The Future of Travel Video Creation | Ed Ventures
29 Jul 2025 · 39 min
In this episode of The Profitable Creative, host Christian Brim interviews Ed Ventures, the founder of IRL Ventures, a podcast and community focused on travel video creators and IRL (in‑real‑life) streamers. Ed explains how he started the IRL Ventures podcast to fill a gap for creators who film and stream while on location, describing IRL streaming as live broadcasting from the field rather than from a desk. He contrasts IRL streams with traditional gaming streams, highlighting the immediacy of audience interaction and the broader range of content possibilities (e.g., food, culture, adventure). The conversation moves into monetization, covering subscriptions, ads, sponsorships, physical and digital products, and coaching, while noting Ed’s personal preference for content creation over video‑editing services. Both hosts discuss the challenges of turning creative skills into a sustainable business, emphasizing a mindset shift from selling a service to solving client problems. Networking and community are presented as critical growth levers: Podfest, local creator meet‑ups, TwitchCon, and in‑person connections have led to guest bookings, collaborations, and even a side business building affordable streaming backpacks. Technical hurdles of IRL streaming—unstable mobile connections, disconnect protection (Bailabox Cloud), streaming backpacks, bonded cellular internet, and equipment choices—are detailed, illustrating the high barrier to entry and the need for reliable setups. The episode also touches on audience building expectations for podcasts, the importance of engagement over follower count, and the emerging market size of IRL creators. Listeners are directed to the IRL Ventures podcast, YouTube channel, Instagram, and Discord for more resources.
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Sound like you? Tune in now. It's time for profit. Welcome to another episode of The Profitable Creative, the only place on the interwebs where you will learn how to turn your passion into profit. I am your host, Christian Brim. Special shout out to our one listener in Vernal, Utah. I have not visited Utah before except going through the airport at Salt Lake, but that doesn't really count. I and my wife and I are traveling through. We're driving up to the Grand Tetons, uh, and back down through Utah. So I'm looking forward to that next month. In any case, uh, welcome to the program, Edvin— Edventures. I keep wanting to pronounce it Edventures. Edventures of IRL Ventures.
Welcome to the show. Hello. Thank you. Thank you for the, the intro. Yeah, I, I have a lot of people think that, uh, my last name is Ventures. It's not, it's a stage name. But, uh, it's, it's funny, like, if my name was something like crazy, like Ed, I don't know, like Technology, then no one would think my last name was Technology. But Ventures is, is close enough.
So yeah, no, I mean, I totally thought it was Venturis. But have you been to Utah? Yeah.
I have not been to Utah. Okay. I only recently started going out west. I've been to 35 countries, but I've barely explored the U.S. I've been up and down the East Coast, and then I've been to California.
So where, where do you, where do you reside?
Oh wait, Michigan too. Uh, I'm in the Northeast. I'm in the, like, New York City metropolitan area. Okay. So I'm like, you know, right outside of New York City.
Okay. Well, we're driving, uh, so this is like a 2-week deal here. Uh, my wife and I, if you know, are there any headlines? Uh, she killed me. I, I, it was her fault. She killed me 100%. So why don't you tell the audience what IRL Ventures is and how you got started with it?
Yeah, so IRL stands for in real life, if you didn't know that. So, um, IRL Ventures is for travel video creators and IRL streamers. Who is me, basically. So I made the podcast for myself. It's very selfish. Um, nothing wrong, but it's like basically for people like myself who— yeah, people like myself. The intended audience is like people like myself who are getting into content creation, specifically having to do with travel, international culture, language, um, you know, travel vlogs, live streaming while going around the world, or different cities, you know, like around your town even, but just whatever you're doing, not behind a computer screen. So, uh, I made the podcast because I wanted this kind of information, and I noticed that it was like there wasn't really like a dedicated travel video creator podcast, and especially not one for IRL streamers. So to give a little bit more context as well, so IRL streaming is basically instead of doing a livestream where you're sitting at your computer, you know, you're playing a video game or you're talking to chat or whatever, you take the camera, you take yourself and you're out in the world somewhere, right? So you could be at a restaurant talking about the food. You could be in a different country walking around a new city, you know, whatever. But it's— you're out and about. And so it's under the umbrella of travel video creator. Obviously. Um, so I'm pretty sure I'm the first podcast to focus specifically on IRL streamers, um, and travel video creators. So I saw this kind of, um, gap in the market, and I thought, okay, so I don't want to be like everyone else. I don't want to, you know, shout into the void of a thousand voices. So let me be that one kind of unique space. And it's also what I am doing in content creation. So it's a perfect fit.
