By Allison Lu,
Staff Writer
The dimly lit glow of the computer screen outlines junior Eric Pham as his eyes flit across the screen, hands flying over the keyboard to match the speed of his in-game character. The rapid movement onscreen creates a mesmerizing blur of action as his final shot defeats the last player, sealing Pham’s victory.
The junior started his YouTube channel in eighth grade, using his last name, Pham, as his creator name. Due to the lockdown, Pham had plenty of time to focus on growing his channel. Uploading Fortnite content every three days to a week, he eventually reached over 340,00 subscribers.
“I’ve always wanted to be a YouTuber,” Pham said. “I made YouTube videos when I was in elementary school but they were just random videos. So this is just a new opportunity to branch out into a different genre.”
Like many new YouTubers, Pham faced the challenges of constantly uploading but getting zero viewers in return. However, his passion for content creating fueled his persistence and he continued to upload until eventually, his channel took off with his first montage video.
“The more time you put into the channel, the better it will prosper,” Pham said. “It’s okay to get discouraged at times but as long as you stay determined, you can really make it far.”
About a year later, Pham received a YouTube play button from the company in recognition of his growing channel, marking his 100,000 subscriber milestone.
“Getting the play button was always my dream when I was a little kid,” Pham said. “It’s just like ‘Wow, I made it.’ I just have that sense of accomplishment and I really feel proud of myself for what I’ve become.”
Pham is exploring other ways to diversify his content outside of the gaming community, such as doing skits or vlogs about his life. He plans to continue his channel past high school, considering it as a possible full time job after he graduates college.
“Being an influencer definitely comes with a lot of hardships and struggles,” Pham said. “You get a lot of death threats and hate, but it teaches you to focus on yourself and stay determined no matter who tries to bring you down. There are a lot of things that are demotivating, but you have to push through that, and I did.”