Shay Carl (@shaycarl) got his first computer at age 27.

He was a manual laborer for ages and uploaded his first YouTube video while on break from a granite counter top job.

Flash forward to today:

His SHAYTARDS channel now has roughly 2.3 BILLION views. Celebs like Steven Spielberg have appeared alongside Shay and his family.

He co-founded Maker Studios, which sold to Disney for nearly $1 billion.

He has been married 13 years and has 5 kids.

He has lost more than 100 pounds since his overweight peak.

Shay came to San Francisco to spend 2 days with me, we did a bunch of weird shit together (a lot of firsts for Shay), and we covered a ton, including:

The most important decisions and inflection points in his life

Tools of the trade and tips for creating on YouTube

Favorite books, quotes, etc. that he lives by

Stories he’s never shared anywhere before

And much, much more

If you only have 5 minutes, listen to Shay’s thoughts on the decisions that helped Maker Studios become a massive success.

And here is the pic of his hilarious driver’s license that we mention a few times 🙂

Enjoy!

You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

#170: Shay Carl — From Manual Laborer to 2.3 Billion YouTube Views https://rss.art19.com/episodes/f5dc6c63-97bb-4744-882d-2eb5390000df.mp3 Download

Listen to it on iTunes.

Stream by clicking here.

Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another podcast related to YouTube stardom? — Listen to my conversation with Casey Neistat. In this episode, we discuss how one renegade filmmaker breaks rules, reinvents himself, and gets thanked for it (stream below or right-click here to download):

#116: How Casey Neistat Gets Away With Murder https://rss.art19.com/episodes/84df7eae-4d2d-4ebc-9ce2-21da47c64327.mp3 Download

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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

Canon G7X | Final Cut Pro X

My simple podcasting equipment:

Zoom H6 | XLR Cables | Shure Microphone SM58

The Joe Rogan Experience | Dear Hank and John | This American Life

WTF with Mark Maron | WTKGTS

Show Notes

Shay Carl’s origin story [11:05]

On growing up a Mormon [13:33]

What Shay looked for in a mentor [23:11]

On near death experiences [31:17]

On the duration between starting and experiencing success as a YouTuber [34:21]

How Shay got his first gig in entertainment [39:11]

How daily vlogging helps Shay choose to be happy each day [43:09]

A funny story about great driver license photographs [46:07]

When did Shay Carl realize daily vlogging could be more than a hobby? [50:07]

From grocery money to mortgage money on YouTube [52:55]

The day Shay Carl decided to drop out of college [57:41]

How Shay Carl defines success, and who is the first person who comes to mind when you hear the word “success?” [1:04:27]

Thoughts on how physical tranformation impacts your mental state [1:10:08]

Discussing alcohol abuse [1:12:57]

Important decisions that allowed Maker Studios to succeed [1:36:00]

The story behind Trixin Clothing [1:51:03]

Suggestions for someone interested in vlogging [1:56:42]

Shay Carl’s vlogging camera equipment and editing software [2:16:02]

Favorite motivational quotes [2:22:12]

Fatherhood tips for first-time dads [2:23:25]

Favorite podcasts and audiobooks [2:29:08]

Most gifted books [2:33:34]

Chapters from the Book of Mormon that can help non-believers [2:35:31]

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively effected your life [2:41:35]

Morning rituals [2:45:30]

If you could put anything on a billboard, where would it be and what would it say? [2:47:19]

Families are forever [2:48:08]

Advice to your 25-year-old self [2:51:05]

People Mentioned

Related and Recommended

The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than 500 million downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.