- I am not quitting YouTube. I love YouTube.
In addition to talking about the amazing year
that we just had on this channel with all of your support,
I wanna share with you a story
that I've only really shared with my close personal friends
about how the media industry works,
where my standards are when it comes to making content,
I will not work with a company that I don't believe in.
I will not work with a company
that will not allow me to tell the truth about its product.
And that's really the story that I wanna start off with.
And that story is about a TV show
that I was given the opportunity to have as my own TV show.
And honestly, I was so excited about it.
When a company comes to you and says,
"You're gonna be in every state,
you're gonna be on mainstream media,
you're gonna have your own show, no one else,
you're the lead host," my eyes went big.
I'm like, "Wow, this is my shot to go on television,
to educate a completely new demographic of people."
I was ecstatic, (air whooshes)
but I was ecstatic with a little cautious optimism there
because I knew that that could easily be swayed
in the wrong direction.
So when I'm talking to the producers
and the people behind the scenes,
right away I say that I need to be
an executive producer of the show as well
to make sure that the information
that we're talking about
is accurate. (bubble pops)
It's not exaggerated. (bubble pops)
You're not facing all the same problems
that you see in traditional media
where they try and scare you with headlines,
or they overaccentuate certain studies
to make it sound like some miraculous cure is found,
but that's not really the case.
We've seen that a lot on medical TV shows.
And it's exactly the opposite
of what we stand for on this channel.
They agreed.
They said, "You get to do this how you want.
We believe in you.
We've seen the success on the YouTube channel.
We're gonna make it work." (air whooshes)
It really felt too good to be true.
And you know,
when it comes to doing
a big TV deal worth
(air whooshes)
multi-million dollars, (air whooshes)
that's literally what I was offered.
Again. I've never really said this to anybody
except my close friends.
There's a lot of contract stuff involved.
We got it worked out.
Like these contracts are usually really hard to hammer out,
and it was coming together.
Like every day I was skeptical.
I was like, "No, it's not gonna happen."
And it kept happening, kept progressing.
We're getting closer and closer.
Like my hospital got excited about it.
I got excited about it.
I had to tell my father about it
and my really close friends about it.
One of my friends came over and brought over
a bottle of champagne, (glass clinking)
and we celebrated it!
And it's kind of embarrassing to admit
because I've never really talked about crying
on this channel, but I was in the shower one day,
and when I thought about what had happened,
that I was given this opportunity, I cried in the shower.
Like it was not even like me to cry, but I was just like,
"Wow, this is happening. This company believes in me.
This is my opportunity to bring
what we've done so successfully on the YouTube channel
and bring it to the mainstream."
All of that was happening.
We're about a week away from going to film.
I'm laser-focused to get to already the first filming day.
The topics are being selected.
I'm working with the other producer.
Like a lot of stuff was in the works.
(suspense music)
And then a few days before the start of everything,
they send the contract, and it's missing one crucial word.
And that word basically changed my ability to be able
to nullify sponsors,
to say that "We shouldn't have this sponsor for the show,"
and that gave me some fear, because to me as a doctor,
I feel like I need to have a say
in what sponsors we take on.
Because the last thing I want is for my show
to turn into the typical media show
that is selling nonsense juice cleanses, detox,
miracle weight loss formulas.
Like that's not what I'm about.
And while I didn't think that
that was the direction they were going,
I needed to make sure by maintaining
that control. (air whooshing)
So I got a little nervous, and we reached out to them.
We had like an all hands on deck call.
And I really pointedly asked,
"Who are these sponsors
that we're getting for this upcoming year
that you will not give me that control?"
And the sponsors they started talking about blew my mind,
not in a good way.
It was like, "Miracle joint potion
that makes you faster, (bubble pops)
stronger, better looking." (bubbles popping)
Like ridiculous claims. (air whooshes)
And I was like,
"What?! We're a medical show. We wanna help people.
This is the opposite of what I stand for!"
And what the show told me knocked me on the floor.
They said, "Dr. Mike, we understand.
We actually thought you might say this.
So what we're willing to do is we're willing to bring in
a guest medical host to just read the ads."
(air whooshes)
"What?! You want me to put my face on the show,
be the executive producer of the show;
on my YouTube channel, debunk all this stuff;
and then on my TV show,
allow another doctor to spew medical misinformation!
You thought that I would be okay with that?!"
And at the same time, I was like, "But this is my shot."
