Oh, are we live?
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to announce we've broken ground on what will become the world's first
real life Stark Industries.
[Epic intro music]
Hey guys!
I'm the Hacksmith and as you know, we take fictional ideas from comics, movies
and video games, and make real, working prototypes.
We've made Captain America's electromagnetic shield, his new Wakandan one, many different
Thor's Hammers: One that's impossible to lift, one that's super destructive and we even caught lightning with one.
And of course, Thor's latest weapon: Stormbreaker
We've got an Iron Man suit, and even went all the way to try fly like Iron Man, using model rocket engines.
It didn't quite work out, but later on we met Richard Browning and gave him an Iron Man helmet for his
flight system.
Which, by the way, I also got to try.
Oh, and I've even tried mastering the Mystic Arts as Doctor Strange.
Plus, we've also done tons of other non-Marvel related Make It Real projects.
What's our true end goal, you ask?
A real life Stark Industries.
[Robotic Voice: Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment]
And we're taking the first steps to make that a reality.
We just got the keys to a 13,000 square foot facility; the future home of Hacksmith Industries.
And, with this move, we're hiring a lot of new people. So if you're a talented engineer or film maker,
I want YOU to work with ME!
But let's take a step back to see how far we've come and how we got here.
[Click sound]
[Upbeat music with rewind sound]
It's been just over ten years since I made my very first Make It Real project. These Wolverine Claws right here!
I made them back in 2009, while working part-time at a machine shop.
I've always enjoyed making stuff, ever since I was a kid. And I've always saved my money
so that I can buy tools and materials to make more stuff.
I started out in a small room in my dad's garage, making chainmail.
Then I met Ian in Highschool tech class, where we made cool robots for Skills Canada Robotics.
And we started working on other projects together in his dad's garage - like converting a 1993 Honda Del Sol
to electric, using parts from an electric forklift.
We went to Conestoga College together, founded the Conestoga Engineering Society in 2011 and
generally, kicked ass. Even at the Canadian Engineering competition.
After graduating with a Bachelor's of Engineering in 2012, we both went to work in
the engineering industry.
I moved to Toronto and lived in a crummy basement but I turned my living room into a workshop
where I first started making Hacksmith videos.
[James: And there you have it]
I also started writing for Hackaday and that's when I formed my first company and started
reinvesting all the money I made into more tools and equipment.
The following year I moved back to my hometown, Kitchener and got my first garage.
[James: I've moved into this giant garage. Oh, there's a house too but I'm going to live in here, so...]
Shortly after I bought my biggest piece of equipment yet, my CNC laser cutter.
That enabled me to start another business where I sold Laser Engraved Cutting Boards,
all while continuing to make YouTube videos.
The first project that went viral was in the fall of 2014. My pneumatic exoskeleton based off the movie Elysium.
It got a few hundred thousand views and my subscriber count inched closer and closer to 100,0000.
That's the moment I thought: Hey, this could actually work!
I bought my first house in January 2015, using my engineering salary.
I searched for a house with a massive garage and shop and what I found, well, when I moved in,
it was quite the mess.
[James: It's a bit messy. So, it's going to take a while but we'll make this place sparking clean.]
But I had a vision in mind and I knew that having the shop would be the key to growing my YouTube channel
and business.
[Unknown voice off camera: It's actually getting clean in here.]
It was a lot of work but we transformed it from a huge mess into what you guys now know as
Hacksmith Industries.
Here's a montage showing just how much the garage has changed over the years.
This is gonna be awesomeeeeeeee.
[Upbeat electronic music]
Hey guys, just a quick update: We've just put in a second mezzanine for all the couches up there.
There we go: 1,000,000 subscribers.
Less than a year after buying the garage, I quit my full-time job as an engineer, with my mortgage in tow.
I withdrew all of my retirement savings and went headfirst into trying to take this YouTube channel
to the next level.
It was risky but I had my Hackaday part-time job and laser engraving business to help keep me afloat.
