COLLEGE TALK: Do I Have Any Regrets ?

All right guys, as promised, DCU video. Let's do this. I'm gonna get Ben involved, gonna get ready, get cleaned up and head off. I always say this, but talking to college students is my goddamn favorite crowd to work with. You just have that perfect age where you're just impressionable, ready to set goals, achieve them, start getting productive. And that's when my journey began. So like, I would love if somebody came and like kind of gave me a kick up the ass at the time. So I'm gonna get pumped up, we're gonna hit the road. So be sure to give the video a thumbs up, give it a like, comment down below if you enjoyed it. Let's do this. Off you go. So the funny thing is, about a year ago, maybe 2 2 years ago, me and Luke were in Isla Vista in a frat house, kind of jumping off the roof into a crowd. So it's great to see each other again. Life has certainly changed. So my name is Rob Lipsett anyways. I'm a YouTuber, online personal trainer. I own my own clothing line. I do public speaking. I do a few things. I'm going to talk, tell my story a little bit, and then we're going to go into a little Q&A, and you guys can ask the questions that you really want to hear about, and you know, we can really Get stuck into some topics. I'm currently bulking, so the top will be staying on. But I like— already I like this, you know, I really like— I really like a nice casual crowd, nothing too serious. And you know, if you can have a laugh at yourself, then what's going on? So I have my €300, and then that started with doing online plans for your profit. All it takes is your time. Someone goes to your website and then you— Microsoft Word, I'm not gonna lie. I downloaded Microsoft Word off Pirate Bay, I think it was. That stays in this room. Facebook Live, shit. Anyways, so I downloaded that and again, so that's my little kind of, I guess, business finance story of what started in college and kind of from where we are now. From literally just standing on a rooftop and the rooftop that is YouTube and just making some noise. And so that's another thing that everyone thinks, oh, I'm gonna put an advertising budget, marketing budget. You are in this insane time that has never, ever, ever happened before. 2016, the 21st century, it's absolutely nuts where you can literally just grow a business from nothing. And 5 years ago, 10 years ago, smartphones weren't a thing. I remember like I used to have the Nokia 3310 and I was like, whoa, this thing is like space age technology. You're literally in this crazy time where some serious magic can happen. We're gonna go into a bit of a Q&A and just kind of Think of some questions. Again, this is like a nice little kind of room. Feel free to ask anything you want, and we're gonna delve into some certain topics. Because nowadays people get more invested into YouTubers than people on a TV show. Because I, you know, Brad Pitt's a great actor, but if I sat down with him for 10 minutes, I'd have jack shit to talk about. But if I sat down with like Casey Neistat, I know exactly what he's doing. He literally tells you, lets you into his life. It's just so much more personal. And like, actually recently, last week, me and Sarah got asked to go on a TV show, one of those couples, uh, you know, freaking holiday Love Island sort of thing. And we were like, but what's the details? And they're like, you'll be staying in a 5, 6-star Maldives resort. And we're like, how long is it for? And they're like, 4 to 5 weeks. And we were like, can we go, you know, I run an online business, uh, can I run my business while I'm there? Can I go on the internet? Can I post on social media? Can I post YouTube videos? And they're and they're like, no, you have to shut off. And I was like, see you later. YouTube and social media is the way to go. When you're doing the 20,000 calorie challenge? She actually just completed the 10-day calorie challenge. Yeah, yeah. I'm probably gonna do it in the new year when I've like put down a little bit, uh, so I have a bit of leeway. And obviously the longer you diet for, the hungrier you get, so yeah, that'll definitely help. Is there like Tell me when obviously you're doing your website and then looking into your PT, when you said, I hear this isn't working, like, or what am I doing? It's a bit of a dead end before you kind of got big. Like, how did that work out? Yeah, they're like, I'll tell you this now, the start is the slowest, and that's when 99% of people give up. They don't see immediate results. Shit, this actually applies for everything in life. Plus with the gym, plus with the business, plus your social media. They don't see these immediate results and they say, "It's a waste of time, I'm gonna give up." And have you ever seen that, like, that cartoon, and it's like two people, they're digging for gold, one of them is really close, and then the other, and he gives up and turns around, 'cause he's not getting the gold. The other person stays at it, and they get the gold. So that's literally what it's like. So, like, for me, it was so slow at the start, you know? But I was just kind of loving doing it at the time. So I remember my video would get like 1,000 views, And I'd be like, oh my God, 1,000 views. And when I got my first 1,000 subscribers, I'd be like, oh my God, 1,000 