Growing A 10+ Million Youtube Following At The Age of 22: Joe Sugg | E172

TL;DR

Joe Sugg recounts his rapid rise from roof thatcher to a 10+ million subscriber YouTuber by age 22, along with the imposter syndrome, anxiety, and burnout that followed. He attributes his ability to cope to always having a safety net (roof thatching), therapy, and finding balance through gardening and nature.

Key insights

• Joe’s transition from a loud, confident child to a timid, shy teenager in secondary school was driven by moving from a 52-pupil primary school to a 1,000+ pupil school, where he used self-deprecation
• He always kept a plan B (roof thatching) as a safety net, which gave him the security to pursue uncertain YouTube success; this dual mindset of visualizing best-case scenarios while also holding self-
• Procrastination stems from the psychological discomfort of not being able to perfectly execute the ideal outcome imagined in one’s head; Joe delays creative projects because starting them rarely match