(switches clicking)
- So I think I'm supposed to start this video
by saying this isn't click bait,
but by the end, it probably will be.
But what I can definitively tell you
is that this is the last video I'm recording in this studio.
It is also the last video I'm recording in 2022.
And it is the last thing I'm doing on YouTube
for a long while.
Yep, VidIQ family, it's time for me to say goodbye.
Matt Koval recently made a video
where he estimated that the average career span of a creator
is between five and seven years.
And you know what?
I think he might be onto something,
because I am six years and six months into this VidIQ gig.
It has been an incredible journey from faceless videos
to terrible green screen to what you see today.
And a good long while ago,
I wrote on one of the walls of this office
that you never see, two goals,
and they were quite outrageous.
To achieve one million subscribers
and a hundred million views.
And I joked that if I ever reached these goals,
I'd threatened to retire.
I set those goals and said those things
because when I started VidIQ,
I never thought I would come close to either of those goals.
Well, thanks to all of you, the eagle has landed.
So after well over 1,000 videos on the VidIQ channel,
hundreds of live streams, at least 5,000 channels audited,
and I think I've calculated this correctly,
433 years of watch time on the channel,
it's time to take a step back.
As you all well know, YouTube is hard work.
And whether you believe this or not,
it doesn't get any easier the more successful you get.
Creators who are passionate about their craft
and maintain the desire to deliver value to their audience
put more and more pressure on themselves to do better.
Now, I never want to say that YouTube is a slog,
because of the opportunities
and the freedom it's afforded me, but it is relentless.
Now, when I think about this internally.
It doesn't feel to me as if I'm suffering from
creator burnout.
But what I do get this sense of is accumulated fatigue.
I actually remember back in the summer of this year,
I got to a point where all of a sudden
I literally didn't have any video ideas,
which for me is unheard of.
As a content creator, I pride myself
on that instant spark of inspiration.
It's a skill that I've always had
from the moment I first press record on a video.
But for two weeks over the summer
I suddenly lost that spark,
and I knew I had to do something about it
before it got worse.
So this isn't any sort of knee jerk reaction.
I've been thinking about this for a long time,
actually almost two years.
I knew at some point that I wanted to
take a break from YouTube,
and I feel as if now is the best time to do it
for my mental health.
But I walk away from this stage of my career
feeling immensely proud on what I and a team
have achieved on the channel and creatively fulfilled.
So since I'm not gonna be doing any of this anymore,
it's time for a little bit of a wardrobe change.
(hands clapping)
Ah yes, VGJ, the Video Gadgets Journal.
This is where it all started for me on YouTube.
Apart from one random video I posted a couple of weeks ago,
I haven't done anything on this channel for over four years.
Passive income for the win, by the way.
This is what helped me get my start on YouTube,
but it's also what helped me join VidIQ.
This was the video that literally changed everything,
a simple tutorial on how to copy tags.
I don't even know if it was useful back then,
but how to copy tags very easily through VidIQ'S tools.
And to this day, it's only got a few thousand views,
but I posted a Tweet to VidIQ, and from that point on,
the relationship began.
And it's a partnership primarily with this person over here,
one of the founders and CEO of VidIQ.
Yes, that's a revelation for you folks.
I do not own VidIQ, nor do I run it.
But he is also called Rob, and he stole all of my hair.
Rob Sandie was not only the person who put faith
in a creator who didn't know how to use green screens,
also allowed that creator complete creative control
over the VidIQ channel.
And that I believe is one of the keys to our success.
It allowed me, the content creator,
to put you, the audience, first.
So I have Rob to thank
for helping me transform my passionate hobby
into an incredibly rewarding career.
But it's not just about what you see in front of the camera
and related to the YouTube channel and the business.
Just like every other creator,
there is a personal side to all of this
that you rarely see on the channel.
To do what I do today,
I had to make a pretty big leap of faith.
Here I was with a very stable job and career,
and I was thinking about jumping ship
and joining a tech startup with a very unknown future.
And I wouldn't have done any of this
without the support of my girlfriend at the time.
I remember at the time
when I was trying to make the decision
whether or not to join VidIQ,
my girlfriend and I went to a place
called White Spot in Vancouver,
and we had kind of a career summit
where we listed all of the pros of joining VidIQ
and all of the cons of leaving my then job.
And not once did Sarah force upon me
what she wanted or her desires.
She was fully supportive of whatever decision I took,
even if it put her at risk in terms of our income.
With her support, the decision became very clear
and quite easy.
And I'm happy to say that the next decision
was pretty easy as well, because Sarah is now my wife.
She's my rock.
She's my support system.
She protects me from all of this YouTube madness.
Without Sarah, I get pulled far too
into this creative universe
and burn myself out probably within days.
But I did have to get her permission
for the pictures I'm using on this video,
so she knows I'm talking about her.
Love you baby.
And so as a family, with Jasper, of course,
we've decided to embark on a new adventure.
We're leaving our home in Canada
to return back to our original home, the UK.
As you can imagine, that's going to be
quite a busy and stressful period,
and it's gonna leave me without all of this stuff
for a good while.
But thankfully, for all of you,
VidIQ is no longer a one-man gang.
You are going to be in the very safe and capable hands
of Dan, who's been here for years.
And of course the two Alinas, our creative producer
and editor who work behind the scenes.
But on top of that, there's also a huge bunch of people,
both regulars and guests, past and present,
who've helped on the channel.
And I'm gonna try and reel off
as many names as I can remember.
So we've got Jeremy, Leron, Travis, when he's not Savage.
- You're fired!
- Jeff, Viper, Alexi, Desiree, Sean, Heather, Nolan, Omar,
Ben, Jade, Ben and McKayla, Ed, Jake, Nate,
and a bunch more people who've been on the channel
but whose names escape me.
I apologize, but I thank you.
All of these people, along with what I consider
the founding fathers of YouTube education,
Derral Eves and Tim Schmoyer, who recently joined VidIQ,
are people who just want to help creators
find their passion and their place on YouTube.
And whether or not you see these people again on VidIQ,
you should definitely check 'em out,
because they will help you grow your channel.
But now to address the big elephant in the room.
Not sure currently where it is,
but I know all of you are asking, what is Rob doing next?
Let's find out.
It's time for the big reveal.
(dramatic music)
Yeah, not going anywhere.
Told you it was click bait.
VidIQ is my home.
It's our home.
We're all part of the same family.
So I'm just taking some time to rest and recharge
and build a brand new studio.
And yes, I promise you, my number one priority
is to find a proper place for this.
And weirdly, although I'm going to be away,
I'm not actually going anywhere on the channel.
I've already filmed tons of stuff in advance,
and you'll be watching me well into the new year.
In fact, if you wanna play a fun game
over the next couple of months,
that is gonna be up, down, left and right,
continuity errors everywhere.
So yeah, I am leaving and I'm not leaving,
and someone is gonna spoil all of this
in the comments below.
But if you stuck around to the end,
that shows that you care and I care about you.
I'll see you soon,
and I can't wait to get my revenge on Savage.