Ian joined me as a business partner a few months later and we created our first truly viral project:
The electromagnetic Captain America shield.
In just one month, we got millions of views and went from 100,000 subscribers to 500,000.
We've continued with that momentum and since then, we've made over 100 Make It Real projects,
brought in half a billion views, and almost 8,000,0000 subscribers.
We invest everything back into the business and have grown the team to over a dozen people,
upgraded our production gear and we continue to upgrade the shop to have more workstations,
be more functional, be more space efficient and have more storage.
Now, we're taking the next step with our giant new facility. Introducing the new home of
Hacksmith Industries.
With this space, we'll be able to hire more people, work on more projects - even bigger projects like
the Power Loader, the spy car and I dunno, messing around with jet engines.
In general, it'll allow us to make more videos. We're starting an official Hacksmith Internship program
that you can join and work with us, and we'll be expanding our school involvement with local
highschools and colleges.
Just like the last shop, this one is a bit of a fixer upper. It's going to take a lot of time to move, set up and
optimize the space. It's going to be a ton of work but we're so excited about the opportunities.
As it is, we're struggling to keep up with weekly videos and don't have many videos ready for release.
While we're moving and setting up, we're probably going to have to take a little it of a break from the
Make It Real series and there's going to be a few gaps in our production schedule.
And without videos, we don't make any money. Which is why we could really use your support
on either Patreon or our YouTube membership platform.
It costs around $5 a month, which is less than most people spend on coffee and enables us
to create inspiring content for everyone to enjoy. Plus, Patreon and YouTube members will be
invited to our Grand Opening party where you'll to meet the team and I, and see our projects in person.
To become a member on YouTube, just click the Join button below the video.
Also, we're hiring!
We're looking for some epic people to join the Hacksmith team. You can check out our Careers Page
on the website or click the link in the description below to see the job openings available.
I hope you guys are as excited as I am about the future of Hacksmith Industries.
It's only a matter of time before we truly become a real life Stark Industries.
Alright, enough talking about it. Let's show you the new shop!
So this is the main area - you're looking at about 10,000 square feet. Let's head on into the office.
So this is our current lunch room. We've got the rest and relaxation room. Over here we have our main reception area.
We have a small snack room. We've got my office! We've got Ian's office!
We have the video editing lounge. And look, there's room for 4 editors and guess what?
We only have 2 editors. So if you're a talented film maker or video editor, I want you to work for me!
Check out our website on the Careers page.
We have another 3,000 square feet here. For all you asking for a Power Loader update, here it is!
It's lying on the floor.
We've got some more shelves set up with all kinds of storage areas.
Over here we have our studio boots. This is really exciting.
This room is actually going to become kind of like a display area/gallery/gift shop.
You're actually going to be able to come here and see our projects and even like, buy a t-shirt and stuff
because having this space means we can actually start running events.
We're planning on doing highschool tours and actual regular events that anyone can attend, which
is pretty exciting. Plus, we're going to have a Grand Opening event very soon.
And by "very soon" I mean probably next month.
But, all YouTube members and Patreon supporters will be invited to this Grand Opening to meet
the team and see the projects in person before anyone else.
Super exciting, so if you want to become a Patreon supporter or YouTube member,
there are links in the description bar below.
We're going to build the yellow wall right there.
So, over here is where we're going to put the main work area. This is the future home of our machine shop,
so we're going to be bringing in our Tormach CNC machines, and our Maverick CNC plasma cutter
that we got from Elite Metal Tools and it'll all go in here. So we'll actually have a proper machine shop, which
is super exciting. Anyways, if you guys liked what you saw here, make sure you check out the Vlog channel
because we have a complete walkthrough explaining exactly what we're going to do with the space.
And the beauty with having this much space is that we can do stuff like this.
Anyways, make sure you check out the links in the description below to learn more about the new site.
[Blooper scene] What's my cue? And we're just getting started. Welcome to the future home of Hacksmith Industries!
[laughter] I knew that was going to happen. I saw it.