My Interview with a YouTuber

Before I get into the interview, please check out the following important resources:

- Visit the official Asian American and Pacific Islander philanthropy site here.
- See crucial BLM funding options here.

Hi, happy monday.
Wait. I mean, hello friends! Welcome back to my interview series. It's been a few months since I last added to this collection, but I'm back and feeling super stoked about this one.   

   If you've been following me on instagram and twitter, you've probably been seeing me tag this creator in clips from his Twitch on my stories. I've been watching his content for a few weeks now, both his streams and his YouTube videos. I first was recommended one of his videos through YouTube's algorithm; since I'm subscribed to Danny Gonzalez, YouTube suggested I check out a phenomenal collaboration between Danny and someone named nickisnotgreen. Well, I took a peek, and I've been hooked on Nick's channel ever since.

   Nick Green is a YouTuber, a Twitch streamer, a video editor, and a musician. I knew immediately that I wanted to reach out and collaborate with him, simply because every video I watched from him made me audibly laugh. Also because I watched him absolutely wreck this guy from TikTok who makes sexist, racist, and homophobic comments left and right. So I knew, if Nick can troll bigotted people, can create hilarious videos, and can gather such an amazing community of viewers, this was a content creator I'd want to follow and to learn more about.

   Since emailing him these questions, I've spent more time in the live streams and have gotten to know the community so much more. It's like I'm hanging out with close friends every night. So before I share the interview, you can find his commentary videos on his YouTube channel by clicking here and you can find his stream and other dope links of his here. I think he deserves all the success and support that's coming his way.

​   Alrighty, let the interview commence!

​Grins & Needles: "First of all, how did you get started on YouTube?"
nickisnotgreen: "I've been making videos ever since I was in 6th grade, but I officially started my channel during April of last year. I've wanted to start a channel for the longest time, but I could never find the time or confidence to do it, but once I went home for quarantine my friend convinced me to start!"

G&N: "As for the video editing aspect of it all, how did you learn all the tricks and techniques that you implement into your work? Are you self-taught, or do you have a certificate or degree under your belt?"
Nick: "I started editing when I took a media class during my sophomore year of high school in 2014, but didn't really get into it until I had my own computer in 2017. I'm mostly self-taught and learned most of my tricks through making meme videos of my media teacher when I had free time to mess with him and continuing to google new techniques when I would run into roadblocks. I initially went to university for Audio/Video Production, but ended up switching to Audio Engineering Technology and didn't touch video for most of my first two years of school."

G&N: "Who are some creative influences of yours?"
Nick: "In terms of YouTube, I look up to creators like Kurtis Conner and Danny Gonzalez of course. They're very good at what they do and have definitely paved the way for a lot of commentary channels to have a place on YouTube.
​For music, I've always changed my influences over the years. When I was in high school, Twenty One Pilots was a huge influence for me to start music. As I went into college, I got more into hip-hop, and groups like Brockhampton influenced me a lot."
​

​G&N: "Tell me about Denton! I saw that it's a collaborative effort between you and your brother. Who does what? And are you both super close?"
Nick: "My brother and I started Denton during my sophomore year of college in 2018 and just wanted an outlet to create more music. My brother has been playing guitar for 12 years and I've jumped around from Drums to Piano & Vocals over the years. I usually write and make demos of songs and then send them over to Austin to add production, mix, and master. Austin and I have always been interested in the same things and still work together a ton to this day, so it's really easy to collaborate!"

​G&N: "Speaking of collaborations, what was it like collaborating with Danny Gonzalez?"
Nick: "Working with Danny was pretty surreal! I've looked up to him for a long time and finally meeting him was such a great experience. He's such a genuine dude and talking to him off camera and editing a video with him in it made me realize how good he is at what he does. He 100% deserves all the success that has come his way and he works very hard at it!"

G&N: "I saw that you also edit for Kurtis Conner. How did you end up getting involved in his video editing? And how long have you been working with him? What's it like?"
Nick: "I ended up meeting Kurtis through a TikTok I made for him where I made a funny song about his hair and also slipped in a comment about needing a job once I graduated. For some reason, he decided to take a chance on me and let me edit his Episode series video in December! It was a crazy process seeing the way Kurtis shoots his videos and editing a Kurtis Conner video is just as fun as it looks. I ended up editing his final Episode series video in February and then he asked me to start editing for his gaming channel.
​Even though I'm able to do YouTube and Twitch full time now, I'm going to try my hardest to keep editing for Kurtis, because it's really a ton of fun. Kurtis ended up talking to Danny about me and that's how I ended up making a video with him! Both of them are massive reasons why I'm in the position I am now, and they've both been super great to me."

