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.
Atozy is the internet’s bigmouth.
That may sound rude, but it’s not our descriptor–it’s his. And knowing that, it probably won’t surprise you to find out he’s a commentator who covers the latest (always), greatest (very occasionally), and ugliest (very often) of what’s got people on social media talking. His main fare is grilling other creators, and recent roast-ees include Jake Paul, FaZe Banks, Morgz, Dani Cohn, sssniperwolf, the Ace Family, Mo Vlogs, and Shane Dawson.
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But while creators make up the vast majority of his content, Atozy sometimes covers events–which is why, if you were anywhere online during September’s Area 51 raid, you probably saw his face. A clip of him went viral after he told an onsite news reporter that the raid was “a once-in-a-lifetime-experience.”
“A bunch of random people in weird costumes standing outside of a government base,” he laughed, decked out in a NASA astronaut costume. “It’s like Halloween, but we’re just…annoying people.”
The Area 51 raid is exactly the sort of thing he likes to cover, because Atozy’s not out to make hard-hitting news. For him, funny and/or dumb internet trends and YouTube drama are less serious than other potential topics, ripe for commentator rants, and a perfect fit for his irreverant sense of humor.
Check out our chat with him below.
Tubefilter: How does it feel to hit one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
Atozy: It feels unreal, and I’m thankful to call this my job.
Tubefilter: Tell us a little about you! Where are you from? What did you do in ye olde days before YouTube?
Atozy: I was born in Boston, but after some moving around in America, my family brought me to Norway when I was about eight. Got a computer pretty early to keep in contact with my old friends from the U.S., who I played games online with. That led to me recording funny moments in games with them to upload to YouTube
Fast-forwarding a few years: I dropped out of high school to pursue YouTube full-time. Looking back, that was the riskiest thing I’ve done in my life, and I’m grateful it worked out. I had no direction, and decided to switch my content from gaming to commentary, since I was already going for long rants to my friends about what people on YouTube were doing. After a few months of doing so, I moved in with my friends and fellow content creators ImAllexx and Chubbs, and the rest of the adventure is really on my YouTube channel.
Tubefilter: A big theme of your content is covering other YouTubers–what they’re up to, what controversies are going, etc. What draws you to this kind of content?
Atozy: I enjoy talking about internet and YouTube topics because it’s less serious, yet fun to make content around.
Tubefilter: When you joined YouTube, did you come in with a content strategy or an ideal type of video in mind, or have you developed your content over time?
Atozy: My content has definitely developed over time. I leave it all up so people can go back and see where I started.
Tubefilter: What do you think makes your videos stand out despite all the noise on YouTube?
Atozy: I have a lot of fun covering and talking about current trends, and have consistently done so since 2017.
Tubefilter: You also have vids that hit on popular trends–things like the Area 51 raid and “ok boomer.” How do you pick what trends to make videos about, and which to let fizz away into the vast digital trove of memes past?
Atozy: I make videos on trends I think are dumb or funny.
Tubefilter: What’s your production process like? How long does the average video take you to make, from conception to posting? Do you have an editor or intern who works with you behind the scenes?
Atozy: On average, a video takes me eight hours of work, and my editor another eight hours. 90% of them are filmed by my girlfriend Hannah.
Tubefilter: When did you start noticing your audience really picking up?
Atozy: Summer through winter of 2018.
Tubefilter: What’s your favorite part of making content specifically for YouTube?
Atozy: The amount of creative freedom I have makes me want to stay on this platform and continue challenging myself.
Tubefilter: What’s next for you and your channel?
Atozy: A lot of videos. Recently signed to Michael Gordon at Fullscreen, and I’m excited to see what comes in the future!
You can add yourself to the ranks of Atozy’s more-than-a-million YouTube subscribers at his channel YouTube.com/MrAtozy.
