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  CHALLENGE

  #MIRANDAFORRICKY

  In honor of the queen herself, take a selfie in your best Miranda Sings costume. Make sure to really smear that lipstick!

  CHALLENGE

  #PIZZAFORRICKY

  Buy a premade pizza crust and create the most disgusting pizza you can dream up.

  HEALTH

  You know what would be so cool? Running a marathon. You know what I have no time to do? Run a marathon.

  I knew someone in college who ran one. I watched her train for months for the 26.2-mile big day, and the dedication and focus it took her was insane. People who are new to running are supposed to train for around six months and start out by logging fifteen to twenty miles per week. That’s just to start. You lose a lot of your social life (and some toenails), plus it’s possible to jostle up your insides so much that you might poop your pants halfway through. AND some people’s nipples bleed because of shirt chafing. Ouch!

  Still, there’s something pretty appealing about the satisfaction you must feel after finishing one. Even the word itself—marathon—is used as a badge of honor for enduring just about anything.

  I’ve never had one specific goal when it comes to working out except trying to look and feel my best. I think a marathon comes with a lot more complicated feelings. It’s all about proving something to yourself, and maybe even your friends and family. There’s this idea that if you can complete a marathon, you can handle anything.

  Rationally, I know that’s not true at all. Anyone can handle anything they want if they try hard enough. Yet the psychological pull is still there. I don’t need to climb Mount Everest or swim across the English Channel, I’m happy to leave those crazy missions to the experts. Running a marathon is a doable goal, though, something anyone can accomplish if they try hard enough. I haven’t tried hard enough, and it nags at me a little. Marathons are often called the hardest physical challenge anyone will ever do, and since, A, I’m all about physical fitness, and B, I’m also all about challenges, a marathon feels like the ultimate goal.

  As with any other goal, it takes dedication. Months of it, and that can be a problem. Every single day it’s too easy to find a different reason to put it off. There’s always an excuse: no time, no energy, you can’t miss so-and-so’s birthday party, or you need to catch up on Pretty Little Liars. I could go on forever. That’s the reason that Nike’s slogan, “Just do it,” is so genius—a lot of the time you have to move beyond motivation and turn training into a reflex.

  The thing about a marathon is that it’s not about winning, being that first person to break the ribbon at the finish line. Let the people who are trying to beat you at the race have their own kind of fun. It’s a whole different experience for them. What I’ve heard from the less-competitive types like me who’ve run in one is that marathons are more about building a sense of community. Like, you’re all in it together and cheering each other on. Even though I usually like to run alone, that seems pretty cool, since it’s happening on such a huge scale. I love the idea of a whole cross section of humanity getting together to achieve this one massive goal as a group. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to be there, but everyone is united in making it to the end. It’s enough to make me tear up.

  I don’t know what it will finally take for me to get around to running one. Maybe if there’s some sort of solar flare that knocks out the world’s electricity and I can’t do YouTube anymore I’d find the time. But there I go, making the same excuse everyone has as a reason not to do one—time. I would have to make time, and that’s within my control. A big incentive for me is that it would put me in the best shape of my life, and I’d be motivated afterward to maintain that. Or maybe I could get involved with a charity. Raising money for kids with cancer should be motivation enough for anyone.

  There’s also the matter of bragging rights. If you were one of those kids who were always picked last in gym class, I bet that training and running in a marathon would erase years of dodge ball trauma. If and when I decide to go for it, I think I’d have to start small. Like, maybe a fun run for charity. Then I’d slowly build myself up to where I could handle a half marathon, before tackling the full experience.

  CHALLENGE

  #RUNFORRICKY

  Sign up for a charity run! Don’t feel like moving your legs that much? Go hand out water and cheer people on instead!

  CHALLENGE

  #HUGSFORRICKY

  Go up to a stranger and give him or her a hug.

  MUSIC

  Back when I was first kicking around the idea of pursuing a music career I decided to test the waters by releasing a cover of “Midnight Memories” by One Direction. Director Andrew Vallentine (you’ll hear much more about him later!) helped me film a video for it with Jc and a few other YouTuber friends. I posted it on my channel with a note asking for reactions. The response was phenomenal—there were so many kind comments. Along with some haters, which is to be expected with anything that gets put on the internet, and especially with music, which is a lot more vulnerable than other types of content. I was really happy with the outcome, but had no intention of ever performing the song live. But as it happened, a week after it went up O2L was slated to perform at the O2L tour show with DigiTour in Hawaii, and the producer asked me if I’d perform it on stage. We already had most of our act mapped out. We’d be doing live challenges and Q&As, and Trevor was going to sing, but now suddenly they wanted me to sing, too, and on total impulse I said yes.

  At the time I was still deciding what my next step with music should be. Heck, I was still deciding if there should even be a next step. Shelby had always told me I had a good voice, and while I know I’m no Ed Sheeran, I have a lot of fun doing it, which is the most important part of any creative journey. Plus I could already read, write, and understand music thanks to all my years playing the trumpet.

  I only had two weeks to get ready to sing live in front of an audience of more than a thousand people. Of course, I promptly lost my voice. Not out of nerves or anything, I legitimately got sick. I tried to conserve my voice as much as possible by not talking and by drinking literally gallons of herbal tea with lemon, like all singers I’d ever seen in movies do.

