Jeremy Elbertson

Jeremy Elbertson (born September 22, 1985), known online as Jerma985 or Jerma ( ), is an American live streamer, YouTuber, performance artist, and voice actor known for his elaborate Twitch live streams incorporating surreal comedy. He has been described as an online personality across multiple social media platforms.

Early life and education

Jeremy Elbertson was born on September 22, 1985, to an Irish-American father and Polish-American mother. Upon receiving a Bachelor of Science in communication studies, he became a substitute teacher and freelance wedding videographer.

Career

Early work and voice acting

Jerma previously owned a now defunct website called jermanet.com, which contained video and audio clips, largely from his college years.

He has voiced characters in multiple indie games, such as "Matt" in ''Galactic Phantasy Prelude'', the Engineer in '' Cryptark'' and ''Gunhead'', and the Horse Lord Hipparchos in '' Apotheon''.

YouTube

Jerma created his YouTube channel, Jerma985, on June 11, 2011. His content primarily focused on the video game ''Team Fortress 2'', which he used to help raise money for the non-profit organization ''Camp One Step''.

On October 8, 2011, Jerma announced his partnership with the online entertainment network Machinima.

In March 2014, Jerma released the first "Jerma Rumble", an annual production which used the ''WWE 2K'' games to make primarily quirky or strange characters, often based on characters from past videos and live streams, and watch them wrestle in-game. In August 2016, Jerma released a live-action wrestling sketch as that year's Jerma Rumble. In 2015, he played multiple low quality ''Grand Theft Auto'' clones through the Apple app store, which is, to date, his most-viewed video.

Twitch

Jerma did not fully transition into Twitch streaming until 2016. He primarily streamed video games (such as ''The Sims'') while interacting with viewers in the chat. His streams were heavily comedically-driven, often involving physical sketches or interplay with the virtual audience. After transitioning to Twitch as a main platform, he became well known for his "unconventional streams" and green screen performances, which fans used to edit comedic videos, gaining notoriety for his distinctive and atypical live streaming formats and viewer interaction.

On September 21, 2019, Jerma hosted a real-life "robot carnival" stream that used viewer-controlled robots, allowing members of the live stream chat to control the aim in carnival games such as ring toss and dunk tank.

In March 2021, Jerma hosted a real-life archaeology and geology stream with a paleontologist from the Nevada Science Center. In the stream, he "unearthed" ''Grotto Beasts!,'' a fictitious trading card game from the 1990s based on ''Pokémon''. The cards were produced in collaboration with multiple artists. Fans played along with the joke, producing fan art in the form of found footage-style art, such as a website for the card game made to resemble a GeoCities webpage from the 1990s. In early 2022, he donated $10,000 to the Nevada Science Center.

In August 2021, Jerma began his real-life ''The Sims''-inspired "Dollhouse" streams, which he described as his "biggest project yet". The first of three streams, entitled '' The Jerma985 Dollhouse'', was aired on August 18, 2021, and began with a prerecorded video of Jerma choosing his outfit. The streams allowed viewers to control Jerma's actions through voting and suggestions, similar to the way one would control a ''Sims'' character: keeping him fed, happy, healthy and energetic, leading to a primarily improvised plot and series of events. The Dollhouse series is notable for its high production value, as well as the level of control that viewers were allowed to have over the events of the stream. These streams used a combination of visual effects and a real set in order to portray a scene similar to that of the ''Sims'' series.

On August 19, 2022, Jerma hosted a streamed baseball game at CarShield Field, featuring the fictitious Jerma Baseball Association. He later compared the game to a "live comedy improv show". During the stream, two fictitious and comedic baseball teams, the Maryland Magicians and the California Circus (made up of semi-professional baseball players and circus performers), played a modified game of baseball with various gimmicks, such as "Power Cards" which provided advantages to the team that played them. Jerma played the role of the umpire. The event received financial support from sponsors Fansly and Manscaped.

At the end of February 2023, Jerma revealed that ''Grotto Beasts!'' was officially being released nearly two years after the initial reveal. The 'revamped' trading card game features artwork from 20 different artists, including Jerma himself.

On June 12, 2023, Jerma joined Offbrand, a media production company co-founded by fellow streamer and occasional collaborator Ludwig Ahgren, as chief creative officer. Later that year, Jerma discussed plans for a "soft retirement" from streaming, moving into further work with other creators in collaboration with Offbrand. Ludwig later revealed that Jerma stepped down as CCO of Offbrand in June 2024, due to "personal reasons."

On May 27, 2024, Jerma admitted to being "completely retired" from streaming as a career yet still streamed occasionally. Since January 2025, Jerma has streamed one or two times a week.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

*''Otto's Big Adventure: A Dog's Day Out!'' (2012)
*''Otto's Big Adventure 2: The Great Cookie Mystery'' (2012)
*''Rat Movie: Mystery of the Mayan Treasure'' (2014)
*''Rat Movie 2: The Movie'' (2015)

References

External links

*

{{Portal bar, Biography, Internet, United States

1985 births
Living people
American people of Irish descent
American people of Polish descent
American Twitch (service) streamers
YouTube channels launched in 2011
English-language YouTube channels
Surreal comedy
American gaming YouTubers
Streamer Award winners
YouTubers from Boston
American male voice actors
American performance artists