We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zach Chin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zach below.
Hi Zach, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Ever since I was a little kid, I have watched more YouTube than television. Back in 2012-2013, I would sit and consistently watch some of the biggest names on the platform like Casey Neistat and Dude Perfect. They inspired me to do video creation and upload to YouTube. So, I started making trickshot videos in my backyard at the age of 9, which soon evolved into making vlogs about my day-to-day life. After a few years of vlogging, with 0 luck in making good videos, I decided to combine my hobby of video creation and my love for the automotive space which is where I found my niche.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
When it comes to my passions, cars and video creation have remained at the top of my list since I was a little kid. I have also wanted to be a “YouTuber” and have gone through four different channels until I made the one that I have today. Although I am nowhere near where I want to be yet, switching over to do this as a job instead of just a hobby has been a huge stepping stone. Being able to do content creation full-time has allowed me to go places I had only dreamed of since I was a kid surrounded by the cars I never thought I’d even see in my lifetime. It’s also provided me the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people. But my ride here contained a lot of calculated risks and moments of wanting to give up my dream. Back in my freshman year of college, I decided to stop making videos and posting on social media, because everyone who said I needed to focus on my future and look at getting a “real job” seemed to be right. Then halfway through my sophomore year of college, I got the urge to start making content again but to do it differently than I had ever done before. Then in 2023, I switched to making videos as a career and have been pushing to grow the business so I can try to make the crazy project cars I’ve always dreamed of creating. Hopefully, this can inspire others to not take life so seriously, have fun, but push yourself to be the best at whatever you pursue. I am currently in the works of trying to turn my daily driver into a drift car with no experience of how to build something like that and no experience of how to even drift, but that’s all part of the journey. Breaking out of my comfort zone to try something that has been on my bucket list for years.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Easily the three most impactful skills I wish I had known earlier on are understanding what makes the story engaging not only for you but others who might tune into what you have made, being confident in yourself to take the calculated and necessary risks that may help you succeed, and the absolute most important is networking with other individuals in the field you want to go into. It could be talking to someone who just started or it could be someone very successful in their chosen field but getting different points of view on how people may create and run their business can open up a whole new door for you of how you can improve upon what your building.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I have met some amazing people throughout this journey but the two people, Jackson, and Will from the Captain Crankshaft YouTube channel have not only been amazing friends of mine but have helped me tremendously in learning new skills in creating, improving, and designing my long-form youtube videos. They have also taught me a lot about how to go about different challenges that they have overcome from starting their own channel.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.zachchin.shop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090325098227
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zachchin
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachchin
