YouTube is inevitably filled with useless prank videos, non comedic stand up acts, and some terribly boring daily vlogs, but, such is the nature of a website where you can upload any video content. For someone who has relegated YouTube to the back of my social media priorities, I have shockingly found the Holy Grail of addictions within its depths. His name is Casey Neistat, and he’s my idol.

   First, a little backstory. The vlogging sensation was born in small town Connecticut, to a lower-middle class family; beginning life pretty rough, Neistat was a “bad” kid, eventually leaving home when he was 16, and getting his girlfriend pregnant soon after. At 17, he was a dad, broke, and uneducated. Fast forward for 2016, Neistat pulled himself out of a life of trailer parks and food stamps to multiple studio and living spaces in New York City’s ritzy Lower West Side with a beautiful wife and new baby Owen. (Owen is a large part of Casey’s life, despite living with his mother in Connecticut). In a purely character based assessment, Neistat has my vote; his perseverance and drive evident in his filmmaking stems from his rough start in life.

   In regards to his cinematic skills, Casey’s artful “uncut” theme runs throughout his movies. From daily vlogs to his month-long films, the old school style brings the viewer a crisply refreshing YouTube video. In his daily vlogs, there are weekly segments he does that are extremely spontaneous and fun: mail time, wherein he opens fun packages from viewers, and a Q&A segment that is themed differently every time. There’s also a multitude of overhead shots to display hand drawn graphs or words, drone footage of everywhere from Cuba to NYC to South Africa, and the occasional adorable footage of his daughter, Francine. His vlogs are truly a look into his hectic, fascinating and impossibly cool world; he travels at least once every two weeks, and always to an exotic location that he films beautifully. If you’re into torturing yourself by watching someone else’s super fun and cool life, Casey Neistat is the guy for you.

   In addition to his vlogs, Neistat also makes the occasional Internet breaking viral video; you may have seen his films “Bike Lanes” or, more recently, “Snowboarding with the NYPD.” Combined, the movies have almost 30 million views. While easier to start with than delving into his entire vlog collection, the viral videos don’t glimpse into his life and the other interesting projects he’s involved with –– however, the viral videos are still amazing.

   Casey Neistat is my idol for many reasons: his determination, his drive and his sheer strength should be pillars for all young people to strive for. Not only that, but his work is slightly comedic, interesting and, sincerely original (which is hard to come by — these days on YouTube). Whether or not you become an addicted daily vlogger watcher, or gain a few minutes of amusement from his viral videos, you will be glad you checked out Casey Neistat.