Welcome to Creators on the Rise, the place—in partnership with world creator firm Jellysmack—we discover and profile breakout creators who’re within the midst of extraordinary progress.
Twenty years in the past, Jay Brewer and his spouse Becky purchased a small animal retailer referred to as Pet Country.
At the time, Fountain Valley, Calif. was not precisely a hotbed for reptile lovers. Brewer–a longtime lover of snakes, salamanders, and all issues creepy-crawly–noticed a chance and put aside a portion of the store for fellow followers, providing high quality animals and the provides wanted to correctly look after them.
By 1991, this part of the Brewers’ retailer generated a lot visitors, it was virtually its personal enterprise. So they made it official: the reptile part of Pet Country closed, and standalone specialty retailer Prehistoric Pets was hatched.
Since then, Brewer has expanded the unique Prehistoric Pets to a 5,000-square-foot facility that’s cut up between retail and a full-fledged zoo. On any given day, the store homes hundreds of animals and welcomes tons of of company, a lot of whom aren’t there to undertake a brand new good friend or decide up pet meals, however as a substitute are there to be taught in regards to the huge number of species Brewer and his employees look after.
For Brewer, with the ability to educate folks about his favourite animals is the perfect a part of Prehistoric Pets. He’s all the time searching for methods to achieve extra folks with information about all the things from snakes’ shedding process to crocodile feeding to uncommon finds just like the African Lungfish. When YouTube turned a factor in 2005, Brewer jumped on the likelihood to share long-form movies of Prehistoric Pets’ residents on-line–an endeavor that, as of February 2021, had garnered him round one million subscribers and recurrently netted just a few million views per 30 days.
Now, simply three months later, his subscriber depend has practically doubled, and in May, his channel bagged greater than 224 million views. What modified?
One factor: YouTube Shorts.
Between February and May, Brewer uploaded 40 movies to Shorts, and greater than half went viral, netting tens of tens of millions of views. His most-viewed video, a couple of (*6*), has greater than 70 million views up to now.
Brewer’s YouTube view and subscriber counts shot up in March. Data from Gospel Stats.
Collectively, his Shorts content material helped push his channel from 6.3 million views in February to 36 million in March to 81 million in April and 224 million in May.
While the overwhelming majority of those views are for his shortform movies, Brewer’s final purpose is that viewers hooked by his quick-bite movies will tune into his longer-form, academic content material and are available to like reptiles simply as a lot as he does. Check out our chat with him beneath.
Tubefilter: Tell us just a little about you! What’s your background? How did you turn out to be fascinated about unique animals and reptiles?
Jay Brewer: I used to be adopted, and we grew up extraordinarily poor. My adopted mom handed away once I was 4, my adopted father once I was 15, and I used to be left to fend for myself. When I used to be little, to entertain myself as a result of I didn’t have any toys, or video games, bicycles, or something, I’d exit and catch snakes, lizards, and frogs. That was the one factor I may do for enjoyable as a result of it didn’t value any cash! I fell in love with animals and reptiles from there, and the remaining is historical past!
Tubefilter: How did Prehistoric Pets come to be? Give us just a little background on the shop!
JB: I first began a fishing enterprise once I was solely 15 years previous to try to make a few of my very own cash. I used to be fairly good at it, so after I married my spouse Becky once I was 23, we used the cash I created from fishing and acquired a small pet retailer referred to as Pet Country. When my spouse acquired pregnant with our first baby, we determined to commerce within the furry animals and let me give attention to my actual ardour, which is reptiles. About 33 years later, the Reptile Zoo is among the most sought-after experiences in Southern California, with tons of of holiday makers day-after-day!
We have 20 staff. We do plenty of off-location occasions and academic events with the reptiles that the staff covers as nicely.
We have tons of of forms of unique reptiles, all the things from tiny lizards to massive alligators! We prefer to say, “If it hops, crawls, or offers your mother the chills, we most likely have it on the Reptile Zoo!”
