I’m sure with so many more VR fitness games coming up, you know, over these next few years, too, you’ll have endless content.
Naysy: Yeah, it’s an exciting time. I’m looking forward to it.
Preston Lewis: Awesome. Thanks so much Naysy for joining us and sharing your story, insights and passion for creating content, and helping push the VR, MR fitness world out there. And for any of you in the audience, if you’d like to get in contact with Naysy, probably can just visit one of her wildly popular channels. But we’ll also put her stuff in the show notes. Thank you so much.
Naysy: Thanks for having me. This is fun.
Preston Lewis: Thanks for listening to the VR Fitness Insider podcast. Do you know of anyone that should be on our show or have feedback? Don’t forget to email us at podcast vr fitness insider.com and follow us at VR Fitness Insider on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. You can also join [00:27:00] our Discord channel. Until next time, keep creating and dreaming up the next big thing that will revolutionize the world of fitness.
