What's going on ladies and gentlemen
welcome back to Vagabrothers
we are in the Shetland Islands, it's a beautiful morning here in Scotland and
We've had a bit of a realization haven't we?
well first and foremost we recently crossed a milestone of
500,000 subscribers, and this video is made in part to
thank you guys all for watching and helping us grow this audience
But we also realized that we've been doing YouTube for five
Years and that the first real trip that we made for the channel was five years ago on New Year's of 2013
We basically hitchhiked across the north of Scotland
With the main goal of trying to understand what Scotland really means.
We made that first trip to Scotland because at that time we were trying to make Vagabrothers
A travel television show and we felt that
making the trip to Scotland to make a series of videos would be basically like a pilot
And it's just kind of crazy to think about now five years later
We're back at the same spot with a completely different set of circumstances the idea of starting a Travel Show has been fulfilled
But just not on television now
We're making the show that we always dreamed of making
But we're making it on YouTube and we have you guys to thank for it
So what we want to do is share
Five quick things that we're thankful for and that we've learned in the past five years on YouTube
Number one it's allowed us to make the Travel Show we've always dreamed of making.
Five years is a long time, but it went by in a heartbeat
Five years ago we came to Scotland with the idea of making a pilot for a television show
We had a great idea on paper but production companies were telling us
that we had no chemistry and we had to practice making films and practice presenting and
So that meant we had to make content and the only place to put it was YouTube so when we started YouTube
Being youtubers was not the goal
it was
basically like having an online resume or CV
In order to get something you have to have something to show it's kind of like the "Field of Dreams"
"If you build it they will come"
So we decided to leave San Sebastián Spain
where we were teaching English and go to Scotland over New Year's Eve to film our first travel show
Dawn on New Year's Day and Scotland is dead
Everyone is at home. There are no buses
No trains and no cars on the road and yet Alex and I have to travel over about one third of Scotland
So we're starting off 2013 the rigth way
by hitchhiking
and we had to figure out how to get all the way up to the Outer Hebrides which is
a really remote island in the north of Scotland
and that's where our plane back to Spain was leaving from
that trip laid the foundations for vagabrothers
and for what the channel would eventually become
it's kind of a life lesson in the sense that we had this one goal
Making a travel show and initially we were thinking that it was gonna be a television show
But just the way that media has changed over the couple of years. It's shown us
how YouTube went from being a
means to an ends to being an ends in itself
five years ago our number one goal was to get a television show and
Five years later right now. That would be awesome, and we would still love to have a TV show but right now
We're making a TV show and it's going directly to you. There's no middleman
It's us and it's you in the comment sections and on the other side of that screen
and that is an incredible feeling
So we want to thank you from the deepest parts of our soul
Thank you so much for subscribing to our channel and helping
Follow our dreams
Number two Vagabrothers has allowed us to share stories from around the world
Since that first trip to Scotland this YouTube channel has allowed us to travel to over 40 countries around the world
if you think about what the world is,
if you think about what culture is you think about what existence is
It's experience and story
I think every time we embark on a new trip
It's really humbling to think that
Our viewers will count on us to share a story from a culture
We as human beings are intrinsically
storytellers everybody's a storyteller and
For us
To be able to go
to different parts of the world and to hear other people's stories and allow them to tell their stories and then
To be able to share that with you
It's just a really incredible thing
Before co-founding this channel with my brother
I was working in journalism, and I really saw the limitations of just
pure facts and strict news
I think that the way the two of us have been able to collaborate
To tell stories in an engaging and entertaining way has really been fun
And I'm glad that you guys enjoy the content that we're putting out there
It's always been such a blessing having my brother with me being able to collaborate together
even though we have a ton of arguments
even though sometimes our creative directions are going in different ways.
We've always managed to find a middle ground and to plot a course together
You know we always wanted to make a travel show and five years later here
We are with the Travel Show on YouTube with five hundred thousand Vagabuddies out there
and it's it's pretty mind-boggling
number three the opportunity to learn
Travel is always an opportunity to learn because you get to experience cultures firsthand
To be completely honest when I was in high school
I didn't want to go to school that doesn't mean that I'm not passionate about learning and one of the best things
That this channel has given us is
the chance to continue to learn and to learn about what we want to learn about and
To share the knowledge that we get through our trips and through our experiences
with each and every one of you out there
Starting a YouTube channel is also a huge opportunity to learn
because you're essentially being an entrepreneur and there is no one
To look at for reference on how to do it
obviously YouTube has now grown and there's a lot of people doing
Doing YouTube these days
But when we first started out it was really scary
because there was no one to look at
the closest thing that we could see
for inspiration was traditional television shows
or
maybe travel writing
but
It's been a huge learning process to try to take those
Forms that have had success on traditional media
and adapt them to the Internet
and the farther down the road
We've gone with YouTube the more opportunities
We have to learn about camera techniques
about new technology like drones and virtual reality
all of which combine to allow us to share
Stories with a worldwide audience
YOU
and that's super important to us
it's one of the core pillars of Vagabrothers
is knowledge and understanding
Because with knowledge you gain understanding
and in this crazy world that we live in
understanding is
very important
Number four we are grateful for the opportunity to express ourselves creatively
We've grown a lot. I think since our first trip to Scotland
We've learned a lot about storytelling and how to express ourselves creatively
I think that it's an ongoing process
But I'm always humbled by the opportunity to do this every single time we turn on the camera.
