From toy related events, to love for action and superhero franchises’ collectibles, and even Beyblade competitions worldwide, there’s so much in store for toy aficionados to enjoy.
YouTube Malaysia’s 11th Generasi YouTube highlighted five stand out YouTube creators from the toy scene – Michael Ong and Peter Loo of Awesome Toys TV, Nazreen Ashraf, Patrick Ong of the Patrick Ohm channel, and Justin Tan of Studio G in a session themed “Toy Creators, Assemble!”. The creators went all out to share what goes into their craft and the makings of their channel within the niche of toy news and reviews, spotlighting local collectors and collections, custom model building, and toy photography to name a few.
Founders of Awesome Toys TV – Michael Ong and Peter Loo – kicked off the session by sharing how the duo went from featuring local collectors on their channel to covering regionally significant events in the toy industry.
“YouTube gives us an outlet to express our passion and interest for toys through Awesome Toys TV. No other YouTube channel in Malaysia is quite like us – covering a combination of toy conventions, toy collector interviews, toy reviews, creator and brand collaborations – and so this has given us a loyal and engaged audience that has been growing since 2014,” relayed the creators.
Creator Nazreen Ashraf shared that his YouTube journey took shape by chance when he went on a toy hunting expedition with his brother in Japan. Nazreen found his niche in all things Beyblade after his younger brother asked him to buy one of the modern spinning top toys from the Takara Tomy Beyblade franchise.
“It’s safe to say that YouTube has changed my life. Focusing on creating content on my channel has gotten me recognition in Beyblade circles, in ways I had not previously expected. It’s like being a celebrity! The acknowledgement and appreciation for what I do keeps me motivated to keep making Beyblade content for my followers and subscribers.”
Nazreen balances family life with his wife and son as well as his regular day job, while dedicatedly putting out 3-4 videos each week. He looks forward to the day where his son will be old enough to join him on his YouTube videos and Beyblade journeys.
Patrick, the creator behind the Patrick Ohm channel who specializes in DIY dioramas and action figure enhancements, gets into amazing detail with his creations. What started out as videos taken as references while he creates these dioramas blossomed into a keen interest in videography. Patrick also creates his dioramas from scratch using easily accessible items as he noticed that ready made ones can get rather costly with only limited times of use. These different interests and incidences came together to shape the content on his channel.
When asked about what advice he has for those interested in following his footsteps, Patrick says, “Decide what your channel is going to be about and just focus on doing content along those lines. If your channel is going to be about toys, you can be certain you’ll have an audience that knows what’s going on in this space. Be sure to do your research, so that your channel is relevant and think about ways to deliver it in an informational and engaging way.”
Equipped with passion and dedication, Justin Tan quit his job to focus on his YouTube channel Studio G, centred on cinematic custom Gunpla build models. He shared how this move to a full-time YouTube creator is a dream come true for him as he’s always aspired to be his own boss in an area he is passionate about. His channel has also given him a way to make a sustainable living while supporting his family.
“I’ve learnt that YouTube rewards consistency. It may not always be easy to be consistent with your uploads but it has got to be done – if this means I don’t sleep for the night, so be it. Even so, you don’t just become a content creator by pointing the camera at your work, it has to meet some standards and quality for it to be interesting and beneficial for your users, which is why I focus a lot on the production quality of my videos. It can take up to two weeks to complete one video upload.”
Nadia Khan, Communications Manager of Consumer Products for Google Malaysia who set the tone for the session, said, “YouTube is a platform where creativity thrives, it’s a tool for people worldwide to share their passion, no matter how niche that passion is. Events like today puts a spotlight on Malaysian YouTube creators that not only unearths the diversity and growth of content from Malaysia, but it also sheds light on the commitment, dedication and more importantly, the level of passion these creators have for what they do.”
For the latest on these creators’ work, head on over to their channels: Awesome Toys TV, Nazreen Ashraf, Patrick Ohm, and Studio G.
Generasi YouTube is a YouTube Malaysia initiative to showcase talented, up-and-coming local creators handpicked based on the mark they are making on the platform. Previous creator showcases have highlighted local geek culture, the Malaysian fashionista community, millennial vloggers and stereotype-breaking female YouTubers.
