This creator built his career with a viral video about a mouth retainer

Making a living as a creator shouldn’t be some elusive thing. And what’s the best way to learn how creators are making it work? To go behind-the-scenes. These bi-weekly interview issues are like having coffee with your favorite creators. 

If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about solopreneurship and the creator economy.

Good morning. What I love about the creator space is discovering a massive influencer who I never knew existed but has amassed an enormous audience – from some obscure topic. 

Better yet when that creator is humble, driven by good creative over clicks, and helps others. 

You’re going to love this week’s content creator.

Matthew Watts had long had an affinity with filming and whimsical worlds. He persuaded his parents to film his audition for the Harry Potter movies and started recording eight-second clips on the clunky family camcorder. 

Once Watts hit his early 20s, after struggles with addiction, he went down the “safe” path of finance – but his heart was always in film making. He was working at a bank in the day and creating six-second Vine videos at night. 

He’d hit his stride, racking up millions of views in months, spotting a trend that it was the simple videos with a strong strategy that were going viral, not those with high production value. So, he tested it out with a live video about a retainer that was streamed on Facebook. It took one take and 90 seconds to produce, and it went viral. Nearly 10 years later, it’s still one of Watts best performing videos. 

He applied that same blueprint to a miniseries of content and he’d get millions of views every time. Watts brought to life a whimsical world where fruits and veggies undergo hilarious and educational "surgical" procedures at the fictional Harvest Precision Medical Center. He was having a lot of fun, but he still thought he needed the “security” that came with corporate.

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Watts pushed ahead with his two worlds, finance and film. Vine shut down and he thought his content career was over, but he pivoted to Musically – which was the predecessor to TikTok. The brokerage exams and banking promotions continued, until March 2020 when the world shut down. 

This was his sliding-door moment. Watts went all in on content, and it worked. He currently has 8.7 million subscribers on YouTube, 8.3 million on TikTok, and 1.34 million on Snapchat. 

Watts has coined an acronym for his viral blueprint. “The SHAPE Method has the elements of curiosity, anticipation, and relatability. It goes beyond just having a hook but also pairing it with something that’s also visually and audibly satisfying,” Watts said. 

“It used to be good enough that you could get on YouTube and film yourself talking about something you’re passionate about, and it would eventually find its people – but that’s getting harder to do. It just means we need to get a little more creative and step outside of the box. For example, using objects to illustrate a metaphor.” 

Watts consistently pushes the boundaries of his content, whether it’s crafting puns, developing intricate character backstories or seamlessly integrating brand products into the narrative. 

He takes his creativity and craft seriously, and doesn’t focus on going viral in an extreme, outrageous way. “It’s more about turning inward and having a process that’s going to help you see more of your ideas at once, then bring the best ones to the surface,” he said. He advocates for a phone off, feet in grass approach, rather than taking creative shortcuts through gimmicks or AI. 

Watts was inspired early on by the book, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. “She uses the phrase ‘have an affair with creativity’ and so what I’ve learned to do is focus on my financial stability and then explore little pieces of my creativity as they come up. I follow my heart.” Some projects aren’t profitable, but they can bring a lot of joy, like his OA Show inspired series. “It included copyright elements, so it was never going to turn a profit, but I met people that are still some of my best friends today.”

On evolving style and avoiding stagnation, Watts says to watch for content that gets stale. It happens every few years with his fruit surgery series. “It’s almost like the creation process gets blurry. When I first started the series, the ideas came to me clearly, like using laughing gas or injecting them with a serum that’ll put them to sleep.”

Like coffee beans can reset the senses, creators need pauses to snap out of a slump. He comes back with fresh ideas like filming on a cell phone instead of a professional camera or turning the audio up loud. 

The standard doesn’t drop once you hit the millions. 

“I now have really high expectations, which forces me to reinvent myself even more now, not less.” 

Watts advises content creators to be on as many of the main platforms as possible – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and X/Twitter. The priority platforms will be different for every creator, so he suggests posting it everywhere and see what works best. 

Watts made the mistake of holding back on Instagram, out of fear of being judged by friends and family. He has 79,500 followers on Instagram vs. 8.3 million on TikTok. 

“TikTok has always been a space where people feel a bit more uninhibited. Part of that comes from the face that TikTok was one of the first platforms that didn’t just show content to followers. It showed content to people regardless if you had followers or not, to an audience all over the world. Instagram always felt like a highlight reel.” 

He's tried to re-upload content to Instagram, but it was five years too late. It’s hard to try and catch up on a platform. 

For successful content creators, Watts suggests spending time on a regular basis in self-reflection. Take time out to nurture your creativity, spend time in silence, and step away from screens. Don’t lose touch with your creativity, watch out for microdosing dopamine, and spend more time in the real world. 

For aspiring content creators, evaluate your risk tolerance and make a plan to go all-in, with a financial safety net in place. Tune into the surges of energy, listen to your intuition, and learn from other creators ahead of you. 

Anyone can turn content into a career.

As always, hit reply if something in here hits home.

Speak soon,
Amanda

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