I think as an artist sometimes
it's challenging to
To share your work
so many artists go throughout their entire life never ever
Showing what they've created to anyone
one of my favorite artists of all time is Vincent van Gogh
And his story is tragic
but beautiful
because his artwork was kind of shunned when he was alive nobody really took him seriously
As we continue to grow as we continue to get older
We kind of are learning that
Being artistic doesn't mean that you have to kind of pander to a wider audience
You can you can do what fulfills you personally
And there will be people out there who find a meaning in that
and that in itself is a really awesome thing
There's many different paths Alex, and I could have taken in life
But the chance to express yourselves creatively is not something I take lightly
I'm really excited every single time
We're able to start a new project.
Whether it be telling the history of the Shetland Islands
making a skit
Making a short film like East of Eden
or any other form of creativity that we might take in the next few years
I'm really hoping that in the immediate future
We're gonna make more short films
more documentaries
and really try to expand the breadth of our creative storytelling
We're also thinking about making a book
so if you'd be interested in that let us know what you'd like to see in the book
Because we're putting together a book proposal right now
Number five making an impact
It's crazy to think that there's five hundred thousand plus people watching from around the world
that every one of you
Watching from your cell phone or computer adds up to half a million people
I don't think we ever got into this with the goal of becoming influencer
But we definitely had the goal of making
Since its' foundation five years ago
Vagabrothers as a channel has not just been about us
it's been about the places we go
the people we meet
the stories that they have to tell us
and to tell you
five years later with
one of these external
Milestones reaching a half a million subscribers
It just means to us
it really feels like the message is being spread
It feels like people are
Engaging with this idea
that we that we try to promote on our channel
which is every culture is unique every culture is valuable
everyone has a story to tell and
If my brother and I can go out there
and help other people tell their story then
That is the most gratifying thing for us
The world that we live in in 2018 feels crazy
And if you watch the news it only feels like it's getting more and more out of control
and that this us first them mentality
Is taking over,
but it's not we are a global community.
The world is a mosaic of cultures and
Every little individual tile is unique
but as a whole it makes a beautiful picture
the idea that the videos that we're making are having a positive impact
on people around the world from many different countries
is super humbling
It's so cool to put on a video about a country such as India
or anywhere else and seeing
locals commenting giving travel tips
and cultural insights to other foreigners
who might visit
that has really been the goal is
Essentially to establish a forum
and a way to allow people from different countries
to interact and engage with each other
the fact that we can do that is
probably the thing that makes me the most grateful of all and
That's what we really want to try to continue
to reinforce on this channel
Is that cultural diversity is a good thing
different languages and different beliefs
can coexist
we kind of feel like it's our personal mission now
to go out there and to spread that
and to continue to tell stories and
To continue to experience new cultures and to continue to share
those experiences with you
I Don't know what else to say other than
thank you
Thank you for helping us achieve this milestone
thank you for being a part of the community
being part of the travel tribe
being a vagabuddy
Thank you for continuing to allow us
to tell stories from around the world
because 2018
we're coming at you
We have a bunch of great ideas and a bunch of big journeys that we want to try to accomplish
And we couldn't do it without you
Alright, everyone.
Thank you for watching.
This was a cool opportunity for us to share some of the reflections we've had
after crossing this milestone
and taking some time out here
back where it all started
to think about what
Vagabrothers has become over the last five years
yeah, man. It's crazy.
Also a lot of you been asking about the t-shirts
We just want to remind you that we've recently
relaunched our merch store
We got four new designs out there
We got the nomadic by nature
the traveller
the travel tribe
and the stay curious keep exploring
Each one of those shirts kind of conveys the message
that we're trying to promote here on the channel
and each purchase helps us
Go to a new bucket-list country and make a new series
so you can find these shirts at represent.com/vagabrothers
There's also a card right here you can click
and there's a link in the info box as well
So we'd love to hear from you guys and girls out there all you vagabuddies
please share your comments down there
in the comments section.
We'll be answering them. We want to hear from you
we want to hear what else you want from us in 2018
and where you want us to go and
Remember if you enjoyed this video give it a thumbs up
share it with your friends and subscribe and turn on notifications
If you have not already
In the meantime stay curious keep exploring and we'll see you guys on the road
Peace!
Five more years strong!
You