Today we’d like to introduce you to Javan Hamilton

Hi Javan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

Well, I’ve been interviewed before as a freelance motion designer and video producer in the Houston, Texas area. Since then, I took a day job as a senior staffer on Capitol Hill, where in my free time, I’ve fallen back in love with commercial aviation and became immersed in passenger rail. My mom is a veteran flight attendant for a mega carrier here in the United States, so I basically grew up in airports. I launched “Birdwatching,” a plane spotting and flight video series on my YouTube channel in 2020, where I wouldn’t begin doing videos in earnest until 2023. Before that, my channel was nothing but production reels, résumé videos and corny game show nonsense that I now resent.

Marcus is a dear friend of mine of nearly two decades, and a researcher for a global institution based here in the Mid-Atlantic. In passing, soon after I moved to DC in 2022, he made a joke about me doing a “Trainspotting” a la “Birdwatching.” Kandi Burruss is someone I highly respect in that she takes any idea and turns it into a reality. Thus, “Trainspotting” was born. From the flights and train rides, I extracted segments that could be looped into hours-long ambiences called, “Vibes,” and those three products—“Birdwatching,” “Trainspotting” and “Vibes”—are now known as The Travel Series. So when I’m not producing for Washington leaders, I’m out using my past journalism experience to explore train routes and commercial aircraft for fellow enthusiasts and discerning travelers.

My videos are aimed at those over 30 years old.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I’ve been a late bloomer all my life. I had a growth spurt a good year or so after most of my male classmates did back in middle school (more than 20 years ago; I’m 34, almost 35 now). And career for me didn’t really take off until I was around 30. So despite my skills, despite my experience, despite my acumen, I’ve always had a bit of a delayed victory than one would expect. But then a Telly Award came in 2021 from my eight years executive producing “MyScene TV” in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Then I wound up with a job on Capitol Hill in 2022 nearly out of nowhere, which is doing MASSIVE things for me. But then I was doing these Travel Series videos…despite all of my effort…and they just weren’t landing!

I was a video blogger on YouTube back in the good ol’ days of Phil DeFranco and What The Buck—2009, for reference. So fast forward to the 2020s, and I’m still playing by the old rules where you post a video and move on. Hell, my game show videos would get a boatload of engagement with zero effort! I could make a selfie video of me saying, “Game show,” and I could get 1,000 views in a few hours. What I didn’t understand was *algorithms.* I had a decade’s worth of game show videos on my channel, some with nearly 200,000 views, and the YouTube algorithm was ready to send out similar content. So anything outside of that would tank by comparison. I won’t go into detail, but I posted a set of videos in late 2023 honoring the 40th anniversary of a certain quiz show. I did a 3D mockup of a broadcast set, as well as a heavily-arranged cover of the theme song, all of which I had been working on intermittently since 2015. The videos were on FIRE. The major studio that owns the show blocked it…a parody…on copyright.

Eight years of work down the drain.

That was the prayer I needed, because my travel videos are now igniting. I couldn’t be more thankful for that hidden blessing, and that’s why I said “resent” in the previous question, because appeasing a certain section of the internet—albeit loyal—held me back for longer than necessary. It was time for me to move on. And I have.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

Professionally, I’m a fish out of water on the Hill using a decade of journalism experience and 16 years of video production experience in a brand new arena: politics. But deep down, I’m a traveller using that same experience not only to share my interests, but to guide others looking for more information on aircraft, airlines, train services and what have you. I’m not a clout chaser out here with redundant social media accounts, a Patreon and things like that, asking for money. I’m in the air and on the rail simply because I love it. So my experience and the passion behind what I do is what sets me apart.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?

I’ve always had “odd” interests—“odd” until I realized how popular plane spotting and railfanning are. But I’ve always been an introvert as well. So that’s part of why I book upgraded tickets for my travels, because despite my worldly curiosity, I do have strict boundaries and I like my space. So I’m usually one of the first to board, and I’m partial to a seat to myself or a section with only two seats: myself and other passenger. And lounges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://javanhamilton.tv/travel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/JavanHamiltonTV

Image Credits
Star Roberts