Josh Roth, known online as “Quiet Josh,” has quite a story to tell. Roth is a devoted fan of gaming livestreams, like many gamers today, but he’s got a particular interest in streamers who play classic games. A few years ago, he found himself watching Jeff “Captain X-Bit” Tiberi, the Facebook Gaming creator behind X-Bit Gaming, a community dedicated to retro gaming livestreams, and something inside Roth clicked. Years later, he claims the X-Bit Gaming community helped save his life.
“I was going through a really rough time,” said Roth. “I was depressed, rough breakup, wasn’t working. I had nothing going for me. I was just devastated.” At the time, Roth was living in his car, using WiFi from a local Starbucks to check his messages and watch livestreams on a beat-up mobile device. He didn’t talk much with the X-Bit Gaming community--he’s known as Quiet Josh for good reason--until he decided to make a change. “I started talking to the guys,” said Roth. “They kept pushing me and encouraging me; just to hang in there.”