We were lucky to catch up with Aaron Villalobos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Aaron, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I knew early on in 2019 after watching other Youtubers in the hip hop space like Helloyassine, BlackySpeakz, imDOntai, NoJumper, Akademiks etc that I could be doing the same thing they’re doing, but with my own twist on it. I felt as if I could add to those conversations and bring a breathe of fresh air to the Hip Hop youtube scene. I was confident in my personality that I could be entertaining in some way. (Keep in mind I was doing youtube since 2009 on another channel, just a different niche of videos.) BUT, during college I always wanted to do SOMETHING in the creative field. Originally, my goal was to become a graphic designer for an established company. Whether that was working on their whole branding, social media, advertising, you name it. I grinded for years after college with a bunch of unpaid internships. After working for a start up company from late 2020 to summer of 2021, I quit because they were taking too long to pay me a salary with a bunch of false promises. Keep in mind, since early 2019 I was doing Youtube as a hobby the whole time. In early 2022, I landed my first salary job (or so I thought) for a start up company named Craze. After just one week of working for them, they ghosted me and I had to basically beg them to get paid for that week. I knew right then and there, that I was going to take on Youtube full-time. Nothing was going to stop me, and maybe all the things I’ve learned since college/internships, was meant to be. Maybe it was meant for me to integrate those things into my youtube channel. Whether thats video editing/thumbnails whatever.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Puerto Rican kid from the Southside of Williamsburg Brooklyn. Always been a down-to-earth person, who’d try to make the room laugh and have a positive spirit. Growing up with parents who were overly protective of me and made sure I stayed away from the streets and to stay in school (I never missed a day in middle school). I had a huge passion for video games and wrestling (still do). Big Yankee/knicks fan, and always loved hip hop since 50 Cent blew up on the scene in ’03. To be honest, I went to college at City Tech only because it was free. I had full-blown financial aid. Shoutout to my parents baby! Going to college for graphic design was a choice that I’m so glad I made. I saw that major and was like hmmmm… sounds easy and fun. I never was the book-smart type of kid. I always loved to draw/paint, and just appreciated any form of art/media. I’ve worked a TON of retail jobs, alongside catering and being an Uber driver. None of those things even come close to the love that I have for my current Youtube channel, itsAaronSpeaking. It’s my baby. Made it from scratch (I was originally called ANVMediaReviews for like 8 months), and will continue to grind and work on my brand until the day I’m satisfied.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Great question. Appreciation. That has to be the most rewarding part of being a creative. Yeah the money is great, and the views/subs are cool, but it’s nothing like having actual people DM you or tell you in person how much they love your work. It keeps you motivated and gets you out of that mental block that you’re constantly dealing with, whether thats stressing out about what’s next, the views aren’t what you wanted, etc. Having people tell me that my work ethic/videos themselves give them joy in their life, means the world to me.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Be in their faces like a freckle. I’m a little old school when it comes to marketing yourself. I remember people being on the street handing out their mixtapes, or people actually going from door to door to promote whatever business their trying to spread. So I just took those methods/mindset and brought it to the digital world. When you’re first starting out, it’s mostly your family and friends. Create an Instagram for whatever brand you are creating. Spam them your stuff, post all over social media. You have to start somewhere. Getting those first 100 followers/subs is the hardest part. Everyone thinks it’s just a phase, or they don’t take you serious enough to believe it. Until you actually start proving to them that no, this isn’t a joke. This is a career path I’m taking and they have no choice but to ride along with you on this journey. Keep promoting and believe in your work, because literally no one else will if you don’t. Eventually you don’t need to spam in their dm’s anymore. If you ever feel like giving up, always remember why you started in the first place.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsaaronspeaking/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsAaronSpeaking