THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!
From the 2nd Annual Shorty Social Good Awards

Breakout YouTuber

Winner in YouTube Presence

Objectives

I have been a commercial litigator for over 10 years. Fighting, arguing, pleading, every day, all day. But it just didn't feel like I was making good use of my life. I started making YouTube videos on the side for cathartic relief - feel-good videos that would contribute to the goodness and happiness in the world. And I found that it made me happy inside to be contributing to the overall pool of happiness in this world. So after 10 years of commercial litigation, I wound up my practice and decided to dedicate my efforts to my true passion - YouTube videography, and being a positive influence in the world. It's a bit of a pay cut... lol. But peace and happiness, and pursuing your passion in the one life you have is priceless

Strategy and Execution

My channel has always been about increasing the global pool of happiness, one of quirky video at a time. Videos range from 13 second videos capturing a moment in life, to 15 minute vlogs documenting the journey through life. My channel has always adhered to the fundamental rule of not being exploitive or mean-spirited. The Internet is filled with viral videos that showcase the negative side of humanity. My goal is, and will always be to capture the beauty and wonder of life, from giving a bumblebee a high-five, to the journey of parenthood.

My channel started from a random video of a squirrel stealing a go pro and carrying it up the tree. It has grown to nearly 20,000 subscribers, 45 million watch minutes, and 25 million views on YouTube alone. My videos have been licensed by news agencies, television shows, Mother Jones, Unilad and other huge social media platforms. If I were to include views on Facebook and other video sharing platforms, I would have well over 100 million views of my original content.

I have recently started doing event vlogs, exploring and sharing what makes the world so beautiful and interesting.

Growth has been exponential. Friends, family, strangers tell me that my daily videos bring them joy and happiness, which truly makes me feel incredible.

I'm just going to keep plugging away and hoping that I can make a life doing what I love.

Results

It is difficult to measure "results" since it presupposes an objective. If I were to measure results in views, the numbers speak for themselves - virtually 45 million watch minutes, 25 million views on YouTube alone. My videos have been licensed by news agencies across the world - Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Telegraph, ABC, CBS, Der Spiegel, National Geographic... I have apparently produced the most viral video to ever come out of the province of Quebec. My videos have been on Japanese television shows. We were even featured on an episode of Outrageous Acts of Science!

If I were to measure results in terms of innovation: I am the first person in the world to have used a live squirrel to pull out a child's tooth! I am the first person in the world to use a drone to grill a steak, wax his legs, roast a marshmallow… I even caught a 3 1/2 pound smallmouth bass trolling a jitterbug with my drone!

If I were to measure it in terms growth of subscriber base, that number also speaks for itself - I have doubled the size of my subscriber base since November.

If I were to measure it in terms of content and influence, I can only say that I am happy. People tell me that they get a genuine joy from watching my videos. And I get true satisfaction from sharing my life experience with the world

Media

Video for Breakout YouTuber

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Viva Frei Productions Inc.

Links

Entry Credits