James Essex is one of the newest names to take the vlogging scene by storm. After watching his ‘Trying American Candy‘ YouTube video it was only right that I pull him in for an interview….
Q.So tell our readers who is James Essex ?
So … My name is James Essex ( my last name is not actually Essex but it sounded cool ya know ) , I’m a 15 year old boy from Essex and I’m a aspiring reality star and Youtuber. In other words basically a joey Essex wannabe. I’m a fashion and film fanatic , with a very bad bank balance and a camera. I actually started filming videos when I was 8 , making little Lego animations and my first video on YouTube was in fact a minecraft gaming video when I was around 11. I had friends who knew how to do minecraft hosting back then which helped a lot. I decided to start my current channel up in 2016 summer holidays just for something fun to do as I was getting lots of request of my other social medias , and then it all sort of blew up from there, 4 months later and over 1000 subscribers , 5000 followers on both Twitter and Instagram and a few thousand on you now ( live broadcasting app )
Q.What’s it like being an Essex Lad ?
Well , trust me , where I live is nothing like the TV shows. I live in a small seaside town about 60 mins from London. Day to day life can be pretty boring without finding yourself something to do , and that’s why I started making videos ! I feel and act completely different when I meet my supporters at events , as around my area I’m just a quiet kid getting on with his GCSEs. I’m very confident around the right people, and love to just have a laugh and mess about ( like every other teenage kid ). Also I’ve never got a fake tan and never had Nandos so I’m not officially yet a “Essex lad” ;).
Q.What challenges do you face at 15 trying to breaking into the world of entertainment ?
It definitely is difficult breaking out into the world of entertainment, especially on a platform as massive and competitive as YouTube. I find that many people buy Youtube views to gain some sort of recognition and stand out amongst the crowd. Although I’ve never done this, it’s definitely something I’d consider as it is legitimate and a great way to stimulate an organic following; you can learn more about this way of getting noticed at this Source. One massive challenge I face is my age. Obviously I get invited to a lot of events but unfortunately there normally about a million miles from me ( exaggerated a bit ) so I can’t travel on my own to far. However my family are really supportive and take me to events when possible. Also I find other people that have already made it in the industry are very Critical of new people coming in. Let’s just say, I’ve had my few share of disagreements the last couple of months. But one tip is just be yourself, don’t do something cause everyone else is doing it. Be original.
Q.How do you work on your Vlogs ? Do you go with the flow or proper plan them out ?
Well with my videos on my main channel I normally pre plan in my head what I want the outcome of my video to be. However I never script my videos as I don’t really feel that it then comes across as I want to. I like my videos to have a personal feel to them so that I can engage with my audience on a personal level, put a script in and I’m basically just recoding myself badly acting. With my vlogs on my extra channel I don’t plan them out at all, they just happen as the day goes on they just come together. As my brand grows, I may begin to look at SEO management from local businesses like ClickSlice, but as of now I’m handling all of my posts.
Q. Whose your inspiration ?
I have a few inspirations in the industry , just for the fact I like different features of their personalities. Charlotte Crosby defiantly though is one my biggest. I mean who couldn’t love her. In fact I even went as far as recreating her profile picture on my Twitter as I wanted to see how my supporters would react , they loved it ! ?
Q.What can we expect from you in the future ?
Lots of exciting things , many Collabs with Youtubers , many more events ( maybe even my own events ) and possibly even a secret project I’m working on ? You’ll find out very soon ! ? oh and also loads more clothes and a even lower bank balance.
Keep upto date with James on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/itsjamesessex
