I became a Patreon (and still am) right when you became self-employed and I am happy to see that your dream has worked out so far. Thanks for being transparent and I hope the channel continues to do well!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the support!

That was really great of you Dave. You certainly did not have to put that out there but as you have shown for a long time, you care about everything you do, and say. Cheers to 10 million views this year. #trustthesummit 🙂

I came to your channel for the running gear and gadgets, but I’m definitely sticking around for your personality. Your content is well worth paying for. Keep up the good work and thank you for being a great source of inspiration and feeding my inner geek with refreshing videos.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! That means a lot!

Hi Dave. I really enjoy your KZread channel and watch ALL of your videos including your 100 mile vlogs. What I like most about your videos is your honesty and human side. Very transparent. Working as an accountant for a large company in Brisbane, Australia I can totally relate to pointless meetings and clocking on and off each day. Keep up the great work pursuing your passion.

This is one of the most polished, concise, informative and quality channels on YT. You’ll be +1/2M subscribers soon. Love the variety of content, especially reviews that you do out in the wild. Also the higher res captures of hardware. Keep up the balance in review, we want to see the +ives and -ives for products.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Excellent video. I wish a lot more KZreadrs did this. It would make clear to a lot of those "aspiring KZreadrs" you mentioned how much a career choice like this really involves flying without a net and requires careful planning and responsibility.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! For sure, it's a very humbling experience when you don't have that regular paycheck coming in.

Transparency is more and more key on KZread and it is also very interesting for you to give to others your insight after one year. Thank you Dave for that!!!!

I just stumbled across your video after watching one of the apple watch videos of yours! I've been watching your content quite often over the past year and wanted you to know that I truly appreciate the time and dedication you put into each video. You've given a lot of us super solid advice before we go and purchase many of the products you've reviewed! I'd love to be able to do the whole "youtuber" thing myself one day and maybe that will happen, but it's super nice to see a pretty successful one as yourself being as transparent as you are here. Keep on chasing that summit and the channel will follow brother, appreciate ya!

I just want to say thank you for posting this video. I'm currently a freshman doing mechanical engineering, but that itch of making youtube videos has been in the back of my mind for a while now. I think I'll still pursue mechanical engineering for now and probably follow in your footsteps after being in the industry for a few years. This video means a lot to me.

As a subscriber, I come for the tech videos when I'm specifically interested - I stay for the vlogs and real life stuff! It's really enjoyable to see the love of sport and life that got you here

This is the 1st video of yours I have watched. Your content is not my cup of tea, but I really appreciate you sharing your data. Admire your hard work. As a dad of 4, oldest is now a senior in HS, I will also add that family time is precious!

Love this! Thanks for the transparency. Kofuzi does this each year also and it's one of my favorite videos for obvious reasons. 👌🏻 Love seeing that "Guess that GPS watch" in here.

Love this video!! Great job & so informative!!! Thanks for being so transparent!!!! You rock.

Thanks for sharing Dave. Your transparency is refreshing and a key insight to people that wanna take the leap into content creating.

Love your content. Keep it up. Chase your passion and although it can be scary at times, you are at least finding meaning to what you do. Thanks Dave!

thanks for sharing this! Awesome - keep up the good job! You are on the right track

Respect for going all in Dave. Keep up the great work! 👌

Have always enjoyed your videos for yrs now and will always be one of my fave channels that i'd run to for tech related stuff about running. Keep it up, Dave! Massive cheers!

Nice video, thanks for sharing your story Dave, you are a great communicator, I really enjoyed your videos.

Great video! Please keep up the videos of the races you did as well. I really enjoy these and they are a nice change from the excellent reviews and put things into an even more real like scenario.

Love the honesty, Dave, Thanks! As a northeast runner, hiker, climber and skier, I'd love to see more ice climbing and/or backcountry winter content. Not sure if you still participate in those pursuits, but I'd definitely love to see more of it. Apparel / gear reviews are always welcomed.