subscribers. Then when I got 10,000, I was like, this is so brilliant. About 2 weeks ago, I hit 100,000, and I'm like, again, delighted. So you just really gotta enjoy the journey. And if you're consistent and you stick at it and you actually do put in the work, the results will come. Gym, business, anything. A lot of successful business people talk about having goals. Do you have like an end goal yourself that you're kinda going towards? I do and I don't, okay? So like, of course, my goal for ages was like, "Oh, I want to hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, get that little, you know, plaque that you get and everything." Then when I got there, I was like, "Okay, this is cool, but now I just want more." So, you know, and again, when I won that award last night, I was like, "Okay, this is cool, but now we gotta work even harder." So yeah, you know, getting to a goal and setting a goal is brilliant, but I don't know, I think it's good to never ever let yourself get content, because once you get content and satisfied where you're at, that's when you stop progressing, that's when you take the foot off the gas. But, uh, goal setting, yeah, you do have to set yourself goals. I think it kind of keeps you on a clear path. What would be your tip for starting a YouTube channel like now? Uh, yeah, put your own unique spin on it, okay? Because obviously YouTube is growing and growing every single year. Like, I think the last 2 years, the The spike in it has just been like off the charts, which is great, great news for people who are currently into it. So do your own little unique spin on it. So for example, I watch a ton of fitness YouTube and they're all American. There actually wasn't even any from the UK. They're literally all American. So I was like, you know what, I want to do it. I want to put my own kind of Irish spin on it. You know, I want to go around places in Dublin, go to colleges in Ireland, you know, eat Irish food, nún bi sbit of steak and potatoes, and you know, and do that. And that helped because that got people talking. Rule number 1 of marketing is get people talking about you. So that really helped at the start. So do something that will get people talking about you. Be unique. There's still so little Irish YouTubers. I'm like shocked that no one has jumped in and like gone on this niche as well. There's still plenty of room for it for such a huge industry. Any role models, who and why? Oh yeah, I do— That's only one question, sorry. Okay, no worries, no worries. We got all night. Role models, yeah, I definitely have a few. I don't idolize anyone, I think that's kind of creepy, but there's definitely people I do look up to and they do give me some motivation. Like Casey Neistat, he's another YouTuber, anyone else know him? Yeah, his work ethic is literally insane. I remember watching an interview with him, they're like, "What's your typical day?" And he's like, "Okay, well I wake up at 5 AM every day, I edit until 7 AM, I go to work in my app company." He went through his whole day and then he was like, then they were like, "When do you sleep?" And he was like, "Oh yeah, usually I fit in 2 hours around, you know, 2 AM or something." And I was just like, whoa. Recently stopped daily vlogging, but he did it for 2 years. He uploaded a video every single day. So when there's a day that I'm like, "Ah, I don't want to upload, I don't feel like going on camera," I'm gonna be like, shut up, you know, like, come on, there's people doing way worse out there. You know, there's people who clean sewers for a living and you're here complaining about a fricking YouTube video? Shut up, Rob. So then I literally just said, yeah, people like that would motivate me to get up off my ass. Other people like Gary Vaynerchuk. One of my goals is to get on the AskGaryVee Show within the next year. Gary, if you're watching this, I'm coming for you. But yeah, there's plenty of guys, like even people in the fitness industry, like Christian Guzman and Steve Cook, who I'm lucky enough to be on first name basis at this stage with. But yeah, there's plenty of guys that I look up to. Inspiration, but I don't idolize anyone. And your second question? Best singular piece of advice you received and who was it from? Oh, I can't remember who it was from. It was probably from some motivational Instagram picture or something like that. But it's literally what I've learned is that you do need to just find out what you love to do and you just got to go hard at that. Literally think of the last thing that put a smile on your face and just do that. Think, how am I going to make a living out of that? And literally, in today's day and age, you can make a living out of anything. Airbnb, the world's biggest property company, owns no houses. Uber owns no cars. It's literally— I told you, we're living in crazy times. Everyone's fucking Lula. Tactics. Oh yeah, consistency. Whether it be on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, they all have different levels of consistency. So Instagram, you want to do at least 1 post a day. YouTube, I aim for 3 to 4, maybe 5 videos a week. Now, not in the daily uploads, is very hard to do, so it's not exactly sustainable. Sustainable. Snapchat, you want to be doing 10 snaps a day. Facebook would be similar to Instagram. That's the thing