Warzone pro FaZe Santana reveals mission to set “example” for Hispanic creators

Dante ‘FaZe Santana’ Santana has become one of the most popular Warzone streamers on Twitch over the last couple of years. In an exclusive Dexerto interview to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month, he told us more about his rise in content creation.

When it comes to FPS gaming in the online streaming sphere, two things come to the mind of most fans. Call of Duty, and FaZe Clan — with many gamers dreaming of joining the now-publicly traded organization.

In the case of TheBoiSantana, he was able to make his dream a reality. After creating his Twitch channel in 2019 and hooking up in-game with well-established member FaZe Swagg, the Puerto Rican began seeing his rise to fame thanks to a group of friends now known worldwide as the “Nuke Squad.”

The streamer joined FaZe Clan in March 2021 alongside Swagg, Booya, and Jsmooth after being surprised with their own announcement video during a stream.

He shares his Hispanic heritage with nearly 500,000 fans across all of his platforms, noting that the most important thing to him is setting a positive example for fans of all ages.

FaZe Santana on carving a path for Hispanics

When he created his Twitch channel three years ago, Dante realized that he was going to have to work hard to make a name for himself in the industry.

For most, it’s easy to see the long nights of streaming and video editing and give up. But for the 24-year-old, that was precisely what helped him realize he was passionate about making a name for himself in the space.

“I think I first realized that I was passionate about content creating when I realized I didn’t mind barely getting any sleep even though I had work and college to try and stream and create videos,” he told Dexerto.

Opening up a pathway for more Hispanic creators to follow in his footsteps and improve representation is the mission he has set himself, too.

“I think it’s super cool that I have the love and backing of the Hispanic community I’m just trying to give them someone they can look up to and say ‘I wanna be like him when I’m older’. The most important thing for me is to set a positive example for all ages because people who look up to you will follow your example.”

He also wanted to pass on a piece of advice to budding streamers, too.

Santana said: “Might sound pretty cliche but don’t give up and follow your dreams but always have a backup plan just in case things don’t work out.”

The biggest challenge he had to overcome

It’s those long hours that FaZe Santana says have been the biggest thing he’s had to overcome as a result of his recent popularity.

“The biggest hurdle would have to be facing the fact that I wouldn’t have a lot of time to spend with my family,” he revealed.

Santana’s content has gotten bigger and better since he joined FaZe. Over the last year, Dante has uploaded vlogs while in Los Angeles, California with other FaZe Clan members and even other videos featuring NBA star Devon Booker – helping take esports to the mainstream.

Who FaZe Santana wants to collab with next

Big opportunities to work with mainstream personalities can arise for the most well-connected streamers, as we have seen in the past. Ninja has played Fortnite with Drake and Neymar Jr. in the past, for example – but who would Santana really like to team up with?

They said: “I would love to collaborate with Seth Rogan, I think the video would just be us hanging out playing some video games and reaching new ‘levels’.”

Over the last few years, more and more influencers have decided to hop in the ring to fight against other influencers.

It’s popular throughout FaZe Clan as well, with co-founder Thomas “Temperrr” Oliveira putting his gloves on multiple times over the last year.

Dexerto asked Santana who he would choose to go up against should he find his way into a boxing match, and the answer happened to be one of his own.

“[I’d box] FaZe Swagg, ’cause he got no hands,” he told us.

Whether or not Santana will step into a boxing ring in the future remains to be seen, but his inspirational career is only going one way these days – and that is up.