The Power of 'Doing Whatever You Want' With Valorant Streamer TrulyTenzin

Tenzin Dolkar is the loud and outspoken mind behind TrulyTenzin, a stream where she channels her greatest traits into a high-octane rollercoaster ride for her 42,000 adoring fans. The brand is her, and she is the brand. A child of the digital age, it was the virtual world that allowed Dolkar to be who she truly is. Now, she’s hoping to inspire that same realization in someone else. 

"I personally see myself as a regular streamer who enjoys gaming. I don’t see myself as an inspiration to others. But I guess to them, [as a successful] Tibetan streamer, I am?" she ponders in a phone interview with Lifewire. "Whatever I represent on-screen is who I really am, which is why I named it Truly Tenzin."

A Humble Start

Dolkar’s path to international digital success has been unconventional, highlighting the power of dedication. Originally born in a Tibetan colony in Dehradun, India, the young Dolkar family made their way to America, seeking greener pastures. They settled in the suburbs of the Minnesotan Twin Cities. 

A seemingly unassuming location but a hotspot for Tibetan migrants allowed Dolkar to adapt to American suburbia with relative ease, though not without growing pains. 

"I turned to the internet because I had nowhere to turn to. Being the oldest, I was like the guinea pig of the family," she said. Reddit is where she’d go to find new insights and different perspectives to guide her through her adolescence.

She found safety in the virtual world. The possibilities were endless, and the ability to be anyone appealed to her isolating experience dealing with all the issues that come with being an Asian immigrant in a primarily white environment.

"It was really fun being someone else other than myself. I thought no one is going to like me if I told them I’m some little Asian girl from Minnesota," the streamer commented. Her descent into the virtual world didn’t stop with social media. Games played a big part in her escapism as well after her uncle gifted the then-12-year-old Dolkar a Nintendo DS. A whole new world was opened to her, and a hardcore gamer was born.

The Connective Power of Community

She came to Twitch seeking community and a digital space to be herself. Something of an admitted Twitch addict before she began streaming, Dolark built relationships with fellow audience members throughout various communities. So much so that when she finally decided to stream, she maintained an audience of 30 concurrent viewers during her first stream. A rare feat for first-timers. She was made for this!  

"Those were all my friends, too. People who were excited to support me," Dolkar stated. "It’s been such a good experience for me on Twitch. I honestly don’t have any complaints about it. Twitch made me want to be myself for once; that’s when things switched for me, and I didn’t want to be someone else."

That community aspect would be her driving force. The kernel of realization was planted by a fellow Twitch user who would eventually gift the budding streamer her first desktop for streaming. Community has been a constant throughout her life and her career in content creation. That same connection to the community planted the bug that she could even excel as a streamer. 

Now, she has her very own community she heralds: the Trulyers. A purposely kitsch pet name for her audience and most ardent fans. These dedicated followers of TrulyTenzin tune in to watch her outspoken personality accentuate her dominating gameplay.  

"I did want to cultivate an audience that was very inclusive and friendly because being such an avid viewer, I put up [with] all the mistakes that streamers made. I knew I had to craft the community into something I wanted if I [was] going to be a community streamer," she said.

Coming up on her four-year streaming anniversary, Dolkar has a lot to celebrate. She’s achieved many of her dreams, from befriending inspirations like Ryan Higa to being spotlighted in one of her favorite games, League of Legends. The Valorant streamer has made her mark in the world of streaming and wants to continue diversifying her content to reach new heights. 

"If I can take this big of a step just randomly, then nothing is scary to me. So, why stop now?" she closes. "I never thought I’d be here, but now I am. I have nothing to lose, so I’m going for gold and moving forward no matter what lies ahead."