How she built every celebrity’s favorite show (Chicken Shop Date)

I wanted to spoof what the interview is I wanted to spoof what a date is what's your type dark hair why did you think it was funny why did you think it would work who gave you access thank you to KSI Jennifer Lawrence Ed Sheeran when did you know you could make money from this show I wasn't making any money from The View s but like honestly yes it was a nightmare situation oh no yeah oh my God you can make it you can star in it and then you can publish it it's changing the media landscape I'm witnessing something that a witnessing history history yes we first met Amelia DE boldenberg after we made a video about her on this channel and the reason we made that video is because we were so impressed with the fact that she was able to create a celebrity talk show entirely independently no funding from any media company just uploading YouTube videos for almost 10 years her interview show chicken shop date has over 340 million views on her Channel but even more impressive is its cultural impact a moment from her episode with Louis Theroux resulted in a dance Trend that defined 2022 and it's become one of the Premier destinations for actors and musicians to promote their upcoming work we talked to her in this episode about how she's built one of YouTube's biggest shows how she books top tier talent and how she's crafted a brand that transcends YouTube [Music] hi Amelia hi hello great to see you again yes we're catching you at this um really cool moment here in London coming right off the Barbie Premiere which you were on The Pink Carpet for yes and also coming off of the Jennifer Lawrence chicken shop date episode which two those both feel like very big moments does it feel like that for you right now in your career I actually feel like it does feel quite um like a big moment I think especially the Barbie Premiere yeah um if I could have seen my younger self like you know at school or at University with dreams of being you know a presenter or journalist knowing that I would be one of the hosts of the Barbie Premiere um I would have been like wow that is a dream gig and with like red carpet interviews it's all so much just out of your control so you really don't know um how the interviews are gonna pan out you don't even know who you're going to get to speak to so um that's always a risk when you do those jobs so when it does pay off and you get you know the moment um a moment that's shared or like the Ryan Gosling I texted you yeah you did I'm actually on the lookout for a Ken myself oh do you have any tips on how to find a Ken drop something if a Ken picks it up you can as he oh God that moment was shared by my friends to me and I didn't I actually I had heard that you were doing the premiere but I didn't I hadn't seen any Clips yet and immediately that was shared and it was something that we were talking about that although you built your career on the internet you are in a very unique position where it feels like you've built this brand that's transcended the internet like my friends who don't watch online content they don't watch YouTube they know who you are right and that is a very unique thing that's a very unique thing to do for someone who's built their career off of a YouTube show and if anyone would notice it it would be us because we are interviewing obviously these very digital people and the amount of times that well they're real people well they are real people but they have these huge digital lives and the amount of times it's like Mom we interviewed Mr Beast and she's like who's that what isn't that crazy because he's the biggest crate is he the biggest Creator yeah and I I only I only knew about him through your channel like watching really yeah watching my so I find out about so many creators through your channel because they don't come up on my algorithm and I don't see them and then I go on there I find them through you and then I go on their page and I'm like what they've got x million subscribers and it's it's interesting how the internet works in that way that you can have millions and millions of followers on Tick Tock or on YouTube and yeah so many uh people within in the public will not know who you are because you are hitting a very specific demographic that's also incredibly Global I think too so like you're a very widespread audience so those millions of followers will be from all across the world so it wouldn't be necessarily sometimes like communities of people that will know you but that's been um within like my strategy or like my ambitions is always to be like straddling both the online and the traditional and I just feel like yeah if you really sort of want to um be I don't know um top of your game you have to be in you have to have a foot in both worlds I feel like for for you the world became somewhat aware of you during the because of the Jack Harlow episode yes for sure can you read that was this do you sorry I meant do you like to read that was a moment in time that was explosion of the the Amelia chemistry but when we we looked into you at that time right and we had heard our office it's like a bunch of people who watch a lot of YouTube so your show had come up before the Jack Harlow interview right uh but that was the moment where it kind of you know became very popular and it kind of feels like you've arrived in the past two to three years but this is a decade-long story yeah exactly it is it's um it started I don't know well when I was 17 I'm 29 now um so I'm just starting to do the math God I'm so bad at math I mean no one can no one can do that math and it's too hard yeah um so yeah I I started with the idea when I was 17 years old at a youth club in Northwest London where I'm from I started going there after school on every Wednesday and we made a magazine and that's what we did and everyone um there was really into UK rap and grime um and so that was kind of like my uh introduction into that music specifically and so it was very natural when it came to be that uh the question of who would I like to interview it just seemed like oh of course I'm going to interview these um rappers that everyone's talking about um and then yeah I started the column in that magazine and I did it for about two years and in the column you were also uh playing or taking part in in essentially dates like what the format has become today there were a lot of elements to it that were also in the written column yeah definitely and it was very much like question one line answer my question one line answer it was um but in the within the question I'd like put some kind of sake comment or I wanted it to feel very like um staccato energy um with it and the questions uh that we came up with were asking in a different angle like spinning something on its head what led you to doing this like what what who were you before that like were you somebody remember who I was born I can't imagine my life for that who what let me's doing this at school I was always like an overachiever in terms of always being involved in like every single extracurricular activity like I always was trying to like do the most at school um uh because I was always very very average in times of my grades and I didn't really love the the subjects that we had at school so like the English maths you know the classic ones I was always very much more interested in the extracurricular things things that was that were more creative um that also maybe lend themselves lended themselves to something that you would actually serve a purpose in an actual job or I think I realized very early on at school that like being funny sells yeah like and that you can get an audience and that you can um capture people's attention by making them laugh and uh that's something that I think has been a constant throughout my life and I feel yeah I think that's what you can see through my work really let's talk about some of the uh initial Inspirations for creating the format because even as a written column like creating it creating chicken chop date like that there is a lot of different things that go into that idea right so how did that like where did that idea come from even as the column like why did you think it was funny why did you think it would work I think the initial idea came about through doing an interview as a date so that was the first thought um I thought that would be an interesting way uh to Angle an interview and also I really want to go on a date I've never been on a date so I was two birds with one stone um and then someone said you should never go you someone said you should go on a date where you would never usually go on a date to make it funny and that's how the chicken shop element happened and then yeah I guess the style of like my vibe was I was when I was at school I was very dry like more than I am now like very sarcastic and dry humor deadpan to me that was much more entertaining than me just being me did you have visual references of that of like you know like the first time I watched your show I remember thinking it was the there is an element of between two firms yeah definitely that was a big inspiration too love between two fans um I just love um how it's like an anti-interview I've always also been quite inspired by like things that have gone wrong so interviews that have gone wrong or interviews that are really awkward and um the interaction hasn't gone to plan how we see interviews going and that to me is very inspiring because that's that's uh funny to me that's what I think I wanted to do I wanted to spoof what the interview is I wanted to spoof what a date is I also have always watched a lot of mockumentaries and I think things yeah from spinal tap to Best in Show yes um those the the awkwardness of those I think I found very inspiring to the kind of the kind of Comedy that I do and in a way it kind of feels a bit mockumentary-esque maybe the tone of my show and then in terms of the character like the the biggest reference I see in my character is Leslie Knope from um in terms of her enthusiasm and Desperation both at the same time across in a cross-section and I think that that's what I do with my character in a way I always say that I'm equal parts uninterested as I am desperate and I think that the juxtaposition of both those two opposing things create for a really funny comedy character um because sometimes you know I I I'm really interested and I'm overly Keen in the guest and I'm saying things like so like when are we getting married and then in the same breath I they will come and say something flirty to me and I'll be like can you back off and I think it's that going between the two um that I find can throw the audience off and both the audience and the guest I think we talked about this in the video we made about you but uh even in Drake receiving a DM from Drake I believe the response was like I'll check my schedule yeah yeah which still plays into that of like I'm looking for a date Here Comes one of the biggest stars of all time and yet the character and the