  As the day approached I still wasn’t feeling much better, which only added to my nervousness. I knew the rest of the show would be great; the guys and I would be doing things that were within my comfort zone. But as comments kept pouring in on my channel about the 1D cover song, I’d started to get the feeling that maybe I should really try to actively pursue a music career. Suddenly something very real seemed at stake, as opposed to just performing a fun one-off.

  Shelby came to Hawaii with me to act as my assistant, so I had a personal cheerleader rooting for me. Of course the O2L guys were all also supportive and psyched for me, but there was something much more special about having a person whom I’d known almost my entire life right there beside me, especially since my voice still wasn’t 100 percent back to normal. I was scheduled to perform about twenty minutes into the show, so I had a chance to case the audience and get a feel for the crowd beforehand. I had nothing to worry about there, the energy and love (and SCREAMS) radiating from everyone made me feel like I was in a protective bubble.

  I had left the stage for a bit before it was my time to sing because Tyler Oakley was doing a guest appearance Q&A session. As the seconds ticked closer to go-time, Shelby saw the panicked look in my eye and took my hand.

  “Hey, relax,” she said. “You’re about to walk out into a room full of people who already love and support you, and most singers don’t get that kind of chance for their big debut. The most important thing right now is for you to have fun with this opportunity that you’ve been given.”

  She was right, and I felt a sense of calm settle over me as I walked out on the stage, quickly replaced by a rush of warmth as the crowd cheered. It was hard to make out any individual faces because of all the lights, but that actually made things a little easier. I launched
into the song (after letting everyone know I was going to perform it an octave lower than usual because I was still sick) and it was incredible—everyone sang along with me and it felt like we were all in it together. Everyone screamed the chorus and I bounced around the stage, letting all the good vibes wash over me.

  If I’m perfectly honest with myself I know that I didn’t sound my best, but it was my first time out and taking your first big step is the most important part of any ambitious venture you decide to undertake. You can build on it, and always think to yourself, “Well, at least I was able to do that much.” After the performance was over the rest of the show seemed to rush by and I was filled with buzzing adrenaline the entire time. Everything around me seemed brighter and funnier, and my entire body felt lighter somehow.

  We got to stay in Hawaii for almost a full week after the show, and we celebrated in paradise every day. My favorite experience was snorkeling with my friends on a coral reef off the north shore of Oahu. I was captivated by how beautiful all of the fishes were, and seeing how free they were in such a vast ocean triggered something in me. I felt a deep need to express myself in a way aside from talking and being silly on YouTube. Music is a medium I love and I felt like I could find many different ways to use songs to communicate with the world. And not just by covering other people’s lyrics. I began setting plans in motion to record a song of my own, something with a message, something that truly represented me.

  CHALLENGE

  #SNORKELFORRICKY

  I loved being underwater in Hawaii so much that I went so far as to swim with sharks a few years later. (Never again!) If you have an opportunity to, swim with sharks with some professionals! Since that’s not a very easily achieved goal, though, try doing it in any body of water. Heck, I’ll even settle for a picture of you in a snorkel mask and breathing tube in a kiddie pool. Bonus points if you’re holding a tiny plastic shark.

  CHALLENGE

  #BARKFORRICKY

  Pretend that you’re a dog or a cat while out in public.

  RANDOM

  There used to be a time when brand deals were a dirty little secret of the YouTube business. Maybe secret is the wrong word—it’s usually pretty obvious when someone is getting paid to hawk a product, but people who did that didn’t like to acknowledge what was happening or talk about it at any depth. I think we have all moved beyond that, though. I always make a point of being very transparent when I’m getting paid to promote something. This is how I make a living, and a lot of the money I earn goes directly into funding bigger projects like making an album, music videos, short films, and other creative projects.

  On the one hand, I like to keep those two worlds very separate. On the other, I only like to take on a paid project if I can have at least some creative control over it. It’s fine if I’m given a few talking points or basic parameters, but I won’t do something that’s a straight-up advertisement that already has an entire script written for it.

  I also have to actually believe in or like a product before I’ll do anything with it. A cool pair of sunglasses that I’d wear in a video anyway? Sign me up. Some random ketchup brand? No thanks. I think a lot of people assume that YouTubers say yes to anything that comes their way, but with everyone I know that isn’t the case at all. We’re actually very selective. I’d say that I probably accept a little less than half of what I get offered.

  The first time anyone approached me about promoting a brand was when I moved to L.A. for my internship. I was making a little bit of money from my YouTube channel but not much. Weirdly, the company wanted me to use my Instagram account instead of YouTube. They sent me a cool hoodie for free, and I took a picture of myself wearing it and thanked them in my post. That’s it. The reality is I got paid to accept a gift, as if the gift wasn’t enough. It’s a weird industry. I genuinely loved the hoodie and it was something I would have worn in a picture naturally anyway, so I felt good about the job.

