What Gaming Chair Does NICKMERCS Use?

You wish someday you could play for the FaZe Clan like NICKMERCS does. He’s one of your favorite Fortnite streamers and has been for a long time. One thing you don’t know about NICKMERCS is what gaming chair he uses. What is it?

NICKMERCS currently uses a Steelcase Gesture ergonomic office and desk chair. The Gesture features 360-degree arms and a 3D LiveBack for supporting multiple postures. It also comes in a variety of sizes. 

NICKMERCS Gaming Chair: The Steelcase Gesture

This article will tell you everything you need to know about NICKMERCS’s chair, the Steelcase Gesture. You’ll learn about its features, cost, and pros and cons. If you’re still unsure by the end of this article whether you should buy the Gesture, I’ve got some great gaming chair alternatives for you to consider. 

Who Is NICKMERCS? Some Background Info

First, I want to do a proper bio on NICKMERCS. Born Nicolas Kolcheff on November 21^st, 1990 in Detroit, Michigan, NICKMERCS has been at the streaming game since the end of the 2000s. At that time, he played Halo and Gears of War professionally.

By 2010, Kolcheff started streaming on what would become Twitch and was then known as Justin.tv. NICKMERCS was already known for his Gears of War gameplay, so he had no problem attracting an audience. He followed that up by creating a YouTube account in 2011 where he would post footage of himself playing Outlast and Call of Duty. 

He was asked in 2018 to become a content creator for 100 Thieves, which he accepted. Around that same time, Kolcheff and a group of other players earned a 54-kill streak on Fortnite. That was a record at the time, although it doesn’t stand today. 

By 2019, NICKMERCS had moved away from 100 Thieves and became a part of the FaZe Clan, an esports league that plays games like Fortnite, Valorant, FIFA, and Call of Duty. 

With his pro-level Fortnite gameplay, Kolchef has earned $130,000 worth of prizes from various Fortnite tournaments and events. In 2019, his Twitch streaming earnings were around $6 million, putting him 10^th on the list of gamers with the highest earnings for that year. 

As of January 2021, NICKMERCS has 147.4 million views on his Twitch account and 4.9 million followers. 

NICKMERCS’s Gaming Chair Features and Benefits

Now that I’ve properly covered the achievements of NICKMERCS, I want to talk at length about his gaming chair, the Steelcase Gesture. 

Steelcase is an office furniture brand that also produces furniture for the healthcare and education sectors. Their line of office chairs includes the Leap, Think, Steelcase Series 1, Steelcase Series 2, SILQ, Cobi, and others. 

Here are the features of the Steelcase Gesture, which is NICKMERCS’s personal favorite. 

Versatility 

Despite that the Gesture is branded as an office chair, it’s usable in plenty of other applications, including for gaming and relaxing. You won’t mind spending all day in this chair!

Quality Materials

The Gesture includes high-quality materials such as Connect upholstery, which is made from durable polyester. If you’re not such a fan of upholstered gaming chairs, try one of the many, many other materials Steelcase offers for the Gesture. Your options are leather, Cogent upholstery, linen-like fabric, and more. 

The chair’s five-star base is aluminum so it’s lightweight yet able to stand up to the rigors of everyday use, even if you stream in the Gesture for hours. 

Carpet Casters

If your streaming hub has carpeting, you usually need to be selective about the chair you buy. Not all caster wheels can handle carpeting, but the Gesture’s casters can. All five caster wheels roll smoothly over rugs and carpeted flooring so you can scoot across the room without your chair getting stuck.

Stellar Sustainability

When Steelcase created the Gesture, the company certainly had sustainability in mind. Portions of the chair–up to 25 percent–are made from recycled content. By weight, up to 85 percent of this chair can be recycled after you stop using it. 

Steelcase uses blanket wrapping when shipping the Gesture rather than boxes for domestic shipments to save on waste. All their powder-coated paints are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The company also uses water-based adhesives whenever possible. 

Beyond its role as a LEED-certified manufacturer through the U.S. Green Building Council, Steelcase’s chair is certified through BIFMA and ANSI at Level 2 and Level 3. The Gesture has a gold certification from SCS Indoor Air Advantage as well. 

Multiple Size Options Available

Do you have a hard time fitting into most office and gaming chairs because all the features seem too small for you? Perhaps your problem is the opposite, where you’re like a mouse on a throne, everything is that teeny-tiny. In either scenario, the Gesture could be the solution you’re looking for. Select from small, medium, or large chair sizes that accommodate a greater variety of users.  

