Derry YouTuber Adam shows how it's done

Adam Beales managed to rack up around 150,000 views on one of his videos.

The St Columb’s College GCSE student from the Fernabbey area is among a new wave of successful young YouTubers from the North West who are making their mark on the virtual world. Adam now has a growing army of fans, with almost 4,000 subscribers regularly clicking in to see his weekly ‘How To’ videos and recently started vlogs.

The 16-year-old from the Fernabbey area told the Journal he is delighted with the response since he started posting videos a year ago to his channel ‘TheNewAdamb99’.

“I’ve posted 168 videos and that is a mixture of videos. I try to focus my channel on ‘How To’ , mainly technology tutorials and I started a vlog a few weeks back. My Snap Chat Trophies video got nearly 150,000 views. I am shocked by that; I don’t know how it went viral. From when I started out I have learned so much about editing and you pick up new skills and on what people like and what not to include.”

Adam said he was surprised to have people recognise him from his videos in the town.

“I’d love to keep it up as long as possible, he added. “The thing that makes YouTube the best is the feedback. The views and comments some people leave are pretty incredible.

“It’s just mad to think so many people around the world can see what you do. I’ve had 600,000 views - that’s more people than I’ll meet in my life. I hope to reach one million by the end of this year.”

Adam has also been able to monetise his channel to create an income, and describes being a YouTuber as a “dream job”. He urged others thinking of starting up their own channel to give it a go and not to get disheartened at the start, admitting that he felt like throwing in the towel a few times before his channel took off.

“The hardest bit is always the start. You might get 10/ 11 views at first but just keep doing it and you will see the viewers and subscribers build up. Determination is important.”

But he also added: “It’s important to manage your time with YouTube and schoolwork. You don’t want to jeopardise your qualifications and visa versa. You want to find a happy medium.”

Check out Adam’s YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/user/TheNewAdamb99.