that I see, you know, everyone fails at. Someone's like, I'm trying to grow my Instagram, and you click onto their profile and they haven't done a post in 2 weeks. I'm like, what? And another thing is good quality pictures nowadays. No blurry selfies in the mirror when you come like this. You know, like nowadays iPhones are just like, they're, they're literally— I have like a vlogging camera, a camera for taking professional pictures, And an iPhone records better video, shoots in 60 frames per second, 4K. So, you know, there's really no excuse. I started my whole YouTube channel on an iPhone 5, sellotaped to the wall. So like, yeah, couldn't afford a tripod at that stage. So yeah, consistency and quality, find that balance. You know, you quit your 9 to 6 or your 9 to 8, and they're like, is this, you know, especially my parents, it would be kind of like that. You know, they still think I live some make-believe life. So yeah, people always ask that, and it's like, okay, in 2007, I'm sure working in a bank was a really good sustainable job, or working as a property developer. Then 2008 came along and that wasn't the case. Is really working for someone else that could just fire you, is that really safe? Is that really sustainable? Like, I know my income directly depends on how hard I work in a month. I'm like, okay, if I'm going to like seriously bust my ass this month, the figures are there. So yeah, it's absolutely a sustainable income, and especially as you kind of grow, have a lot of investors kind of coming to get involved with everything. This is really early days. I've literally only been taking YouTube and this whole thing fully serious for about 1 year. And especially in today's day and age. Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah. As it grows, I'll definitely be doing more grown-up shit, as I like to call it. And it's brilliant, you know, like, you know, there's some brands that you love and they see you using their products in your videos and they're like, oh my god, we didn't know you liked such-and-such, let's do a brand deal. So it's an absolute dream to get, you know, to be able to earn money from using stuff you're using. Anyways, that's another thing. On that note, I want to say that people often ask, they go, do you ever like turn down companies? More often than not, like, literally, if I do not approve the product, I don't like it myself, there's not a hope I'll put it on my channel. Like, literally, I treat my subscribers like friends, family, and um, so I would never kind of give them any bullshit. Sorry for the, the language. What's your normal, like, average day? Like, what do you get up and think, oh, I'll do this today? Oh yeah, I have a weekly planner that I swear to God I live by. Like, if I didn't have that, my life would be an absolute mess. And the truth is that every day is different, but that is what I love. I have— there was a stage in that little, like, story I told you, whereas, like, working in retail, I dropped out of college just trying to find my feet. I was working in an office. It was '96 even, not '95. That extra hour really killed me. But it was so frustrating. I was like, come on, it's 5 o'clock, let me go. But yeah, it was an absolute killer, and I never really want to go back to that life personally. But every day is different, and I plan out my week every time. So it's usually like, okay, wake up, I've got to do a meeting or a video shoot or a photo shoot or go to DCU or like literally yesterday, an awards ceremony. It's always a very busy schedule. And there's always someone who wants to kind of meet or like do a meeting. So there's never enough time in the day. At the moment, my training is actually really suffering, and like, you know, the gym is something that's very important to me. So yeah, I need to find some more hours in the day. But yeah, that planner is like my life. YouTube is great because it really gives people your personality, but I'd say close second would be Instagram. And now I would say Snapchat, but now Instagram Stories is really like, you know, they really came along and gave Snapchat the heave-ho. And like nowadays, I actually— the engagement is higher. I get more kind of views on Instagram story than I do on Snapchat. So I'd say one or two, but regardless what platform, even Facebook, Facebook video, video on any platform is king. Literally, like, video, because it's easy to post a picture, okay? Everyone can do that, right? You know, see, you take a picture of your cheeky nandos, you know, it's easy to do. But now video's hard, you know, you have to go out and actually do stuff in the world And it's definitely much more difficult to create content, but it pays off a lot more. People get to know what you're actually like. They get a feel for your personality. You can describe your product, your brand, your business much better. So whatever it is, video would be the main kind of key seller. Are you looking forward to competing anytime soon? And what advice would you give when someone is going to compete? Yeah, I'll probably do the same competition I did last year, the Spring Classic. You know, I've competed twice now, and like comparing both preps, you know, I kind of have a lot of advice to give. My main thing is to take it so seriously from day one. This is something