Casey Neistat is a cultural and social media icon. His YouTube channel has over four million subscribers and his new social media app company, Beme, is taking the world by storm. He lives his life on his own terms and it clearly shows through his creativity and the passion he has for his work.
1. His creativity knows no bounds.
If you spend a bit of time watching Mr. Neistat’s videos, you’ll notice that no one is exactly the same. With daily vlogging, it’s easy for the videos to become rote copies of each other, day after day. However, Casey Neistat somehow manages to keep it fresh every day. Combined with aerial drone footage, his cinematography skills with traditional camera gear, and his proficiency with his editing software, each vlog is like a little adventure.
2. He’s a social media pioneer.
His first stab at social media entrepreneurship came with the production of a video called iPod’s Dirty Secret in 2003, which called Apple Co. out on their lack of a battery replacement program for their iPod line of mp3 players. Next, he started a film series with his brother. "The Neistat Brothers" is an autobiographical television series on HBO that chronicles the lives of Casey and his older brother, Van. The series was written, filmed and directed by the brothers and then bought by HBO for around two million dollars. They continued this success with a series of viral videos including a video titled Bike Lanes. In Bikes Lanes, Casey is ticketed for not riding his bike in designated bike lanes in New York City, but he can’t do so because they’re always blocked. In response to the ticket that he received, he filmed a video of him riding his bike in the bike lanes, and hilariously running into every obstacles in his way, ranging from traffic cones to moving trucks. He then parlayed his love and skills for filmmaking into a daily vlogging YouTube channel, which now has four million followers.
3. His entrepreneurial spirit.
Alongside his friend and business partner Matt Hackett, Casey Neistat has created an app called Beme. He designed the app as an alternative to the highly edited social media content found elsewhere. The app allows users to create an unedited video ranging from two to eight seconds. As soon as the video stops recording, the videos are then immediately uploaded and shared with the user's followers. Other users can respond by sending pictures of themselves, videos, or reaction images.
4. He gives sage advice.
5. Never settle.
The one thing that he stresses is that settling is for the birds. It's really great that you've reached your goal, but now what? Do you stay content with where you are, or do you set a new more ambitious goal and chase after that? The idea is just to keep building and building on your dreams, desires, and goals. Once you cross the finish line, go farther and go harder.
It goes to say that if you don't go after it, you'll never get it, and if you never try, you'll never know. It's these kinds of lessons that Casey reminds us of day in and out through his amazing work and storied life. Don't strive to be just like him, because that helps no one, but take that advice and run with it, and become the best you that you can be.
