From Lecturer to 876K Subscribers: The Beau Miles Story
A PhD project on sea kayaking became a YouTube channel. Beau Miles quit lecturing in 2021 and now has 876K subscribers for backyard adventures.
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Updates, featured creators, athletes, and more from the Yaff team.
From Useless Robots to 2.9M Subscribers: Simone Giertz
Her robots were built to fail. When sponsors walked, fans paid her directly, and a Kickstarter raised $593K. Simone Giertz now has 2.86M subscribers.
From Food Blogger to 12M Subscribers: Mark Wiens
He taught English in Bangkok to pay the bills, then a Thai food ebook let him go full time. Today Mark Wiens has 12M YouTube subscribers.
From Car Detailer to 4.3M Subscribers: Peter Santenello
He ran a car detailing business for nearly 18 years, then started filming at 40 with a GoPro. Today Peter Santenello has 4.31M YouTube subscribers.
From JET Teacher to 3.3M Subscribers: Abroad in Japan
A Leeds Castle porter moved to rural Japan to teach English in 2012 and started filming. Today Abroad in Japan has 3.29M YouTube subscribers.
From Office Job to 1.9M Subscribers: Eva zu Beck
An Oxford graduate quit a London media job in 2017 to vlog from Pakistan. Today she hosts a Nat Geo show and has 1.93M YouTube subscribers.
From Printing Shop to 4.5M Subscribers: Kara and Nate
A preschool teacher and a printing-company owner left Nashville for one year of travel. Ten years and 100+ countries later: 4.55M subscribers.
From Broke Waiter to 12M Subscribers: The Sonny Side Story
Sonny Side flunked out of three colleges, moved to Asia with about $2,000 and built Best Ever Food Review Show to 12.2M subscribers. How he got there.
From Accountant to 2M Subscribers: The Lost LeBlanc Story
Christian LeBlanc quit an accounting job, flew one-way to Thailand with a GoPro and built Lost LeBlanc to 2.29M subscribers. How he did it and got paid.
From Project 30 to 10M Subscribers: The Yes Theory Story
Yes Theory began as 30 challenges in 30 days in Montreal with 1,500 subscribers. How Seek Discomfort grew to 10M subscribers and a fan-funded brand.
From English Teacher to 7.5M Subscribers: Drew Binsky
Drew Binsky taught English in Seoul, quit in 2015 to travel full time and visited all 197 countries. How a gifted camera became a 7.5M-subscriber channel.
From Oil Rigs to 2M Subscribers: Sailing La Vagabonde
Riley saved for 8 years on oil rigs to buy a yacht he couldn't sail. Elayna picked up his unused camera. Viewer support turned it into a 2M-subscriber channel.
From Mowing Lawns to 11M Subscribers: Primitive Technology
John Plant mowed lawns and built huts in the bush as a hobby. His silent Primitive Technology videos grew to 11M subscribers, backed by fans on Patreon.
From NASA to 84M Subscribers: The Mark Rober Story
Mark Rober spent nine years as a NASA engineer, posted a Halloween costume video in 2011, and built an 84.3M-subscriber channel and a subscription business.
From Plumber to 13M Subscribers: The Colin Furze Story
Colin Furze left school at 16 to be a plumber, filmed his backyard inventions for fun, and built a 13.3 million-subscriber YouTube channel. Here's how.
Best Affiliate Programs for Travel Creators (2026)
Travel-creator affiliate programs already on the Yaff blog: Wise, Mindtrip, Saily, SafetyWing, Epidemic Sound and SwellPro.
Members-Only Photo Journal: Jack Whitaker's Voyage
Jack Whitaker posts a Florida-to-Panama voyage as a members-only photo journal on Yaff: two free chapters, US$2.99 Basic Access, and a US$24.99 thank-you tier.
Membership Ideas for YouTubers: Luke Bosworth
Luke Bosworth fills the gap between YouTube uploads with behind-the-scenes clips, extra interviews, trip photo dumps and reflections on Yaff. 99 items since July 2025 — 65 photo dumps, 29 videos, 5 posts — across three USD memberships.
Turn a Big Trip Into an Ebook: Sailing Uno
Sailing Uno turned a 44ft Mediterranean and Atlantic crossing into a US$5 ebook on Yaff, with free passage logs and members-only free-diving videos and photo dumps. Here's how sailing and travel creators can do the same.
Build the tools your audience needs without becoming a developer
AI can now build the custom tools your audience asks for. Croft hosts those small apps — with a login and a private link you share only with the right people.
Wise Affiliate Program 2026: Cookie, Commission, How to Join
If your audience travels, works remotely or lives outside their home country, they're probably paying too much to move money. That's the problem Wise solves and why this affiliate program converts well even for small creators
Growing Up on Camera: Jack Whitaker Is Building Something of His Own
Jack Whitaker is in one of the rarest positions in the creator economy: he was born into an audience. The question - and it's one you sense him working through in his content - is what to do with it that feels genuinely his own?
Already Love SwellPro? Their Ambassador Program Takes It Further
If the SwellPro affiliate program caught your attention, it's worth knowing there's a level above it and the perks are significantly better.
Here's one for the Sailing Content Creators Out There!
Most drone brands make gear for land. SwellPro makes gear for the water, and their affiliate program is one of the few in the marine and adventure space that genuinely rewards both the creator and the buyer.