Tubefilter: When and why did you determine to start out making movies about Prehistoric Pets?
JB: I began making movies as a result of I needed to indicate the world how cool and wonderful animals are! I’ve been making movies for nicely over a decade–my first video I posted was in 2007!
Tubefilter: How do you steadiness content material creation with operating the store? How usually do you movie? Walk us via the common day!
JB: Luckily I’ve a incredible staff of people that assist me run the store, together with my spouse and two daughters, who’ve been with me since day one! I even have an ideal right-hand videographer, Armen, who by no means misses a shot! Without these guys, I wouldn’t be capable to have the Zoo or share all of our attention-grabbing content material! This is why I all the time say, “I’m LIVIN THE DREAM!”
It has taken nicely over a decade of constant content material creation to get to the place I’m immediately. I movie between three to 5 days per week, generally as a lot as 14 hours a day relying the place I’m touring on the time!
Tubefilter: Your current subscriber/view spike has been centered in your movies uploaded to YouTube Shorts. Why did you determine to start out making content material for Shorts?
JB: I noticed very early within the digital sport that the telephones have been going to be an enormous a part of content material absorption. I began working actually laborious to be taught to make actually good brief vertical content material–I used to be one of many first folks to attempt it on IGTV again in 2018, and had large success, and liked enjoying with it! Getting forward of the vertical content material gave us a superb edge to essentially perceive tips on how to create vertically, so we utilized the identical considering to YT Shorts, and have executed extremely nicely!
Tubefilter: Was there a selected video that went particularly viral and triggered the rise in views and subscribers?
JB: To be trustworthy, it’s laborious to pinpoint precisely which video triggered our rise. So a lot of our movies go viral!
Tubefilter: Why do you assume your content material is doing nicely on Shorts usually?
JB: I feel the brief content material works due to our content material! Vertical taking pictures actually works nice with animals–visually fascinating, participating, and brief, to the purpose, hooks audiences instantly–and there’s all the time that incredible second. I put plenty of work into Shorts as a result of I actually wish to have interaction my viewers shortly, in order that I can lead them over to my long-form movies. The longer-form movies are the place I’m able to educate audiences extra on these animals, so the extra my viewers converts over to the long-form, the higher likelihood I’ve of participating them educationally as nicely!
Tubefilter: Has your current engagement uptick modified something for you? Do you’ve any new plans or targets to your content material profession?
JB: I’m excited to start out trying into various kinds of longer-form content material. Lots of thrilling stuff coming quickly! And then, after all, persevering with to hit the YouTube Shorts laborious, and pumping out nice content material throughout all of my different platforms!
Tubefilter: What’s your favourite a part of making content material about Prehistoric Pets?
JB: Getting an opportunity to share how wonderful all of those unbelievable animals world wide are, and hoping that everybody can perceive how fortunate we’re to have these in our lives! That is why I created the Reptile Zoo, and why I’m hoping to open one other location quickly–in order that I can proceed to share my ardour for these wonderful animals with much more folks.
Tubefilter: What different platforms are you making content material for?
JB: I’m throughout the entire platforms! TikTookay, IG/IGTV, Facebook, Snapchat, and have seen such nice success! Check me out. 🙂
Tubefilter: What’s subsequent for you, the store, and your channel?
JB: I’m actually excited to dive into the NFT world. I wish to arrange NFTs for youths, the place they’ll actually take pleasure in, have interaction, and commerce the NFTs at their stage.
Merch as nicely–I’m going to be working laborious to roll that out.
I’m additionally excited a couple of second new potential location for the Reptile Zoo–sharing that in-person, hands-on expertise with extra folks could be nice! As for my channel, I’m actually trying ahead to focusing laborious on extra worldwide filming all around the world. I can’t wait to indicate you all some extra unbelievable animals! I’m residing my dream, and I hope everybody else can discover theirs!
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