- I've waved my 20's goodbye.
And I found myself thinking a lot about a guy.
And that guy is here. (ominous music)
Look, the wet look hair gel was a choice.
I think I was kind of working it.
But there are a lot of things
that I would like to tell him.
I mean, I wouldn't,
because I don't wanna create a time paradox
and suck us all off into a black hole.
I mean, the black hole could buy me dinner first,
but no, the decade of your 20's are a big deal.
You're like, "Oh no. Am I a person now?
What do I do?"
And in hindsight, I didn't know anything,
and there was so many mistakes.
So purely so I can heal my past self,
here are the top 20 things
I wish I knew when I was 20.
- [Narrator] Twent. - Don't trust people
who tell you other people's secrets.
I had a friend that was super gossipy,
and they would tell me everything about other people,
and sometimes I'm thirsty for gossip.
I like to hear a bit of scandal.
(ominous music) But, I made the mistake
of telling them some of my secrets.
I had a massive crush on one of my friends
who didn't know I was gay.
So I told my gossipy friend,
thinking it was in the vault,
we weren't gonna speak of it.
I even said, "Vault, this is in the vault.
We're in the vault.
This is in the vault."
Two days later, they go and tell my friend,
I've gotta have an awkward conversation
about how they don't wanna ruin the friendship,
when I never wanted to even tell 'em anyway.
That's happened a couple of times.
So if someone's gossipy,
they're gonna gossip about you.
- [Narrator] 19. - Virginity is not a big deal.
When I was at school, everyone was obsessed with virginity.
"He's a virgin.
"I bet he's a virgin."
"I bet they're all a group of virgins."
And it just became something
that was so ingrained in my head.
It's just so stupid.
Thankfully everything happened
around the right time for me,
and I wasn't feeling any regrets,
but I could have for sure.
I'm just think you gotta figure it out and do it.
And do it at your own pace.
You know what I mean?
- [Narrator] 18. - Ditch the emo hair.
Any look that you're really comfortable in,
you can't hide behind for too long.
And I was definitely hiding
behind that emotional fringe.
It was my shiny black comfort blanket
that I wore on my head.
And I'm kind of now mourning
all the cool hairstyles that I could have had,
in that entire decade,
though probably not bald, probably.
- [Narrator] 17.
- Go to the party in New York.
This isn't me telling you
to go to a specific party.
I just mean, the party is a metaphor.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone.
When I was 20 or 21,
I went to New York on my own,
which was a huge deal
for an introverted little mole rat.
I met up with some internet people,
I ended up being a sound guy
at a dog charity event.
It was a whole thing.
And one night one of my friends invited me
to a college party,
which I probably romanticized in my head,
and it wasn't as cool as I thought it was gonna be,
but I was gonna be the cool British person.
There might have been gays there.
It could have been a whole social experience
that I will never have.
And I was walking to the tube station, what do you call it?
The subway. And I got too scared and said I had a headache.
So I never went to the party,
didn't push myself outta the comfort zone,
didn't have that experience.
I really regret that,
because you know, I'm never gonna
get that New York time back.
Obviously not doing things I don't want to do,
but just something that could have
enriched my life a bit more.
Like Chad in the college kitchen.
(laughing) I don't know.
And I was just picturing myself being like,
"Hello, I'm Philip. Pip pop.
And I just, I don't know it.
I didn't want to do it.
I think I should've,
'cause the next day she was like,
"That was the best party ever.
We had a great time.
You should have been there."
And I was like, "Oh. Oh. FOMO."
FOMO after the fact.
So yeah, outside of your comfort zone,
a little bit within reason.
- [Narrator] 16.
- Exercise doesn't have to be disgusting
or emotionally damaging.
As I talked about in my therapy video,
I've been massaging my brain with some meditation,
and another thing she recommended was exercise.
But thanks to the lovely sponsor
of today's video, CoPilot,
I found something that will actually make me move.
Since my days of doing football in PE,
I've had a very complicated relationship
with any form of working out,
and associating with all those feelings
of worrying and stress,
also means I have to leave the house.
But with CoPilot, thankfully I don't have to.
They linked me up with my very own personal trainer, Rod.
We love Rod, (Angelic tone)
who is not just there to train me,
but also help keep me accountable,
because I hate disappointing people.
That's just sort of me and my own terrible motivation.
I've got someone to chat to.
So to start things off,
I had a really interesting chat with Rod,
and I think we were chatting for about an hour,
about my life, what my goals were, why I hate footballs.
(laughing) It was a whole thing.
As a "yes man," I was like,
"Whatever you say King Rod, I'm gonna do it."
And he's been super helpful,
texting me words of encouragement,
videos to make sure everything makes sense.
And getting together a plan that Phil,
of all people, will actually do.
