Matt Steffanina

I started on YouTube in 2007, so coming up on 18 years on YouTube.

I started on YouTube in 2007, so coming up on 18 years on YouTube.

I started on YouTube in 2007, so coming up on 18 years on YouTube.

Yeah, so I started in a smaller town in Virginia. I was bored in high school. Thought I'd pick up dancing. I saw, you know, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake. I want to learn that. And there weren't a lot of opportunities. So I found YouTube really early. And I thought, man, like, I could probably learn by posting my videos here. People give me feedback. Maybe I'll meet other dancers.

Yeah, so I started in a smaller town in Virginia. I was bored in high school. Thought I'd pick up dancing. I saw, you know, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake. I want to learn that. And there weren't a lot of opportunities. So I found YouTube really early. And I thought, man, like, I could probably learn by posting my videos here. People give me feedback. Maybe I'll meet other dancers.

Yeah, so I started in a smaller town in Virginia. I was bored in high school. Thought I'd pick up dancing. I saw, you know, Usher, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake. I want to learn that. And there weren't a lot of opportunities. So I found YouTube really early. And I thought, man, like, I could probably learn by posting my videos here. People give me feedback. Maybe I'll meet other dancers.

And so it really just started out as that. And I sort of fell into this viral YouTube thing really early on.

And so it really just started out as that. And I sort of fell into this viral YouTube thing really early on.

And so it really just started out as that. And I sort of fell into this viral YouTube thing really early on.

But the main thing that I noticed is that the more I shared my story and my vulnerabilities along the way, my failures as well as my successes, the more people engaged with the channel. And so I was really early on showing how bad I was. You know, I was starting out as a 17 year old kid in a small farm town trying to learn how to dance. And, you know, here we are today.

But the main thing that I noticed is that the more I shared my story and my vulnerabilities along the way, my failures as well as my successes, the more people engaged with the channel. And so I was really early on showing how bad I was. You know, I was starting out as a 17 year old kid in a small farm town trying to learn how to dance. And, you know, here we are today.

But the main thing that I noticed is that the more I shared my story and my vulnerabilities along the way, my failures as well as my successes, the more people engaged with the channel. And so I was really early on showing how bad I was. You know, I was starting out as a 17 year old kid in a small farm town trying to learn how to dance. And, you know, here we are today.

And like you mentioned, it was probably about five or six years of not taking it seriously, posting a video here and there. And then I moved to L.A. and I thought, oh, now I'm in L.A., it's going to get easier. I'm going to get all these jobs. And it wasn't that at all. It's very, very difficult. And so I leaned even heavier into content.

And like you mentioned, it was probably about five or six years of not taking it seriously, posting a video here and there. And then I moved to L.A. and I thought, oh, now I'm in L.A., it's going to get easier. I'm going to get all these jobs. And it wasn't that at all. It's very, very difficult. And so I leaned even heavier into content.

And like you mentioned, it was probably about five or six years of not taking it seriously, posting a video here and there. And then I moved to L.A. and I thought, oh, now I'm in L.A., it's going to get easier. I'm going to get all these jobs. And it wasn't that at all. It's very, very difficult. And so I leaned even heavier into content.

And that's when my audience really exploded about 2014, 15, 16 years.

And that's when my audience really exploded about 2014, 15, 16 years.

And that's when my audience really exploded about 2014, 15, 16 years.

Yeah, I got to dance for Taylor Swift, a choreographer, Jason Derulo. I was on the Ellen Show, Step Up, So You Think You Can Dance. Pretty much everything I ever dreamed of doing as a dancer. And that's why even today I'm huge on encouraging people to create content. there's no better way to reach an audience in a really, really genuine way than by creating content.

Yeah, I got to dance for Taylor Swift, a choreographer, Jason Derulo. I was on the Ellen Show, Step Up, So You Think You Can Dance. Pretty much everything I ever dreamed of doing as a dancer. And that's why even today I'm huge on encouraging people to create content. there's no better way to reach an audience in a really, really genuine way than by creating content.