that 99% of people can't do. Like, you're putting your body in extreme conditions. It's not easy. You know, 80% of the population is obese/overweight, so never mind getting competition ready. It's something that less than 1% of people can do. So it's extremely difficult. Take it seriously from day one, have a plan set in place, and understand that the weeks will really approach very, very fast. And my kind of main thing I did this year is the— my first year I did it, I made all these changes hoping for some magic to happen on the last week, on your peak week. If you have to do all these changes, you're not ready. So you're literally just— and then the second time I did it, I took it so seriously from the get-go, hardly made a single change on the last week. So yeah, don't make any crazy changes and take it serious from day one. You'll be shredded as fuck. What's your favourite aspect of it all between like YouTube videos and meetups and kind of product development and everything else? I think that's actually the best question so far. What's the favourite part? What's the favourite part? Why? You know, what's your favourite part of it all? Like, and it's 100% the freedom. It's literally just to wake up every day and not have to worry about, oh, I have to do this, I have to do that. You know, obviously there's stresses, but at the end of the day, I get to wake up and I do whatever I want. I do what I love. It's an amazing feeling. And I always say I would halve my income to literally just keep doing what I'm doing because it's just so much fun. Like, so it's crazy. And that's the whole thing, that if you do find out what you love— you probably heard me say that 10 times now— Jeez, get him off the stage. But if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. And like, at the end of the day, success is defined as how happy you are. There's plenty of rich dudes out there who are depressed, killing themselves, miserable. And there's no point being the richest dude in the graveyard. Find out what you love to do, you'll never work a day in your life, and you'll be successful as you get. You'll be happy. Message for your haters, what would it be? Fuck 'em, Westside! Haters are like Honestly really irrelevant to me. I can't even think of them. I can't even think what I'd say to them because I don't even think about them. Like when somebody leaves a negative comment on my YouTube channel, I'm like, "Oh no, an anonymous profile on the interwebs doesn't like what I'm doing. I'm gonna quit now. This is the worst day ever." It literally does— I can't fathom the amount of shit I do not get. So I don't know. I don't even know. Kind of look back on it, you can say I have those, but what's the point worrying about something you can't change? So again, that's something I don't focus on. Focus on the future and focus on the present and forget about the past. Any dietary advice for a broke student? Yeah, yeah, this is actually— this is funny. People are always like to me, like, oh, you know, I don't have enough money for like food and all. Like, the kind of best quality, like, filling foods are the cheapest foods. Foods. Like, Aldi and Lidl sell 5kg of potatoes for €2. They're like one of the most filling kind of carb sources you can get. You can go to a meat factory. This is what I used to do. Go to a meat factory, just buy your meat in bulk, literally straight from the factory. Eggs are the cheapest thing in the world. So that's your protein, your carbs, and your fats covered. And this is not a plug for Myprotein. I wouldn't bring it up, but their protein— because they sell it in plastic bags. That they can ship easily, gram per gram, it's like one of the cheapest sources of protein you can get. So there you go, that's your protein, carbs, and fats sorted. That's another one, be nice to everyone because you don't know who's going to be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or something. So not saying I'm there yet, but maybe. So be nice to me. Alright, I think I'm going to wrap things up there. Just from ANF Society, Louis here has just a bit of a gift for you here. Oh, unbelievable! What? Screw Alfie! This is the top, mate! Oh guys, thank you so much. Yeah, yeah, cheers. Appreciate it. My favorite is always talking to college students, like hilarious questions and also at the same time really good questions, really engaging. And like, this is the stuff that I honestly live for. I honestly love it. So you're such a great crowd, and, uh, thank you for having me. Okay, so I— that was definitely one of the most fun seminars I had. Like, we touched on some really serious topics and had some really good conversations, but we also had some really funny questions too. And so yeah, DCU again, It's perfect because like, you know, it's somewhere close to home. Like, NUIG took us so long to get there. This is perfect because we went in, smashed it, and now like it's 7 o'clock, so we can drive home and not get home at a ridiculous hour. They were also so nice, they gave Sarah a nice little present too. So proud of her that she's starting to come to these talks with me. But yeah, so the college tour, I don't know where's the next stop, but I'm loving it. So here, if you like these videos, be sure to give them a thumbs up. I'll see you in the next one. Keep it real.