So a couple of questions there. In your mind, and I apologize for my ignorance, but is the difference between, you know, doing it live versus recorded and edited, is the Is the fact that it's live what engages people, or is it something else?
Yeah, I mean, I think that's definitely part of it because you can be part of the content, basically. Okay. So, you know, with really popular live streamers, of course, they have thousands of viewers and the chat goes by a mile a minute and you can't really read everyone's individual messages., but you could kind of scan, like if you're a super popular, you know, live streamer, you, you could kind of scan and, and see what the general like keywords or questions are that keep recurring, blah, blah, blah, blah. Everyone's saying this thing. And so you can, instead of like replying to a single person, you're like replying to this group, right? So it's, it's a very interesting thing. And when you're a small streamer like myself, if there's someone in the chat, which is great, um, then, you know, basically they ask you questions, they talk to you, and you're directly communicating with them live. So if you're out there and you're eating this, you know, food, and they're like, well, how spicy is it? And you're like, well, it's pretty spicy, but it's not— I can, I can still handle it, you know, whatever. So like, it's— you're engaging directly in the content, um, and obviously watching everything unedited as it unfolds. So that's, that's the appeal versus like, you know, the produced content.
Okay. So what would you say the distinction between IRL doing something, live streaming in, in real life, as opposed to somebody doing, you know, watching Twitch and watching someone play Call of Duty?
So, I mean, it's similar in a way because you're still reacting to what the live streamer is doing, but it's just in a different context. So instead of like saying, oh man, wow, that was a really good kill in Call of Duty, like, oh, I can't believe you, you got him from all the way over there across the map, you know, like, instead of saying that, let's say, or like, oh man, I didn't even see that guy, he got you good, whatever, right, in the context of the game, or giving tips about the game that, you know, the chat is, is reacting to that directly, right? Instead, it's, it's just about what's going on, who, who you're with, what you're doing, where you are. Questions about, you know, like if you're traveling to a different country, questions about, hey, what's the culture like? What's the, you know, the food like? Whatever. Or if you're in your own country and there's viewers from across the world, they can ask you about like, hey, well, what's the, uh, you know, the deal with this culture in your country versus— because my country it's like this, blah blah blah. So it's, you know, there's all different things.
Got it.
And with IRL streaming, it's unlimited because anything that you can do, basically you'll— you can stream it. You can stream driving a car, you can stream, you know, jumping out of a plane with a parachute, you know, whatever.
No, you can't, because I'm not. Um, I mean, you might.
I'm not. Hypothetical you.
Hypothetical.
Yeah, I've never done that, but I would love to. Really? Like, oh yeah. I went bungee jumping and that's way more dangerous.
So I'm a pilot and not a very good one or a very seasoned one. But, you know, the only reason I'm jumping out of a plane is if it's going down. Like, there's no— So my question to you is, what was— you said you started this to kind of scratch your own itch. What was the conversation that wasn't happening that you wanted to have happen? So, or in other words, what do you talk about on the show?
Right. So I was a travel vlogger, right? I had a YouTube channel for years. It's not that it's successful or anything. I've been doing it since 2017. But, you know, I was doing that format on and off, you know, the consistency ebbing and flowing. And I kind of got back into like this creative, uh, mode and I was like being more consistent and I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. It's, it's, you know, going and I was feeling good about it. And then I, I have super bad insomnia. So every night when I go to sleep, I listen to either audiobooks or lately it's been podcasts, uh, past couple years. So, um, you know, just something to like take take my mind out of my thoughts and into, you know, this other world or whatever is going on so that I can relax and go to sleep. So I started consuming a ton of podcasts, and I became interested in it. And I saw on Meetup, which is an app and a website, there was this meetup for Podfest, which is like a podcasting convention.. And so I, it was free and I was like, oh, there's free food there. Okay, cool. So I went there, I met a bunch of these like really nice people, very open. And I was like, okay, this is a positive community. And they're all like, you gotta go to Podfest, you gotta go. And so I was like, okay. So I went and then I was like, okay, I'm gonna learn all I can here about podcasts. And I had this idea of like the IRL Ventures podcast, but I wasn't, sure, like, how, like, you know, much of an actual podcast it could become, or if it was, like, not that great of an idea. So I went to the Podfest, you know, it's like a several-day convention, met a bunch of people, and basically that kickstarted the podcast because I met all these people that could be guests, all these mentors, and I figured out what programs to use and all this sort of stuff, and that was awesome. And so then I, you know, when I started creating the podcast, I wanted to talk to people who were involved in any aspect of travel video creation that could help someone like me who's not as successful, not a monetized, you know, content creator. And basically, you know, they tell you to pick your avatar of like, who is your ideal listener, right? Or viewer. And I was like, Well, it's me, right? So people that are just like me. So I don't, I don't go on the podcast to host the podcast pretending to be an expert at all. I, I say the opposite. I'm like, I'm learning with you and if you wanna learn with me and like we can grow together, then that's awesome. So basically it, it could be about the financial aspect. It could be about technical aspect of different cameras and mics and stuff to use. It could be people's crazy travel experiences that they had, how to deal with different issues that come up as being in, and some of them are a little bit more general to being creators, but I try to be as specific as possible to travel video creators and IRL streamers because that's the niche that I think is not being fed very specifically, especially in the world of podcasts.
Okay. So, you know, one of the things we talk a lot about on the, uh, on this podcast is the, the business slash finance aspect of it. Um, but, you know, a lot of times it's, it's very rudimentary, like what's, what's the target customer, what's the problem you're solving, you know, how do you price it, you know, not, not like tax strategies, that sounds awful. Um, what, what What are the— I mean, it, it sounds like you, you've been doing this off and on, some success, but not enough to like, you know, satisfy your financial needs completely. Like, this isn't, this isn't your full-time gig, right?
Yeah.
Is that accurate?
Yes, that's accurate. I do freelance video editing and some light contract stuff. Okay. So that's related, but it's not my content, you know?
Yeah. Okay. So, so what in, in, you went to Podfest, you got inspired, and you said, I'm going to do this podcast. How has that impacted your, your business of either video editing or your IRL stuff?
So I think that your live streaming stuff— yeah, absolutely. So I realized recently that actually IRL things, like being in person and, you know, networking, communicating face to face, is really powerful. And, you know, I didn't realize actually how powerful that still is because, you know, we— I was like, well, we have the internet, we have Zoom, we have phone calls, whatever. But still, at our base, at our core, humans are face-to-face, community-minded creatures, right? We are made for interacting face-to-face. I mean, that's how we've done it for thousands of years. So that's still at our core. And that kind of connection is unique, and it can't really be replicated. Like, you can meet people online and all this stuff, and you can find awesome opportunities by you know, emailing, calling, talking on video call. But when I went to Podfest and different networking events and stuff like that, I go to a, you know, monthly creator meetup in New York. And that stuff is huge because I, the, like the connections I've gotten from that, the clients, that, that's really big. And just like I said, I was able to start the podcast because I met all these people at Podfest. That kind of gave me the tools. Whereas like, you know, if I wasn't spending all day, multiple days at this convention with these people, getting to know them, having shared experiences, we wouldn't have that kind of connection and they wouldn't have that same kind of level of trust in me to be like, yeah, you know what, I want to help you start your podcast. I want to be on it. I want you to be on my podcast. And, you know, oh, actually, I have some video editing opportunities for you and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, because blah, blah, blah. So that I don't think that would have happened if I didn't go and person. And that's why I'm trying to do as much in-person networking as possible.
So let me, let me ask you this. I run it. So, so are you, you are a freelance videographer, video editor. How long have you been doing that? Hey listeners, are you ready to turn your passion into profit? Then grab a copy of Profit First for Creatives. Click the link in the show notes to purchase a copy. And if you're not ready to make that full commitment, you can download a free copy of the first chapter. Check it out right now.
Since 20— let's see, 2019.
