We were lucky to catch up with Destin Troyce recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Destin, thanks for joining us today. What’s one of the most important lessons you learned in school?
When I was 15 years old and in the 9th grade, my marine science teacher Mr.Sternchein gave me the best advice that still to this day motivates me and he said “work hard now or work harder when you are older” , I never forgot this advice because it taught me the importance of delaying instant gratification for a great reward. My biggest goal in life was to be a famous entertainer with money and influence so I started manifesting it at 15 and working towards it by utilizing the internet that same year because I knew that life would bless me if I started working hard now.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My brand TROYCETV was started by me when I was 15 years old, I started with the intention of being discovered and making my dreams come true. My ultimate goal was to be a well-established entertainer in Los Angeles, but I don’t come from money or nepotism, so I had to build everything from scratch. It was insanely hard but it was well worth it.
I started it by myself in my bedroom , using my Android phone and lamps in my mother’s living room and in my mother’s master bathroom because the lighting was amazing in there. I forced myself to post at least 1-2 times a week nonstop until my youtube channel took off, my youtube channel took off in only 2 years and by the time I got to my senior year of high school people were recognizing me in class, hallways, parking lots, at my part-time job as a dishwasher and at bus stops.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I used all the little resources I had and made a dollar out of 15 cents. I could not afford a camera so I used my phone and windows movie maker on a old computer up until I gained my first 1,000 subscribers, I eventually offered to do people online school in exchange for money and I used the funds to buy my first professional camera from a classmate for $150 during my 11th-grade year of high school . I eventually was able to monetize my content on YouTube, used my brother’s social and bank accounts (he was 18), and had my first YouTube check funneled to his account and it was about $120 and I used it to by my first ring light but my sister stole it before I had a chance to use it because she was evil , jealous, a decade older than me and couldn’t find a job because she lacked skills and had a criminal record at 26 years old. I stayed calm, worked hard, got another check, and had it shipped to an aunt’s address and that led to me creating more quality content and my channel took off 3-4 months after getting a ring light the summer after my 11th-grade year. One thing led to another, I bought my first MacBook at 100,000 followers and moved out before the end of my senior year of high school.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
I have built an audience of over 700,000 subscribers as of the present date and I am blessed to have such a large amount of engagement because I was transparent with my followers about my struggles, my family issues, and my mental health and I have always made it my business to never switch up on anyone regardless of how successful and famous I become. People respect people they can relate and connect to not people who put up an act to look grand in front of millions of people. I am not fearful of judgement and I know who I am so I could never put on a front to impress or keep people around me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troycetv/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TROYCETV
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Xp-rrX__J6HxvHlhtIitQ
- Other: My Linktree to my details about me , my socials , podcast and story https://linktr.ee/troycetv?utm_source=linktree_admin_share
Image Credits
PHOTOS BE @ITSBEEPHOTOZ Edits by @KOLIRBABY