What is your gamer stereotype breaking hobby?

[KOMega]

Hmmm, dang.
Gaming is pretty much one of my only hobbies. Well that and anime.

I feel like I need to find something productive in some way.

 

[Anezay]

I used to enjoy running and lifting, not so much as hobby anymore since I have to for my job.

 

[an874]

Well, one stereotype of gamers and nerds in general is that we are very physically unfit. I personally get to the gym by 6:30 every morning (because that's when it opens) and work out for an hour or so, alternating between lifting and cardio. I'm pretty strong as a result (and apparently look the part according to others), and for some reason this leads to people being surprised when I'm interested in geeky stuff like gaming, anime, comics, etc., while not giving two shits about sports (although sports fanatics aren't any less weird about the things they like).

 

[shrekfan246]

Well, I don't really know what the stereotype is supposed to be in the first place.

But I write. And play the guitar. But saying I can play the guitar is like saying Kenny G is a good jazz musician.

Now now, don't be too hard on yourself. Nobody would say Kenny G is a good jazz musician.

I know, that's the worst part. D:

I'm a musician myself, though only in the sense that when I hold an instrument, something resembling music comes out rather thn fire or something. I'm more passionate about it than good or anything. I play many instruments--badly. Music keeps me sane, though. Banging on a keyboard is more therapuetic than just about anything I can name.

This is where the stereotype being so vague is problematic, though. There's a huge base of gaming nerds obsessed with music, so is that part of the stereotype, or no? Does it only fit if it applies to video game music, or the very stereotypical metal?

Yeah, that's how it is for me. I do it because it's fun, not because I'm actually talented.

And admittedly I fall into the stereotypical section of primarily enjoying metal, though I like to think that what I actually play is something more of a combination of blues and metal.

Additionally, a ton of us are writers to some varying degree. I'm trying to get published. I may not be good enough, but I'd rather try than not, you know? I just need to get the focus back to actually write queries. It's easier writing Escapist posts. Especially since none of these will impact a particular job.

Escapist posts are quite easy to write, aren't they?

I haven't finished anything solidly enough to consider being published, but writing has always been one of my strong points. I was (possibly stereotypically) never all that social growing up, even though I made friends very easily in school, so I spent most of my free time either playing games, reading, or writing, and that's pretty much shaped what my talents are today.

'Course, it probably helps that there's fuck-all to do in Vermont if you don't like hunting.

 

[Mr F.]

I really don't know. Most of what I do falls neatly into the gamer stereotypes (For there are many).

I am not particularly socially awkward, can sing, and I used to be able to play the Piano, does that count? Oh, and I got a little bit of poetry published many years back. All things I can imagine a gamer doing though. I am not unsuccessful with the ladies, yet I wouldn't call "Being in loving relationships" a hobby.

I am getting back into Martial Arts though, I don't know many gamers that are in to that. Oh, and I am on the exec for a student society and massively into Politics and Activism (Not shitty "I am a student on a protest!" activism but actual organised "Lets go stop a bunch of fascists being twats activism", targetted shit.)

All that said, I barely even feel like a gamer any more. I dropped out of the society on campus after my last relationship went bad, I only play a few games none of which have much of a following, I dunno. Next year I hope to be too busy to game xD

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Well, you wouldn't think me a gamer to look at me...i'm visually a complete metal head. Tattoo's, skinhead, combat pants and some brutal t-shirt. But really i'm just a gamer with a mad passion for metal...listening to it, writing lyrics for it...i eat, breathe and shit metal, inbetween massive gaming sessions lol

 

[eatenbyagrue]

Not sure if it counts as a "hobby", but I'm a high school teacher in my day job (I would still totally do it even if I had my wages cut.).

 

[rosac]

Mine is sports, I love pretty much all kinds and regularly play basketball and Australian rules football. Also, possibly one of the few gamers to have played state volleyball but who knows lol

yay Volleyball! I'm crap but play for fun.

OT: I'm the party guy for my sports club, I'm in one of the highest positions a student can get to (sports wise) for my university and I have a reputation for being social and friendly. So, yeah.

 

[unindexedsearchengine]

I write, work out daily, swim often, and occasionally go to shooting ranges. I love me some shooting.
There's this great outdoor range not far from where I live, and they got this HK SL9 in great maintenance.
Yes, I like the SL9. Burn me.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Sometimes I like to stare into the middle distance and shuffle a pack of cards, after painstakingly ordering them.

 

[EeveeElectro]

One of my friends seemed surprised I was going to see The Avengers instead of American Pie when they came out. She said I didn't look like I was into nerdy things, which I suppose is a good thing?

I bake a lot. Not spectacular but good enough, they always taste nice. I go swimming at least twice a week to try get some weight off. If invited out, I'll go. I enjoy the pub or quiet bars and going for walks along the canal especially at night because it's beautiful.

I don't even own a console at the moment which I suppose is the biggest breaker.

 

[Ren_Li]

I own koi, and enjoy just as much time watching my little fishies swimming around the pond as I do playing video games.

Totally awesome! Except for the space needed. That's less awesome.
Me, I'm more into tropical aquariums. I raise guppy fry- I would love to have a massive set up, various tanks for raising them, cross-breeding, etc. And, of course, a couple of tanks just for my guys that I'll keep!
...And then I'll work up to trying to breed and raise corys, which are trickier than guppies, because guppies are the stereotypical rabbits of fish-keeping.
:EDIT: I would like to expand that, possibly working up to a pond when (if?) I eventually buy a house with a garden. But at the moment: Guppies and corys.

I'm also extremely health-conscious, and I freakin' ADORE the sun. Not that you'd know either, since I've had trouble even walking due to sciatica, and so I've put on weight and missed what little sunshine we've had so far this year. Still, not fitting into the junk-food-eating, pasty-skinned stereotype! (Not that that's a hobby, but hiking, working out etc would be, if I could currently do it. Physiotherapy is helping though!)

I draw.

[...]
Line art I guess:

I'm sort of the flip side of that. I can't draw line art, but I can digitally paint, and I love it. I used to volunteer to paint people's lineart (and clean sketches) but I've been short on inspiration, thanks to my health.
I would have thought that drawing/painting and writing fit the gamer stereotype neatly, though. But maybe that's just because of the artists/gamers I've met online, and how much overlap there was.

 

[Silvershadowfire]

I've been a gamer forever... like back when the Atari was the latest thing. And I've been a pencil and paper gamer for a couple of decades now. But non-gaming hobbies... I cook, garden, cross stitch, write, and read. I read a lot. I also like to study random things; my job involves staring at the sky for 12 hours at a time, so I spend a lot of time on Wikipedia and watching documentaries.

 

[Suave Charlie]

Gym on average 4 times a week and I usually dress in Superdry and Abercrombie, I used to view people who dress like I do now as douchebags. Strange to see both sides of things.

 

[Morsomk_v1legacy]

Urhm.......sometimes I write down little stories? Ok, fine! I do artwork, nothing massively good or anything major(I would be at what I would call at, wannabe artist level) but still I try, I try. Not done anything in a while.....christ, need to start doing something this summer.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in my little artwork then here you go(hint,I am not as good as you probably think)
http://morsomk.portfoliobox.me/

 

[DugMachine]

I enjoy hunting, shooting and just being outdoors really. But I also love staying in the nice ac and playing video games so I like to do both equally. Probably games more because hunting can get expensive.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

If the likes of /v/ are anything to go by, then enjoying video games

Uh... my primary hobby is writing music. Although a lot of the music I write is soundtracks for games... I was in a metal band though! Although it was a power metal band... and one of our songs was about Final Fantasy IV...

Hmm...

 

[Phasmal]

Um, I draw? Not so much recently, unless you count drawing dragons on the back of bits of scrap paper. Since my tablet broke it's been kind of hard to get myself to draw anything.

Spoiler: Some of my older, digital stuff

[http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/Phasmal/media/witch_zps2ad90251.png.html]

[http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/Phasmal/media/T-rex_zpsf5a6b4b0.png.html]

[http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/Phasmal/media/naga_zps54ed968e.png.html]

I need to start drawing more. Need to buy a new sketchbook.

 

[Dragonbums]

So fellow escapsists, what are some of your favorite things besides gaming that people don't expect of gamers?

What do people expect from gamers? I'm pretty sure any hobby that's not "video games" doesn't fit with the stereotype. Or am I not informed enough?

I guess OP meant in terms of what the larger media stereotypes gamers as.

Like Basement dwelling, shooter playing, acne ridden, losers(?)