Check Out Shev and Dev:
YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook
Back in 2020, South African couple Shevelle and Devan, known as Shev and Dev, quit their jobs and moved to Thailand. During three months of COVID lockdown, they decided to start a YouTube channel. After figuring it out on the go, they settled into a clear goal: to experience as many cultures and cuisines as possible.
And we’re so lucky they chose to take us along for the ride.
Their passion is infectious. They love the adventure and perspective gained from travel and generously share all the lessons and excitement along the way. What sets them apart as travel creators is their in-depth mode of travel. While some travel vloggers may visit more places, Shev and Dev have often chosen to settle into communities for extended periods of time.
And while they have the goal to visit all 197 countries, it’s clear that they won’t be satisfied with a cursory view of each.
Their hard work has paid off. After three years of hard work, and a little help from TubeBuddy, Shev and Dev have 440,000 dedicated subscribers on YouTube and were runner-ups in the vlogging category of our Emerging Creator Awards.
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Q: Tell us about the journey that brought you to where you are today as a content creator.
A: By accident? Haha! Well… we had sold everything we owned and quit our jobs in South Africa to travel the world for a year and then figure out what’s next for us, as we hit Thailand soil, we went straight into Covid Lockdown for 3 months, one day, Dev said hey, I created a YouTube Channel, I (Shev) said, WHY?! We have never ever made a video before. We started to make these little travel videos around Thailand that were Terrible! But then, we made another and another. All using an old iPhone X.
A hotel in Thailand approached us and asked us to make a video for them. Us, at 200 subscribers had said oh I am so sorry but this is obviously a mistake. They said, no, we want YOU! We spent 2 nights at this all inclusive beach hotel and did not stop working, we filmed every angle over and over, practiced what to say, made mistakes and made more mistakes. On the third day Dev asked me, did you enjoy that? I said, Absolutely! We then took it upon ourselves to take this “Youtube Thing” more seriously.
After 1 year, we hit 1000 subscribers, the next year we hit 100,000 and the next year we hit 400,000. The Journey has been an absolute whirlwind of navigating the streets of Delhi to climbing to Mount Everest Base camp to eating some insanely exotic street food in the Philippines, we fell in love with meeting locals, making videos, telling different stories and having each day as a new experience and we would have not done any of this if it weren’t for Youtube.
Youtube has changed our lives in a short space of time and we still feel like we are just getting started!
Q: How would you describe your brand as a content creator?
A: I would say, we share our experiences around the world as if you were right beside us, we always want to share the real, raw and most importantly FUN adventures around the world, food, learning a new language, challenging ourselves over and over again would be our go to! The more exciting, the better!
We have traveled to over 10 different countries in the last 12 months showcasing a country for its true essence and beauty and realness!
Q: What are the biggest challenges you face as a content creator?
A: We do feel pressure to show up everywhere and how to keep staying relevant on the ever changing social media platforms, TikTok is different, Youtube is different. Instagram is different.
It really pushed our boundaries in terms of having to create different types of content for different viewers while still maintaining our original style of shooting videos and still enjoying the process of constant adaptation. Nothing is stagnant and that is exciting but challenging.
Q: What advice would you offer to someone just starting out as a content creator?
A: Shoot a video you enjoy! Shoot a video in your style and most importantly just start! It seems intimidating and we all start off not knowing everything, but as you make more videos, you improve more and more each day! Learn on the job but start first! Make a video, if its not great, then make another and keep going! 🙂
Q: Shev and Dev, what has been your proudest moment as a content creator so far? Why was it so meaningful to you?
A: When we reached 100,000 subscribers, I remember asking our friends and family to subscribe (To pretty please subscribe so we could reach 1000 subscribers) When we reached a 100,000 we both cried and cried! We did it! We really did it, Having that sense of accomplishment was an indescribable feeling.
The next proudest moment was reaching Mount Everest Base Camp, it was blood, sweat and tears in every literal way. We could not believe we were capable of reaching 5364m (17 598 ft) almost top of the world! That was all because of our Youtube channel.
If it weren’t for youtube, I doubt we would have even attempted this, let alone make a documentary, capturing every moment of realness and struggle we encountered! We felt so proud that we get to do this because of our job. It is something we talk about almost every day.
Q: What gives you energy as a content creator? What takes your energy?
A: Seeing something new every single day! Doing things we never thought we were capable of and knowing how many exciting, new opportunities await us, there is so much to do and see in the world, that feeling of the unknown waiting to be discovered gives us energy!
Editing takes energy and so does applying for visas! As a South African our travel is sometimes limiting, but we do the work and research and eventually find a way to make it happen 🙂
Q: What misconceptions about content creators do you wish you could dispel?
A: That everyday is a vacation. That content creators relax and have no stress compared to a “real job” We wish more people knew that we have worked 100 times harder now than we did at our 9-5 jobs, we never have weekends or vacations to do nothing, maybe sometimes it looks like a highlight reel but we hope more creators get recognition for their efforts and hard work.
Q: What is your ultimate goal as a creator? What steps are you taking to get there?
A: To see 197/197 countries in the world, visit all 7 wonders of the world and all 7 continents. To do a challenge in each country and to keep making content as the content world evolves, the more the scene evolves, the more we work to adapt, level up and keep creating no matter what.
Q: How did you discover TubeBuddy and what made you decide to try it?
A: We discovered TubeBuddy pretty much at the beginning of our Youtube journey, using helpful tags and researching good SEO scores and doing title research, we use TubeBuddy every day!
Q: How has TubeBuddy helped you grow your channel and improve your content?
A: We learn a lot about being searchable and discoverable with TubeBuddy, it really helps us not only make good content but making sure we are being found online is a huge deal for us.
Q: What is your favorite TubeBuddy feature?
A: We love the Title research score, searching clever words to use in our captions as wel as helpful tags that enable us to be found and searchable. We also use TubeBuddy to find content we are interested in and enjoy watching! Also, a neat feature is keeping track of all of our achievements, especially when we hit milestones, TubeBuddy never forgets to remind us of how far we have come!
Q: And lastly, Shev and Dev, how would you describe TubeBuddy to a fellow creator?
A: Essential tool for Youtubers, to help maximize performance of videos and result in success for your channel as well as find helpful key words and enticing titles and the right hashtags your video needs for the ultimate successful performance.
Thanks to Jeff for taking the time to share your thoughts and for using TubeBuddy. We can’t wait to see what’s next in the world of physical media!
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