We were lucky to catch up with Doug Des Autels recently and have shared our conversation below.
Doug, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you manage your own social media?
I manage my own social media accounts, No one else could represent me better than myself. Since the very beginning I have always responded to comments/messages. I feel that its important to interact with viewers/supporters on my accounts,
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a lifelong skateboarder. I was pursuing a skateboarding career the traditional way, but that was tough to get traction. Then social media came out. I saw a chance to reach more people. I wanted to show the world skateboarding through my eyes. Up to this point all skateboarding content was from magazines and videos you could buy.. I wanted to show my friends and I having a blast skateboarding. This was before revenue was possible from social media. I would film/edit videos. My goal was to get others stoked on skateboarding. As my skateboarding channel grew so did I. I used to have very low self confidence. I have a lisp and a stutter. It made me self conscious. As youtube grew it got more demanding for certain types of videos. Viewers wanted to see vlogs and unboxing videos, I was comfortable skateboarding on camera but not being in front of the camera talking. It was a rough start but I went for it. I got better and better on camera. Being able to be in front of the camera is one of the things I am proud of.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
My first video uploaded to my channel was my sponsor me video. Before youtube you would put your sponsor me video on a vhs tape and mail to your favorite companies in hopes of getting sponsored. Putting it on youtube was a short cut. Now I could email companies my video. This cut down on cost & time. That video went viral. I picked up sponsors and my channel started getting a following. After that I built up my audience more by being real & genuine. My content was never faked or scripted. I just wanted to show the world how good my friends were, and how much fun we were having. The viewers loved the vibes. Then I was always interactive with viewers replying to their comments.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
My side hustle is teaching skateboarding classes. It all started when I was hired by my home town recreation department. Then I got hired by a local YCMA. I’ve been teaching now for 20 years. One Summer I got a job doing skateboarding camps around the world at US Military bases. I was sent to Texas, Guam, Japan, Germany, & Turkey. It was so much fun. I currently teach classes at the Skateboarding Hall Of Fame, a local teen center, and I offer private lessons as well. As for milestones, I’ve traveled the world and seen people fall in love with skateboarding through lessons.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dougdesautels
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/dougdeautels
- Twitter: https://x.com/dougdesautels
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/amskater
Image Credits
Brian Ambs, Molly Gorman, Aaron Austin