Tyler Oakley
Tyler Oakley
Mathew Tyler Oakley, known as Tyler Oakley, is an American YouTube and podcast personality, humorist, author and activist. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated to LGBT youth, LGBT rights, as well as social issues including healthcare, education, and the prevention of suicide among LGBT youth. Oakley regularly posts material on various topics, including queer politics, pop culture and humor...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionYouTube Star
Date of Birth22 March 1989
CityJackson, MI
CountryUnited States of America
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When I first thought about leaving the traditional route of a 9-to-5 career to pursue full-time YouTube, it was terrifying - not many people were doing it. The thought was I have to have money saved up, because this very likely might fail. From the start, I had to give it my all for it to work.
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The moment I realised anyone could be watching - and this is going to sound so name-droppy - was when Ricky Martin reached out to me on Coming Out Day 2012. The Internet has this massive potential, and you can never know the effect you might have on others by just being yourself.
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I try to surround myself with a good support system. Whether that's other creators or my family or my friends, or even my viewers, who encourage me just as much as I might encourage them and they're just as much a part of my life as they let me be a part of theirs.
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With everything that I've done with YouTube and podcasts for so many years, it's been: you can record it, edit, and then upload that day. With the book and documentary, it's been such a longer process.
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When I was first offered the book deal, I was like, 'I am not a writer. I haven't practiced this.' My approach has been completely stream-of-consciousness, and then edit down, because that's been YouTube for me forever.
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I was recording my audiobook, and it's so weird. You write things, but then to have to say them out loud in front of people feels so different. So when I was recording my audiobook, I was telling an embarrassing story in front of, like, a room full of audio-tech people that I don't know, and I was like 'Oh my God, this is so cringe.'
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Since the beginning, I have always tried to just be me. There have been moments in my career as a YouTuber where I've recognized that I'm trying to emulate something else, or I'm being heavily influenced by a YouTuber or something like that, and I realize that's not what I want to be putting out.
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When I graduated from college, I got a 9-to-5 traditional job doing social media for a company, and I'd spend all day long fighting with the system of getting things approved and the fact that social media has such a quick turnaround. Things had to be very reactive and instant.
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People just want to watch people live their authentic lives and share the good and the bad. You can have fun and be a positive influence and have a good impact. And it can still be entertaining.
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I think a lot of what I wanted to do in 2014 was build a repertoire or a portfolio for what I can do with traditional celebrities or with brands or whatever. Maybe 2015 is the year I start reaching out to people I always dreamed to do stuff with.
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I think that it's really important to step back and to take breaks as a digital creator because every other kind of platform is kind of set up to have seasons or time off or at least a barrier between creator and consumer. You have these set-up boundaries.
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Narcissism has existed for a long time; social media is just a new outlet to express it. Anybody who is going to record themselves and put that on the Internet, hoping people will watch, there is a degree to which that exists, yeah. I don't know if I would call myself a narcissist. I don't necessarily identify with that label.
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Look, nobody is born with a sociology degree, and no one can understand all perspectives. Nobody's going to get it all from the very start. But the Internet at least allows everyone to hear these perspectives at a much faster rate than if we had to do it without it.
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I feel so lucky to partner with Awesomeness to bring my story to the big screen. I started out making videos as a way to connect and am thrilled by the opportunity to share one of the most exhilarating years of my life.