Variety ranked the top 12 stars in the digital world as part of its #Famechangers issue. For more of the rankings, click here.
YouTube channel Shaytards mixes laughs with heart as it follows the day-to-day life of dad Shay Carl (quoted below), mom Colette and their five children, Gavin, Avia, Emmi, Brock and Daxton.
Audience Target: “They’re family videos. We have a big demographic of 45- to 60-year-old women who have raised their kids and are reliving their motherhood through watching our videos. The biggest demographic traditionally on YouTube is the 13- to 17-year-old female. They’ve been watching us for the last five to six years, so now our biggest demographic is 16- to 19-year-old females. That demographic has grown up with us over the years.”
Content Strategy: “I believe intrinsically family is our greatest source of happiness. My wife is prettier than most moms, and I’m probably funnier than most dads — that helps — but ultimately, it’s the family. What viewers really want to see is my wife and kids together. We get happiness from families, because people need that hope.”
Knew They Hit It Big When: “The first time I got recognized in public. I was in Salt Lake City, at a minor league baseball game. This was maybe six months after I had started making videos. This girl came up to me and was like, ‘Shay Carl, you make YouTube videos!’ And at the time it was embarrassing: My family was making fun of me. That was the first time it was like ‘Wow, this is transcending(the act of) me putting this video on my computer.’”
In Five Years: “My kids will probably surpass me. I will probably be their manager. But, I don’t want to force them into it. So I’m always like, ‘If you want to do this, cool, but you don’t have to do it.’ ”
Next Challenge: “Deciding how long we’re going to do it. When we started doing it, it was like, ‘We’re going to do a video every single day for a year.’ Now we’re at year six and a half, and I don’t really have a plan. It’s a lot on our family.”
Secret to Success: “Consistency, and loving what you do. People can see right through you on the Internet. People can genuinely see that we’re having a good time, and that translates.”
Shaytards By The Numbers
*Data provided by Tubular Labs