Okay, so a while. All right. So one of the things that I find, um, creatives struggle with is, is finding this, uh, business. I don't like to use the word model, but it's, it's really, it's, it's like bringing the business part of it into the creative part of it. And like, they're, they're good at the creative. They enjoy whatever it is that they do. Um, but to what I think you described it, how do I get it fully monetized?
Right. Yeah.
And I think the struggle is flipping that. It's really a fundamental thing. It's a simple thing, not necessarily an easy thing. It's flipping that thought process from essentially I have a skill and I'm looking for work to being a problem solver. And if you are looking through the world as a problem solver without limiting yourself to the skills that you normally work in. So, you know, like I, I do accounting. So, um, I, I haven't done accounting myself personally in probably 10 years. I haven't done my own tax return. And, you know, like I have, I started as a professional doing something, right? And that was how I built the business. And that's great. But really where it took off was when I changed that mindset from a professional providing a service to a problem solver and saying, okay, what problems do I see? With the, with the people that I'm already doing business with, you know, I'm not going out and looking for trouble. I'm dealing with the clients and the people and the vendors and the people that I'm dealing with. And what do I see? That allows you to have a lot more opportunity to create a business than, than just be someone that owns, that does a service because I hear this all the time. It's like, you know, I'm out here pitching myself. I'm out here trying to get work. I'm hustling. And, you know, one question I love to ask is like, okay, as a video editor, I'll ask you, why do I hire you, Ed, the video editor, over all my other options out there?
Yeah.
And your answer would be no.
Like, I mean, honestly, that I think there's a lot of reasons why I am struggling business-wise with the video editing. I think it's because I, you know, don't necessarily have that sort of brand that I have for my content creation. Right. And I have for my own content creation, I have this very clear vision of, okay, I'm a travel video creator, blah, blah, blah. I do this very specific thing. Podcast is very clear. Um, when it comes to video editing, I'm like, I'll do anything because I could do it and I need money. So I, I mean, it's like, look at my portfolio. Do you like it? Right, right, right. Does it seem good to you? Then I can do similar things for you. I could do live streaming.
Well, which would you prefer? If— would you prefer to have your content creation make money or your video editing make money. Which would you prefer?
I would prefer to have content creation make money.
Okay.
So, because it's more personally fulfilling.
Yeah. And, you know, I've already stipulated by asking dumb questions, like, I don't really understand what, what you do. I mean, as a bit, I mean, I, I don't, I, I don't consume it. I don't produce it. So I, you know, I, I, I found it fascinating, fascinating when my teenage son was playing video games or watching Twitch. And I'm like, what is this? Like this, like, so this is new to me. It's not from experience, but I guess my question would be, you know, obviously most content creators monetize by I guess one of two, two ways. You, you've got subscription, um, and, and then you've got, you know, ads. Yeah, you know, content, I mean, uh, promotional, uh, items, etc. Um, is there a third way to make money as a content creator that I'm not aware of?
Well, I guess kind of similar to you and your book, right? So you can have physical products as well, or digital products, right? Coaching, different things. I'm personally, I'm not interested in coaching because I don't pretend to be an expert and I don't think I have like anything worth like coaching someone for money. I feel really weird about that. And I'm also not passionate about coaching. Yeah, personally, I, you know, so that's something that like when, for example, when you look on YouTube for How to make money as a video creator, how to make money as a YouTube. It's like they all want you to do what they're doing, which is teaching people how to make money, right? As a video creator, I'm like, sounds a lot like Amway. You're just telling me how to— yeah, you're like, you're telling me how to do what you're doing. But like, if I need you, why would I, you know, sell that to someone else if I'm learning from you and I'm You know, and if that's not what you're passionate about, about teaching success, like, why do it? So anyway, that's a tangent, but I'm personally not really interested in that. Um, but yeah, I, I think that would be another way that you could make money as a content creator. And it's kind of a chicken and the egg, like sponsored, sponsored posts, sponsored ads.
Yeah, I had a conversation with a, uh, creator, or creator influencer agent, uh, in, uh, California last year. And I guess 5 years ago that wasn't even in a business, but now there are a bunch of agencies that represent content creators. And he was saying, so he'd been in it since the inception, so he'd, he'd, he'd done it for 5 years. And, uh, he said what he had seen was there are Oh, I'm so sorry. Please hold on. I got this new clock. It was a joke gift.
It's a— Oh, that's a clock.
It's a bird clock. And I normally don't run my shows across the top of the hour, so it's never been an issue, but today it is. Okay. So in any way, he's been back. That's a blue jay, by the way, in case you were wondering. You go, you go back 5 years ago, you had to have a whole bunch of followers to make money as a content creator. But he said he's seeing influencers down with like 50,000 making, getting, getting sponsors and endorsements and ad revenue. But it all has to do with the engagements. Yeah. And that to me speaks to like how tightly you understand the audience, who your listener is, what they're about and what they want. How far along that journey are you with your podcast?
So it just started this summer, basically. Launched it. Okay. I had a whole launch party, um, in New York City for the podcast. I didn't get around. I just— I didn't know you yet. If, if I did, you know, you, you'd get an invite, but you'd have to make it to New York, so, uh, not paying for your flight.
I'm down to come.
You are a pilot, so you could, you know, yeah, fly over. But anyway, so, so I had, you know, I had about like 100 people. Um, I put a lot of time and effort into this like launch. And stuff. So it just started. Um, so basically what I do is I livestream the podcast on my Twitch channel, and then I have a little bit more edited version, uh, with, you know, enhanced audio, etc., uh, that goes on my YouTube, and it also goes on Spotify and, you know, the podcast platform. So that's kind of how I do it. Uh, I think I'm on my 7th episode that is formally released right now. So yeah, so that was, uh, that's how I, you know, just getting started. So the viewership and listenership isn't super high. Um, sometimes I'll get people in the chat when I do the live stream, which is cool, and sometimes they add questions. And, um, but right now it's not super high, to be honest. Uh, I believe in being totally transparent. And, you know, this is the reality.
I think when I started this podcast a year ago, uh, and we'd get like 18 downloads in a month, I was like, huh, okay. Um, and you know, I kept talking to people like Alex Sanfilippo and, you know, the people that have experience in podcasting is like, no, dude, you got to be in it for 100 episodes before you see anything. Yeah, which is normally 2 years. Um, we went to, uh, twice a week, uh, in the fall and have kept up that pace. Um, but, you know, I guess it's, it's like anything, you have to build the audience, and the audience doesn't just get to you. I mean, they, you know, it's, it's I guess is Marketing 101, but I think you have an interesting leg up on that in that the community element. And I agree with you that there is this craving for in-person connection. I see it with creative entrepreneurs specifically, and something like Podfest would be one of these things where people are wanting to be serious about it as a business. It's not just a show and tell of, look what I did. Yeah, it's, I want to, I want to make money at this.
Exactly. Yeah. And I think, you know, who you surround yourself with are, you know, your biggest influences. So if you want to be successful in your field, you surround yourself with people that are successful in the, you know, the field that you're getting into, et cetera. So I think stuff like that is really important. Um, you know, learning from your peers and, and stuff like that. I think that's, that's why I kind of, I went to Podfest. I was like, oh, this is awesome. So now I'm, I'm going to Vidfest in August. I'm going to TwitchCon in October. So I, I was like, okay, I, I like this. I, I, I think that that is, uh, you know, a great way to, to grow and learn. And I've just, the net networking is huge, I think. It's so huge. Like, without networking, I wouldn't have, like, any of the guests I've had on my podcast. I wouldn't be here on your podcast. You know, it's like the networking and community aspect is, is huge. And so I'm just really trying to focus on that and build that and, you know, learn from it and know that it's going to take time.
And the fact that your content is predicated on being there in person is the leverage that I'm referencing. Like, I'm not going anywhere. I'm sitting in this chair. So, uh, my, my leverage is nonexistent in that regard. Um, but, you know, I, I guess my question would be to you, if, if you were going to quantify the number of IRL content producers out there, Do you have a guesstimate as to what that number is?
I mean, not really, because it's, it's difficult because there might be people that can—
how are you going to define it?