G&N: "You recently published a video about your Patreon. Between editing for Kurtis and creating your own content on YouTube and Twitch, do you have any other jobs or side-hustles? Or are you online full-time?"
Nick: "About a month ago I was editing videos for other Twitch streamers and creating lyric videos for musicians in Nashville, but recently I'm happy to say that I can finally do this full time without needing those extra jobs! Life has been extra busy with everything going on, so it's a huge relief that I can finally devote more time to content creation and work harder at what I love to do."

G&N: "Tell me more about you Twitch streams! I saw some previous highlights of yours, but what types of content do you normally stream? What's your Twitch community like?"
Nick: "The Twitch streams have changed a lot since the audience has grown so much, but lately it's been a lot of audience-centered content. We fill out fun tournament brackets, play game shows, and have "cult hours" (which is sort of like a therapy hour where people can have a safe space to talk about their lives, vent, celebrate, or ask questions). It's basically a huge party every night and it's super fun, but very exhausting. My Twitch community I think may be the nicest community on the entire internet. They are so kind to each other and have created such a cool environment where new people constantly message me about how nice everyone is in the chat. We have a discord server where everyone has made friends with each other and it's just always filled with conversations and amazing art."
​

​G&N: "Speaking of Twitch, what was it like to confront Nick Foster? Have you guys contacted each other since?"
Nick: "Talking to Nick Foster was like trying to talk to a pent up toddler after a temper tantrum without making him cry. I think talking to him was something that helped a lot of people realize how small and insignificant these types of creators are. Creators who rely on hate and make content with bad intentions should be challenged, and when people see them challenged you start to realize how bad their platform really is. Fortunately, he seems to be having trouble finding his audience outside of TikTok. I have not contacted him since, but maybe in a year I'll check back in with him to see how he feels about his current success."

​G&N: "Are there any YouTubers or streamers that you'd like to collaborate with in the future?"
Nick: "Of course! I grew up on YouTube and still use it all the time. There are dozens of creators I could name off who I would be ecstatic to work with. One that always comes to mind is that I hope I can be on the Gus & Eddy podcast one day."

​​G&N: "How much time normally goes into your videos? What's that creative process like? And how do you handle any roadblocks that you might encounter?"
Nick: "Since I've started YouTube, I've become much better at making videos and the time has gone down more and more as I find my rhythm with shooting and editing. I try to shoot for 30-60 minutes and then editing usually takes 3-5 hours. Usually I create a rough outline for a script along with some footage that I can look at and then the rest is improvisation. And I usually get through roadblocks by just using Google! That's the way I've always learned how to edit and I still have to figure out new tricks while editing today."

G&N: "What's a day in your life like, both work and non-work related?"
Nick: "Lately, it's just a lot of prepping for YouTube and Twitch! I usually shoot my videos one day between Wednesday and Saturday and then I edit from Friday to Sunday. I've also been trying to edit Twitch clips to start uploading to my second channel. I also have Patreon content and Kurtis' videos to work on a couple days a week. Then I prep for the stream that night and usually stream from 9pm until I go to bed! In between that, I try to interact with my audience as best as I can and make sure I answer all the messages I've been getting."
​

​G&N: "What other hobbies or creative outlets do you have that people might not know about?"
Nick: "Honestly, most of my hobbies are all related to what I do now. I basically work on content creation all day, so there hasn't been much room for anything else. But when I do have time to chill, I like to play video games and just be outside since I almost never leave the house."

G&N: "You seem like such a genuine guy. What sorts of morals and ideology are important to you?"
Nick: "I just do my best to make sure everyone feels comfortable when they're in my stream or watching my videos! As long as you're not an asshole to people, you're welcome to be in my audience! I am passionate about being a leftist, and try to fit those ideas and beliefs into my videos in a way that's digestible to anyone watching and not just people who are also interested in politics."

G&N: "Any dope projects coming up?"
Nick: "Hopefully some cool collaborations, but nothing set in stone at the moment! I'm just trying to keep up with the work and make quality content so people stick around."

G&N: "What're some things you'd like to leave us with today?"
Nick: "Drink water and sleep 8 hours a night!!!!!!! You can also find me basically anywhere if you look up nickisnotgreen :-)"

​  Huge shoutout to Nick for joining me in this interview! Also congratulations on your one-year YouTube anniversary. I'm super glad I found your channel and I love hanging out with the besties in your community. Again, Nick's links are all featured here.

Please also consider donating to the organizations I linked above. Thank you, everyone, for reading. Take care of yourselves!

Keep on grinning!

​Lydia