from Ricardo Lino on 6 Jan 2024
YouTube Disclaimer.Happy New Year, it’s 2024, my back is feeling better, and I need to tell you about my plans with this YouTube channel.I started this channel at the end of 2016 under the name “thelinolife” because at the time, I used to work for Powerslide, and I had access to a lot of products sent to me for shoots and content production. At the time, I had a lot of time on my hands while being at the Lino Skate shop, and I thought people would appreciate seeing someone talk about products they wouldn’t have access to.I didn’t expect this channel to grow as much as it did or to have much influence, or lack thereof, on this industry.Some months later, I started noticing people commenting that I was a Powerslide shill, which, funny enough, I didn’t even know what a shill was. Well, I was paid by Powerslide to do my job, managing Instagram accounts at the time, but it was my idea to start my channel, and I was not paid by Powerslide for it.As things at Powerslide started changing, and I was about to get “dis-promoted,” I started looking for a new job within the same industry. Living from YouTube was never an option for me, but I knew with YouTube getting bigger, it would help me with getting a new job. However, I always stated to the people I worked with, “My YouTube is my personal project, and it will stay that way.” When I signed a contract with Micro as a marketing manager, it was stated right there.From the moment I started working with Micro, a lot of things changed. I moved to Europe, started receiving products from many different brands, and the channel kept growing. I barely made reviews for the brand I worked for, as honest as I tried to be; I would always be biased.Then COVID hit, but the channel kept growing. My wife and I decided to start a shop in Europe.With me having a full-time job and trying to run the shop, I realised I needed someone to help me with YouTube and the shop. We hired Alex.Things kept growing, the world wanted everything closed, and we wanted to produce content. So, we rented a warehouse, moved the shop in, and built a private skatepark.Then we realized we would need some support to keep the park, and a couple of brands wanted to sponsor the park and have sponsored content in the videos.Now, it’s crucial to say that we have never gotten paid for any reviews. But putting myself in the situation that I had to create the videos to pay the bills started feeling weird.Last year, I wasn’t very happy with what was happening. We started by closing the shop because I felt it would damage my image in what I do and what I want to do. I did not want to be seen as a salesperson, and the shop made other shops, brands, etc., look at me as competition. So, we closed the shop, tried an accommodation inside the park, which the city wasn’t very happy about, and we ended up closing the park early last year.Moved back to my old office, inside my house. Alex still working with me while I still worked with Micro as a Marketing manager. With my future in mind, I decided to quit Micro and kept doing my YouTube channel. I had some sponsors on the channel, which were supposed to help me with my channel expenses, and we finally got to where we are now.Things have changed again.I have signed a contract with Flying Eagle as their Global Brand Manager. I don’t want this channel to be sponsored by any skate company, and I want it as neutral as possible. I do not want to have this channel under any financial constraints, and for that reason, I’m back to doing it 100% solo.As much as I want to be honest and unbiased, I know I work for a brand, and for that reason, I will not ever call my skate opinions a skate review again. I will try to always be as honest as possible, just like I did until now. I don’t want to play the YouTube game. I want my videos to go straight to the point, no deceiving thumbnails. I want to push all the skate shops out there, I want to share different events happening around the world, I want to not worry about talking about the products from the company that I work for, and above everything, I want to have fun doing it.Thank you so much for always supporting my crazy ideas.I love you all.