Limb by limb, iridescent lights shine brightly on Djarii as she demonstrates how to remake yourself through the transformative power of two brushes: one makeup, the other body paint. Blue lights, a leopard-print rug, and an array of earth-toned furniture adorn her London decor. A veteran of the platform, she’s seen more than your average streamer and has established herself as an innovator, formalizing her rise to official Twitch Ambassador status in 2018.

“I definitely didn’t plan on this when I started streaming,” she laughed during a phone interview with Lifewire. “The only thing content creators thought about was YouTubers, and even then it was still in its infancy. We were just streaming games because we thought it would be fun. I never, ever thought we would end up here [back then].” Using her body as her medium, her art and personality have cultivated an audience that’s completely captivated by the infectious community surrounding the enterprising streamer. Whether it’s a late-night gaming stream or logging in to her meticulous, hour-long body-painting, more than 500,000 followers across all platforms await the next Djarii drop. The woman behind the handle epitomizes what it looks like to be fearless and unapologetic.

Sophia was born in southern England and raised in Portsmouth, on the edge of the island. Her early life was one of personal trials and severe bullying from classmates. Video games became an escape for the young Sophia; they offered the aspiring streamer a way to escape reality, but make-up helped her cope.

“It was really like my sanctuary,” she said. “I used makeup in such a way that it almost became a part of me. It’s a tool for my own [creative] expression, but it’s also like a prison of the world we live in, where you have to look a certain way and be a certain way to be accepted.”