Casey Neistat: Why I Quit YouTube & What I'm Doing Now!
TL;DR
- Casey Neistat discusses his unconventional early life including becoming a father at 16 and how it shaped his approach to success and risk-taking
- He shares his philosophy on failure and persistence, explaining how accumulated small failures led to his eventual breakthrough in video creation
- Casey reveals the origins of his daily vlogging practice and how he developed his unique creative approach to storytelling
- He discusses the challenges of building Beme, a video platform startup, and what he learned from his exit despite being unqualified for the role
- Casey addresses the changing landscape of content creation and vlogging in the modern era and why he ultimately stepped back from YouTube
- He reflects on the importance of following passion over fame and shares advice on navigating career transitions and personal growth
Key Moments
Episode Recap
In this episode, Casey Neistat opens up about his journey from an unconventional childhood to becoming one of the most influential creators on the internet. Steven Bartlett explores the formative experiences that shaped Casey's approach to life, beginning with his early years and his parents' divorce. These foundational challenges instilled in him a resilience that would define his career trajectory.
Casey reflects on a pivotal moment when he became a father at 16 years old. Rather than viewing this as a setback, he describes it as one of those "brilliant accidental" decisions that fundamentally altered his perspective on risk and responsibility. This early responsibility forced him to think differently about his future and pushed him toward unconventional paths.
The conversation dives deep into Casey's philosophy on failure and persistence. He discusses why most people fail to make the changes they want in their lives, attributing it to a lack of patience and understanding of how small, accumulated failures eventually compound into success. Casey emphasizes that his path to success was not a straight line but rather a collection of a million failures that eventually led to one breakthrough.
Casey explains how he discovered video as his medium and the conscious effort he put into creating originality. He warns aspiring creators about the trap of chasing fame rather than building genuine skills and pursuing authentic work. He shares his experience starting the daily vlog, which became his signature format and helped him develop a unique voice.
The episode covers his transition into entrepreneurship with the launch of Beme, a technology company built around video sharing. Casey candidly discusses feeling unqualified for the role of building a tech company, yet he pursued it anyway. He describes the emotional rollercoaster of building and eventually exiting from Beme, providing valuable insights into what he learned from that experience.
Throughout the conversation, Casey highlights the importance of his wife Candice in his personal journey and how family has grounded him amidst the volatility of his career changes. He addresses the business side of content creation, including the role of advertising and sponsorships.
Looking forward, Casey shares his vision for the next decade and reveals what he is working on beyond YouTube. He reflects on the current landscape of vlogging and how it has transformed since his early days. Ultimately, Casey offers wisdom on the advice he wishes he had received earlier, emphasizing that success requires patience, persistence, and the willingness to embrace uncertainty and failure as essential components of growth.
Notable Quotes
“Success is not about making the right decisions, it's about persisting through a million wrong ones.”
“Most people don't make the leap because they lack the patience to understand that small failures compound into success.”
“Being unqualified never stopped me because I learned that credentials matter less than hunger and willingness to figure things out.”
“The gift of failure is understanding that you're not actually failing, you're learning at an accelerated rate.”
“Chase the work, not the fame. If you chase fame, you'll become someone else. If you chase the work, you'll become yourself.”
