IAMA Professional YouTuber. Whatever that means... AMA is you'd like

Seeing as you've made a submission in your favorite subreddit, how about making one in your second favorite?

haha I wouldn't want to underwhelm you.

Do make any money off being a professional YouTuber? If so, how much?

My companies make some nice revenue. I pay myself 60-100k though. Most of the money is reinvested. Thats the first time I've even kind of answered that question.

Finally Phil! You shouldn't be a fuckin lurker man! Welcome to the community

Thanks. The community aspect of Reddit is new to me, but Im ready for the low self esteem it will most likely cause :)

I registered this account 8 months ago. Now I feel like a dick. If you want it PM me.

By the way, I did you an intro 2 years ago and sent it to you by e-mail: http://vimeo.com/3520068 Never heard any kind of feedback even after posting it on your forum. >:-( I don't really care if you didn't used it, but I guess a simple "thanks" would have sufficed for that 30 hours of work.

wow thanks man. If you could make a 10 second version, that relates to my current one I'd use it in a heartbeat. Thanks for that. You rock!

[deleted]

haha. Having a mental filter and not caring about perma blocking rage commenters.

Hey Phil! I used to watch your show religiously but have fallen off the wagon after finding sites like this one. I get all my news and funny bits from here now. Can you give me a reason to come back?

I'll touch your moms body with my mouth?

Just a heads up. Going home to pass out, but I'll come back in the AM to answer more of your questions.

Welcome to Reddit bud!

Do you use a script or do you just let it roll off the tongue?

LET IT ROLL. I studder with scripts.

how many people do you employ now?

10 people. 5 for DeFranco Inc and 5 for another company I dont talk about.

what vlogger on youtube do you hate the most and why?

do you think ray william johnson is lame?

ehhh I used to hate YouTubers. Now I just get tired thinking about how much energy I wasted with such a useless emotion. No hate.

If there was a God and I was it, what would you ask me for?

proof :)

what does lindsey think about you "objectifying women" on your show?

She didn't like it at first. Even started a fight or two, but she realizes now that its just programming.

What do you feel was the most defining moment in your career that has put you where you are today.

Going on stage at vid con and hearing the roar of a hundreds of people. Making people laugh on that level. I was the shyest kid growing up and its one of the few things that still excites me.

PHIL!

I've always wanted one of the bigger youtubers to do an AMA. You're definitely one of my faves.

Just wanted to show my support for the show, but I do have one question to ask, if you don't mind answering: Back when the show was first started, up until about a year into it, was Youtube enough to provide steady income?

Thanks for doing this AMA

Early YouTube it was haaaaard to survive on the income, but now a few tubers are making 7 figures before taxes.

I remember the sleeping in a car or couch surfing days.

1st. I'm insanely jealous. You live a dream.

2nd. Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

ooof 20 years. I want my hand in everything and I never want to retire. Retiring is for people who don't like their jobs.

What software do you use for video-editing? What type of camera do you have? Curious, because you always complain when you have to hold it! :P

oo. Good question.

Video Editing: Final Cut Pro

Camera: Canon 5D with a 17mm-40mm lense (a bit of an overkill but it gives us nice depth of field)

You've moved a lot in terms of what content you talk about over the past few years. Was this based on what you're interested or was it solely for the purpose of getting more views? I mean, a year ago you didn't talk about tits nearly as often as you do now.,

P.S. You're a lot more interesting (and attractive) when you're talking about legitimate news topics IMHO ;)

Tits pay the bills sometimes. But most of the time its bc I want to share something, in this case "tits" with my audience. :-p

phil ive been watching your show for years... love it man. how much time do you have to put into each video (just the sxephil one)? editing and all

Well for the first 3-4 years I edited myself, but in the past 10 months I've been able to hire editors so, 2 hours to research minimum and then 1 hour of talking to the camera.

It takes a while. I wake up at 6am to catch up to the east coast news.

What exactly happened with you and The Station?

I liked scrambled eggs and they liked them sunny side up.

What comes after youtube 10-15 years from now?

Well its all about the gaming aspect now, which really opens up a lot of avenues but mobile is really exciting. The PDS is viewed 20% on phones if that gives you any indication.

How was the move from New York/wherever to California? How has that transition been for your show?

West Coast is better weather. Same amount of assholes. They just don't have as harsh accents.

How much of your show is sponsored? Are most of the new give-aways sponsored or do they come out of your own pocket?

only 1 of every 10 giveaways have been sponsored. Its just a great way to give back and an easy way to throw in a cool sponsor.

Love you sxephil. Saw you at SXSW Sunday night and was gonna say something, but I was a little drunk and couldn't tell if you were you.

at SXSW....always.

Hey Phil

The 30 day movie thing is great! sorry you had to watch the human centipede and do you really love our faces?

so much :-p

Are you ever surprised how far you have come? I created my YouTube account in early 2007, basically to comment on your videos. You still used to live with your parents, always had your big cap, and glasses days. In just four years, you've gone from that to a person who owns a company, living in LA(although you've moved in the past month), and is hiring up inters. Does that surprise you? How you have been able to comprehend it?

I try not to ask why, and I try to move forward. BUt yes it is surprising and hopefully I have some more of those left to experience.

Sorry, to be honest I dont really know your show, but its interesting that you would be able to actually make a job out of it. So following questions:

1) Where do you get your income from?

2) About how much would that be a month?

1. Ads/Sponsors/Merchandise.

2. It starts off slow, but once again people have been able to make 100k a month a regular thing. I can't verify who those people are though.

How come you like Asian chicks so much?

I've never dated an asian girl. Its unknown territory.

I have watched your show off and on for the past year or 2.

With that being said, how much have you had to change the style / content of your show to fit the audience, if at all?

I don't change to fit the audience. I change to keep myself entertained. If the content is right you'll never have to conform. The biggest hassle was figuring out how to include sponsorships, but I feel like I have that down now. Good Content is good content.

Besides luck, how do you think you came to be in the position you are now?

Hustling and taking advantage of any situation I saw in front of me.

why don't you use characters anymore?

I turned in to them. Remember Ron Ronsmith? I'm just a faster talking version :)