tone is there well that's what you have to do like it'll be so boring to be like keen on Drake right it would be is it you have to sort of play play it like um play it like that I think because that's that's that's the funny thing to do is to seem that like you're not interested in him but yeah wow it's so interesting just to to go back on some of the points in the conversation like I was also well I was a below average student in school but excelled in uh video editing and Film Production and was also part of the school newspaper and wrote like funny columns in there uh I also am incredibly inspired by mockumentary and my senior film project I went to film school was a mockumentary I really which was the first time that I was really on camera I played a role in that very inspired by the office it was like the office mixed with spinal tap yeah it was like those two were those were my two references but I was curious about your relationship with being a performer and being on camera because writing a column is very different from saying hey let's turn a camera on and let's let's turn this into a video show why go there like why do that I think because uh when I was doing the interviews when they were written I just had my dictaphone I realized that the actual what was going on was funny that I just thought this would be great if it was filmed If people could see this play out um and so I I don't know I've always been someone very comfortable at being out of my comfort zone um and I feel like that's the only way you can you move forward so I'm often I often feel incredibly nervous incredibly anxious at times um that I'm doing I'm often doing things for the first time but it's also how I I feel comfortable doing being in those situations so to me the idea of making the leap to do video was just something that I had to do um but the issue was I didn't know how to anything about video production and we I remember like sitting in a Chinese restaurant actually before filming going over my questions being so incredibly nervous God are they gonna are they gonna turn up but obviously I don't need the written column before so I knew how it played out but it was just obviously a different experience and he was gets was actually early so I was like oh okay and then we get there and we we film and yeah and then we I didn't talk to him before gets he just arrived and I like didn't I was when I back in the day to be very like method with it I would like not talk to anyone at all and I would like barely talk to them afterwards I'd be like thanks bye I think it's also because I was not that confident like as well um and now I do like a proper like briefing with them and stuff before um did you feel like it went well right after that first episode yeah I thought it went really well yeah and also because I did have the proof of concept with the written column like I knew what it's like when when I know what it feels like when you're getting a good interview and I still find that now it's one of my favorite things of my job part one of my favorite parts of the job is when you're interviewing someone and you can really tell that it's going well because I've when I'm in the interview I've got my editor hat on I've got my like everything hat on and I can feel the moments where I know this is gonna really work well and I will know for sure when I've wrapped with an interview if it's going to be good or not is this going well this is going um so what was the response like after the gets episode came out and did that dictate like your energy to make another one yeah definitely it was just exactly the energy that we wanted it was that um Quick Cuts um funny um like laugh out loud moments and yeah I mean in terms of the reception it got I don't know like a thousand views or something like not that many views at all and I um spent a lot of time trying to pitch it to different blogs uh can you re-share this this was before um content was what it is now like this was nearly 10 years ago so there wasn't an appetite for um content in the way in the way it is now like I always think when you have a new show now um you can go viral immediately because of the way the algorithms work the way the tick tock Works Shorts YouTube Twitter sharing your content uh whereas for me it was very much like years uh it's taken years to get an audience to build an audience whereas now you can almost get that overnight so in terms of the evolution of those early episodes for me there's this moment it's like right around the AJ Tracy episode where you have a new intro oh my God that's like incredibly intricate and it's got a sound to it and the actual sound of your episodes gets better yes right like from the first one you're like oh they're clearly in a chicken shop and maybe there's no mic and then three or four episodes later it's beautiful intro which you still have today intro and outro yeah and you have audio yeah what was the evolution of the show like in those first three to four and like did your thinking change to even get to the point where you wanted a new intro well yeah yeah the video production element of what I do has always been the most challenging part um because I was a complete novice and everything I've learned has been through learning on the job no one has ever taught me anything I was never part of a bigger organization um or um anything like that so everything I've learned just through doing it and yeah the First episodes we didn't have a separate sound recordist we just had clip on mics one of them didn't even work so I don't know if you noticed but in the gets episode I think that all the sound from from me is being picked up on gets Mike great that's anxiety inducing now yes I was doing was doing that uh for what four episodes and then the AJ Tracy episode was a turning point for sure because it was a real moment to get him on the show because he was a a very exciting up and coming rapper in in London and he was at the time had not many followers at all I actually canceled him in him twice you canceled on him I canceled AJ Tracy yeah because I couldn't find a shop um in his area I really wanted to do it local Tim in West London and I couldn't find any shops that would let me film back then I would I would be the one who would be finding the shops and that was one of the hardest things as well was to find a shop that would let me film I also didn't realize that you had to like pay to shop them so for the First episodes where we haven't paid to shut the shop the shop is open and so we would have to stop recording When customers yeah oh my God it was just I just didn't understand it and also I didn't have any money to to shut the shop and then um I ended up like using some of my savings like a hundred pounds to um which is the time was obviously so much money when you're just a student um to shut the shop completely the one for AJ Tracy in West London and so then I messaged him I was like I finally found a shop it was Tiny like we couldn't really fit any of the crew in um and we we made it work and then once we filmed that I waited months and months sat on it for months because I was trying to get this intro and outro made my friend who I used to work with at American Apparel Naomi she is an incredible artist and she works with felt and um she made the stop motion animation for me I gave her a brief and she made it and it was amazing and then me and Marvin were on um copyright free music for ages on YouTube looking for a sound and then we found that which I now own rights do really yeah yeah I emailed him and I said can I have the rights and he said yeah and I contract and everything yeah wow wow that's amazing I know is it yeah yeah it's cool um and so yeah and then we added that the intro natural I guess the intro and outro was uh uh I don't know why I wanted one because if I go on my analytics it's the thing that people skip past the most so really I shouldn't have it in but I like it but it's about valuing brand over necessarily views yeah which I always have yeah yeah and but and also the aesthetic of it I love because I feel like it's cute and homemade and it's not too slick like chicken shop and I just I'm really lucky that I met Nomi and her style really was something I was drawn to and that's the kind of um Aesthetics I like anyway like in my house like my house is I've got a lot of Naomi's work in my house and a lot of it's very colorful and a bit kitch and that's maybe my my what I like my taste I'm curious at what point the show proved to you that it could be something commercial because as I'm looking through the episodes it feels like when you go to the wireless Festival I think they sponsored some of them right I was gonna talk about that too yeah like I'm just curious when did you know you could make money from this show was it YouTube AdSense or was it like sponsorships for the first years I never had AdSense on my on my um videos I didn't know how to do it so for like the first for like honestly years I wasn't making any money from from the views um so I made money through my job is in retail and then um that's how I made my money that I would then put into it and then obviously the budgets were really low because I was getting everyone to do it as a favor um and then in terms of the commercial aspect of it the wireless episode was a big deal because I had one I had had the idea for ages it'd be so cool to do my interviews backstage at a festival and so that was the first time I did a project like outside of the chicken shop basically um and it was a real learning experience was there tension at all of this is a job now that I have to do because I've agreed to something with wireless because was that the first time that you were essentially paid or did they just kind of give you access I don't think okay at that point it's not like a job it's just like this is still this is just they're giving me the accident they're giving me the access um and also working closely with wireless the festival um and them helping me get the access to and then being on board with it access is something though that I think is one of the most valuable things to get as a young Creator especially when you're in I guess the thing that we do which is we are looking for talent to do our thing with right you're looking to collaborate with people so getting access is like social proof immediately that another artist can be like okay cool they did it so right and that social proof then creates momentum for guest based shows or collaboration based content and I think those those access moments are so pivotal in a Creator's journey of who gave you access um first so I I think that's really cool that you know that moment happened for sure and that's something I've always been thinking about like throughout the beginning of the show is like who can Talent has always been the the most important right um kind of conversation always uh who is the talent because I don't make episodes like weekly you know I'm back in uh when I first started I was making an episode like once