STREAMING MEDIA IS THE NEW COMMUTE

Meet entrepreneur Garren Parkins, an ETSU digital media graduate with a passion for streaming media. Three years ago, while he was working remotely from his home office, Garren had an epiphany that changed his life’s trajectory. Shortly thereafter, along came a world pandemic. The two events coinciding inspired him to launch Deskrig, LLC.

“Within a year of working remotely, I realized that I had failed,” Darren said. “My video presence came off as unprofessional compared to my competitors’ more polished approach. To make me look as good or better, I did a deep dive into the technology. What I learned was a game-changer. The next time I appeared in a video meeting, I had the client’s attention and I made the sale.”

The coronavirus lockdown made video meetings not only necessary but commonplace. The timing was perfect for Garren to fine tune his streaming video solution and start Deskrig. Now he’s using his office in the Kingsport Center for Art & Technology (KCAAT) to turn his epiphany into a business that’s getting busier and busier.

“I was working at home and needed a space where I could work uninterrupted,” Garren says. His space at the KCAAT offers him that opportunity. As a Create Appalachia Business Start-Up Member, Garren has a private office that comes with access to shared conference and collaboration spaces, plus the opportunity to get to know other creatives who share the space.

To date, the company offers three streaming video options—VX, for video, WX, for workstation, and PX for production—all of which eliminate the need to understand complex technology or be concerned about hardware limitations. And Garren has big goals: “We want to ship pre-built, purpose-built, Deskrig units that are plug and play,” Garren says. “Our mission is to democratize the new virtual commute so everyone is on the same playing field, whether they are in a home office, or in a corporate conference room.”

We loved the idea of this so much that Create Appalachia had Garren design the setups in both of our Streaming Media Labs—one in Kingsport, and one in Johnson City. Members can reserve them at discounted hourly rates. Or are you thinking about a Deskrig for your own workspace? Get in touch with Garren through deskrig.com.

Photos by Garren Parkins

Photo captions:

Garren Parkins, Deskrig Founder & Chief Nerd

Deskrig Streaming Media Office

Deskrig Setup