Thanks bro for being straight forward with your time,I know you put a lot of effort in on all you do,keep up the good work,wish you success for 2024, Thanks

I found your channel over covid trying to find a running watch. Really love your vlogs actually! Keep it up!

Thank you for this video, I really had no clue how all of this worked. Keep up the high quality videos and reviews

Thanks for this vid! Really insightful.

Love your honesty and the points you brought up in this. You bring so much value to your viewers and I appreciate all the work you do. I look forward to watching this channel continue to grow, you deserve it with the amount of preparation and effort you put into the content you bring us!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Sir you are crushing it! Thank you for all your energy!!!

Used your link for my Instinct 2X purchase, loved your videos on it. Great vid!

An interesting video. Keep the ultra runs videos coming as well. I love the kit review but it's you that makes it interesting and it's good to see what you are doing.

Great video! & Nice to see a photo of you with all the other reviewers I watch!!

Transparency is always good! 👍 I also appreciate your attitude towards being an employee versus being your own boss.

Dave, you have a great channel. I've enjoyed it! Thank you. I wish you incredible success.

interesting info keep up the content, as you mention it is all about balance of what you enjoy and what brings in the dough

Thank you for all your videos, Dave! I like them all. I am especially curious about the newest tech, but at the same time, I like your personal stories😊

Appreciate your work. Keep it up!

Hi Dave, excellent video. Thanks for the video.

Definitely worth talking about. Wishing you better revenue for 2024.

Really appreciate your honesty. Respect !

Keep doing great work my friend , greetings from Serbia

Great video Dave. That'll help a lot of people who might be thinking about taking the plunge. I wish you every success for 2024.

Nice, thanks for the insights!

Very interesting, had no idea witch amout a KZreadr can earn. I like the variety of you videos! Keep it up

Thanks for the info and I enjoy watching your videos. Hoping you reach 10 million this year! 👍🏾

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Hey Dave, this was awesome! I love your vlog videos and how you roll. Thanks for sharing the behind scenes. I know how hard it is to make content and yeah you have to balance it all now that it's a full time job. I'm only a very tiny KZreadr and I hope to be where you are one day. Keep grinding and thanks for doing what you do!

@ChaseTheSummit

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! Keep up the great work on your channel!

Thanks for sharing this video Dave. I saw duzen tech bloggers, but chose you to watch only. All of them do the great job for new "average watch review". And I feel like, I over loaded by many channels that saying almost the same. So why I chose you to watch? Your honesty, you into the running, this kind of videos (Blogs, your YouTtube results). And free advise: maybe you way relive some part of your family live. For me is crazy be ultrarunner, have 4 kids, working from 9 to 6 (year ago), and have a KZread blog... I already have 2 jobs, 1 kid, and 30 min runs - and dying =) Thanks you for honesty and transparency! Sorry if I was somere rude - English is not my native language.

Hey man, I've watched a ton of smart watch reviews and gotta say, you're one of my favorite - you don't waste time, you give me the information I'm interested in (and your video that compared the accuracy of (I think) apple and garmin that included the VO2Max tipped the scale for me. I opted for apple ultra 2 since I'm in their ecosystem, the watch has more phone on a wrist capabilities and accuracy for my needs was nearly identical. THANK YOU! Also, enjoyed this video; would love another on how you went about growing your subscribers. Keep up the great work! =)

You're great, man, keep it up! Started watching you three years ago when I was choosing a sport watch for the first time, I've hardly missed a video.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

thank you!

I appreciate the insight to having a KZread channel. I have a small kydex holster business and I understand what you’re talking about. Love all your videos and the way you present your content.👍

I'm happy to see your channel growing! You produce great content and I look forward to each video you share. My channel of almost 3000 subscribers, saw 217k views with $511 in revenue. Enough to pay for a couple races, a pair of shoes, and some running gear. I enjoy creating the content, seeing the growth, and like the idea that it'll also help pay (in part) for things that enable me as a runner. BTW, I enjoy the running/race/vlog videos the most even if those don't get as many views. Cheers!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing Chad! Keep it up!

