Watching Valspire Family videos is like watching a coming-of-age romantic comedy where Aidan Gallagher is the main character of the story. His family, friends, relationships (whether it be platonic or romantic) and the adventures they go on amplifies that.
After his YouTube channel recently blew up with hundreds and thousands of new subscribers, CelebMix got to chat with the creator of Valspire Family about the newfound attention that his channel gained, his inspirations behind it, and the goals he wishes to achieve in the future.
Being able to capture memories and moments throughout his life was a big part of the reason why he began vlogging.
An essential element to his vlogs is the choice of music that is put in each one. “I usually get a lot of ideas just by listening to music,” Aidan shares. These ideas he gets from listening to music are brought to life through his cinematic style of filming and editing.
CelebMix got insight as to why Aidan pushes himself to film more “unconventional” content on his channel, such as speed dating on a college campus or living with strangers for a week, when he shares with us how Christopher McCandless and the Into the Wild film plays a huge part in influencing his perspectives on life.
“He literally graduated college [and was qualified for Harvard], burned all of his stuff, changed his name, and just left for an adventure with nothing,” Aidan explains. “I think the message that really hit was that at the end of his life, he ended up dying alone in Alaska, and he realizes that the happiness that he received was from meeting people and experiencing life by traveling. That is what he figured out. But it was kind of too late at the end for him.”
Stepping out of your comfort zone in exchange for making genuine connections with the people you meet along the way, was the main take away he got from McCandless.
“Go out and do things because you CAN. Life is short. Make it an adventure.”
His recent upload “I Went on a Roadtrip with a Stranger” is only one of the many intriguing videos on his channel that showcases what connecting with new people could lead to. Over two million viewers watched two strangers make the most out of a roadtrip with what they had, find joy in the simple moments that they shared together, and develop a new friendship out of their experience.
“We had these really deep, long conversations at night. We got to really know each other and we got really close,” Aidan reflects. “Taking a roadtrip with a stranger like that, you’re basically forced to get to know someone very quickly. It’s a zero to 100 friendship – you don’t know anything about each other and then you know EVERYTHING about each other.”
Through the content that he has created and shared, he’s brought people with different backgrounds from all over the world together, and shown them that they can find happiness in the little things too.
Valspire is a combination of the words valor (to have great courage) and aspire (ambitions to achieve something). It serves as a reminder to Aidan about the main goal of his channel, which is to encourage his viewers to chase their dreams and be happy.
The YouTuber has been able to stay true to this word and grow a community that seeks adventure as well. He’s even inspired his subscribers to plan meet ups and roadtrips with each other because they too, want to experience the thrill of making connections with new people.
“I don’t really see myself as this “role model” or something like that. But I guess now, a lot of people ARE looking up to me.”
All the hard work and dedication that Aidan has put into Valspire Family is beginning to pay off, but with this new audience comes slight pressure.
“It doesn’t even really feel real yet. I’m just taking it all in,” he humbly laughs. “It is a little overwhelming, but it’s a dream come true because I’m gonna be able to do this full time which is really awesome.”
Often times, people feel the need to put a front on their social media and always look like everything is going well. With Valspire Family, Aidan has been able to share the good times, and the not so good times, in the most authentic way possible.
“Personally, this [creating videos in a time where he is feeling down] has helped me. Just by doing these little things overall makes me feel better.”
“I’ve always wanted to inspire people to think outside of the box or even just act on your “stupid” ideas [because you never know what the ideas could lead to]… but I also want to be genuine and real and put out my real emotions and thoughts on everything. I think that’s an important thing when it comes to my channel.”
When asked what advice he would give to people who are aspiring to be content creators, but may feel defeated or stuck at times, Aidan believes that, “Consistency is a really important thing.”
“What I recommend is doing it for the love of it. Just be yourself and not try to be someone else. Put out content you want to put out and eventually you’re gonna find your style and you’re gonna find what you wanna do exactly. It’s all about practicing… Just keep pushing at it and eventually you’ll see growth.”
As 2019 is coming to an end, there are many upcoming projects that Aidan shared with us, which we are excited to watch out for in the new year:
“I do want to do a trip around the U.S., meet people in small towns, and have them show me the cool little spots [in their town]. I don’t wanna see the tourist spots, but I want to go to all the underground places that people know because I feel like a lot of people know a lot about cool spots wherever they live. We’re also making a band soon, but we’re gonna get a bunch of random people from Craigslist’s and we’re gonna go try to play a free show at coffee shop. And just film a lot more of little moments.”
“It’s gonna be good. This next year is gonna be wild. I think it’s gonna be the year.”
There is so much to look forward to on the Valspire Family channel and we cannot wait to see how these plans unfold!