On the heels of being named one of the Top 100 Virtual Reality Influencers (#61) by a recent Onalytica report, I spoke with Nathaniël de Jong, aka “Nathie”. At the age of just 21 years old, Nathie is one of only a tiny handful of YouTube personalities to be named on the Top 100 list. You probably know Nathie from his YouTube channel where he posts VR gameplay videos using both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive from his home in the Netherlands. His videos are a product of high quality editing, relatable humor, and an endearing personality.

Nathie’s YouTube channel has been active since 2009, long before the current wave of virtual reality platforms. However, it was not until he started covering the VR world that his YouTube channel really took off. Since covering VR, Nathie has surpassed 55,000 subscribers with nearly 7 million total views, and his rate of growth continues to drastically increase as more people become familiar with virtual reality. In fact, he’s now getting over 2 million views per month.

We discussed how it feels to be named a VR influencer, how being a YouTube personality has affected his life, and what the future may hold for both Nathie and virtual reality as a whole.

UploadVR: Let’s jump right into it! You’ve recently been named one of VR’s Top 100 Influencers. Were you surprised to hear the news? Will it change the way you approach your work on YouTube and social media?

Nathie: I was pretty surprised, yes. I mean, how big is the chance that a YouTuber makes it to a VR Top 100? I think that chance was fairly small. When I saw it popping up on my Twitter timeline I made a little jump of joy in my man cave. I checked the list twice because I couldn’t believe it. When I found out the list was based on Twitter activity I giggled a bit. I knew I tweeted a lot about VR and mostly to promote my videos. I also shared my opinion once in a while to start a great and funny discussion with my followers. When I did the double check and saw all those names I was actually asking myself what I was doing between all these important people.

Doing VR on YouTube is something totally different compared to what the others are doing on that list. Most of them are journalists and developers. In my opinion they are playing a much bigger role in this fast growing industry. I just create entertainment on a big video platform and get people excited for VR while they are watching it on a flat screen monitor, TV, or mobile device. A developer is creating a virtual world around a gamer that he or she will see as a real world and that they care about. That’s something totally different. In the end we all want the same thing: to get people on the VR hype train and let them experience the future. I consider myself as the underdog on this list. I am really satisfied with the way I run my social media at the moment. My Twitter has grown rapidly, it’s a great place to share videos and people seem to appreciate that. I do want to tweak my Facebook page since it has collected some dust over the past few months and it’s not a place where everyone just suddenly finds you through a hashtag. I will just keep posting and always keep an eye on new platforms to share my passion for VR.

UploadVR: As many people may notice from your accent, your primary language is Dutch. However, you speak English on your YouTube channel. Was this an intentional move to attract a larger audience?

Nathie: As long as I can remember I have been creating videos on YouTube in English. I created an account in 2009 just for hobby reasons. In the first few years I was just uploading things I personally enjoyed, like short scenes of movies, game trailers, home videos, and music. I was collecting my favorite moments that were not meant to be seen by a large public. I never spoke in those videos at all. Not because I didn’t want to but just because I never thought about doing it. In 2012 I uploaded my first video where I was actually speaking for the first time on camera. It wasn’t in Dutch because I already knew that more people would watch it if it was in English. Also, it wasn’t about VR.

It was just a strange video where I was talking about the latest news in the game industry. I needed a paper to be able to speak English. I had a real weird Dutch accent, was speaking slowly, and I had no clue how to pronounce certain words. It’s so odd that people enjoyed those first few videos where I was just struggling to communicate in a different language. Surprisingly enough, no one was making fun of my accent just because of the fact they appreciated the news I shared. I am really glad that no one was hating on it because that gave me the motivation to keep learning how to speak English. It’s really strange to look back at those videos because nowadays I just speak English all the time. I am happy that I made the decision to speak English from the start because you can reach much more people all over the world and preach the magic of VR. Also, I think a Dutch VR channel wouldn’t survive in the Netherlands just because the industry is way too new for it.

UploadVR: Let’s start from the beginning of your YouTube career. What was your original setup for recording your videos?

Nathie: Since I didn’t really speak at all in my videos, I didn’t really have a professional setup. When I started to talk in my videos, I was just using my old DSLR camera for the video and the audio part. I didn’t know most YouTubers were using much better equipment like microphones standing on desks. Not long after that, my friends woke me up and told me I should at least buy a microphone instead of using the one on my camera. I decided to buy my first cardio microphone that one of my YouTube friends recommended me. It was cheap and didn’t sound amazing but I was very happy with it.

I have used many programs to edit my videos over the years. I started with Windows Movie Maker, since it was a simple program that was mainly designed for families to create nice holiday compilations. Not long after that I started to use programs like Pinnacle Studio and Sony Vegas. I had a medium range computer that could handle games just fine on decent graphics settings and a small monitor that would allow me to edit my videos perfectly. This all happened before I started doing VR on YouTube.

UploadVR: You’re setup has evolved since the beginning. Tell us about your current setup. Did your setup evolve with many small changes over time or did you have a small number of big changes?

Nathie: My setup has evolved big time. I use three cameras nowadays that all capture different things. I have a webcam that records my gameplay when I do room scale VR. I still use my old DSLR for my introduction and the outros. Last but not least I got a digital camera that I use for standing and seated experiences and it supports 4k (if needed.) I use a wireless microphone from Sennheiser combined with two mixers on my desk. This makes your virtual world a lot bigger because you are totally wireless and you can record wherever you want. I also have an extra microphone on my desk that I use to communicate with people through Skype and Teamspeak.

