We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kitty Monk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kitty, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

One reason I attend conventions is I love them, and because it’s fun to interact with fans, since you never know who you’re gonna see. My first convention was Puchicon during Mother’s Day weekend, and I made a lot that month, probably the most I’ve ever made on Youtube, and I put it all back into the business via merch. I live with my aunt, and she works closely with this company called 4Imprint (for certain!) and she suggested I give stuff out to fans, so I went with pens because they’re easy to give. I bought about five hundred for three hundred dollars and I got about fifty left, but I’ve given them out to so many amazing people, it’s amazing to see their faces light up, even if it’s something as simple as a pen.

I used to give them out to EVERYBODY who attended my panels, but I’m almost empty, and well, when I did a Beavis and Butt-Head panel at Connecticon during 2023, I threw a pen at a guy and it landed in a… very special place. So now I mostly only give them out to my viewers, or use them myself when I need one. I used one at Disneyland last time I went and when Maleficent was giving her signature, it ran out of ink and she screamed “it’s as dry as an old bone! Does anyone else have a pen?!” Well, don’t worry, Your Excellency, I have another identical pen!

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

I’ve always wanted to be a Youtuber, in some way, shape or form, but I think I got serious about it in high school. That’s when I first got interested in video essays and analyzing cartoons. Back then, I got interested in my first fandom, Steven Universe, so when I was home sick from school one day, I started watching a lot of SU Youtubers, like the Roundtable, SliceOfOtaku, and Jakeneutron. Heck, except for SliceOfOtaku, they all follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and it’s amazing! In college, I was by myself a lot and going through mental health problems, so I would do this thing where I would “talk” to the TV, as in watch an episode and say what I didn’t like about it and write that down. Then, I was more seriously interested in shows like Bojack Horseman and King of the Hill. And then what changed my life and made me realize I could seriously do this was watching Shadydoorags. He used to cover a lot of Bojack Horseman, but one topic he didn’t get to that I felt like he could’ve was Hank After Dark, where a well known actor is accused of something but nobody says what it was, and I thought it was a huge disservice not to at least say it. I wrote a short script on that, and while I’ve never recorded it, I just kept writing and writing.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I’m a Youtuber, and I live on the East Coast, so I don’t really get to see a lot of your coworkers or business partners. The weird thing is, you only meet on the Internet, but you have such great conversations and connections, it’s almost like you know each other. Still, I have met a few Youtubers in the wild, I guess you could say. One of my fellow Youtubers, Pedanticat, lives near Animate!Raleigh, and I was a panelist that weekend, so we met up for the first time, and it was such a weird feeling. When I was at LVL Up Expo, I met Tomotosauce, who makes Hellaverse videos, and he recognized me, and it felt so weird!

Still, I am friends with many Youtubers and have collaborated a lot, since it’s a community and we should support one another! But not every Youtuber does a face reveal. I could walk past them on the street and not even know it’s them.

But when you’re at cons, it’s kind of expected. The weirdest was Sacramento. I couldn’t really do anything because Sacramento is so car heavy, so I checked out early, went to a restaurant, and then went to the airport to finish a video. And then a man walked up to me, asked for my name, and explained he was one of my friends, and fellow Youtuber, Reviewed2Death! We never expected to meet! But I think the best word for it is weird. You know all about them, you know their voice, but since most video essayists don’t use their faces, it’s weird hearing a voice you know coming out of somebody you didn’t expect.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

People think with Youtube that you need to have all this fancy equipment to get started, since all the big Youtubers have one. The thing is, you really don’t at first, since it’s always great to be frugal, and unfortunately, there’s no guarantee you’ll blow up overnight. I mean, it took me four months to get monetized and a year after that to make something more than a few hundred a month. I first started out in my basement. See, it had a walk in closet, so I’d record in there with voice memos, a free app. And then I’d edit on my computer with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, both of which are free. When it comes to avatars, you just gotta know where to look. Try Twitter or Instagram or even Tumblr, commissions are always open! Then once you start to get a little bigger, invest in better software and microphones! My current setup is in my sister’s closet while she’s off doing her journey of physical therapy, with one microphone and a sound stand, and Audacity! Audacity is free, BTW! But I do have a backup mic just in case, and for travel. My current software is FinalCutPro, since that’s how I learned how to edit, and they usually give student discounts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youtube.com/@KittyMonk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitty_monk_the_youtuber/
• Twitter: https://x.com/monk_kitty
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KittyMonk

Image Credits

SetNYC
SacAnime
Rob Wayne