every four months simple for numerous reasons because I couldn't get access to talent because I didn't have the money to make the episodes um because I didn't have time within my studies at University all of these different things and I also and another thing was it was also on purpose because I I didn't want to have too many episodes I like that they were it's a very simple idea and I I've always thought that if I was doing them weekly then people would get bored of them and I'd also maybe get bored of making them I like the idea that you don't know when a new episode's gonna come out and I don't have a um release schedule and I think that's something you you both talk about a lot with other creators on your channel is the pressure of having to deliver um YouTube content or content in general setting yourself a goal or a schedule and then being very overwhelmed by actually having to um deliver and so I've been very lucky in that sense that I've never had that pressure on me but I have also felt a pressure to always do another episode for sure I remember like early on um when no one was watching them being like I need to put another episode out because No One's Gonna Know Who I Am it's like no one who you are anyway um but I like that I don't have to do a weekly episode um but yeah Talent is key and back to your previous Point I've always been thinking okay if I get this Talent will it then open a door to this town um and I still think that about that now and I sometimes I have my theories of of this person's gonna see this episode and they're going to think oh that's my peer I really rate what they do I'm gonna now do it I think hopefully people actors will see the Jennifer Lawrence episode and think okay another actor's done it I could do it too it's not just for musicians um and I was so so happy when I got Daniel kaluya that was a big moment for the show because it was as an oscar-winning uh like actor um and also someone that just was so perfect for the show Growing Up in London and like a fan of a lot of the artists I'd had on previously it was kind of the perfect he was the perfect guest but he also was different enough for I think people to look at the show and think oh wow this could be bigger than we thought it could be or it could be something different or have different Ambitions for it that episode too is funny from the immediate click the opening line of I'm a big fan and then you pause I'm a really big fan yeah thank you of chicken nuggets of chicken and nuggets and he just completely breaks yeah and I think for any actor who probably was curious if they wanted to come on the show and they watched that episode you get them within the first like 10 seconds which I also think is really important that you like came out of the gates really strong with a new episode yeah I think so and I think that's something that you spoke about in the video you did of about chicken shop day about the intention of of starting with a moment like a hook moment before you go into the credits like you uh immediately understand the vibe in the first 10 seconds and you're in the middle not in the beginning which I think is really important you start just in it you're not oh hey this is Daniel you know it's like you're in the middle of it and I always want to try and choose a um a moment that's kind of reflective of the episode as a whole that sets up the tone and the vibe of what who the guest is and their personality and what you're going to see in this episode and I I often are moving the opening bits I'm changing the opening bits all the time so how do you you go about booking guests and how has that changed you know in 2023 from the past 10 years well originally as I said Getz came through the magazine and through a publicist that was a fan of the column and that just sort of that's how it happened how else I get through um record labels reaching out I was reaching out to record labels publicists managers music managers of the artist me meeting talent in in the wild um me dming a guests I was I was at a pub on the weekend and literally just this weekend gone by in um farringdon and I'm turn around with my pint and then I look and there's a girl stood up standing looking at me and I was like oh I'm gonna get about to get recognized and I was gonna do the thing and I look at her and she goes and she goes hello and I go Lord and it was Lord oh wow and she was like I just wanted to say I'm such a big fan and I was like are you Lord and she was like yeah and I was like that's so random and then we got chatting and then you know I don't know so that that could start something a conversation but that was really random um but sometimes things like that happen I meet people in in different situations that was kind of crazy though um she was really nice and but yeah how is it different I don't know it's just always been a struggle to get talent to come on the show like I've never it's never not been challenging like it's there's still lots of people that I want to get on that I haven't been able to now and it takes years of of negotiating and and talking and um I don't know it just happened through all different ways but it's always a challenge I'm curious is there a guest or two that you see as like a big inflection point for taking you from you know Grime to bigger musicians but then opening you up to the world of like actors in a major way I guess as you said that the jacket one come about through the label the label um reached out to either me or my producer um I think it was me actually directly because my my involvement has changed in the show like what I do in terms of like when I when it started I was very much I produced it all I was the only I didn't even know that was a job title but I would guess I was the producer I was finding the shop I was doing the post-production I was doing everything um and then it also made me very stressed I didn't enjoy that part of it really there's so much pressure on as the producer I to to make sure everything happens when like when people ask me oh do you ever get nervous before you do the interviews I'm like yeah about the production I'm not thinking about me and my delivery I'm like thinking about oh is the camera operator gonna turn up is uh does he have the right memory cards like is the shop owner going to be there when we want to open um all this stuff like is is the edit gonna go the way I want it to be um and then one of the best things I've done is offload the production to other people and um that that honestly has just been the biggest weight off my shoulders to then not have to deal with that and just to concentrate on doing my questions and being the performer in the episode and dealing with the talent um like I'm happy to like broker the first conversation with when we're trying to book Talent so if I DM someone and I say hey can I have your manager's email they'll give me the manager's email I'll send it to my producer do that but like I don't want to be involved in in the production yeah you need to you need to work on the craft of being Amelia that was a big learning though because I think I for a long time I was doing everything and it it was too much and I needed to separate uh the roles out and also finding a producer that you like is and finding team members and well mainly the produce that you like is is really challenging is it can be very challenging and finding someone that really understands what how you like to work and your tone of voice and I've been very fortunate that over the years I've been work I've worked with really brilliant producers and I think I've learned the most from them like in terms of my career I've learned the most from the different producers that have been in and out of my journey could you tell us how the process works now like if we were in a hypothetical situation we're going to be on the show we've just agreed we've just agreed we've just said yes let's do it okay then you would be talking to my producer Liv and she would then find dates that you're available and then we would cross track that I'm available next week next week we're available then live would reach out to our regular crew you always use the same crew two camera operators sound operator um production assistant um photographer we re she would reach out to them pencil them in for the date then we'd find the shop local to where you live or where your hotel is um and yeah and then that's kind of it really it's kind of a small production uh do those people work for your production company Liv does am I I employ two people live my producer and actually my social media manager and then everyone else's freelance oh wow and then what's your process like from a brainstorming questions or angles or like the comedic side of it what's your process so originally me and Marvin used to write all the questions together um and we would meet sometimes we would meet up for dinner and write them over dinner at Nando's or like uh we would just send them back to forth to each other and then now I work with another writer called Anya magliano and I also work with hazy and Miracle who were social media assistants and then some episodes I'll just write them on my own sometimes I write with my sister um who's actually a big part of my journey as well I haven't actually spoken about her yet but she's kind of integral as well to the team and yeah so I'll write with different people how aware are you of like potentially viral moments or are you completely unaware is it like I need to be so present that I can create comedic moments or I'm I know this could become a funny clip no I never really approach things being like I think this could be viral I think that that's actually the nature of something going viral is that it's unpredictable and you can't predict it happening so I think going into something being like I want to create a viral Moment Like will never happen like I had no idea like the Jack Harlow like to worry not to worry which people love like I didn't know who was going to say that um and I didn't know that the Ryan Gosling thing that went over the last few days of like me dropping my cue card like I just thought of that in the moment and he's so funny that it worked so when you sit down with an artist like a jack Harlow whoever it is is it a constant back and forth or are there LOLs like what is that hour two hours or however long it is oh God it never be two hours more than an hour so we film for 40 minutes but we have the talent for an hour so they arrive um and I say Hello thank you so much for being here oh my God I'm so happy I'm such a fan um um and then I say you're gonna get miked up and then I say Okay so we're gonna film for 40 minutes half an hour we don't do any pickups you we just sit opposite each other and like be yourself don't overthink things and just relax and don't take it too seriously this is meant to be fun you I'm gonna give it to you so you can give it back um and we show you the edit before it goes out so don't worry um it's gonna be fun and that's what I say and then they sit down opposite me and we film for yeah 40 minutes and it's just question question question there's a there's no lulls it's me just firing questions at them and being uh I don't know I love it I just love being in the moment interviewing them and seeing figuring out listening to what they've said and then uh figuring out how I can make this interaction funny by what I say that craft of being like that present present enough to make those moments happen I think is it's such an important point for young creators of like you do have to play producer for the first probably a few years you know and I I'm still I still play a lot of that role in what we do um we have gotten help but my mind is still there like even this morning I'm like here's what the the building looks like and we'll come get you yeah I sent you that picture because I'm in my head I'm always thinking about what could go wrong because it's based on Talent too and and you want you don't want the talent to show up and be already kind of in a strange mood because something went wrong for sure and I'm very particular with like the guest and everyone and the crew having a great experience like that everywhere on enjoys the time that they are having on set and that it's a slick operation and I think we do have a very slick operation thanks to my production team that we're the guest arrives they get briefed they sit down they there they do the pictures they do the tick tock they leave like I think I I hope it's an enjoyable experience it's over very quickly um and but yeah but saying that like yes as a every Creator's Journey you start us off as a producer you're making your own content and I think that's the beauty of it as well like I wouldn't even me saying oh I was super stressed handling all the production on my own and I was so relieved when it was taken off my hands I wouldn't change anything because I think it's made me aware aware of all those rules I was gonna say it's made me the person I am today well I stepped in with it she has like being able wearing all the hats has made me someone that understands the process and it's and I think that it's I love that about it like I was saying earlier before we we started that whenever I would get a DVD like rental I would immediately um fast forward to the making of section because I've always been so fascinated by how things are made and the behind the scenes I used to love that growing up like finding any moment I can to learn more about you know uh behind the curtains at the industry um and and yeah and so I wouldn't change that at all it's it's really um made me very aware of all of the all of the steps it takes to make something um and when you're a Creator you have the bit the best part of being a Creator is you have creative control and I think that that's something that is key to my story I don't think that like the success of the show would be where it I don't think that I would have a successful show or it would be what it is today without the fact that I'm in Creative control I think that it wouldn't first of all it would never have got made I tried to get it I was pitching it and no one wanted it who are you pitching it to like I pitched it to channel four I pitched it to Vice um I ended up pitching it to the BBC they actually did one tip but then they wanted to take the copyright a few people wanted to take the copyright and I am so happy that I never gave um copyright away so I own that myself um I pitched it to a big Media company and they wanted to buy the copyright for a crazy low amount of money I can't even believe I still got the email they wanted to buy the copyright for 500 pounds oh my gosh wow but that's attractive like it can be attractive to a young Creator who's just starting out and no one's paying you well yeah I I got to a point where I was doing all these meetings with different um people because I honestly couldn't make the show like that I didn't have any money to make the show there was no way I couldn't after you do four episodes something you can't ask people to work for free anymore like you just you just can't so it was just I couldn't make the show so I was then um trying to figure out how I could um you know make money to to to make the episodes and I was really keen on having it sponsored I was like I really want to get a sponsor to sponsor the show this is when content was becoming this was like five years into doing it content was becoming more prevalent and things branded content in particular was something that was just started to happen so I thought okay I've seen other people do it I can get a sponsor it was impossible it was so hard um to do that and then so I was gonna sell the the copyright to people so that I could just get it made and I'm so happy that I never did that and luckily one big part of the story is during that time I also assigned to my management company ymu there are a huge company that look after loads of different Talent mainly at the time presenters so traditional broadcasters and I was their first like online talent and actually Jordan who I think you guys know the manager of the sidemen manager of the sidemen he at the time was working at ymu and he had come across my content and he reached out to me and he said I work for this management company I'd never heard of it um would you be interested in like having a com like coming in and having a chat with us Jordan's younger than me at the time I think he was probably like 20. like he's just this sort of like child genius prodigal son thing um he's amazing and I went in for a meeting Jordan brought me in and I had with the CEO Mary and they had this whole pitch this whole deck put together of like how they see like my trajectory and what how they what they can offer being a huge management company that can basically get you a meeting with anyone and I just was like really scared to join with them at first because I was like this is a huge step um and I don't know if this is what I want to do I met with a few other companies too and then I went with them and that was such a pivot pivotal moment in my career was being signed by a major um management company because they've opened so many doors for me in particular Jordan um and he brokered a deal for me and a phone company basically I got paid enough money to then use that money to make episodes of chicken shop day so I didn't have to get a sponsor because I made enough money to then just fund it myself and I've been funding it myself ever since what was the deal it was a Vodafone and it was called The Hot Sauce tour that he his idea in a way and it was this hugely ambitious project like at the time it was kind of crazy that they agreed to doing this it was the idea was me to do three episodes of chicken shop date and each episode would have a live show free live show with that talent in whoa three areas in the UK so we did Manchester Birmingham and London which is such a cool idea and like such a cool concept but at the time it was I was I really didn't have I didn't know how many followers I had maybe I had like less than a hundred thousand followers how big was the show not that big like at all so they just like took a punt on like let's work with a smaller Talent it's a good deal making from from Jordan yeah definitely for sure and the interesting thing about that deal is that we were we were in control of everything so we were in control of literally the whole production but it wasn't just the production of the videos event production the live show the live show um the marketing roll out um we also had merch we also had we we made our own hot sauce that I wanted to have at 99 Mayo hot sauce um because um that was the the kind of tagline to it um and I had so many deliverables I had like over 100 deliverables it's a classic first Creator deal yeah I had so many deliverables and it was the the project spanned over six months how much was the deal for it was I don't remember but it was like enough money it was enough it was it was a good amount of money okay and that was but that was split between where we got that was split between like the whole project did it change your perspective on how you want to make money with the show and with your channel because my assumption would be you take that job it's really difficult you're stretched then you learn a lot but you go I'm not doing anything like that again yeah it was kind of a bit like that yeah and I haven't done anything like that again since but it's more it was just a different environment of like yeah being at the mercy of of clients I think and to be fair they gave us so much creative license like it really when I look back at what we achieved it is really was my vision executed exactly how I want it to be um but I think there were just so many elements at play that just made it quite challenging but it it's the first and only time I've ever done like a brand deal with including chicken shop day I realized that I don't want anyone to have any um ownership on the episodes apart from me I'm not interested in sponsoring my episodes and maybe some people will think that's foolish I could be making way more money but I'm not interested in that I'm interested in what I love about the show is that I can literally just shape it exactly how I want it to be with my my team are the only people that have eyes on it I think it's incredibly aspirational like to look at it and say I totally like the moment in time I'm sure you've had offers to sponsor chicken chop date and and if not then I'm sure there's companies like the amount of money that is that is there is is definitely you know in this current landscape of digital advertising there's there's people who would want that yeah but I think staying disciplined is what builds a brand and builds a brand at a premium like for me watching that show it feels more premium if you turn to the camera and started delivering it in ad read it would break the whole show to me it would it would change the dynamic of the entire show I also think that that's why people maybe like the show is that they know that it's authentic that it's not um like got a lot of sponge it doesn't have sponsorship I mean obviously you have the the ads that YouTube sure um include but that's like fully accepted at this point yeah that's like there's no and there's no connection to that's based on me watching not based on you presenting yeah to me I think the main reason I don't have sponsorship is because I just like enjoy making it my idea and I and I don't want to make it more challenging for myself how do you think about building a business I'm sure a lot of creators would want to actually follow suit in a similar way and just keep what they're making their art make it however they want to make it so how would you how did you think about navigating it like did it ever provide issues for you that you couldn't I don't know like I've always just been not interested in making loads of money like as in I just sort of thought okay well I'm getting this next brand deal that's gonna serve me