From FIRE To FORTUNE: How AUSTIN EVANS Built A Tech Empire | a soloedits documentary | @austinevans
oh my God hey guys uh so my house kind of burned [Music] down this is the moment where Austin Evans thought he had lost it all I was standing in front of my apartment on fire thinking what the hell do I do now a devastating house fire had reduced his life's work to ashes so this is actually my very first computer it's hard to believe this was a three-story building it's just it's just a pile now but in a face of adversity Austin found a way to rebuild stronger than before it was a reset in my life I really think about things before fire and after [Music] an iPod a phone are you getting it the year is 2007 Apple's first iPhone has just been released the Wii Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 at the T of the gaming World 3 2 1 amidst this Tech Revolution a 14-year-old Austin Evans launches his YouTube channel Austin grew up in the United States when I was growing up we moved a lot I grew up in Missouri I grew up in a family that was not very technically inclined Austin was raised in a household that financially fluctuated we were up and down all the time there'd be a year where the whole family goes on a vacation and there' be a year where my brother and I are in the car while they're getting food stamps my dad was always in sales so you know he had a lot of jobs and like I said we moved a lot so it was one of those things where it was always something new going on right so whether it was you know he sold cars for quite a while he sold time shares for for a long time like it was pretty impactful for me as a kid right because I wasn't used to necessarily like a 9 to-5 it was just very much sort of like a lot of ups and downs Austin's school life was also turbulent a fight with a playground got Austin pulled out of school by his mother my teacher pulled me aside with her and explained that I had gotten into a fight with Mike my mom didn't not like that at all and decided that I should be pulled out of school and she started homeschooling me instead so with all the extra time on his hands and the lack of friends to socialize with Austin was drawn to write stories online with a community of others who shared his passion the biggest thing for me early was actually much more on the writing side for most of my teenage years I legitimately thought I would become an author that is until I discover this new website called YouTube starting out Austin's Channel went by Duncan 33303 I didn't want to use my real name on the Internet so I came up with a name Duncan that was a old internet name from I was like 10 Austin's curiosity for gadgets and Computing advancements fueled his desire to learn and share you know when I think back to my earliest memories of tech it's like you know the first thing was absolutely the Game Boy right even from a young age Austin's fascination with tech was prevalent there was a time where uh we were at a Goodwill with my mom and and my brother and I like hey there's like a $5 junle PC like hey can we buy that I just tear it apart and she's like ah that doesn't sound safe no you you can't do that but it was like kind of like you know where the seeds start to play it's like you know what this is interesting this is exciting and certainly when YouTube rolled around that I was able to be exposed to a way wider world of what sort of tech could provide Austin started building his audience at the right time hey guys this is Austin YouTube in 2009 was nowhere near the giant of a platform it is today there wasn't the depths of oversaturation in content that there is now nobody knew if there was any career in content creation and there was real uncertainty regarding whether or not YouTube itself would last the the thing is YouTube came in a really good time in my life because it was you know right around 16 17 where I normally would be getting a job it just kind of like oh well that'll be nice if maybe I could make that happen someday but it wasn't like some kind of concrete plan or anything Austin's commitment to being consistent and delivering honest and thoughtful content in the early days built him a loyal fan base that kept him at the Forefront of the Tech Community from the outside Austin's success might seem like an inevitable rise in the saturated Market of tech YouTube but his journey was far from Easy the everchanging landscape of YouTube required constant adaptation and Innovation I never ever ever want to get locked into one particular S I want to be you know doing whatever works and you know as Trends kind of go up and down I don't want to be locked into something so I'm always ready to go oh people like that I like that can't start focusing on that Austin's influence in the Tech Community grew earning him a loyal following his honest reviews and engaging Tech builds established him as a trusted name in the industry Samsung invited me to my very first event it was for the launch of the Galaxy S3 and I couldn't believe it they were going to fly me to New York I was going to see the phone early it was completely mind-blowing collaborations also played a crucial role in Austin's rise my name is Marquez and I'm with Austin welcome to the YouTube Tech podcast partnering with other Tech YouTubers like Marquez brownley introduced him to a wider audience and brought a of community to his channel Austin's Channel kept growing and he had built a community of loyal viewers but in the world of YouTube success is fleeting one moment you're a hero and the next you are irrelevant the internet waits for nobody and any delay to Austin's momentum could have destroyed everything he had worked towards called them probably 5 minutes ago it's gone there's nothing they can do now oh my God in 2014 disaster struck Austin had awoken to his worst nightmare I had stayed up late the night before I was editing a browser test a video that I used to do a lot and I don't remember what time it was almost it was like 8 or 9:00 in the morning whatever I was asleep but I heard yelling I looked out and I