This post is part of Me, online, Mashable's ongoing series digging into online identities.

If you've ever found yourself mourning the downfall of Vine by binging compilations late at night -- because really, who hasn't? -- you've probably seen Drew Gooden's iconic "Road work ahead? I sure hope it does!"

That Vine inspired remixes, parodies, and fan merchandise. But the 24-year-old is ready to work on other projects.

Like many Vine stars, Gooden's made the transition to YouTube as a vlogger. Three years after that immensely popular Vine, he's navigating the world of reaction videos, figuring out his own brand, and trying to move past being known as the Road Work Ahead guy.

The following conversation with Gooden has been edited for length and clarity.

Mashable: You started off on Vine, and now you're making a name for yourself on YouTube. What was the thought process you went through when YouTube started growing more and Vine kind of just died out?

Drew Gooden: For me, there wasn't really crossover. A lot of people on Vine used their Vine platform to get big on YouTube. I waited until Vine died and didn't go to YouTube, and then a few months went by and I was like, OK, I guess I'll try it. So I had to start from scratch again on YouTube. By the time YouTube was starting to work out, Vine was so far in the rearview mirror. And YouTube has done a lot more than Vine -- like I never made money from Vine. YouTube is now like a career. I forget exactly what your question was because I just ramble a lot.

No worries. What was your thought process as you transitioned to YouTube?

When I first started YouTube, I wasn't doing what I'm doing now. I tried to do what I was doing on Vine: basically little sketches, where I play all the characters, but it would just be longer. I think they're all pretty funny, but the way YouTube works, people really want to get to know you as a person. And so when I started to incorporate that, but into more sitting down and talking about something and sharing my opinion it felt like that's when it really started to take off.

Do you think if Vine stuck around for longer, people would make a career out of it?

Not at the rate it was going. There was a peak of Vine where people were making a lot of money -- I wasn't one of those people but I know some of these people were doing these brand deals and these brands were throwing out so much money. There wasn't a way to figure out if it converted, where YouTube, you get a brand deal and get a link. They click on the link. With Vine it was just like, "Drink Pepsi!" and they had no way to track.

How old were you when you made your infamous "road work ahead" Vine?

I think I was 21. And it was not nearly as big. But that's one of those Vines that seems to be more popular now than it ever was then, because it's in all the like, Vine compilations on YouTube. It's funny, because ... [at] VidCon, about one out of three people were like, "Oh, you're the road work ahead guy!" And they'd want to film me saying the Vine for like, Snapchat or whatever. I was like, "I've done other stuff," but you know.

So you think that got popular because of the Vine compilation videos and not when Vine was still a thing?

I think so. I think it's also that when people are reminded of it when they see a sign, and maybe they say it to their friend, and then they've introduced them. It's kind of branched out over the years. It was not popular when it came out, but now it's like my catchphrase. I sell shirts with it on it, because gotta capitalize on it while it lasts.

But now it's three years later, you've tweeted about how you're tired of it and called it a "curse" -- can you talk a little about that?

Yeah it was funny. Like, I go back and forth. I compare it to a band that has one really big song, and even though they make a bunch of different songs, they have to close every show for the next ten years with that song. Because that's what people want! So you have to embrace it, but there's a part of me that's like, "Please don't make me say it again."

I'd like to separate myself from it, but I have to embrace it, you know? And if that's how people discover me and if they like my new stuff, then that's great.

And you sell merch for it, so you're making money off it.

Right.

It's hard though -- you're a meme. You become a meme, and people want you to be that.

How have you tried moving past that one Vine, either in your personal life or in your path as a YouTuber?

I guess moving past it is just about doing other things. Doing as many other things as possible. I think there are other Viners who have one thing and then they try to milk it forever, and that's fine, but they never end up doing anything else. It's hard though -- you're a meme. You become a meme, and people want you to be that.

Did you ever see that Vine, and he's like "It is Wednesday, my dudes" and he screams?

Yeah!

I saw him at VidCon and he was wearing the costume from that. He does other things now, he does YouTube and Twitch. But people aren't gonna recognize him now unless he's wearing that costume.

Right. And you're getting more into vlogging -- how has that played into you moving on from Road Work Ahead Guy?

I don't know. I feel like the more things I do that aren't centered around that Vine, the more I'm separating myself from it, even though people will always associate that with me. I think it's something that I can't do on my own. Like even if I say, "Guys I'm done with that," people are still gonna see me as the Road Work Ahead guy. There's almost nothing you can do in separating yourself from something that's become bigger than yourself.

So much of YouTube is sharing your personal life. You even have a video called "Exploiting My Relationship For Content."

Ha, yeah.

Do you ever regret having so much out there in the public?

I guess, to an extent. But you go into it knowing that's going to be part of it. And I think I am able to separate -- there's a lot I don't have to advertise. I don't have to say everything about my relationship. Like, I like being able to include my fiancée in stuff because she wants to and people like her. I feel like there's nothing I've put out there that I wasn't willing to put out there. The only time I do regret it is when I mess up in a video, it's on the internet forever.

Where do you draw the line between what's too personal and what's good for content?

I think I embrace it in that if something embarrassing happens to me, I think that does make for good content to tell the story. Like I've pooped my pants before when I was 15, and it's a really funny story and I could be like, "Oh, I hope no one finds out, or I could just embrace it as a funny story. I think the key is try not to be embarrassed. Where I would draw the line, is like, don't come to my house.

You had a pretty scathing review of Jake Paul's concert.

Right.

What do you think of the identity that the Paul brothers built for themselves, and why do you dislike it so much?

So much of it is built on "We have all this money, and you don't." And without acknowledging the fact that the people they're bragging to are the people who gave them all that money. With Jake and Logan Paul, they've done individually, things that are pretty messed up. Logan had the thing with the suicide forest -- how would you even think to do that? -- and Jake doxxed Post Malone. I think they're more interested in making content than being good people. It's so self-promotional, and it's just kind of gross. I think they're delusional about the fact their fans are kids.

But at the same time, you have said before that some of your super popular content was bashing on the Paul brothers. How do you feel building your own image off of someone else's terrible image?

Yeah, that's where I'm at right now. I've been doing that for a little bit now, because it's easy to grow on YouTube as someone who rants about other things. I do get called out once in a while -- like, "You're making fun of these people, but all you're doing is making fun of them, so how are you any better?" I try to add as much of my own flavor to it. Also, knowing that I'm not going to do this forever, I want to use this to transition into original, traditional content, not so much like, "And here's who sucks this week!"

How would you define your brand, then, as a content creator?

I don't really know ... I feel like so much of it is figuring it out as I go. Whatever works, I'll just do more. I guess I would describe my YouTube channel as me being the voice of reason amidst all of this weird shit that's going on on the internet. Like, a couple of videos I made that are really big are about the pointless life hacks that you see on Facebook all the time. I like content like that because there's not a victim, really. I'm not making fun of a specific person, I could just point at something that everyone thinks is dumb and be like, "Look how dumb it is!"

Do you have a goal set for yourself for moving into traditional content?

When I started before Vine and everything, what I wanted to do was write for a television show. Not a movie, specifically a TV series. Like, I'm a big fan of The Office -- I've always wanted to write a show like that. So I'd like to, eventually with my platform and my audience, kind of get to a point where I could fund something like that and make something that's scripted. And [one that] is a story rather than you know, reacting or ranting about something. That's where I want to get.