for this x amount of time I'm not thinking too much about in the future I just want to make enough money that I can pay my rent and can make my Youtube videos like oh actually I really care about is making my YouTube videos and I just was always just like okay well how much money can this give me in terms of how many YouTube videos more episodes of chicken update can I make I'm in a fortunate position as well um in terms of uh I have um a good amount of subscribers on across lots of channels so I have like millions of Instagram followers as well as YouTube subscribers as well as Tick Tock um followers so I think that's a kind of maybe appealing to Brands is that I'm across all those platforms and it gives you the flexibility of if you're going to have an advertising business it doesn't have to be on YouTube yeah which is nice and also I think what we were saying before about crossing the traditional media with the digital media I think that's also very appealing to Brands because brands are trying to Target both those audiences too so I think that the strategy that me and my management team have like been implementing which is to kind of be visible to both those markets is also appealing to Brands so maybe I get more brand deals than other people when I speak to my management company they say that I get more like I get a good amount of brand offers yeah I'm sure you can see then there maybe yeah yeah yeah I'm sure no I can imagine that yeah I also think the chicken shop date without sponsors and it feels more like like a Netflix show doesn't have you know or like succession on HBO it's not like all of a sudden Kendall Roy turns to the camera and he's like in this episode is brought to you you know like that would be ridiculous uh when you're watching traditional media so chicken shop date feels more like a traditional show because we're watching it and going there's no there's no ad break there's nothing here that feels like a YouTube video yeah and that's definitely what I've always wanted like I'm so like creative first like I'm not like as I said I didn't even have the monetization tab open on my YouTube videos for a long time even for example with the Barbie video I just did um it was five seconds under being eight minutes and I realized recently apparently if you have eight minute videos you can like then you can earn more revenue and I just literally was like I don't really care like we'll just put it out it's just good yeah I don't mind like I don't wanna I just I was really happy with the video I didn't want to add in another section that I just taken out like I felt like it was a really tight edit like I don't mind like not getting another ad break in like people probably like that anyway they'd have to skip any more ads so I think these are like small they might feel like small decisions but I think compounded over time it's what it's what's building the brand of of Amelia de moldenberg you know it's like that when I watch it doesn't feel like other things yeah and whereas maybe someone else running a YouTube business would make the decision obviously let's add five seconds let's have two ad breaks but I think these small decisions do compound over time to build a more premium brand yeah um well it's a brand that's also just 100 you at all times the second you open up to a brand deal you now have a minute 30 that is not fully you no matter if you love The Brand and you have worn it or whatever use it your whole life it's now a minute 30 that like oh well that's not 100 Amelia yeah so let's let's talk about um some specific chicken chop date episodes Jack Harlow is the most viewed is that right I think it's a chunks and Philly episode chunks in Philly um maybe they're both on like 15 million I don't know yeah I mean that's such an unbelievable amount of people to watch something it's mind-boggling it's crazy but when I think about some of the the uh big ones I'm actually a big 1975 fan so Matt Healy to me was was I was very excited to see it and then when I watched it it was nothing like what I had anticipated it to be like same and yeah and Matt Healy is one of uh one of the few if not the only artists that kind of pushed back and and pushed you into a different place what was that experience like for you I loved it I was so happy when that episode I was honestly buzzing afterwards I was like talking to all my team about I was like oh my God this episode you're it's so I love it I love it it's so great it's so different I was so happy that he um kind of just played me at my own game really in a way or that he wasn't afraid to kind of push the boundaries of what the show could be and essentially the show is meant to be a date and so I love it when the guest flirts back with me like that's really my favorite episodes are when there's some kind of um date aspect really going on no I can't I don't want to kiss you why because I just smoked cigarettes come on I'm not no get no come on no you've got to commit to the bit Let's do an Earnest kiss so when he then tried to kiss me over the table I was in my head I was like brilliant this is great um and it divides people because some people think that it was just way too intense that he he was asking to do that and then other people got that yeah I read some stuff about it that was kind of like this was inappropriate yeah no means no yeah it's a comedic show yeah exactly and I was completely with that um but um but yeah it I was really happy with that episode because um I don't know I know that I've been feeling complacent with the show but as I said it's a very simple format I've been doing it for many years and so I'm all I'm always looking for ways I can sort of bring some more life into it or it'll surprise people or do something a bit unexpected so with that episode um I was really glad that it was a bit of a different energy and even something simple like um I had a black and white moment in the middle of the episode um referencing like his new album and his like pretentiousness yeah in that and um and that was cool and I was like a bit like oh never had black and white frame before um but I was I just glad that that paid off and then I also always like bringing my props and I had the cigarette the fake cigarette that's funny and yeah I was super happy with the episode and it really like spurred me it gave me some great energy for the next few months do you find that it gets harder to make these episodes the more popular the show becomes the more people know that it's supposed to be funny like with Jennifer Lawrence does that become a more difficult episode because she has so much context on what this show is supposed to be I'm old because sometimes I maybe I thought that I've thought that in the past I definitely think that when you're interviewing someone that's known for being funny um it's more of a challenge because there's so much content out there of them being hilarious so you're not really showing them in a new light which is again which I wanted why I started chicken shop day was because I wanted to show a different side to these guest personalities I when I'm talking to other people who interview other interviewers friends of mine they often talk to me about they're like oh it's so great with your show because someone can give you nothing and you can make it work in your favor and I think that too like I feel like I've shaped the show in a way so that someone can give me one word answers and I'll make that part of the bit like it's I don't need to get something enlightening from them and in that way I feel like I'm always happy with the episodes I think when I started I was very much more set in my ways on my character having to be incredibly dry and deadpan and sarcastic and I think as the years have gone on and I've grown up and I I've grown up through the show uh I've become warmer as a as a host I don't know if you've noticed this I I feel it and I've become more relaxed and more confident and I'm not and they're more friendly the episodes and I also think that's maybe broadened the audience too um in a way yeah that's really interesting like an Ed Sheeran I think you say you tell them to keep his day job when he's singing oh yeah yeah which is very funny yeah but the Jonas Brothers episode uh I I think I texted you about that one too because I laughed I could watch that many times but the part that I laughed the most at is when you ask if Nick [Music] it killed me every time I watched it it was in the trailer for The episode and then I watched the episode and I laughed out loud both times and I was like it's so interesting now that um you I'm sure after 10 years you are also you are able to be the comedian in the seat as well not just create the awkward moments but like sometimes something you say is the thing that's the funniest moment in the episode for me well thanks I mean most the time it's the guest but um but yeah I definitely feel like I've become more confident as a um host and as a comedian in a way um for sure if I look back at my other episodes yeah I think what's interesting too is you have so much ability still in post-production in the edit to make it what it needs to do yeah exactly so even in those Early times when you are not as confident you still have an element of okay that didn't this may not go well but at least I can mess some things around in the edit for sure so now I think you also have that experience in the edit of knowing you can do things like with the Jennifer Lawrence episode at the very end put that sound bite about Emma Chamberlain that she says I don't know if that happened at the very end no didn't but you can leave it right yeah yeah and that says so much I mean I'm totally down to be friends I really liked that clip that went viral with him and Emma Chamberlain okay my favorite thing to do in the edit is move all the bits around yeah like I'll watch the whole of the rushes so all of the all of the footage 40 minutes I'll write all of my notes and then I'll get sent back something that's like 10 minutes long and then we'll edit all the sections down to where we're happy and then I'll then I'll start moving everything around and I'll move all of the sections around so that the flow is exactly right and it feels like the conversation is um really building and it feels like we're both um getting on really well and the back and forth is right and with nurse Capaldi I was like in the edit for ages so longer than usual because it wasn't the flow was not working at all and I couldn't get it right it just didn't feel it didn't feel feel like as fun as it was and then finally I moved two sections around and it fit um or sometimes you have to take out your favorite favorite part for it to work I also wanted to ask you about the KSI episode yeah just because going back to talking about being the producer and being everything that to me the way that show opens is like a black screen with text on it saying that you had already recorded it but the footage got corrupt yeah that is like my worst nightmare as a Creator yeah that's a nightmare scenario for me like I dream about that stuff actually like even coming into this I was like you know okay we're at a new studio are they gonna is all this recording is everything is it all working like that is something that I had actually during this recording yeah I get stressed 20 minutes ago I was like I hope yeah okay the lights are on yeah the lights are on yeah they are hopefully it's recording yeah um is this on hello yeah okay that was a nightmare situation I know I found out actually later that the memory card wasn't actually corrupted the the camera operation didn't press play oh no yeah which is even worse that's even worse it's even worse but thank you to KSI for agreeing to to reshoot the whole thing that's really kind how nice that I guess maybe it's because he's a Creator himself and he understands it maybe or he just he's just a very nice person and um and so he did so he said yes were you able to like replicate it with their moment like oh the first episode was definitely better okay first episode would definitely better no one will ever see it um well you could see my my side it was just his camera that didn't get any thing but I was still happy with with the episode but yeah I wrote new questions and I redid it again um but that for me that was also when I was still on the come up like every episode was like is this I can really want people to see this one like I still was had a lot to prove and getting KSI was a big um coup because uh he was a huge is a huge uh Creator on YouTube and it really brought me in a lot of subscribers and as I was saying before I've it's taken me years to get the subscribers I think it took me like seven years to get 500 000 subscribers and then I got a million within a year and then I'm nearly on 2 million now so it's been a real journey to get those subscribers that I have now and um yeah and he um he agreed to film so thank you to him but yeah I was in a real bad way sure I was spiraling I remember going for lunch with my parents and being like this is the end I'm not coming back from this I was crying on the phone like to my producer um it was really bad because at that time I really felt like I was only ever as good as my last episode which I hear a lot of creators talk about and I really just at that time just felt like okay if this one's not gonna happen then the show's over then it's over like it's I'm not I'm not I don't know how I'm gonna get out of this and it's funny when I was thinking about this interview because it spans the whole of my career and it's been so it's been over 10 years and I've forgotten a lot of how it felt to be a career starting out because it's been so long and it honestly is so tough and challenging having to motivate yourself having to build a brand having to build a show to build an audience building an audience is the hardest part I think and um there's so many moments where I felt so like why am I doing this this is so hard um no one's even caring and it's too hard um and that's one of those moments and I'm happy that I stuck with it and now it feels like I've got into the swing of it and I'm very grateful for um the audience I have now and that people have stuck with it and it feels like I'm in my groove now what about Louis through I mean it feels like that was another inflection point maybe not what had happened but because of the incredible viral nature of that moment yeah the jiggle jiggle jiggle jiggle my money don't jiggle jiggle it folds I'd like to see you wiggle wiggle for sure it makes me want to dribble dribble you know I know that was wild that's like I'm so proud to be a part of that moment because it really is something that you couldn't I could never have expect in my wildest dreams and because I knew obviously I'd watch all of his documentaries I knew about the gangster rap episode of Weird Weekends asked him to if he remembered any of the rap that he did and he delivered it acapella and then yeah Duke and Jones um made the remix on Tick Tock and then Brooke and Jess did the dance and it just created this huge phenomenon jiggle jiggle it falls you know people were really ready for something joyful just come out of lockdown wanting a dance Trend that just was very um yeah just unlikely pairings and just uh an awkward man rapping did that to a song that he'd created and had come from uh come and and you know it's amazing for it to have come from uh an online show I think it just shows like where we where we are right now in terms of um the the digital landscape did that bring a lot of audience or do you think it was oh it did I think so yeah I think I definitely did and that and that um and it was only last year yeah yeah yeah you cite him as uh you know inspiration and I'm just curious like have there been markers in the career of you know getting a message or a text from someone saying like I love your show um from from a sense of like validation uh like as creators I think we always seek like I always say that for us the thing that really hits me is whenever someone I respect says that they like our work oh yeah that to me is like the the highest currency we could get what is that for you or who are some of those moments or maybe yet to happen like totally I feel like there's nothing better than someone you respect like loving your work you know when Rosalia did it did the show I was really surprised that she'd heard of it and that she had watched it and so I was so happy that she agreed to do it um again I mentioned Daniel kaluya like uh just just basically all all the guests Ed Sheeran um even Jennifer Lawrence like she didn't do any press on the in the UK apart from chicken shop day I don't think that's crazy and that's kind of amazing to have that it shows you how um Chimes have changed I guess I mean I talked to Sean a lot about this a lot um on hot ones and like we've become friends which is really amazing because there's so many crossovers with our shows in terms of like the Genesis of them and like how we view uh interviewing and our um our styles are very different but just our approach to our what we do is it's kind of similar and it was funny because someone tweeted recently about the Jennifer Lawrence um press tour that like now the the two key um moments on any person's press store are both involve Inc fried chicken or nuggets um and we were laughing about that because it just shows how different things are now but what's so amazing about that is you have Sean Evans with hot ones like the Press junket stop one of the biggest shows for a celebrity to go and yet it's still within the confines of a media company like it's complex which is owned by BuzzFeed so it has that and a little bit of that ability to book guests and of course he built it over a long period of time and like same similar to you worked his way up in terms of like guess but you are like entirely independent yeah which for me is always the thing that stands out is like oh my gosh this is essentially becoming hot ones essentially like like that level of cultural relevance and yet I don't know what your infrastructure looks like because I assume it's entirely still like independent in YouTube what does it look like to be able to build that but independent that's thanks for saying that because that's something I do think about too and I'm like trying to sort of I don't know feel proud about what I've accomplished because it's true it's totally independent totally started um by by myself I'm in complete control of almost everything and now uh I also run the production so I started my production company dims Inc and that's something that I'm really interested in in the future is like what dims Inc could be because I feel like I can add value as an agency so for example like creative Direction coming up with a marketing plan for a brand or a Content series for a brand that maybe I'm not even in um uh thinking of those creative ways of problem solving which is what agencies do um I feel like I could do that with my team um but then we also can provide production too and then we all I'm also a publisher so I also distributor a distributor so I also could provide you know there's not there's nothing to say that I could get another creator build an idea with them put it on my channel that I'm not even in like there's so many possibilities of what it could do and it all stems through this kind of like independence of having my own team and my own production so and it's interesting the land the landscape now is changing in terms of creative agencies um I think it's it's such a unique uh model that is is so cool because of everything you just said it's like you are you can come up with the idea you can make it you can star in it and then you can publish it yeah that's like a fully vertically integrated media house yes that's such a unique moment in time to be that person I know people that do that it's so cool isn't it anyway and it's and it also goes back to that thing of like uh as a Creator you have to wear me different hats and you have to understand all of the processes of these things and it's really changing which is what you guys talk about a lot in your videos it's changing the media landscape it's moving it away from traditional broadcasters to this place where you're a One-Stop shop you can do everything and you're creating actually much more authentic content that people now are really buying into I've been asked before like what do you think like what what kind of content do gen Z people like watching what makes them different what's what kind of consumers are they and I was I think what makes them different is they're interested in watching things that are made by the person who's in it like they're it's a good point yeah that they buy they're buying into I've DIY I've done it myself and I think that's what makes a younger audience different from an older one because they can see that it's someone's vision and it's like no one's told them what to do and that's kind of empowering and I think that's what people see in me I hope so anyway when I think about that that like gen Z is more open potentially to watching content from people who make it themselves yeah I think about even just the term Creator or the term YouTuber and that to people in traditional or people who are perhaps older the term YouTuber is perhaps something that is limiting do you feel that way that that being labeled as a YouTuber is limiting to where you want to go and what you're doing I'm much by the title content creator than YouTuber but I don't mind YouTuber like I feel like sometimes I I find it very hard to explain what I do if someone says what do you do I I'm always like no no I do so many different things and maybe a lot of creators feel that way too um but YouTuber does the job maybe like people can if people can understand that then that's fine but YouTuber in my mind I'm thinking of a vlogger I'm thinking of even also maybe like Mr Mr Beast type um challenge orientated content and that's not what I do I think that as we've spoken about before it's much chicken shop day and my other shows feel much more like traditional broadcast shows just on YouTube um so yeah I don't know I I guess I'm I'm a content creator but I always just say I'm the creator of chicken shop date what is your relationship uh with Fame because you've gone from interviewing famous people and celebrities to becoming one yourself what what is that relationship and and also not only in the UK but in the US too like yes U.S in times of Fame I think it's like um it's always been an ambition of mine to kind of make myself a name separate to chicken shop date because I think that it it crew it adds to the success of chicken shop date like it's going to be more if I'm more well known it's going to be easier for me to get talent to come on the show because they'll know me and they'll want to do it in that way um but yeah Fame I don't know it just takes a bit of getting used to you know what it feels like sometimes it feels like you're like the town mayor and you're like walking down the street and everyone's going hey and you just honestly have to pretend like you know them and you're just like hey great to see you like and that's what it feels like because people come up to you like they are friends with you and so it the thing that was challenging was when I would pretend like when I would act like I didn't know them and it's actually much easier to like Just Go With It yeah be warm yeah go with it and just even though it sounds weird just to be like yeah this is normal like everyone like you know me it's I'll I'll know you back how's it going oh it should be like how's it going they're like yeah good okay we'll see you later literally that's how I do because it mimics the parasocial or just yeah and also it just makes me feel like it was a normal interaction because it's not normal that someone you've never met comes up to you and asks you for a photo like that is weird and that's what makes you feel like an alien so I'm doing this new thing where I pretend it's normal and it's made me feel a lot better have you ever had it where you pretend it's normal but you actually do know the person because I'm speaking from experience sometimes I'll like like you don't know you know the person yeah I'd be like oh hey great to meet you you know and then sometimes it'll linger there's one specific time it lingered and I was like do you want a photo and they were like what I know you yeah I went to school with you yeah everyone's like oh I'm your best friend oh yeah I'm so sorry yeah obviously sometimes it happens like sometimes I'll meet because I meet lots of different people on set sometimes people will come up to me and I think that they're a fan and actually they're like oh no I always like the sound up on like it's just a strange thing together what happened the other day I was at Lana Del Rey concert and people coming up to me saying the most thoughtful things one girl well to me it was thoughtful she said um I love watching your videos they really cure all my hangovers that is great like when people say stuff like that I don't know I'm just like yeah that's why I'm just so happy that that that that that happens that they feel like that so when you're on the roads are so bad so when you're on the red carpet and it's somewhat the inverse that you are potentially talking to people who are even that next level of Fame and you're doing a red carpet interview do you have how do you perceive those interactions are you nervous on the red carpet um ah yes the nerves have gotten less as time gone has gone on but uh Golden Globes in particular I was so nervous I actually have videos that I filmed of myself where I'm like freaking out that I was like maybe I'll make a vlog of this experience and I just didn't at all because I just was too in in my own head with it but I couldn't sleep for like days before yeah yeah it was in that like red car like I feel like that has been such a cool Evolution to watch you go onto the red carpet like that to me I feel like the first time I saw you on the red carpet I was like wow I'm witnessing something that is going to continue to grow we're witnessing history history yes that's how I felt I was like oh the way that I don't know we're like seeing something that's going to become such a big part of the norm of like Hollywood premieres or award shows specifically you being there um and I think that creators being on the red carpet has also become more prevalent specifically Emma Chamberlain yeah and I was curious because like at the end of the Jennifer Lawrence bid like that that was very funny that you included that that Jennifer Lawrence talked about Emma on the red carpet do you feel any sense of competition uh with Emma yeah um not really because I feel like we I by the way I love her videos but yeah for sure when for sure I'm not gonna like um if I'm being honest when I when when the vet Gala came this year I was like couldn't really sleep because I was like I wanted to see what kind of what kind of questions she was asking how it went and yeah that's a dream job of mine to do the Met Gala like that's what I'm trying to work working towards to do um those interviews and I don't know I probably I don't know if I'll get booked until maybe Emma decides she doesn't want to do them anymore because maybe our styles are too similar but that's fine because I've got something to work towards and that's how I always think you know you've got to build and build and if I was doing the Met Gala this year what would I do next you know it's more something that I like that I've got something to build towards yeah yeah but I feel like I'm building my I'm an interviewer that's what I do like that's my yeah I'm not a vlogger I don't do any I'm not a podcaster like I interview people and that's what and I interview celebrities and that's what I feel like I've honed my craft doing I'm really good at it and I want to continue doing that um so yeah you've brought up before that if Drake were to come on the show that would be the end yeah if he were to come on in the next six months is that too soon that's why I'm not that bothered that Keen about um him coming on the show anytime soon people that's my number one thing that people ask me they're like when Drake coming on true when Drake coming on the show when they see me in the street um and I'm like it will happen like it will happen like it's been organized and fallen through like too many times for it to not happen and he like from he's given me his word that it will so I mean it will happen but yeah I'm gonna end the series with this episode so wow we'll see I love sticking to your word on that do you have any thought of what goes on the channel after that no I haven't thought that far ahead I want to I have other Ambitions in terms of what I want to do like do directing and scripture projects and I really feel like I want to go into like narrative video more yeah one quick note on talent for call for chicken shop date in terms of like booking talent for chicken shop data I've heard you talk about that President Biden's team reached out to inquire about coming on chicken shop day yeah that was like an early email just like can we send check that you could maybe like do a call but how funny is that like that's wild yeah I can't imagine the inbound you get of now people wanting to to come on the show yeah how do you decipher between yes and no like holding on to the brand of what you've built when there's you know massive Talent asking to come on I think it's just uh every time a talent request comes in it's just like thinking about is this someone my audience would want to see does this make sense for the show is this going to move us in the right direction um is this a talent that I actually like and that I'm a fan of do I think that it's yeah there's so many things that come into play um what's their like who are Their audience like are they uh are people excited by them at the moment have we got them at the wrong time have we got them at the right time um yeah I mean there's lots of different questions we ask but some the best ones is when a request comes in you're like yes straight away yeah totally yeah so are we going to see President Biden on I think he's been in gone now okay um as you as you look at making scripted as you look at making like scripted television series things like that do you feel like what you're doing right now is building the muscles you need do you have the people that you need for that I don't think so I think it's a long journey into the scripted world like I think this it's it's I like but I like that I've got a long game plan too as well as the like entertainment formats that are kind of happening at the moment and the red carp interviews and you know other maybe entertainment formats that I put out or I'm connected to and then it's more of a long-term plan to work towards um doing some more scripture projects but it's I find it very challenging to find the time because it's a very different part of my brain your sister was quoted in the New York Times uh by looking back and saying you've always had a high level of ambition yeah and I think you know now having spoken to you at length in this conversation it feels like that is a word that I would absolutely ambitious is an absolute word that I would use to describe you and I'm just curious where that comes from like is that from you have you felt like you're trying to I guess prove something to yourself or is there something from a young age that you were trying to reach this level of success yeah I think that I've just I don't know I cannot remember a time when I wasn't really ambitious like honestly even like in Primary School like I've I've always just wanted to impress people and um maybe that's a blessing and a curse I think I actually talking to my therapist about this like recently about why do I feel the need to impress people that don't know me um and I think that often that's what we're doing is in this industry um that's how everything work was yeah everything works it's one of them it's a huge driver and motivator for us as creators right like we are looking at these numbers on the screen and looking at this performance of our craft or the validation when you're walking on the street and someone said that was really great or very funny it's like those are moments that fill you up as a Creator yeah as time's gone on and I feel more confident in my place in the industry and just I'm growing up um I I'm more interested in in um pleasing people that do know me and I think that's much more manageable yeah it's impossible to get everyone to like you and to impress everyone it's much more feasible to just get the people that you know to like you to want to be around you a great step for that which I'm so impressed is that you had no idea what the YouTube studio app is which was amazing when we first sat down which is what most creators are hooked to is their analytics and how things are performing and what people are saying that's pretty amazing no I don't have the I didn't