Meet Kalie Chebib

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalie Chebib.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Kalie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ever since I was ten years old, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to edit videos and create content online. I know that sounds so millenial of me, but it was true! I started creating content on YouTube in 2009, at the age of 11 or 12. I was really good at it! I grew a small audience of 4,000 subscribers in just a year. As I started to grow up, my school, friends, and after school activity life got in the way, and eventually, I began to get tired of making videos. As my teen and young adult life began to pass me by, I always wondered what life would have been like for me if I stuck it out with YouTube. Some of the friends I made online ended up gaining millions of followers and moving out to LA.

In 2018, I ended up dropping out of the University of Georgia. When I dropped out of school, I felt so defeated and lost. The thing that had been a positive, consistent passion in my life was creating videos. So I started making videos again. My channel has grown to almost 100, 000 subscribers. In August of 2019, I started my own video editing business. I edit for content creators around the world like myself. Since August, my clientele has grown and I have blossomed into a much more fine-tuned video editor! And to my surprise, my business has actually taken off. Today, I work as a video editor, content creator, and podcast host. I couldn’t be happier!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Growing up, I always felt like an outsider to my peers in school. Being bullied was bad enough, but feeling like I was so different and having a hard time relating to my friends at school was the hardest part. That is why I turned to the internet. I made friends who were just like me, who liked the same things I did, and who shared a passion with me. When I initially quit making videos, it was hard. I felt like a piece of me was missing. In 2018 when I started making videos again, I felt whole again.

YouTube culture is a very fast-paced environment. Turn around time is very fast and trends can become stale in a day’s time. The road to growing numbers on YouTube is extremely difficult and often heartbreaking. Sometimes you upload a video that you poured your heart, soul, and 1000 hours into and it doesn’t perform as well as you want it to. Sometimes the most random videos you upload get pushed by the YouTube algorithm and gain a lot of views. It can be tricky playing the game that is the algorithm. This job is a lot of stress and long hours. There are a lot of times where I question if this is really where I want to be. At the end of the day, despite all the stress, this is exactly where I am meant to be.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I edit videos for content creators on YouTube. My clients will send me their raw footage and expect me to turn it into a finely edited piece of comedy. I specialize in crazy meme-like edits, facial distortion, and sound effects. Overall, I am trusted to take someone’s raw footage and turn it into something funny and enjoyable for the average YouTube audience. I stand out as an editor because I know what audiences on YouTube like. I know exactly what kind of video is going to do well online. I took my knowledge from being on the internet since I was ten years old, along with my 10+ years of video editing knowledge and monetized that. I am most proud of the fact that I am 100% self-made. I didn’t finish school and I have had no help. I built my YouTube channel, video editing business, and podcast from the ground up.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a very shy child. I always knew I had more to offer than I allowed myself to give, I just didn’t know what that was exactly. Then I found the internet and YouTube and all of that changed. Being on YouTube made me more confident in my real life and allowed me to grow into the person I am today. I would not be the person I am today without YouTube. It takes a special person to be an idiot on the internet, and I’m happy to say I am perfectly content with that role.

Contact Info:

• Other: http://youtube.com/kaliechebib

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