'Click like and subscribe': Islanders try to carve out careers on YouTube

Not everyone can say that what they do for a living is also how they would spend their spare time. What if you could figure out a way to turn what you really love doing into a job?

Some on southern Vancouver Island are trying to do just that by becoming YouTubers, turning themselves into content creators and chasing those elusive clicks.

“I’m one of those weirdos that turned my hobby into a business,” said Lee Grant, owner of LG Speed & Kustom in Esquimalt.

Grant has had a passion for building hotrods since he began doing it with his father as a teenager, but now he is delving into new territory.

“I’d call it a YouTube startup,” said Grant.

He has begun posting how-to videos from his hotrod shop and videos about recent road trips he has taken.

“I’ve got 2,203 subscribers as of right now,” said Grant, looking at his channel’s analytics on his phone.

In order to begin to monetize YouTube, you must have at least 1,000 subscribers.

Lee Grant is seen in a still from one of his videos. (YouTube/LG Kustom)

Currently, 3,775 hours of Grant’s content has been viewed. YouTube won’t cut you a cheque until you surpass 4,000 hours. Grant is almost at the point where money will begin to roll in.

“It’s not a profit where I’m going to retire off of it or anything, but it will be a couple hundred bucks a month,” he said. “But hey, a couple hundred bucks is a couple hundred bucks.”

Casey McFarlane in his Jeep Rubicon. (YouTube/Casey 250)

Casey McFarlane, creator of the YouTube channel Casey 250, is a little further along in his YouTube journey.

“I started out making YouTube with a five-year plan,” said McFarlane. “At five years, I want to be turning a profit and potentially be able to live off of making YouTube (videos).”

McFarlane’s channel showcases everything four-by-four exploring has to offer.

“This year is kind of the do-or-die year,” said McFarlane. “It’s like, ‘OK, we’re approaching the start of year four, let’s go 100 per cent into this.’”

It is working. He still holds a day job, but with his channel approaching 50,000 subscribers and gathering more than five million views, McFarlane’s channel is now making decent money through advertisements and sponsorships.

Every dollar he makes, he reinvests into his content.

“To grow the channel,” said McFarlane. “To make the videos better, to make them more epic, to go to further places.”

The revenue is now officially funding his hobby.

Reb Stevenson and Billy Reid in their video "Little Miss Muffet." (YouTube/Pancake Manor)

In 2011, Reb Stevenson and Billy Reid launched the YouTube channel Pancake Manor.

“We make music videos for children, essentially,” said Reid.

Reid dove in full time while Stevenson held a job in print journalism.

“As it grew, we decided, ‘Hey, let’s both go in full time on this,’ and I quit my job in 2013,” said Stevenson.

Currently, the channel has 2.6 million subscribers.

“And 1.9 billion views,” said Stevenson.

That’s billion with a “B.”

“It’s hard to visualize … from just our little house here in Victoria,” said Stevenson. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around that many people watching your content.”

YouTube is the couple’s full-time job.

They say it’s been a rollercoaster ride. Some years have been financially better than others, but at the end of the day, they are doing what they love and say they have a comfortable lifestyle.