I am really proud of my computer because I spend a lot of money on it and it’s also the beating heart of my YouTube channel. I upgraded it just to run and record VR games at their best and to render out videos in no time. I always upgrade it with the latest hardware to keep up with the rapid growing VR industry. I now edit with Adobe Premiere, After Effects, and for my thumbnails I use Photoshop. In terms of VR headsets I own an Oculus Rift DK1, DK2, CV1 and a Vive. I also have a bunch of Google Cardboards but I am not that much into mobile VR compared to PC. Extra things I have are softboxes that can simulate daylight and a green screen that can be used for Mixed Reality. Last but not least I transformed my wall into a cool looking Mario level that has been praised by many of my viewers. It became iconic for the channel.

UploadVR: I can’t even imagine how much time you spend on editing your videos. Do you do all of your own editing? What is it like to prepare for a video and how much time would you guess you spend on each?

Nathie: All the VR magic you see on my channel has been recorded and edited by myself. Sometimes I ask my friends to help me out with a few small projects but most of the time I am doing it solo. Recording a video in VR is much more complicated than playing a casual game on a flat screen. You need to prepare yourself with wireless microphones, slick Vive/Rift cables and the most important thing: a good mood. Usually I play and record a game for an hour. I always do research before playing a new game because you wanna show your audience the controls right away. Editing a video takes me around six to seven hours. I want to give it a professional look mixed with entertainment. I just want the best for my viewers and hopefully make new people excited for VR.

UploadVR: What you would say is virtual reality’s greatest strength for gaming, compared to more traditional console/PC/mobile video games?

Nathie: The greatest strength of virtual gaming is definitely the fact that you feel immersed in a world that doesn’t exist. You react faster and more naturally in situations than you would while sitting behind a regular monitor. Adrenaline is pumping while you are trying to prove yourself in that virtual world. You have the feeling you are important and that everything you do counts towards the end. In my opinion, console, PC, and mobile games are still a thrill to play though, especially games like Bioshock and The Last of Us, which completely changed my way of thinking. VR games have a long way to go. It will take a while before it explodes into mainstream gaming land. It will definitely grow to a point where we get titles with beautiful storylines and a huge open world that you can explore alone or with your friends. For now this dream can only be lived on a flat screen but give it some more time and it will happen.

UploadVR: I won’t make you pick between the Rift and the Vive, but what’s your favorite game for each of them currently?

Nathie: It’s hard to pick a favorite game because most of the games I played so far are fun, however most of them are not games I would return to every day or every week. I love what the developers create but I haven’t seen many games that let me play for a long time. If I really had to pick a game I would go for The Lab on the Vive and for the Rift it would be Lucky’s Tale. I played Lucky’s Tale a year before it came out on Gamescom in Cologne and I instantly fell in love. “This is going to be the Super Mario 64 of VR!” I thought. I was seriously mind-blown by this third-person game. It was also the first time I played with a DK2, so the colors, the camera movements, and everything else was just so magical. Now the game is out and it’s a great play for the whole family.

The Lab speaks for itself. It’s made by Valve and I was always amazed by this company. I mean, c’mon, they created Half-Life, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, and Portal. What could possibly go wrong? I have logged over 7 hours in The Lab so far just because it’s not really a game but more like an exploration adventure demo. The Lab offers tons of mini-games and easter eggs. You always return to the game to beat your last high score. It has everything in there that VR needs. It’s funny that Lucky’s Tale and The Lab are actually the main games that are coming with each headset for free. I think both games are so much fun because they are universal and everyone understands them.

UploadVR: What do you hope to personally achieve over the next year and beyond?

Nathie: I am aiming for a YouTube channel where you can see content of every VR headset that is available on the market. That would mean I have to focus on Mobile VR and Console VR as well. I want my channel to be the place to watch for VR enthusiasts. I also would like to turn my hobby into a full-time job so I can invest even more time in the channel. Hopefully I can go back to the future soon.

UploadVR: Where would you like to see the VR gaming industry move over the next year and beyond?

Nathie: I really hope that more triple-A companies decide to create VR games. I would love to see the big boys like Rockstar, Bethesda, Ubisoft, and EA develop dedicated VR games. Those companies are excellent candidates to make gamers curious for next level gaming. There is a magical world behind their flat monitors they need to hear about. High-class games will definitely help the VR industry grow.

UploadVR: Your number of YouTube subscribers and views has skyrocketed since you started covering VR. How would you explain the dramatic increase?

Nathie: It’s very simple. Most of my viewers can’t afford an HMD right now and come to my channel to watch me play VR games until they can buy one themselves. There aren’t many VR channels out there that are uploading weekly videos of Vive and Rift experiences. There is a high demand for videos right now and I deliver them to whoever wants to watch them. My audience decides what VR games I play. So we basically share the channel and the headsets.

The more people hear about VR the better. When people get curious they are going to search it up on Google and YouTube. There is a big chance my YouTube channel pops up when you search for the Vive and the Rift. I grow with the industry and because of that I am able to make more people excited through YouTube for this new tech. There is a high demand for videos right now and I am the one that delivers.

UploadVR: What advice would you give to prospective YouTubers and streamers trying to stand out from the crowd?

Nathie: The golden tip I can give is to be yourself, be creative, and make smart decisions. You have to get discovered and the best way to get noticed is by uploading and streaming things that catch the eye. People are always looking for new and refreshing experiences. You can be the one that surprises them.

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In addition to Nathie’s YouTube account, be sure to follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.