It hurts my soul to see the CPM's for people outside the personal finance space. It makes me not even want to put work into my running channel 🤣 For comparison, this channel would do that revenue on 750k views. Hopefully one day KZread treats us all equally! Keep up the great work. Keep making vlogs! Im one of the 2k people that watch everyone one. Cheers from Long Island! We gotta hit the trails one day! -Brad Trains

@ChaseTheSummit

3 ай бұрын

Haha yeah I’ve seen similar videos from people in the business/finance space and it’s crazy how the CPM differs! It is what it is. It’s not necessarily unfair it’s just what advertisers are willing to pay and in a high profile investment video that’s a target market 💰 💰 Thanks for tuning in! Great channel by the way!

That’s great to share this content, keep it on !

I always enjoy your videos, I have a small channel that's growing very slowly. Definitely not planning on quitting my job anytime soon. But I do enjoy it and hope to grow more this year. I definitely appreciate what you do!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Keep up the great work! It will pay off!

Absolutely great video, Dave! I'm watching from Hungary and this kind of transparency is impossible over here. There's envy, jealousy and the internet is often a toxic place. I was perfectly aware that becoming a KZreadr is not a 9-to-5 job but has its beauty.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Talking about money is an uncomfortable topic here in the USA as well but I think it's useful information for those trying to get into this business. I would have appreciated this video when I was starting out a couple of years ago!

@ZotmundSzele

4 ай бұрын

@@ChaseTheSummit You don't see lottery winners posing on photos over here either 😉 But sure I trust you it's not always this transparent.

Keep going, Dave. You're doing great work. Greetings from Bulgaria!

I have been a fan of your channel because I like fitness tech and let’s be honest, it’s a niche thing but it’s becoming increasingly more popular. I started with my Polar S710 and Polar Pro Trainer Software that was an IR connect to my PC. I was just a nurse that was also teaching indoor cycling classes and encouraged my students to learn how to train in their HR Zones. Fast Forward to Garmin,Suunto,Coros,Apple and Fitbit. I’m still loving fitness tech but now this has converged into still working as a nurse but using health tech and working with tech companies and doctors to monitor patients health remotely. Ride4life is my personal vlog channel and just a journal for fun. Last year I started Nurses2tech and started publishing a few videos from a few tech companies that I worked with but it’s really not a channel that I have invested much time into. I would like to do more but I’m very motivated to stay active with working as a nurse and consultant for a high salary and all the perks of being in business development. Sure I like KZread and watch KZread channels more than I watch TV/Cable/Netflix etc. Anyway, I really appreciate your channel.

I believe you are one of the best content creator. I subscribed to your channel when you were below 10k, so happy to see your growth.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks so much!

Dave, this shows your personality! You are a kind and true man! Keep it up and lots of success with the channel!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

I appreciate that!

Hei, Thank You for this "out of the box" content that did gave a lot of information and details "behind the scenes"! And of course, all of your #garmin information stuff always rocks #chasethesummit!

Thanks , I don't watch a lot of your videos but it was nice to learn a little of your back story. working on your own is never easy. keep it rolling.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to watch this one!

Great video .. much respect 👍🏻

This is a very useful video, thanks 🙏 I hope your channel will grow even further this year!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Yes, can’t lie. I too enjoy the gear reviews however, I also like your content such as your runs. I’m glad to see you work also with DC Rainmaker and DesFit. Keep up the good work.

Very good video. Congratulations!

Love your honesty. Greetings from Denmark 🫶

Dave... awesome video!! As a long-time subscriber, I love your approach to making content and how you put it all together. You're refreshing to watch. It's almost like a friend is just sharing their honest thoughts. I also love that you share your exercise and race journey with us as well. Those personal vlog videos might not garner as many views, but to those who enjoy watching them, the impact is amazing. Quite simply, you're inspiring. When you said that you put all of your eggs in one basket now, well...that's really what one does holding down a job in corporate America. I've been laid off 4 times over the span of my career... it's no more secure. This video really inspired me to keep going in the direction of launching my own KZread presence and exploring all that is possible with content creation. Thanks for being so candid and transparent... it's really appreciated. Keep up the great effort and all the best to getting to 10 million and beyond. Cheers!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the thoughtful comment! You’re totally right, layoffs are the worst and unavoidable. Definitely give KZread a shot! Even as an outlet for creativity it’s been a positive influence in my life. Thanks for tuning in!

