Lifestyle Lab’s views on YouTube are rising like your cup of morning coffee.
Matthew Stiver is a mechanical engineer in Guelph, but he also runs a YouTube channel, primarily with coffee-related content.
The channel has gained thousands of subscribers and its videos have amassed more than 20 million views since it started over a decade ago.
He never intended to be a content creator, but Stiver said it began when he bought his first espresso machine while studying at the University of Guelph.
“I got into drinking coffee through my university career and bought my first coffee machine, and I recognized that, especially espresso machines, are difficult things to use,” Stiver said.
Stiver, originally from Ottawa, started making videos on that particular machine as he learned more about it, and it was this kind of content that eventually started gaining some traction.
Stiver has only been creating content on coffee for three to four years even though the channel has existed since 2012. He said it started out as a neat little side hustle, making a dollar a day from YouTube, and it’s only grown from there.
He said his favourite thing about this gig is getting to know the coffee community, locally and globally.
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Stiver said what he thinks makes his content relatable to subscribers is his entire brand.
“This audience that has slowly been growing, we’ve been all learning together as well,” he said. “And I think that is one of the most key parts of what I’ve been able to do is that I’m not teaching from 10 levels above. I’m teaching to people that are at the same level as me or slightly below and I think that allows it to be very effective from a teaching and relatability perspective.”
He said he gives people as much information as possible in a non-biased way to ensure they feel comfortable making a decision.
Stiver said the original concept was to talk about everything he was interested in, covering broad topics like coffee, cars and watches, and becoming more of a lifestyle channel.
While being in the online industry, however, he learned it’s best to specialize in something. He said he still has plans of branching out to other avenues he’s passionate about.
The content regularly features product reviews and comparisons, tips and tricks and how-to videos.
He said creating the videos is time-consuming, but enjoyable.
“I’m not just going off the top of my head. I’m very calculated in the way that I do things and I spend a lot of time scripting that, and then I spend about a week filming the video,” he said. “So doing the talking head and all the associated B-roll that I think people appreciate, particularly my videos.”
The channel has close to 300 videos and a little over 86,000 subscribers.
Stiver’s best advice for someone looking to start their own channel is to just start.
To watch his latest video or learn more, head to Lifestyle Lab’s YouTube page or LifestyleLab.ca.
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