saw like black smoke up there and I was like jumped up out of bed like grabbed my phone and I had grabbed a MacBook Air which was my laptop at the time thre my jacket on threw my shoes on sprinted down I was like down like three huge flights of stairs and I almost fell cuz the the the block box I had taken down was like heavy I ran all the way down you know kind of like threw it in front of the garage went around and you know the fire was huge the fire that ravaged Austin's home in 2014 didn't just destroy his equipment and setup it threatened to halt his burgeoning career it is one of those moments where you know you always hear like oh it doesn't hit you until later but like as soon as I saw I was like oh this is like it you're hyped up on adren I was like dead asleep to like you know freaking running around and like like hard pumping everything but the thing that got me was there there was a lady on the other side who didn't know what was going on she like went to go back inside and so I literally like ran up the stairs like tell like knock our door no you need to leave like it is like on fire right now it was crazy it was just a blur of so many things happening I remember one of the neighbors I helped push the car out of the garage there was just so many things cuz like I could not sit still I had to be moving I had to be doing something stuff is stuff but like you know there's people and you know they have you know pets there's all these kind of things and it's just like to me I could not sit still for I'm you can see I'm getting like ansy thinking about it right now it wasn't until a few hours later that I think the the gravity of everything really hit my apartment at that point had collapsed like my my apartment was like on the ground obviously there was like not a whole lot that could be done and it really wasn't until the next day which when I shot the video I was told from one of my neighbors that they were going to come and like kind of rope it off you if you my my neighbors like hey let's go over now try to get whatever we can before were not allowed into the thing so that's why you can see we're like you know digging through the wreckage and pulling stuff out and obviously I wasn't really able to find much of anything I just dug this iPad out and if you can see it actually works it still works despite this tragedy Austin found the strength to remain positive even throughout the fire video I mean I I feel like I'm a positive person like I think that that's always you know I'm a very sort of optimistic kind of person I always try to look on like the bright side of things but anytime my camera is on no one wants to see me being sad and blah blah blah blah blah I mean obviously there times in which I've been emotional and then that's fine that's real I I try to be positive I try to share that positivity and I think that that's just kind of who I am it's not like oh I just decide that I'm going to be happy about it it's not like oh I'm going to go make some hilarious jokes you know like for me is like you know that was the way I felt in the moment that was the way that I feel about most kind of things and you know the good thing was while it was obviously a bad thing that happened it could have been far worse but even so Austin still felt the weight of his circumstance ances if I'm being really honest with you it was what 36 hours between when the fire happened to when I had finished the video and uploaded it right so it was a pretty short amount of time there was definitely a much sort of Darker emotional time for me after that cuz you know I didn't have anything to do I still was in like crisis mode you know that whole day that happened the day after as I'm making the video I distinctly remember I was staying with my parents who are not too far away and you know I came back I made the video I edited it I remember I hit the export button and that was the moment I'm like oh this is like real real all my Pokemon cards in there my childhood journals that that was really the moment like what the hell do I do now in the days following the fire prominent figures in the tech YouTube Community including Lou from unbox therapy and Jonathan Morrison stepped up to help Austin rebuild what's up man so uh this ma bro is from a lot of different people actually yeah it's like from 14 different people every single person who makes Tech videos basically contributed to that the only thing I really have to say is I really admire your attitude hey what's up Austin it's Marquez just wanted to send positive vibes your way and say props for being and staying so positive through it all hey Austin Mario and I would like to just say that we uh think you're an awesome person there's definitely like some days in there where I just was like I'm going to sit on the couch and be sad and I think that that's okay and you know thankfully by the time that Lou and John had come back I was starting to feel better and them coming and surprising me I was back that I was Meed like the next day I'm like all right let's go let's do this thing we'll look for an apartment like I sort of lost that apathy of just like being sad and feeling like a and then I was just like let's go this was an amazing thing like that was just such a like a huge jump start for me the community's response was overwhelming Austin emerged From the Ashes with renewed resilience to deted to give back to the community that had stood by him in his Darkest Hour the fact that you guys all chipped in all made this happen just for me is that's that's worth more than you guys know the fire seem to also have sparked life into collaboration in the Tech Community the night after the fire I'm sitting at Chili's with Lou and John and Lou is pitching us on he wanted to make a video for Fanboy rap a few months later we actually did it you know like Lou put together this huge shoot it was in LA so we are here for the Fanboy rap official video had all kinds of like Tech Community out you know locations it was a I mean for us at the time crazy crazy legit on ITC X that was I think