Thank you for the transparency. Very interesting.

Glad to see you living your dream! Love your content and picked up your Path Projects collab tee!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Hope you like it! One of my fav tee's!

Thanks, I found this really interesting. I'm definitely not a content creator, more of a content consumer, but I did make the leap a long time ago from working in the corporate world for 25 years to becoming self-employed running my own business. So, I really enjoy hearing some of the behind the scenes stuff about the business aspects of running a monetized KZread channel. And by the way, I love the gear reviews but I also love the videos about training and running ultras.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for tuning in!

You have great reviews and enthusiasm, I definitely value your opinions on new running gear, don't lose that edge 👍

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! 👍

I have been a big fan of your work for some time now. I wish you all the success you need to remain an independent content creator. I enjoy the running videos most of all.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks so much. Your support means a lot to me!

One more time with another great video…Keep up the good work!

Really appreciate the transparency, good work! You and DCrainmaker are my top two fitness gear KZreadrs.

@ChaseTheSummit

3 ай бұрын

Very generous of you. Thanks for the kind words and support!

I started my channel really on a whim and with the encouragement from my kids. Ive been doing it since August of 2020 and am nowhere near being monetized! Being that I'm technologically challenged, this was a whole new world for me! With every video I learn a little more. Coming up with new video ideas, filming and my favorite part. Editing the videos! I really enjoy the whole process, even though im not getting millions of views. It would be great one day in the near future to earn a little extra scratch 💵 a month by doing this KZread thing! I just have to keep learning, keep improving, keep having fun with it and maybe it will happen! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Believed in you since the first time I saw you. I was so happy for you when you announced that you had quit your job to go full-time KZread and reviewer. You stand out from other reviewers, and it's exclusively in a good way. You rock Dave. Hope you'll keep the wheels going and that your not burn out 🙂

Started watching for the gear reviews, but enjoy the running and racing vlogs

Pretty interesting! Thanks for the little insight, Dave!

Dave the Brave, thanks for sharing!

always interesting to hear the numbers. I always enjoy Kofuzi’s video on this topic too. Congratulations on building a great brand!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Steven! Keep up the great work on your channel!

Thanks Dave. Very well done and informative as always. I'm a proud supporter (member? Part of the cult?) of your channel. Keep up the good work!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Ha! Cult! Thanks for your continued support! It means a lot!

One year!!! It feels like a lot longer than that to me. I'm proud of you for following your passion! Keep up the good work and I'd say that you don't have to make this video every year, unless it's making $$$! :)

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Brice! It's not a top performer but it's fun and hopefully helpful to someone!

Good for you Dave, onward and upward !

Great video and I am one of many who appreciate your content.

So inspiring! Congratulations on taking the leap! I love your content.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

Great vid

Although I have no intentions of leaving my full time job and doing something like this, it was really interesting to learn the details of how this works. I watch and follow you for your content, and honesty, so just keep doing that!

now it all make sense! your engineer traits are showing hahahahah. as an aerospace engineer and also a sports freak, i also thought of being a youtuber tbh but i know its just not for everyone and i do still enjoy my work! i wish you well on everything you do now dave as long as youre happy. cheers!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Hah, my wife tells me that's why I have a knack for this stuff! Some days I do miss those late night whiteboard sessions trying to figure out a solution to a complex problem with the Mech Engineering team! But being my own boss has certainly been a nice change of pace!

Been thinking of starting in this journey. Thank you for this.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Do it!

