Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
Some people obtain YouTube success by creating videos that inspire dramatic emotional reactions among viewers. For Jinx, however, the secret sauce is the reactions themselves. Jinx is one of the most prominent figures within the YouTube subgenre of “reaction videos.” He reacts to funny compilations, Vines, viral videos, and anything else that catches his attention. It’s a career that’s working well for him: Jinx, who is partnered with BroadbandTV, now has more than one million subscribers. Here’s our chat with him;
Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
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Jinx: Having one million subscribers honestly feels absolutely amazing, however the overall feeling is motivation. Motivation to make it to places and reach goals I have only dreamed of. To all my fans, I would like to say thank you, your support is greatly appreciated.
TF: How did you get into the “reaction” game? Were there other, similar “reactors” who inspired you?
J: I started doing reactions simply to get my opinion across on Epic Rap Battles of History. I was tired of arguing in the comments so I decided to react to the videos, saying who I thought won and why. After a while I had gained a small following and they were all asking me to react to other things and because they were supporting me, I felt I had to give them what they asked for, thus the reactions to everything else began! The REACT channel was the only reaction channel I knew of when I first started but I really just wanted to give my opinion on Epic Rap Battles. It was never my intention to become a reaction channel.
TF: Where do you find the videos you react to?
J: The majority of videos that I react to I find on YouTube but occasionally I receive videos from fans on Facebook and Twitter.
TF: What makes for a good reaction?
J: Anything that is extremely entertaining or engaging. Also anything that I can give a good rant on or provide advice to others. Some videos are not that good, and you won’t get a great reaction out of me if it’s not. I like to keep my reactions genuine, so if it’s not very entertaining, I won’t act like it is.
TF: Do you think you have to “act out” in order to produce worthwhile reactions, or do you think the Jinx in your videos matches your real-life personality?
J: I feel like some videos do need a good “act-out” however I’m not the reaction channel you want to watch if you’re looking for someone to fake a reaction. There have been numerous videos where I’ve sat nearly completely quiet simply because they weren’t entertaining, and with those videos, I state clearly at the end that I didn’t enjoy them. I just like to keep it honest, so the Jinx in my videos is certainly my actual personality.
TF: You’re known for “try not to laugh” videos. What’s the funniest video you’ve ever watched?
J: The funniest video I’ve ever watched? Even I can’t answer that one! I will say a few honorable mentions would be the “Deez Nuts Vines“, “Racist Mario“, “Dope Island Vines” and “Dumbest Vines Ever” to name a few.
TF: I noticed you just released a short film on your secondary channel. What was the creative process behind that?
J: The Heist was inspired by GTA 5 Heist which I thought we could replicate but on a smaller scale. Instead of a bank, it could be a house. We then added some comedy from the movie Friday and a viral video. We included a short thrilling scene inspired from the movie Belly (didn’t do it as well!) but we were satisfied. Finally, we tied it all together with some Jinx Flavor!
TF: If you weren’t reacting to videos, what would you be doing?
J: If I was not reacting to videos on YouTube, I would be doing everything I’m currently doing on my second channel (music, short films, top 10s, talk show, vlogs, gaming). I just feel like I was a born entertainer. There have been so many times in my life where I stopped trying to act, rap, direct or entertain in general, but every time I did, I ended up coming back just as fast and just as motivated to make it.
TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?
J: I feel that I do a lot of fun stuff on my second channel. I noticed early that a lot of the people that enjoy my reactions don’t really want to see anything else I’m doing which is why I made a second channel for people that are interested in what I can do, people that will support my dreams & goals.
For the reaction channel, we have a fun new thing we’ve started called “Jinx Change The Game” (#JCTG). Here, I react to videos from smaller channels (doesn’t matter how small) and help expose them to a larger audience, giving them a chance to get a jumpstart on YouTube. I’m basically acting like a promo channel. I’ll do what I can to help fellow YouTubers and fans because if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t even be doing this interview right now. I’d still be that guy searching for an audience to entertain in any way I can.
On Deck (channels that will soon reach one million subscribers): All Def Digital, SuperwomanVlogs, JColeVEVO
