‘What are you doing, you’re talking to yourself’: We spoke to Brighton & Hove Albion super fan and YouTube creator, Matt Jackson

Brighton is full to bursting with people just oozing creativity, all it takes is a stroll around the famous lanes to see that the general populous of the city take no shame in expressing their passions for all to see.

Unsurprisingly, it also plays home to a whole host of YouTubers, from those with more subscribers than a small nation to those just getting started.

The Sussex Tab sat down to have a chat with Matt Jackson, homegrown Brighton creator, catering to Brighton & Hove Albion’s ever increasing fanbase.

Matt first began regularly uploading to YouTube in 2014, noting that he "wanted to find a platform where [he] could interact with Brighton & Hove Albion fans on a daily basis", in order to share his passion with people. Matt notes that he particularly enjoys the ability to receive comments and incorporate them in to his videos, a feature he found was not present on other social media platforms such as Twitter.

"YouTube gave me a way that I could talk about related Brighton topics and then put the video out. Then people could comment on it, and I could link it to the next video, and another video."

After taking a break from YouTube to focus on a job he had been given with Brighton & Hove Albion (making videos for them), Matt realised that he missed it too much so returned.

"I realised I missed YouTube, so came back. I started doing football challenges and making video with Brighton players; but I focused on mainly doing challenges, vlogs, and generally creating content for Albion's fans."

When we asked about his creative process, how he overcomes creative lulls and thinks up his most popular 'challenge' videos, Matt stated that it often requires a lot of hard work and thinking.

Noting that he often films on a Wednesday with the aim of releasing the video for Sunday, Matt states that putting too much pressure on himself inhibits his creativity.

"I used to put so much pressure on myself to upload as often as possible, it can really ruin the type of video you want to put out."

Getting in to the swing of YouTubing can be a lengthy process. Matt's advice for newly emerging creators is "Just make content you enjoy". He stresses the need to have a passion for it, and following trends, or chasing fame, will just lead to content without heart that you'll grow tired of producing.

Matt Knows firsthand the work needed to put in to keeping a successful YouTube account active and growing. Balancing his channel and a full time nursing career has been quite a task, but one that he nevertheless has no plans to give up on.

"I see it as a hobby and I'm lucky with what I have, and the people who follow and support me. I force myself to fit it in because I love it."