You know, all I had was this skipping rope,
and one resistance band,
and he was like, "Yeah, that's perfect."
The exercises all come with video instructions as well.
So it's really like having
a personal trainer in your pocket,
except you don't have to feed them.
And it's really helped me
change my relationship with exercise,
which is something I'd never thought would happen.
There are no guarantees I won't scream at a football.
CoPilot have given me a great deal
to share with you guys,
which is 14 days completely free
with your own personal trainer.
I mean, why not give it a go?
And if you get Rod, please say hi from me.
Also, if you don't think a trainer
is the right fit for you for any reason,
you can switch it up at any time in the app.
You can scan this QR code,
or clicky the linky below.
I'm gonna keep this going.
So I'll check in with you in a year,
when I have my 17 pack abs.
Oh Rod, just let me know
that is physically impossible.
Let me dream, Rod.
- [Narrator] Fifdom.
- Sweatpants are great.
I for, twent, blah,
10 years just wore jeans at home.
I get home in my skinny jeans,
relax on the sofa in my skinny jeans,
just before bed,
I'm being constricted
in every area imaginable.
And and for what? Why?
It took a lockdown
for me to realize the joy of sweatpants.
Honestly, before that,
I would wear jeans all the time.
And sweatpants have been such a revelation
that I've missed out on
for a whole 10 years of my life.
I only get a hundred of those.
Who am I trying to impress
wearing skinny jeans at 11:00 PM alone in my bedroom?
I don't know. Look what I'm wearing now.
Look at all this flop room.
(record scratching)
That sounded wrong. (laughing)
You know, the material is floppy.
Uh, yeah. Just be comfy, dude.
- [Narrator] Fourteen.
- Stay alert for scammers.
Being a creative person online,
a lot of people have tried to scam me.
They're everywhere.
Firstly, there's people that will promise you the moon,
but they can't deliver anything.
They're just pretending.
They're like, "Yeah, I'll take over your whole business.
I'll manage your channel."
You wanna be like Beyonce, Philonce.
But no, they can't do anything.
I had a person that was almost my manager,
and he tried to scam me a lot.
I didn't know this guy.
I got in his car.
It was really sketchy.
So I think you'd just be a bit wary of people's words,
and always double check the website
if you get a password request.
But I'm sorry hackers,
there's no Phil butt in my iCloud.
There's just gems like these.
- [Narrator] Thirteen. - Don't say,
"Gnu on," "The Weakest Link."
That, (laughs) still can't believe I did that.
- [Game Show Host] Phil, in "Wildlifes,"
the name of which South American mammal
is unusual in that the first
two letters are the same? - Gnu.
- [Gameshow Host] Correct answer is Llama.
- Ugh. That's on me for not hearing,
and being too awkward
to ask it to repeat the question.
Can you tell I'm a little bit salty
about this still? (laughing)
- [Narrator] Twelve. - Value friendships
while you have them.
I had some great friends from school,
that I just drifted apart from.
And I think that's normal as you get older.
But I think for some of them,
we would've stayed great friends
if we'd have just cultivated the friendships a bit more.
And I think to be honest,
like 60% of that was because of me.
'Cause I moved down from the north,
came to London, and this YouTube stuff
was so busy and overwhelming,
and I might have neglected
some of those friendships from home or university,
that I really would've liked to have kept.
So if you do really like someone, put in the effort.
- [Narrator] Eleven. - Accept the job
editing male porn. (laughs)
I just think it would've been a funnier story,
and a job than working in (indistinct) H. Smith,
and getting chocolate oranges thrown at my head.
You know, I don't know.
It might have just unlocked
a whole funny chapter of my life.
I just regret not going and seeing what it was all about.
- [Narrator] Ten. - Indian food is incredible.
Until I met Dan, I'd never had Indian food.
I don't know why,
because it's one of the best, delicious,
most amazing foods in the whole world.
I just deprived myself of it,
because I think maybe once,
my mom served me a cold corner,
and I just thought that's what it was all about.
So I missed out on so many
delicious curry nights and everything,
where I'd just sit nibbling a Poppadom,
where I could have had all of the delicious spices.
If you're like me, and you're a bit of a fussy eater,
just go and try the Indian food.
It's beyond incredible.
Probably maybe my fave cuisine.
Now I'm hungry. Thanks Phil.
- [Narrator] Me. - Learn how tax works.
I got this job,
and I didn't know anything about taxes.
And that was a terrible idea.
Why don't they teach you about taxes in school?
Why are we learning about triangles
and Oxbow Lakes?
Probably could've got in trouble
and gone to prison if I didn't get an accountant.
It's so confusing.
The form just should be, "How much did you earn?"
But instead it's like,
"Have you ever thought about money
while looking into the eyes of a Guinea pig?"
"Have you filled out the X374.pdf?"
