Elton Castee blew up for his viral Vine of him jumping into a public water fountain while yelling “Cannonball!” Now, he does YouTube, and Castee pretty much risks his life in every video.

Castee started his career through Vine, a place where people can post videos doing anything, mostly challenges or something funny. His friend, KC James, had made a challenge with him. Their deal was the first person with ten thousand followers would win the Anaheim Ducks’ playoff tickets. Eventually, one of his videos went viral, which was him jumping into a mall’s water fountain yelling “Cannonball!” Since then, Vine has shut down its servers, but was a very big starting point of many people’s careers today.

Castee had never thought that YouTube would be his career. He states, “I thought of it as a way to travel, have fun and make videos for people around the country.” He started a YouTube channel with his friend and created TFIL. This was about the time Casey Neistat did daily uploads. This eventually became a goal for them, as well as getting a good amount of views. Castee hadn’t been outside the country until TFIL. His brand led him to New Zealand and he has now spent over 250 days abroad. 

YouTube requires a lot more work than you can imagine. For example, editing is by far the most work yet the most rewarding aspect of YouTube. Castee says, “Some videos can be done in about 3 hours, but others have taken me upwards of 30-40 hours. It all comes down to the style you’re aiming for.” YouTube requires a lot of attention and passion if you want to make it big. You simply can’t do it just for ‘social media fame.’ Castee believes, “Being yourself and creating content that is true to yourself, your sense of humor and your passions is the best way to succeed. It may not always be the easiest path, but it’s by far the most rewarding.” 

Castee goes on many adventures for YouTube with his friends. He shares memories with them as well as his fans, and he loves that. He gets to travel the world and do what he enjoys—YouTube. He puts others first by raising money for charities. TFIL is planning a really big project for early 2020 that is completely different from what you might expect. In the end, Castee deserves to be where he is today. “My Youtube channel, TFIL, has allowed me to do some truly incredible things over the years,” says Castee.