a real Catalyst for getting a taste of like what that real collab life would look like building a community and sort of doing something bigger look at this the entire Tech Mafia Meetup there was a lot of stuff going on at the time the iPhone 6 and bend gate so many things like that happened in that year I think really really helped Drive the community Community it just felt the floodgates were open cuz we were all like why are we doing this by ourselves hey do you want to come out this weekend hey do you want to come help me shoot this like it just all started flowing cuz everyone just sort of realized like oh wait a minute like there's like a whole world up there Austin's Journey didn't just resume it evolved he adapted to the changing landscape of YouTube and continued to grow his brand with a focus on quality and engagement he moved out to California I'm actually moving out to LA in like less than a week and built out a team to help him work on a more consistent and quality output of content once we had our own space that was that was big right I mean you know I had an office had no idea how to run an office I had no idea how to do any of this stuff but it was just like you know here's a spot it's not my second bedroom or closet or like no this like an office and we're here and we're here to start cranking on stuff and before that I had been massively ball necked by myself I was not seeing the full potential of what was there and once 10 arrived and the office was there we started setting stuff up you know it took off right it was just like oh man here's what this thing can be Ken bedo helped the channel reach its potential and he is someone who still works with Austin today I've been working with Austin now for about s or eight years at this point Austin's channel has consistently evolved in the years since the fire and Austin's personality and humor shines more than it ever has before ow ow Austin developed a style of content that would keep him engaging audiences for years and years blending humor and knowledge leading into popular Mainstay series such as mystery Tech welcome to another very special edition of mystery Tech everything was new and exciting Austin had just moved away from Missouri for the first time had his own office and was making all sorts of new videos I look back on those times so fondly I I obviously everything is great now but things are much more I would say stable now which is good stable is good right but it's also not as much fun right like these are businesses at the time it felt like the sky was the limit you know like I was going to go 5x their subscribers every year and would sit in a park and shoot a speed test with Galaxy S3 and get 7 million views cuz like everyone was excited about the iPhone it was just it was crazy it was crazy just it like it felt like there's absolutely no limit and it's nice to know that we've come to a stable happy place um but yeah those T are [Music] crazy in 2022 Austin's father passed away [Music] it was one of those things where he wasn't in great help so it wasn't a huge surprise I mean it was but you know as much as any of these things could be um I had been a dad for like 6 months at that point [Music] yeah I don't [Music] know I guess the way I would say is just it it was a good sort of reminder on on how I should do things almost like a passing of the torch I guess of like it's my turn now right yeah it's easy because like I think it's it's so easy for me to be busy and you know bouncing from thing to thing I think about a lot about how I maybe don't spend out enough time reminiscing going through this stuff cuz like you know uh the whole thing happens and then just life kept going you know right back to work right back to the grind taking care of the baby all this kind of stuff and you know it's I think everyone processes things differently but I think it's just one of those things where every time I go back and and talk it's like it it's sad but it feels good right I don't if that makes sense but it's like it's good to talk about these things it's good to you know honor [Music] him everyone handles things different differently I would never want to judge and I I don't think that I probably handle things in a quote unquote correct way all the time but I think everyone has to process things in their own way and I think that I've got work to do I'm doing the work and that lets me maybe hide from some of the stuff sometimes and that's it's probably not great but it's the way I you know that's the way I am I guess I don't know that's just you know there's pros and cons I think every the way that everyone approaches any situation good or bad you know and it's you know yeah my dad was a very committed guy very committed to when he wanted to do something he saw it through even when you could argue you probably should bail if you start it you finish it and if you commit and make a promise to someone that you're going to do this thing then do the thing he approached problems in a different kind of way that I think was kind of helpful for me to grow and probably the number one influence from my dad was just like the overall attitude of being a little chill about things I think that's something that I very much taken to heart I was like a lot of stuff happens a lot of stuff goes wrong a lot of stuff goes right remembering to Center yourself remembering that some battles aren't worth fighting was something that my dad always really instilled in me figure out the problem try to make some solutions maybe tomorrow when it's all said and done then go but in the moment be serious just just sort of work through it and that was something that I think was very helpful for me in kind of thinking about how to approach I mean even I think stuff like the fire right of like the way that that is here's what's going on figure out what you could do you have a limited amount of time do what you can do and then afterward you can kind of sit down and sort of emotionally process what do what just happened but that say that doesn't help anything in the [Music] moment today Austin Evans isn't just a tech reviewer he's the founder of overclock media managing several channels and continuing to influence the tech World aiming to diversify the projects and channels he was working on currently overclock oversees several popular YouTube channels including a more humor-based Tech show this is hello and welcome to this is It's a spider oh no as well as longtime Austin Evans cameraman Ken bolo's Channel deny I'm in taipe taking a look at the largest tech malls the city has to offer overcup media has become a Hub of creativity and Innovation reflecting Austin's commitment to pushing boundaries and exploring new ideas for me it's been really nice to be able to build a business that functions I was gone for an event for four or five days and then I immediately got Co after I was gone for like a week and you know what nothing burn to the ground today Austin isn't just a content creator he's a business owner a husband and a father your perspective changes chasing the next subscriber the next one of 10 the next Big Brand deal like all these things are still exciting and they're still great but there was a very long time where that was it with a steady head on his shoulders and an understanding of how to navigate the ups and downs of a YouTube career he has found a way to remain popular even after 15 years on the platform you're going to have wins you're going to have losses you're going to have days that are great you're going to have months where you go negative subscribers all these things are normal and fine that can't be how you define yourself as a person because that's how I did as the years have gone by Austin defines success as being parallel with happiness as I you know got married and had children and stuff obviously that kind of stuff always puts into perspective what's important and what's not a decade after the fire Austin continues to thrive overclock media continues to grow and every struggle Austin has experienced has taught him meaningful lessons that have helped him Prosper but even as time has progressed and his business has grown his work ethic and determination hasn't wavered it's important to always consider that this can still absolutely go away and maybe there's a little bit more safety net than there was you know back in the day but still there so it's just like trying to find the right balance of getting worked on being aggressive doing as much as you can but also balancing that with what is really important in life you've got work covered you got family covered and you try to you know do do the best you can Right From the Ashes of a devastating fire to the business Heights of overclock media Austin Evans story is one of resilience passion and unwavering determination to make a success out of hardship from making videos in his bedroom to attending the White House his journey is a testament to the power of perseverance a willing willingness to evolve and the support of a community that kept believing in him this is how one man built a tech Empire from ashes this is the story of Austin [Music] Evans decades from now right you're in Hawaii or wherever you decide to retire you're on the pool and you're sat back on the chair you don't want to read a book you're going do you know what I'm going to reminisce how do you want to be remembered and what do you hope people take away from the person that is Austin Evans it's important to do what you love and I've been incredibly fortunate to do what I love for my entire adult life and not everyone gets that luxury very few people get that luxury and I think it's really important to be grateful for the the good sort of things you are able to do and I think that for me it's like the Tech Community could has and will Thrive without me right like there's no question about that like what I like to think that maybe I've had a small part in in helping to pushing things forward and and stuff I would hope so but like it's not it's about something that's way bigger than any one person and you know I uh it's just it's one of those things where I think as you get older perspectives change I uh not too long ago I uh I met uh a guy um he was chatting with him a little bit you he had been a fan of the channel and he mentioned he had just gotten his driver's permit and I stopped for a second did the math I was like wait a minute and he's like yeah it's my birthday last week I was like so you were born after my first video ah and now you're a full grown driving person talking to me wow that was one of those moments where it was just like you know life moves fast it moves so fast and I think you blink and 5 10 years fly by at certain point and I think it's just worth trying to hold on to that but I think just when it's all said and done when it's all sipping my Ties on the beach or whatever I find to do it's going to be a lot more engaging because I can't sit still for long enough to do that I think it's going to be a level of Pride I think of just sort of what I was able to do and how I was able to do it and obviously there's a lot of mistakes along the way and a lot of things I wish could do differently but ultimately just I think I have already at this point in my life been able to do everything I could have ever hoped for so many amazing projects so many amazing experiences like I I don't have a a bucket list of things like it really is just like I've done so many amazing things that it's going to be very hard I think to think about like oh the regrets here the regrets there like I think I've been in an incredibly fortunate sort of uh position to be able to do a lot of these things and and hopefully by the time that I finally find that beach I'll have done a whole lot more cool things but like I'm content I think that that's like a that's a that's a good spot to be I I feel I feel almost a little like guilty about it cuz I know that's not a spot that most people get to experience often orever and it's just like you know it's it's it's gone well and uh yeah it's it's it's good to be grateful [Music] [Music]
2024-09-06 05:11