Yeah, like certain kinds of IRL content, or they might only be interested in, oh, I want to watch people in Japan only, or whatever. Or, you know, the Spanish language market versus the English language market versus the Chinese language market versus the Japanese language, you know, and there's all these little things. So I don't have those numbers. I, I, it's actually an interesting, um, thing to, to learn about. But I mean, there's, there's a lot and it's growing very, very fast in popularity. Um, you know, there's, there's, you know, juggernauts of the IRL streaming world that are out there that are very popular with especially younger, like Gen Z, Gen Alpha, viewership, um, that are, you know, like, I, I've seen IRL streamers on, you know, when I'm out at the bar and there's a commercial for Dick's Sporting Goods, right? And I see IShowSpeed, who is, uh, one of, if arguably not the biggest IRL streamer right now. And he's, you know, in this commercial with these sports superstars for this major company. And it's like, I'm in a bar and I'm seeing that. So it's like And people might not notice if they're not in that world, like, who is this guy? But he's got enough clout, he's got enough pull that he's in a nationally syndicated commercial for a major brand with, you know, AAA sports stars, you know, collaborating with him. And I forgot, it was like, I don't know, I'm not into sports, but it was like Brett Favre and whoever, people like that. Um, so, okay, you know, the pull is massive. Um, and I think the thing that is the limiting factor is because it's kind of new, it's very technically difficult to do actually. Uh, people think you can just like take your phone and, you know, start live streaming, but there's a lot more that goes into that. Um, if you get disconnected, like if you're streaming to Twitch, for example, You get disconnected because of the internet. You have— it's like 10 seconds or something to reconnect. And if you don't, your stream ends. Your whatever viewers you had, 100-something, goes to zero. Then you have to restart a new stream. Then people have to go back to your page and click back on your new stream. So that's, you know, having disconnect protection is huge, but it's not easy to do. It took me 3 weeks of self-taught YouTube University, Reddit, Discord, uh, you know, all this stuff of trying to figure this out. 3 whole weeks of just troubleshooting until I was able to just use my phone in the proper way to do IRL streaming, where I had disconnect protection, I could switch scenes on my phone, I could say, okay, I'll put a 'be right back' screen if I'm going, you know, to the bathroom or I'm using my credit card or whatever, something I don't want chat to see. You know, that stuff is important. So you— anyone can technically go out there and start. But if you're— if you don't have a Wi-Fi connection, you know, consistently, if you're out there, you know, you get disconnected eventually. And then what happens, right? So, you know, you can do it. But— and the thing is, I just have my phone and it costs me $10 per month for the disconnect protection. Everything else I set up by myself with, with free software and, and stuff. But it is a limiting factor.
Is that, is that disconnect? Is the disconnect protection through a service provider like a, it's a wireless provider or?
Bailabox Cloud. So it's a, it's an independent, I think it's one guy who just created this solution and made it accessible, $10. And, you know, so that's the other thing too, is like it's very community driven. The other people that I learned from are other people in the IRL streaming community, right? So the thing is, it's super powerful and it's super popular, and the top creators are millionaires and they're on TV and blah, blah, blah. But the barrier to entry is somewhat high. Because yeah, I mean, you could go on TikTok Live and just start with your phone or whatever, but it's a little bit of a different beast. Than let's say a YouTuber, Twitch live streamer. There's kind of different categories, you know, different kinds of streaming as well.
So it sounds like, you know, I don't know if you know the story of Levi Strauss, the company.
They— the jeans.
Right. They started in the Gold Rush selling picks and shovels to miners. During the Gold Rush in California. It sounds like you might be the one to be a picks and shovels kind of guy, because it sounds like you may be a little ahead of the curve in learning, but then finding opportunities like this guy that did the disconnect protection, like you're seeing the problems and it's like, Oh, well, maybe if I could come up with a solution for this, my own problem, scratching my own itch. Um, it sounds like you're in a very intriguing space. Like, it sounds like a great opportunity.
Yeah. I mean, that's why I started the podcast, because I noticed there wasn't one. Um, but, you know, even just like, you know, most of my opportunities of, of people now that I'm getting on the show on my podcast are from me engaging in their IRL streams and being a chatter and them getting to know me. And, uh, in a couple cases, then meeting in person in New York, um, and then basically inviting them onto the podcast. And, you know, sometimes I do it in the chat and they're replying to me on their livestream about my podcast. And then I have people interested in talking to me and they're like, oh, so you're a streamer too? Oh, you have a podcast? Well, blah, blah, blah. And that's— now I have someone that— so there, there are these things called streaming backpacks that are basically like a computer in a bag. Okay. That is like a step up from just using your phone, right? So you have all this stuff in there. It's, it's complicated. If you bought one ready to go, it'd be the cheapest you could find pre-built is maybe $1,600, $2,000 cheapest. But they're normally $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $30,000, up to that range, right? Depending on—
this is like solar backup, going off the grid kind of.
