hey what's up you guys it's Travis and today I'm going to be filming the
stripped-down challenge.
This is the part where I would cut to the intro normally, but I'm not
doing that because I'm stripped down so there's that.
But okay so anyway I guess
I'll just get right into it then. For those of you guys who don't know the
stripped-down challenge is it something that was inspired by Essena O'Neill whose
a youtuber who decided to quit social media altogether and expose the industry
for being as fake as it is, which is something that I don't completely
disagree with. I don't disagree with it all actually I think that the way you
approach social media though is a choice and you can choose to focus on the negative
or you can focus on the bad, but that's beside the point because we're talking about the
challenge right now but anyway because of what she did
it created this...it caused some Youtubers to bounce back and start this thing called
the strip down challenge where basically you film yourself for 10 minutes and
you posted unedited with out any music or any special effects so that way people can get to know
the real you a little better.
I watched this. I watched a few of
these videos last week and I really like them a lot because I got to see
some different sides of some youtubers that I've only seen online
and it was really cool to see a different side of them and it was...it kinda made them seem
more human because they didn't have their, you know, super on personality
or the music to distract you and it was kinda cool I really liked that so I
wanted to do this because I like the idea of showing how authentic and
genuine I am because that's what I try to convey in my videos as it is and I figure
this is a really great opportunity to do that.
Where was I gonna go with that thought?
When I was planning this video.
Well first of all there's no planning that's the rule of this video you can't plan what you're
gonna talk about you just have a stream of consciousness for 10 minutes.
Wait. I should probably start the clock. Ok I'm gonna start the timer first before I start any of this.
Basically you're supposed to tart...basically you're supposed to start a timer for 10 minutes
and at the end of the 10 minutes you're done so I just want to start this guy now so that
way I'm rambling for too long to you guys so bear with me. We've got 10 minutes
on the timer ready start. We got the proof, well I guess you guys don't need proof you'll see it on the
video but anyway when I was planning to do this video or just thinking about
what I was going to talk about I started getting nervous about it because I actually got more
nervous about filming this video than anything else but not because I was worried about
showing my real self, because I think that for the most part I've been pretty
genuine and honest in all my videos with how I really am and I really like that
but I was more nervous because I didn't want to post something unfinished because the
thing with me is that I'm a huge perfectionist.
and if you know me you know how hard I work my videos I spend so much time on all of them
Oh god! burp. Why! why burping now?? Why burping when we're filming?
I haven't even eaten anything yet, but yeah
I spent a lot of time on my videos and I like them to be just perfect
because I like producing quality content for you guys and I always wanna make
sure the music is stopping in just the right points and I want to make sure
that the cuts are just perfect and its short enough to keep your attention but
long enough to keep you engaged and with this one you don't do any of that it's
just raw footage right now we are just live like this is going to be in the video right now.
Man! That is some raw footage I was gonna cuss, but I can't even beep that out see that's how raw this is.
But yeah so, anyway, I guess I'll start off talking about Essena because she got a lot of
backlash from youtubers after posting her video about how fake social media is
and I don't know why there's so much backlash because a lot of what she said
was true
YouTube has become a business. It started off not that way. It started off as a way
for people to connect to viewers and to build an online community and that's
something that I really hold on...that I really held onto since I started my channel
because I love that aspect that's probably my favorite part of making YouTube videos
The fact that I get to connect with viewers and I get to share something
that I've created with you guys from all around the world like that's like a
dream of mine that I always wanted and Youtube finally allowed...Youtube is something
that's finally allowed people like me to be able share content with people like you guys out
there so that way we can connect in whatever shape that is, but because it got
so big it kind of became a business and people are making a lot of money off
youtube and because of that the authenticity I think that people
portrayed of themselves in the beginning has kind of been lost in some ways
because they're constantly thinking about how whatever they're posting can
help them grow and the business sense which is fine because that's what's what you
want to do I mean if I can just do Youtube full time I would definitely do that
but it's the way of doing that that you have to be careful because you can start
skewing your perception on reality
and you're really putting up an image of yourself that conveys perfection when
your life is anything but perfect and after a while I think that can really get to you
so it's definitely a ying yang. There's the good side and the bad side like anything in life
but I think you just have to choose how you go about that because you know yes
brands are very big part of YouTube and that's how people make their money.
I haven't done a brand deal yet. I've been approached to do tons of brand deals and
I don't do that because I don't want to compromise the relationship that I've built with you guys
Granted, it is something in the future that if i'm gonna be able to do this full
time it's a reality and I just want you guys to know that when that time comes I won't
ever, you know, I won't ever pitch a product that I don't believe in or that I
don't trust myself or that I haven't used myself because if I'm going to put my name on it
I want to make sure that you guys know that I absolutely believe in that.
But you know a lot of youtubers aren't thinking that way. I shouldn't say that there's
some other youtubers they don't think that way and they're just trying to make
as much money as possible. That sounds like I'm bashing youtubers now!
Oh my god! I'm not bashing any youtubers. I'm just saying that there's nothing... there's
actually nothing wrong with it if you come in to YouTube from a business
standpoint and you want to make money then brand deals is the way to go and some
people are doing that and when you do so many of them you really have to sculpt your
life the way you convey on social media to really match whatever they're trying to sell
so that's all I'm trying to say by that and there's nothing wrong with that
but that's not why I'm on YouTube I don't care about the money, though I do
care about money in the general sense as in like I need to pay rent to stay in this apartment so
that's one thing that's on my mind but otherwise I just really if I could just
make quality content for you guys and be able to do that is my only job I think
that's one of my greatest dreams because right now I work, you know, about 30 hours
a week at another job and I'm actually gonna start looking for a second job
because it's not quite making ends meet and so it's kinda tough trying to
balance making a video every single week and then working that job and then also
looking for another one.
Not that I'm complaining about that I love that it's just it is tough to balance my life
because of that and if anything, the only reason why I'd want to YouTube full time and not have a
30 hr job is because I could use that thirty hours to make other videos even
better and to make even bigger content and better content and so that's really
that's where I'm coming from
for wanting to do YouTube full-time, but uhmm
where was I going with that thought now?
where are we now? Oh we're at eleven minutes. Actually I don't know
where we're at right now, I'm just looking at the clock because ten minutes seems like a very long
time right now. I don't know what I'm talking about.
focus. I'm coming back.
This is why I script my videos. I have to script a lot of
my videos so I can stay on track with what I'm trying to say but anyway I love
social media and I love being able to connect with you guys and, for me, social media has become
a really positive thing because it's giving me a sense of belonging.
That was something I didn't have for a very long time in my life and I get to give that
sense of belonging and community to a lot of you guys and that means more to me
than anything in the world.
When I first started youtube I made a few videos last
year the beginning of 2014 and they were just dumb little two minutes skits, I was just trying to
be funny I was kind of a little bit of a troll actually, but yeah they were short little
two minutes skits that I just wanted to do because I thought they were funny and the person
that I was with the time...I was kind of insecure, I was like nervous about
posting videos on YouTube for some reason and I talked to my ex boyfriend
about possibly wanting to do youtube
videos more often like maybe once a week and when I told him that he
I don't think he meant anything mean by this but he said I don't think you're really
good at doing youtube videos. I can't really see you doing YouTube videos like that. Like being
able to talk in front of a camera and when he said that I really don't know if
he knows how much that affected me, but that moment was the last month I would post
another video for an entire year because that really got inside my head so I think
it's...I wish I didn't let that get to my head however I mean here we are now... you
coulda shoulda woulda, but it did and so that's the real reason why I stopped
posting videos for the next nine months because I was like you know what? he's
probably right I can't do this I'm not very good at making videos so.. there's a
hammer. I'm so sorry there someone hammering something in the background
Are you done? Anyway....(hammer noise)
We're live people I can't edit that out. I'm sorry I'm sorry in advance
but yeah when I finally decided to start youtube up again
back in February of this year, I wanted to take a different approach than doing skits.
I wanted to focus on building the community and being more honest about
myself and my life and share that with you guys and hopefully make a few
friends along the way. That was kind of my only intention with starring YouTube
and then when I did it though I had no idea it would become what it's become
today and that's kind of exciting thing
and you know the people that I have met through youtube..just the other night I
was at dinner with a couple of people that I would never have met had it not
been for social media so that's what I choose to focus on instead of the negative
parts of social media because, yeah it can cause some issues with your own values
but only if you let it. I think it's really important that you unplug once in
a while. Turn the phone off and focus back on your real life because that's your reality.
You have to take care of that if your gonna be a functioning human in the
world but social media if you approach it the right way
is something that's really great and I think that if used correctly it can really bring
people together so that's kind of my approach and...
oh oh no we got a text message right now
I'll respond to them in a second.
but yeah social media for me has been really positive thing and it's changed my life
quite a bit actually.
Oh and I even sitting up straight? Gosh. Get this posture right for you guys
my doctor's gonna be like "Travis I saw your video you're not sitting up straight." I don't
know why my doctor's gonna call me about that, that's kinda weird.
Alright, I'm rambling now but yeah that's kind of my
thoughts on social media and..(timer beeping)
Oh! Oh look we're done. That was fast. That was faster than I thought it would be
ten minutes is up. We're going to stop this right now. I'm gonna wrap
this bad boy up. I don't know what I've been talking about the last 10 minutes I hope it
was something quality for you guys. Like I said I really like this challenge a
lot because it lets you get to know the real youtuber behind the camera a little
bit better and for me, if anything, I just want to do this challenge because I
wanted to show you guys that this is who I really am and I hope that the person
you're seeing right now is conveyed to the rest of my videos because I really
pride my content on being authentic and I like to be honest with you guys even if
it's something they're not comfortable with because I just really like being
able to connect you guys at the end of the day
and help people even if it's just through sharing one my stories that means the whole world to me.
It means more to me than anything I've ever done so and I guess I
have social media to thank for that. So, now I'm just pulling stuff from my shorts.
So yeah, that's all I have for right now
that's like the ending of my videos.
but yeah this was my stripped-down challenge so I really hope you guys
enjoyed watching. I'm sorry I couldn't add any music it was all I could do not to edit this in post.
I'm speaking to myself...I'm speaking about myself in the future but
I'm gonna just upload...oh! more text messages ok we gotta wrap this up.
So thank you guys so much again for watching
thank you again for supporting the channel and I love you. You're a really big part
of my life so thank you for being that for me and that's all I have for right now
So thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you next time