Photo: Marcus Uggeldahl
GUSTAV TRÄFF CHANNEL: GTboard.com
2006 200,000 + VIDEO VIEWS: Over 278 million ON YOUTUBE SINCE: SUBSCRIBERS:
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YOUTUBE STAR CRAZY ABOUT CARS
Gustav Träff is the man behind one of Sweden’s most successful YouTube channels. His film clips of sports cars racing against one another are watched by over 200,000 subscribers.
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How did your career as a YouTube star begin? “I started a BMW site back in 1996. Later, when the new model with a V10 engine was launched in 2005, I was curious to know how this performed in comparison with its predecessors. So I decided to run my own test. I found an airfield where we could race the models to compare them. We also took the opportunity to test other makes of cars, filming everything from inside the cars to show how the different models really performed. Then I started a YouTube channel and uploaded the film clips.” That channel soon became hugely popular. To what do you ascribe its success? “There are huge numbers of people out there who are really passionate about cars. Some are thinking about buying a new model and are eager to find out more about it. Others are simply fascinated by high-performance cars and love to dream about owning one.” So, can you now make a living from your YouTube earnings? “Not easily. I sold my BMW site in 2011. That enabled me to devote myself fully to my YouTube channel and I worked on it full-time for a few years. Today, however, I work 50 percent of my time with the YouTube network United Screens in Stockholm and 50 percent on my own channel. A lot of the income comes from ads that are screened with my videos, but I also earn money from sponsoring and branding. Earnings are good compared to the amount of time I spend on the channel, but I don’t make enough money to live on. I have a lot of expenses. Hiring oval tracks here, there and everywhere in Europe doesn’t come cheap.”
sometimes they are about me, too. Sadly, people don’t always say the nicest things, but I’m always grateful for constructive criticism.” What does it feel like to be the centre of so much attention? “It’s usually the cars that get the attention rather than me. For example, if I’m comparing a 1200 hp Bugatti with a 700 hp Lamborghini, the focus is purely and simply on the cars and the way they perform, not on me personally.” To what degree is Gustav Träff the YouTube celebrity the real you? Is there a difference between your public and private personas? “It’s the real me, alright – 100%. I must admit that I’m just as car crazy in my private life, too.” Do people often recognise you in the street? “Recently it’s started to happen more often. And it’s always men between 15 and 25 years old.” How do you maintain interest in your channel? “There are always new models being launched. And I also upload other car-related films – from the Motor Show in Geneva, for example.” How seriously does the car industry take your opinions? “They can be important in certain very specific niches, but the test results count for more than my own opinion. If you google Bugatti and Koenigsegg together, my films are at the top of the search results. That’s very important for fans of the two marques.”
»It's the real me, alright – 100%. I must admit that I'm just as car crazy in my private life, too« So what does your day as a YouTube celebrity look like? “Most of the time when I’m working on my channel, I work from home. I plan the next comparison I’ll be making, read about new models and investigate the reasons for any sudden increases in traffic for a particular video. I also reply to comments on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. It’s fun to work with something you’re interested in. I often sit working long into the night.” How important for you is it to have so many YouTube viewers? “Without viewers, there wouldn’t even be a channel, or at least not one that made much of an impression. In that sense, viewer numbers are crucially important. It gives me a lot of pleasure to be in daily contact with my subscribers. They leave comments on my YouTube channel but they are also constantly getting in touch on Facebook and Instagram.” What kind of comments do you get? “Most often the comments are about what we’ve been filming, but
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What has been the highlight of your career so far? “Testing the Bugattti Veyron Vitesse and the Koenigsegg Agera R from 50 to 350 km/h and 250 to 370 km/h on an oval track.” What would you be doing today if YouTube hadn’t existed? “Working with the internet in one way or another.” Do you intend to continue with this in the future? “It’s an interest I have. It’s not going to go away, so I don’t really see any reason to stop doing what I’m doing. I think YouTube and Facebook are here to stay, but I don’t see much of a future for TV.” What car do you yourself have? “Right now I’ve been driving an Audi A8 W12. I do miss my Porsche 911 Turbo PDK, however. I sold that last spring.”