A role model, a friend, a figure. Casey Neistat.

Role Model, by Kyle Yu. A role model is not someone to be obsessed over - it shouldn't be someone you try to be - or someone you want to become. A role model is a figure, an individual, a personality you identify yourself with. A similarity you find in character, action, or life path.

Who do you admire in the world? Why? (this can be a person or an organization Casey Neistat. Neistat is best known for his work as a content creator on the video-uploading platform – YouTube. His (former) daily videos exuded an uninhibited and unique quality that only served as an extension of his passion and character. One quality I admire most is his value in being an individual. All of his work is calculated and calibrated to utmost precision and quality, which provides extremely stimulating content, all while keeping simplicity and class.

Are they solving problems, creating new solutions, technologies, changing the world, making a difference, in a way you admire?

Neistat uses his recognition as a wildly popular YouTube personality to enable many of his ideals onto society – whether this is truly beneficial for ourselves is arguable, but I choose to agree with him.

One of his larger impacts was through a new social media platform dubbed ‘Beme’. The premise of this tool was to share moments and events in it’s most authentic form – without any edits, filters, or cuts. He believed that social media today allows us to alter the way we want to be perceived, or the way we want others to be perceived. He believed that social media was a digital or virtual version of ourselves as people. Instead it has become this highly “sculpted, calculated, calibrated” version of who we are – our eyes become bluer, our skin becomes more fair. I believe the problem with social media is that it allows us to carefully choose and portray a version of ourselves, as opposed to the reality of things. Although this social media application was not the most successful to say the least, it has conceptualised the thinking of his (over) 5 million-subscriber base.

If you think of what this person or organization has achieved, what seems to define success? Have they had multiple successes? how have new initiatives or projects built on older ones?

Success in Neistat’s career is defined by “Work(ing) Harder” – a quote he tattooed on his arm to remind himself to keep progressing in his career. Recently, Neistat announced the conclusion to his daily video blog on YouTube, a questionably bold decision given its growing success in the last 18 months. He explained his decision was due to a loss of excitement and drive despite his success, and so he plans on “taking the next vine” and progress onto the next project at hand. Shortly after, he announced the acquisition of his company, and his new partnership with CNN to lead a digital media brand.

Neistat lives on the notion to ABC: “Always be closing” – an adage from Alec Baldwin’s character in Glengarry Glen which explains that someone must “be persistent but also know when to cut losses and move on to another prospect.” (Another one of his Tattoos)