Ergonomics + Posture Support 

The ergonomics in the Gesture are probably a big reason why NICKMERCS gravitated towards this chair. A feature called the 3D LiveBack supports your spine as your posture shifts throughout the day. The LiveBack, as its name suggests, is capable of flexing to recline so you can work and play comfortably.

Steelcase added back contouring to the Gesture to maintain your spine’s natural S-shape. Even the headrest has ergonomic support, as it’s designed with the length of your neck and the size of your head in mind. 

To develop the 3D LiveBack and other postural features, Steelcase did a study involving 2,000 participants spread across six different continents. The study revealed up to nine postures the company knew the average office chair didn’t support. This served as the impetus for the Gesture. 

On top of all that, beneath the leather or fabric upholstery is a foam seat that’s filled with air pockets. Steelcase did this intentionally so the chair stays supportive and comfortable as you use it for hours. 

Awesome Adjustments 

If you’re looking for a gaming or office chair with flexible armrests, you’ve found it in the Gesture. Its arms “move like human arms” according to Steelcase themselves. The arms shift 360 degrees yet still stay parallel to whatever your work surface is so you get optimal shoulder and arm support. 

A core equalizer with a torsional spring lets you set the degree of lumbar support as well as the angle of the Gesture. When sitting upright, the Gesture’s lumbar support increases to benefit your spine. If you lean all the way back into recline mode, the lumbar support is less since you don’t need as much. 

The adjustment controls include a back knob for setting the variable backstop and chair tension as well as a front knob for adjusting the depth and height of your Gesture chair. 

Ready to Use Right Out of the Box

Do you hate all the assembly that’s usually required when ordering a new chair? It takes you hours to figure out where the bolts and screws are supposed to go. That won’t be the case with the Steelcase Gesture. When it arrives at your doorstep, it’s ready to go, no assembly needed! 

Fun Color Choices

No matter the color of your gaming room, the Gesture has a matching hue. Your frame color options are black, dark gray, light gray, and white. If you like fabric upholstery for your chair, the Gesture is available in such hues as:

• Coconut (white)
• Malt (light tan)
• Nickel (light gray)
• Graphite (dark gray)
• Blue Jay (teal blue)
• Royal Blue
• Concord (purple)
• Licorice (black)
• Wasabi (light green)
• Canary (pale yellow)
• Tangerine
• Scarlet

Optional Extras 

If you want to customize the Gesture even further, you can. You can order the chair without arms, with a fixed arm, or with features like a coat hanger, adjustable lumbar support, glides, and a polished aluminum frame. 

Lengthy Manufacturer’s Warranty

The Gesture is protected under the Steelcase manufacturer’s warranty, which is good for 12 years.

How Much Does NICKMERCS’s Chair Cost?

Before you get too excited, you’re curious about how much NICKMERCS’s gaming chair costs. That’s fair considering the Gesture starts at $1,669 when you buy it through the Steelcase website. Here’s that shopping link again for you. 

On Amazon, the fabric Gesture chair is far more affordable, starting at $1,000. However, you don’t get the option to add extras nor can you choose from as many frame and fabric colors. Should you switch fabrics, the cost is around $1,600 just like on Steelcase’s website. 

Should You Buy NICKMERCS’s Chair?

You’re feeling very torn right now. You’re enamored with NICKMERCS’s gaming chair, the Steelcase Gesture, but you’re not so in love with the price. Let me guide your decision with this section. 

First, here are the upsides of the Gesture. The ergonomic support you get in this gaming and office chair is awesome. The only comparable brand I can think of is Herman Miller. Their Embody chair has a built-in spine that moves with yours much like the Gesture’s 3D LiveBack. This kind of advanced back and postural support is not something you find in your everyday chair, that’s for sure.

Steelcase could have stopped there with the ergonomics, but they didn’t. From the adaptive bolstering thanks to the air-filled seat foam to the concaved back and specially-designed headrest, Steelcase thought of it all with the Gesture. I also quite like the core equalizer that sets your level of ergonomic support depending on how you sit. 

Another huge issue with many gaming and office chairs is being limited to 3D arms. Gamers ideally need 4D armrests for arm support over long hours of playing. The Gesture has more than 4D armrests, but arms that move 360 freeing degrees. No matter how you like to adjust your armrests, you should have the option to in this chair.

I also have to mention how the Gesture comes in several sizes so it’s more inclusive. The range of colors and upholstery options is awesome, albeit it’s a little hard to figure out the upholstery options on Steelcase’s website.

Above all else, this is the chair NICKMERCS himself likes to use. That’s saying something.

Okay, so what about the downsides? Admittedly, there aren’t many. This is a well-built chair that could be a wise investment if you’re planning to stream for years to come. Yet the price may be a deterrent to some, as spending more than $1,000 on a chair gives a lot of people pause (and rightfully so). 

Alternatives to NICKMERCS’s Chair

That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to wrap up with three alternatives to NICKMERCS’s chair. These gaming and office chairs each have features akin to the Gesture as well as their own unique advantages that make them worth considering.  

Secretlab TITAN SoftWeave

The Secretlab TITAN is a gaming chair with a lot to offer. If you like the Secretlab OMEGA, the TITAN is like that chair’s cousin, Secretlab says. The 2020 TITAN has an aluminum wheelbase like the Gesture, but theirs uses ADC12 aluminum. TITAN’s XL PU caster wheels can handle carpeting and hard flooring alike, giving it an advantage over the Gesture.

Multi-tilting lets you lean all the way back or sit up completely straight using TITAN’s class 4 hydraulics and tilt locking. If you want lumbar support, the TITAN doesn’t skimp on it. Knobs on the backrest allow you to set the lumbar support depth. The long backrest reclines 165 degrees.

Although the TITAN doesn’t have air-filled foam, this gaming chair does feature Secretlab’s signature memory foam. The foam pillows at the lower back and neck include cooling gel so you never have to sweat when playing Fortnite or your favorite games during a stream. 

The 4D armrests go in a multitude of directions. Although they’re not as expansive as the Gesture’s arms, I think the TITAN’s armrests are about as good. Secretlab even offers an extended warranty on the TITAN, although theirs is only available for five years. 

Their SoftWeave fabric is comparable to the Gesture’s upholstery. You can select from such SoftWeave colors as charcoal blue, black, or cookies and cream. All this for a chair that’s $400. You’d enjoy more than twice the savings compared to buying the Steelcase Gesture!  

Herman Miller Embody

If budget isn’t an issue but you’re not completely sold on the Gesture, let me point you in the direction of the Herman Miller Embody. This chair is $1,570, so you’re saving a smidge of cash, but not enough to really matter.

The Embody is the chair I was talking about before that has the dynamic back with its own ribs and spine. You can also set the backrest to better mimic the curve of your own spine. Raise or lower the armrests, as they’re adjustable, but not to the degree of the Secretlab TITAN and certainly not to the standards set by the Gesture. Pneumatic lifts let you adjust the height of the Embody easily and smoothly. 

The seat of the Embody has up to four support material layers yet still promotes air circulation. Herman Miller made the Embody’s back narrower in parts to encourage proper posture. Unlike the Gesture, whether you’re completely reclining or sitting straight, the Embody does not lessen its degree of ergonomic support. 

If you like the Gesture because of its environmental sustainability, Herman Miller is sustainable too. The Embody is almost entirely recyclable, up to 95 percent. It’s also made from more recycled materials than the Gesture, 42 percent versus 25 percent. Herman Miller only produces the Embody in green-energy buildings and never uses PVC in the chair’s construction.

Steelcase Leap V2

You can also stay within the Steelcase family and try the Leap V2 over the Gesture. Steelcase’s four-year postural study came into play when designing this office chair as well. That’s why the Leap V2 has LiveBack technology so the chair moves like your spine does. It’s not just the backrest that mimics your motions, but the arms and the whole seat itself. 

From lumbar height to lower back firmness and pivot armrest settings, you can adjust the Leap V2 in about every way you can the Gesture and maybe even a few more. This chair also comes in a variety of materials and colors. 

Check out my guide on the Best Fabric Gaming Chairs

Conclusion 

Famous Fortnite streamer NICKMERCS only plays in the Steelcase Gesture. This chair retails for around $1,700, but it features impressive spine support, postural ergonomics, comfort features, and great adjustments. If it’s not quite up your alley, perhaps you’ll better like the alternatives I recommended. Either way, your search for a new gaming chair should end here!