I'm like, "What? I don't know.
Did it to the best of my ability."
I'm not gonna blame it all on school.
Could've probably done a bit more research on it.
So try and learn what a tax is.
- [Narrator] Eight. - Don't be distracted
by how hot people are.
(laughing) Look, okay, I don't want this
to make me seem like a shallow person.
But, I think if someone had inherent hotness,
I would definitely feel more drawn to them.
And that's a bad thing.
I don't think you should be giving
someone more of a time of day,
just because they have
a bit more physical attractiveness.
I didn't only just think about hotness,
in like choosing friends and stuff like that.
I had all sorts of friends.
But I did find hotness distracting,
and I gave them the hot person privilege.
And I don't think anyone should have that.
Thankfully, I met some really terrible people
who were also hot, which snapped me out of it.
I was like, "Oh, yeah, what am I doing?
Why am I being friends with these people?
This is dumb."
So now if you're pretty,
you're not getting any privileges with me.
- [Narrator] Sweven.
- Stop being a "yes" person.
I agreed to way too much in my early YouTube career.
Just think about me spawning a dating app
for going on a date with girls.
(laughing) Yeah, it was,
I shouldn't have said yes to everything,
and chosen more experiences
based on what I wanted to do,
and not, "Oh my God, I should do everything
just in case this ends tomorrow."
Which is fair, but not at the expense of your happiness.
- [Narrator] Six. - Go back to film club,
and asked the guy out
that said you should go for coffee after class.
I was an early gay, this guy,
he was so cute, at the film club.
I only went once.
We had a really nice conversation about "Alien."
And he was like, "Hey, we should get coffee,
and keep talking about this."
I was like, 'Oh no, sorry, I've gotta go to class."
And then I left.
I never went back to the film club.
I could have asked him out,
and that is why.
Phil, why? Not that many cute people
are gonna show an interest in you at university.
- [Narrator] Five.
- People at work aren't your instant best friends.
I'd never had a job before,
so when I got my job,
I met all my co-workers at the stationary store.
I was kind of treating them like friends,
and not really thinking about
the hierarchy of managers, assistant managers.
Janice has been there for 25 years.
So on my first day, I was like,
"Oh, I really don't want to do newspapers. "
'Cause you've gotta get up at 5:00 AM.
Then they just put me on the newspaper shift,
'cause they saw me as the lazy newspaper guy.
Then I met someone for the first time,
and they were like, "Oh, newspaper guy."
Just be a bit more wary,
and know that co-workers are not instantly
the same as friends. - Four.
- Don't have a piggyback race while intoxicated.
Full stop. I don't need to say anything else.
(laughing)
It was all in the title. - Three.
- Get yourself an office chair.
I spent so many years hunching over a laptop
basically on a wooden kitchen chair,
or on my bed like this.
Now I can't sit on a shoulder.
A shoulder. What? (ominous music)
Now I, what?
Now I can't sit on a chair
for more than 30 minutes
without getting shoulder pain
right here in this egg zone.
I just wanna remove my entire back and start again.
You've only got one meat suit.
(record scratching) This is not my meat suit.
This is my clothes. (laughing)
This is my meat suit.
Protect him. - Two.
- Speak to your old relatives more.
I don't have any grandparents anymore.
I loved them.
And I had one day when I was speaking to my grandma,
which I always cherish,
where I just asked her about her life.
Like, "What did you get up to when you were 20?
Where did you go?
Who were your friends?
What were your jobs?"
And there was just so much stuff she told me.
I was like, "I didn't know anything about you.
How did I not ask any of this?"
And I really regret not doing it for my other grandparents.
I'm just getting to know them more
on a like adult to adult level,
rather than, "I'm your grandson.
Please go have a flapjack?"
I'm glad I did get to have some of those conversations.
But I wish I could have had more.
So if you've got a lovely old person in your life,
just go ask 'em some questions on my behalf.
- [Narrator] One. - You're gonna be accepted,
coming out as gay.
This is a big one.
We've come a long way in a decade,
and I just was so scared I would not be accepted,
and I had so many fears,
and it was just this ongoing
anxiety in the back of my head.
If I could tell people how great it went,
and how amazing life is being out,
I would've just been a much happier Phil.
Emotions. Wow. - Bonus.
- Bonus. Invest in Apple, invent TikTok,
and I'll send you some lottery numbers,
and you can get a slide instead of stairs
like you've always dreamed.
- [Narrator] Bonus. - Oh, and another bonus.
I tell him this weird, amazing Phil thing that he's doing,
is still happening in 2023,
but it's less futuristic than you'd think.
There's no flying cars.
But overall, it's still alive. So.
- [Narrator] And. - Leave a comment
with something you would tell your former self below.
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I hope you have a lovely day,
and I will see you later.
Goodbye.