From being “in the bottom set for everything,” for the 15 years of his life, to building an empire off his technical wizardry just seven years later, hybrid YouTuber Brandon B has defied the odds that were stacked up against him.

Tapping into the skill for weaving bold, innovative worlds through VFX, Brandon’s craft is one born of out an interest he has nurtured since the age of 13. This childhood passion in combination with his determination to seize every opportunity that came his way, saw the 22-year-old social media star first start his career as a runner for Sassy Films.

Charming and tenacious, Brandon’s took step after step into the career of his dreams – first as the director for social media moguls, Woody & Kleiny before going onto deliver viral content for global brands including Deliveroo, Adobe, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Samsung and more.

Never letting his passion fizzle out in the race to the top is what sets Brandon apart from many equally enterprising social media influencers. If creating viral content is his method, then the stunning mix of special effects, light-hearted comedy and behind-the-scenes instructional videos that fetched him up to two billion views is his creative madness, and both sides of his life work in tandem such that it wins over anyone who comes across him.

Catching up with us, the social media star reveals how he kept his creativity from being affected during lockdown, whom he’d love to collaborate with and the piece of advice he’d give someone struggling with education.

Check out the interview below…

Hey Brandon B, how has this past year been for you?
This year has been crazy and tough for everyone. Lots of re-adjusting, close family and friends falling ill and trying to come up with new ways to repeal boredom. Despite the negatives, I saw it as a year of opportunity. Time essentially stopped, and I had an opportunity to trial new things I never previously had a chance to. I rediscovered old passions and skills, and re-ignited a fire in my belly, creating VFX videos!

With everything that happened last year, was your creativity affected?
I spent the year diving into a world, at the time, I didn’t have extensive expertise in. This gave me a chance to explore new avenues and think about content in a brand new light. Before the year started, I spent my the previous 4 years directing content for Social Media giants, Woody & Kleiny, learning how to create ‘viral’ content. Now I combine that knowledge with what I had taught myself years prior, VFX, to create the content that I do! I am nowhere near where I dream of hitting, but I am in the process of putting my 10,000 hours and continuing to learn and grow as a creator.

How did you first get into YouTube, what sparked the interest?
Youtube has always been an exciting space for me. I used to watch Youtubers when that was still considered ‘weird’. Starting at 13 I have been uploading VFX videos onto Youtube, with no luck at the time, which to be honest looking back at those videos now, I can see why!

You’ve got over 3.9 millions followers on all socials, do you ever feel pressure to be a certain way or responsible to entertain?
I’m super lucky to have the following I do, I receive very little negativity or hate. I create content because I love it, and I love the thrill of watching an entire production come together.

You had a difficult time in education, what would your advice be to someone who is also struggling?
The world is nothing like school and school is nothing like the world. Failing exams don’t make you a failure, being in the lowest grade/set doesn’t make you as a person any lower or worse than anyone else. I learn best with hand on experience, and unfortunately, that’s not what schools teach. Just because you struggle to learn from a textbook, doesn’t mean you are a slower learner.

Where do you get your inspiration from for content?
I love looking at the world and taking the day-to-day scenarios we all find ourselves in and altering the outcomes with magic. As often as I can I try and offer a surprise element to my audience and take a video along a path they weren’t expecting!

Who is someone you’d love to collaborate with?
Zach King is a massive hero of mine and I’m so excited for the day we create a video together!

What’s next for you? What are you most excited for?
Phase 2 is to start building a bigger team. I work with so many talented people who help bring the videos to life, this year I want to start growing those numbers so we are able to produce bigger, better and more videos!