Like, "Is there a way to make this work?
Can we work it out? Can we bring other sponsors?"
I started calling my YouTube sponsors
and asking if they would sponsor the show,
trying to get financials in place
to make sure that we could do this honestly,
with good integrity.
My agent reached out to the TV show people.
And the thing that they said to them
was probably the most disappointing thing
I've ever heard being in show business.
They said that I am too much of a martyr for the cause,
and I'm not willing to compromise.
(air whooshes) The reason I'm in this thing,
the reason we're talking right now
is because I won't compromise!
When I told them that,
that I was so upset that they said
that I wouldn't compromise my ethics,
which is just a ridiculous statement,
they said that "Dr. Mike, this isn't the YouTube channel.
We have real costs.
We have real employees that we need to pay."
And it was at that moment, I hung up,
and I turned down this multimillion dollar deal
to be on every TV station in the nation
and continue doing YouTube very, very happily.
It was an easy decision.
At the same time, it was a very easy decision.
Money comes and goes. (bubbles popping)
(air whooshes) It's about the bigger mission.
The fact that we're able to present good information
and be successful at doing that.
I have a unique skill,
and I wanna continue sharing that with you.
So I am not leaving you YouTube.
And in fact, I'm doubling down on YouTube,
expanding the type of content that we're doing
and announcing here, maybe for the second time,
if you saw my first boxing video with Ryan Garcia,
that come 2022, (air whooshes)
I'm gonna be a real boxer. (bell dinging)
I'm gonna have my first official boxing match.
I can't say yet with who,
I promise you it's gonna be exciting.
Second, I announce the tour. (drum roll)
I hope you guys are coming.
April, we have a four-city tour, Boston, Philly;
Red bank, New Jersey, and Washington, DC.
Not in that order.
The show is gonna be a mix
of comedy, improv, game shows. (bubbles popping)
- The theme of this conference.
(record scratching)
- This isn't a TED Talk. I'm not lecturing anyone on stage.
There's gonna be audience participation
if you wanna participate. (bubble popping)
I'm gonna bring you on stage.
There's VIP tickets available,
limited though. (bubble pops)
A lot of people are buying those already.
So get those because with that,
you get a meet and greet, (bell dings)
photoshoot, (bell dings)
limited edition merch. (bell dings)
I know there's some concerns
that I've read about Omicron with the tour.
Remember, this is in five months from now,
continue getting vaccinated, continue getting your boosters.
We're gonna follow all Covid protocols
once the show goes live.
I'm still staying alert, (bubble popping)
not anxious,
as I've said from January 2020.
On another note,
Patreon community, (air whooshes)
what's up?! (air whooshes)
We raised over $61,000 (air whooshes)
on the Patreon community. (air whooshes)
That's right, to join the Patreon community,
its just $9.99 a month.
And I don't keep any of that money.
All of it goes to charity.
We decide together as a Patreon community each month
where that money goes.
Look at all these charities (bubbles popping)
we've donated to this year.
By joining the Patreon, (air whooshes)
you get access to a Discord server that I'm on,
monthly live streams,
where I open mail and talk about the charities
that we're donating to and give little spoilers and teasers
and updates and things
that we're up to. (air whooshes)
You get to participate in contests that if you win,
you're allowed to watch a show with me or a game with me.
We also use some of our Patreon community in our videos,
as you've seen the past.
And you get discounts
for merch (air whooshes)
because we've had our first merch drop
or maybe our second merge drop,
but it was an absolute success,
the chest compressions merch drop.
We're gonna be doing one every quarter, though.
And each quarter, (air whooshes)
there's gonna be a theme.
So get excited for the themes.
I'd love to hear your suggestions, drop them down below.
I already have some in mind that I'm excited about.
And for the new year,
we're continuing to expand the team
on the lookout for new editors.
There's a link down below to submit your application
if you're interested.
We're also looking for a brand strategists,
like a chief operations officer,
so all sorts of people that we're looking for.
I also wanna spend more time training this guy.
Bear, come here. I wanna get him back in the hospital,
and I've kind of slacked with this training.
Come on, up. Say hi to everybody.
It's the end of year video, bud.
It's the end of year video.
(bubble pops) Newf.
Look at this newf.
(tongue slurping)
(Mike laughing)
And better, more content.
That's the goal to get you guys
to have fun and learn something in the process.
As always, stay happy and healthy in the new year.
Say bye, bear.
(upbeat music)