know about this YouTube studio app but I do look at it on my laptop but if I'm honest I will look at it maybe like once a month wow um that's amazing but I look I I look at views so I look at the views and that's how I sort of see if something's going well or not and then I love reading comments on YouTube and like the positive sentiment on YouTube is so great and also on tick and that's not to say that I don't care about analytics because I'm very much looking at the views on my Tick Tock as well like I've been known to Archive a video if it doesn't have over a million views because I'm insecure about that or whatever but um I'm it's it's a work in progress always of of trying to let go in terms of the numbers and I do think I'm pretty good at that now and I've just always been just obsessed with the creative like I want it to be the funniest video it can I want it to be entertaining I'm very much just want it to be the best piece of content it can and that's what I think I've always tried to do rather than if it's going to make x amount of views make x amount of money um that's what I I just want it to be good yeah um I think that's what's so inspiring to us and to a lot of other creators looking in is that you don't get the feel that you are compromising yeah no on the work yeah I'll never I yeah I rarely will I compromise I've been sometimes when I've when I've TR I've been made to or I've had to and I've been very annoyed about it and that's also something that's an interesting thing from coming from a as a Creator I think that you're in a really privileged position where you don't have to compromise and it's interesting when you then start working with other people traditional media and all these places like it's really it kind of can take it an adjustment to being like wait so you're gonna have a say in my video um I'm not going to have the complete control and that's also what I again love about the other work that I do because I love collaborating with other people that do have you know Insight that that are bringing their own expertise um create a journey is often a very isolating one a very low not lonely but like it is you're going out on a whim on your own you're doing it all on your own terms that's incredible and that's where every why everyone has got to where they are today because of that but also you're like constantly being like am I doing this right am I doing this right is this gonna go well and when you're part of a smaller part of a bigger team I don't think you have that as much but then you don't have the control and you probably are yearning for some kind of creative control so it's like sometimes I do wish that I was part of a gang part of a part of a a smaller part in a bigger company wouldn't it be cool to like not have to be the one leading everything all the time but then I know that as soon as I'd get there I'd be like I wanted my way and I want to do it but it's been another process has been learning to delegate and that's a big part of what I'm trying what I try and do with my team um is trusting in the people I've hired and the people that are around me that they can do a brilliant job and they do and that I can let go yeah and that and I found over the last year I've been doing that better than I have before and I feel like that's also why my career is going up in an upward trajectory because I've built a really great team around me and I trust them to go about tasks and deliver things separate to me that I don't have to be in control of everything I'm overseeing stuff but things are going on without me and that's I guess how you build a business but I still don't even know um but I'm assuming that that's what you have to do you have to let go to to build and um yeah I'm really grateful for everyone that I work with and um and all the different ways that um they've come into my life whether it's through putting out an advert on LinkedIn or meeting someone at an exhibition and them giving me their portfolio and me working with them through work experience uh through my management company um all these different ways these Avenues it's really important to me that um the people that I work with are from all different walks of life and that have and their access has been in different ways um yeah I wanted to ask about like you you know Amelia the person versus what we see on camera and if you've ever been at odds with the character that you've created like in your personal life whether that's in in actual dating or in friendships or anything like that where playing the character on on camera like almost a hyperbolic version versus you know in real life has there ever been any tension between those two I think um not really too much tension I think because all my friends and everyone who knows me me they've known me forever so I don't really feel like anyone's ever not knowing the like real me and I'm also very confident of like switching between the two people like uh whenever I meet someone I'm always just going to be like this like myself like I'm never going to be like in character like the only time I'm in character is like when I'm doing a chicken shop day interview or when I'm on the red carpet or something but the red carpet interviews are very much more like my actual vibe in real life um so yeah I've never really been at odds with the character and then obviously I always have like some comments for people that I'm just becoming friends with or don't know and they'll say oh you're not as awkward in real life and then that's literally it and then it just then they right let me just move on um yeah so I've never really had that but maybe it's just my own confidence and even in knowing that even if I did have comments I wouldn't let it phase me and I think also I'm very quick to just be myself in situations so I think that people just get the picture very quickly for all the people who think maybe you have just arrived in the last year or two what I love about this conversation is that it really does show that you have been doing this for so long yes over 10 years and for all the reasons that you are where you are today I feel like one of the biggest ones is just that you didn't quit exactly didn't quit and also had some amazing people around me that have helped me shape the show and have steered me in the right direction and yeah it's it's my it's my show but there's so many people that have made that uh reality so I'm really grateful that I got the opportunity to talk a bit more about the teamwork and the people that have um been in and out of my life yeah well thank you for sitting down thank you can't wait to see you can't wait to see what happens over the next year I feel like the last year has been so crazy I know oh I had one more piece of yeah before I go because I do actually have to go is when I was thinking about like oh advice or things moments that really stuck out to me in my journey um one moment that really stuck out to me is actually when one of my producers um handed in their notice and it was the first time that I someone had left me that I felt like people come the first time so yeah in business well actually no I actually feel like I've been not been left that wow I know it was very um eye-opening experience and to me she was incredible she was such a brilliant producer she taught me so much from really particular things to big things like you you don't have a DropBox you should have a Dropbox and have all your stuff shared on this like she really built a lot of the infrastructure for for dim zinc and um like honestly like four months into working with her she handed in her notice and I to go and start her own agency fair play I was like great and I was but I was flawed I was just I couldn't believe that someone this good would leave me and that's when I actually spoke to my dad about it and I never talked to my dad really about anything to do with my work and stuff I mean he's interested but sure he doesn't give me advice and I called him and I told him about what happened and he said he said something actually got it good he said um the best people will always leave and I was like because they are ambitious and they're the best people and they're gonna leave because they want to do other things and that was really in that was really good for me to know because it it's now prepared me that yeah I might be working with these amazing people now and they might leave me and that's okay because I'll be able to find someone else and I think that that's um that's been really useful for me and it's made me more confident in in like things changing yeah yeah I think that's a good lesson just in being a creative hiring creative people that you have the empathy that they will want to do something similar to what you're doing yeah even if they stay at your company you know I hope a lot of people that work with us stay with us for a long time yeah and if they do I hope they are able to carve out time and ways for them to do something creative and ambitious in their own right in a different type of way especially when you're around like I don't know someone a Creator or the CEO of the company who you've seen them do it on their own you know it's inspiring as well so maybe it kind of makes what people want to do it too but yeah so that was just my other thing that I've been thinking about in terms of do you have parting words of wisdom for people who want to do what you've done parting words of wisdom I'm so bad at mottos um um but I have one which I need to just remember um what was it it's one second I'm gonna remember it it's like if you um Louis gave you one on the Pod um it's like if you want something to okay I've got it okay okay so there's an amazing charity called Arts emergency and they're all about getting um people from disadvantaged backgrounds um into work in the creative arts and they have um merch and one of their badges they've made a badge with a comedian called Joe lysit and it says this motto which I love and I wish I thought of it myself if you want something to exist sometimes you have to create it yourself that's perfect I love that I love that one that's good yeah I feel like that really wraps up the conversation too yeah that's really nice well thank you Amelia thank you so much uh such a pleasure I'm such big fans of your content and so it's great to have a conversation with people who really understand um where I'm coming from so I hope this has been um helpful for other people as well um and interesting all right cool okay see you goodbye [Music]

Channel: Colin and Samir

Views: 582,889

Keywords: colin and samir, colin samir, Colin and Samir Videos, colin and samir show, Amazon FBA, Robinhood Stocks, Making money online, how much money on youtube, amelia dimoldenberg, chicken shop date, jack harlow, jennifer lawrence, business, education, podcast, youtuber, Amelia Dimoldenberg Goes on a Date With Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

Id: 80yPdZRKb34

Length: 87min 2sec (5222 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 18 2023