  My first big corporate gig was with Kellogg’s. I was kind of intimidated—they’re huge! Who doesn’t like at least one Kellogg’s cereal? What they asked me to do wasn’t all that different from the kind of stuff I’d do anyway—yell out a bunch of random things in a crowd, see how many pieces I could toss up into the air and catch in my mouth, and then pick out pieces of different cereals from a bowl with my eyes shut and hands tied behind my back. I hit up a bunch of public places filled with lots of people, like beaches and basketball courts, and screamed that I liked Kellogg’s latest chocolate-flavored cereal. It was just a big game.

  Deals started rolling in pretty fast after that. I got a gig with Hulu, which was perfect for me because I watch an insane amount of TV and it gave me an excuse to obsessively talk about my favorite shows. Same with Audible. I think it’s cool that I can listen to someone read a book while I’m relaxing on a long flight. I love the Harry Potter series and could listen to them over and over a thousand times!

  Almost every artist I can think of makes money on the side with advertising deals. Even the ones you would never imagine. Take David Lynch, the awesome weirdo who created Twin Peaks. Even after he became famous he directed commercials for Alka-Seltzer and home pregnancy tests on the side! Some famous people do ads to buy, say, a new yacht or a house in the Maldives, but a lot of others, especially musicians and indie filmmakers, use the money to maintain creative control over their work and not have to cave to the demands of a big studio or suck up to a label.

  My point is that there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of hustling to help you get where you want to go in life. I’m not about to go and get a tattoo of the Golden Palace Casino logo on my forehead like one woman from Salt Lake City did, but I don’t see the harm in my giving a paid shout-out every now and then when it helps support my dreams and goals. I don’t think anyone should ever be ashamed about how they make money. (Unless it’s illegal, obviously.) Our economy is basically a disaster right now, and if there’s an opportunity to put food on the table and help me with my videos and music, I’m not going to pass it up.

  CHALLENGE

  #WORKHARDFORRICKY

  Get entrepreneurial and make some extra cash! Host a bake sale, mow a neighbor’s lawn, set up a lemonade stand, whatever you want, and show me a picture of you doing your job! It doesn’t matter if you only end up making fifty cents, it’s the fact that you hustled that counts.

  CHAPTER 4

  Scary!!!

  CHALLENGE

  #PROPOSEFORRICKY

  Propose to a stranger—get down on one knee and offer him or her a ring from a gumball machine.

  FAMILY

  I’m one of the very few incredibly lucky people out there who have never had a big fight with their family. Seriously, about anything. The worst it ever got was when I’d moan that it was someone else’s turn to take out the trash but my mom would make me do it anyway. Boo-hoo, I know.

  I am hyperaware that this isn’t the case with most kids. I get a lot of comments from my viewers who tell me that they like watching my videos because it helps them escape from their terrible home life. It kills me because I feel like there’s nothing I can really do to help them, except keep on making up dance moves that involve shaking my butt and sticking gross things in my mouth to try to make them laugh and forget their problems for a little while.

  As supportive of me as my parents have always been, there was one time that I was genuinely scared of their reaction to something: When I decided to tell them that I was dropping out of college and moving to Los Angeles.

  No offense to my mom, but I knew that my dad was the one to talk to first. Mom didn’t really get YouTube at the time like she does now. She thought it was a fun little hobby I had—not all that different from my filming our family vacations when I was a kid. She definitely supported my making videos, but she didn’t see it as anything that might become bigger back then. I knew that if I told her I was discontinuing my higher education to film videos in my bedroom on the other side of the country, she probably would have been on
the first flight to L.A. to drag me back home.

  My dad, on the other hand, sort of got it. He and I used to always kid about how Mom was never too great with technology. He was much more up to date and in tune with things like the internet and YouTube. He saw the potential in what I was doing, and while I wasn’t sure how he’d react when I told him I wanted to make a career out of it, I knew I’d have a better chance of him understanding. But I also knew it could still go either way.

  I was supposed to head back home from my internship the first week of August, and while it had always been my secret plan to stay in California, I wanted to really make sure I had enough money flowing in so that I wouldn’t be financially dependent on my parents. Otherwise they’d have every right to demand I come back. Luckily, right around mid-July I landed my first few brand deals and sponsorships. I had also started to make just enough from YouTube ad revenue to get by on my own. It was a much-needed boost of confidence that I was making the right decision. Plus, all of the other YouTubers I was meeting were giving me the same advice—that I was at a point with my channel where I had enough subscribers to really have a shot if I decided to commit full-time. It wasn’t like I was some starry-eyed kid with nothing in my pockets chasing a dream. None of the YouTubers I knew were irresponsible enough to just tell anyone, “Hey, drop out of your life and move to L.A.!” Their point with me was that I could always decide to go back to school at any point in my life, but I probably wasn’t going to have a chance again like the one I currently had, with brand deals starting to roll in and my subscriber base growing steadily on a daily basis. Plus, there were things rolling in that I could only do in L.A., like sketches with Awesomeness TV (that actually aired on their Nickelodeon show!) and a lot of new opportunities with O2L. It would have been really hard to get that sort of momentum again if I went back to school. Plus, having new YouTuber friends whom I admired and looked up to telling me that they believed in me, that I had the potential to become what they were, well, it was downright seductive.