I mean, you can get crazy with it because first of all, you know, instead of using your phone, you can use a professional DSLR camera, 4K, you know, you can use like these professional mics, you can have it linked up, whatever. So it's, it's this whole thing and you, you have like a bonded internet connection with different carriers so that it combines like Verizon and T-Mobile and AT&T and then puts them into one super strong connection and then you can switch between everything and whatever. So I found someone through one of my podcast guests who's my friend, um, and I found them and they are, they just started, they built RL streaming backpacks for like 10 people and I'm like the 11th. And with me they're like, I got to start charging you because this is becoming like a thing. Like I just started helping out my friends, but like now I'm actually like, I can create a business from creating these backpacks for people because, you know, it's technical and they're, you know, they're in computer science, so they know how to kind of program the stuff that I don't— I don't have that background. So basically the parts and I like I had some stuff already. It cost me like $400 for all of the parts basically. Okay. And then I'm paying him $250 for his labor. So you put that together, right? It's cheaper than the cheapest streaming backpack. And the thing is, it's like, you know, those kinds of opportunities exist out there to to do that, but I would've never had that opportunity. I would've had to save and save up for these $3,000 backpack if I wanted to get to the next level or build it myself. And I don't have that capability technically, right? So because of networking and because of the community aspect of livestreaming, I found this person through the chat of someone else's stream and they had built their backpack. And so they're like, oh, I can help you out and blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah, and now they're going to be a guest on podcast talking about, hey, how can you create your own backpack and all this stuff. So it's, it's just great, uh, like the networking and the community aspect is, is awesome, and it's what drives everything for me. I've, I've noticed, um, any success I've had recently has been through networking and community, um, but yeah, so that, that I just want to emphasize like how important that has been.
Well, yeah, and again, it sounds like it's a fascinating opportunity, kind of like being on the ground floor, you know, but at least you have one, you have a step ahead, but you also have the ability to look backwards at what people have done in influencing and content creation when it was static and not You know, well, I mean, Twitch has been going on for what, 10 years? I don't know if it's that old or not, but it's, it's close.
I think it's over 10. Yeah. Okay. YouTube just turned 20, and I know TwitchCon is having their 10th anniversary, but TwitchCon happened after Twitch started, so I think Twitch might be like 13 years or something like that.
It's fascinating. Ed, how, how do people find your show and find out more about how to get a backpack?
Yeah, so if you go to, uh, yeah, you could just search me on any of your, your, um, you know, podcast platforms of choice— Spotify, Apple, anything. Um, if you just search IRL Ventures, IRL Ventures, um, the IRL Ventures Travel Video Creators Podcast should show up. So wherever you get your podcast, search that. Um, you could also go to youtube.com/IRLVentures. Adventures Vlog, and that's my YouTube channel. Um, but yeah, you know, I— you can follow me at Adventures Official on Instagram. I post everything on there, uh, updates. Um, and if you're so inclined, if you're interested in live streaming and travel video creating and all this sort of stuff, you could join my Discord as well, which the links are, um, you know, you can find it through my Instagram. Um, but yeah, so all those things are out there for you to connect. And, uh, for the streaming backpack, I have a connection. You gotta, uh, message me. Uh, it's, it's very exclusive, but, uh, soon you'll— the episode will come out, uh, about that. Uh, I don't know when, but yeah, if you want to figure out how to create a streaming backpack yourself, or, you know, just start with your phone, and I'm gonna have episodes coming up about that. They're not launched yet. But they're in the works.
Perfect. Well, listeners will have those links in the show notes. If you like what you've heard, please rate the podcast, share the podcast, subscribe to the podcast. If you don't like what you've heard, shoot us a message, tell us what you want to hear, and we'll get rid of it. Until then, ta-ta for now.
