An absolute tank on the field, Trey Ruckriegel has helped Trinity’s football team secure two consecutive state titles. Off the field, Ruckriegel is like most young males — he partakes in online gaming. A hobby for most, Ruckriegel is much more dedicated to his passion. Over the past year, Ruckriegel amassed almost 33,000 subscribers on his gaming-oriented YouTube channel, Treydo.

Most people who know Ruckriegel see him as a football player, specifically a defensive lineman. Nothing about Trey points to him being a “gamer.” This only made his classmates more surprised when his channel was discovered.

Only a handful of people close to Ruckriegel were aware of his channel at first. His best friend and teammate, Cody Auxier, was among the first to find out. While watching videos about “Ghost Recon: Wildlands,” a popular open-world shooter, Auxier happened upon a suggested video, only to hear his friend’s voice narrating.

“I asked him about it and he denied it at first, but he eventually admitted that he was Treydo,” Auxier said.   

While celebrating Ruckriegel’s birthday, Auxier discussed the idea of starting a channel.  Ruckriegel started his channel only a few weeks later on July 16, 2016. His first video was an early look at the multiplayer gameplay from “Call of Duty: Black Ops Three.” It wasn’t until February of 2017 that Ruckriegel began to take things seriously.

Ruckriegel regularly uploads gaming-related content that is both informative and entertaining. In his videos, Ruckriegel often narrates various topics related to the gameplay on screen. He plays currently-trending games that interest players.

Typical information consists of rumors, strategies, tips, and new developments within the game. Along with videos, Ruckriegel livestreams gameplay, allowing viewers to communicate with him in comments, to which he responds.

By March 2017, Treydo had 10,000 subscribers. By October, Treydo had 20,000. On Dec. 27, Treydo gained its 30,000^th subscriber. To digitally mark the milestone, Ruckriegel posted a face reveal, showing the Internet who Treydo was.

When Trinity student and football player Michael Cox saw this, he sent it to a groupchat with other football team members. Word spread around to teachers and students alike. One such teacher was teacher and football coach Jay Cobb.

“When I heard, I immediately called him up in advising (class) to ask him what it was all about,” Cobb said.

His big question for Ruckriegel was whether or not he was making money off his content. Cobb had coached Ruckriegel in football and described him as reserved, keeping to himself, yet open among his friends.

With the creation of his alias, “Treydo,” Ruckriegel is able to express himself more freely online. Looking back on the football season, Cobb did not see any evidence of the channel affecting Ruckriegel’s performance in the sport.

He said, “In football, he’s very driven. We ask so much of them, and a lot of them experience a burnout at the end of the season.”

While some Trinity athletes go on to play football in college and professionally, many, including Ruckriegel, seek other opportunities. Cobb expressed respect for Ruckriegel putting himself out there and following his passion.

Some of Ruckriegel’s accomplishments include his large number of subscribers, attaining 1.5 million views on a single video with five million total views on his channel, being invited to the Electronic Entertainment Expo or “E3,” and joining the multimedia group Horizon Union.

“Someone in the comments told me I was horrible at this, and I hit 1.5 mil on a video the next week,” a proud Ruckriegel said. “I want to keep doing this; I don’t see myself performing a normal job if I fail at YouTube.”

Ruckriegel plans to attend college at either the University of Louisville or Western Kentucky University.

“That man puts in work on the field and off; he deserves what he is getting and more. He’s only going to grow,” Auxier said. “If I didn’t plan on going D 1, I’d be online with him with my own channel.”

Ruckriegel describes himself as a gamer, and YouTube is just his method of sharing his talents: “You can label me a content creator, but at the end of the day, I’m just a dedicated gamer.”

Ruckriegel’s channel can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSjV4Q5XD1O9F4wMmfZ0JUw