Keep posting what you are passionate about. If you lose some viewers that found you because they were researching a specific watch (like me), you'll pick up folks that are into vlogs re: ultras etc (also like me lol)

I've been a fan of this channel for about 2 years. I really like your reviews and friendliness.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

I appreciate that!

yeah,ofcourse we want to see more defernts video fr u ,thanks for all ,keep going head up

Thanks. I have always enjoyed your content, gear reviews and everything else. You come across as a decent dude who really wants to provide honest reviews. I also like that you often provide information that other content creators in the same sphere miss. I laughed at your useless meeting thing. I'm a Canadian who has worked in technology for 30 years now, and I've probably lost several months of my life now in useless meetings in companies in Canada, and now with German companies here in Munich, Germany. Seems to be a worldwide problem.😅 Keep up the great work.

Very honest and interesting! I am my “own boss” as well and know exactly how you feel… every month, every year, is an adventure! Good things and not so good things, but I don’t regret it all! Keep it up! I think these kind of videos strenghten your channel and gets you closer to us, your viewers!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Congrats on being self employed! Thanks for watching!

Wow full time with just over 100k subs is good going! Yours is the best in this category. DC and Des are good but I prefer yours. Good luck moving forward. I doubt from views and 9 m views my channel 1.5m over 12 years so I have a aprox idea you'll not be rich money wise but mentally rich and rich in life but your channel will grow and develop.

Thanks for sharing and I'm a fan of your work! You could maybe also make video's about local races the environment capturing the atmosphere. Often it' nice to see how a race is like if you concider on participating in it. A lot of those video's end up being a person talking non-stop to the camera and not a lot people are interested in that. Not sure if it boosts the views to be honest but I know a lot of people who miss that.

I want to "create content" but it's hard to find time... but I don't want to be a "content creator". I like my job and I don't want to give that up. But it would be awesome to have the time and chance to go explore CES for fitness/health tech. I live in Vegas and have never been able to go because CES always coincides with a busy time for my real world job. Maybe when I retire I will become a content creator, but for now... I just keep dreaming of content in my head and sometimes it gets made. But this was a very interesting video, thanks for sharing along with everything else. I enjoy your channel.

Respect for the decision, it was yours and you did what you think it’s the best for you. I hope it doesn’t happen like other KZreadrs that have to “quit” or scale down the content because of the stress of making a video every x amount of time. Like Tom Scott said: “a dream job is still a job”. I do have a small “issue” (not really issue but have difficulty to understand the logic” when every KZreadr explains the reason why they became one: “we are our own boss”, “I don’t like the 9-5 mentality”… and so on. The thing is, without those jobs none of the KZreadrs would have a job. You need to engineers to build KZread, you need people to design and produce the products you review.

@ChaseTheSummit

3 ай бұрын

Of course we need engineers and designers! In fact, I did quite enjoy that job. I think the difference is some people thrive in a corporate environment and prefer having a manager or boss deal with delegating work and responsibility, and they enjoy the regular paycheck. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, for me I wanted to pursue a more creative career and be more in charge of my own destiny. The corporate world was frustrating for me. We're all different!

There are some I follow on KZread because I am interested in them. Whilst I appreciate information on products, ultimately there are enough people out there doing the same thing who I feel I have less connection to. Keep up the great channel👍

Something I've noticed about my attention span (n of 1 alert here) for vlog style videos vs gear review is that I'm more likely to stick around til the end when I have a clear take away. This is true of all content, not just yours, by the way. Much easier to find my value for gear reviews but unfortunately less so for vlog style. The challenge for vlog style videos is what are you delivering to your viewer? Hope the feedback helps, and if not, I can go kick rocks. Love the channel!

@ChaseTheSummit

3 ай бұрын

It makes total sense. I think that’s the struggle a lot of folks face when they try to launch a channel. Truth is no one cares about my life lol. I guess that’s why I try to diversify a bit, add value with searchable content but also post my silly vlogs for those who are interested about the person behind the camera. Thanks for the feedback!

Something clicked when you mentioned your background as a mechanical engineer. I think that objective, analytical approach shows in how you approach your YT endeavor, from physical considerations (studio setup, and audio and video recording) to your style of reviewing new tech and of producing your blog or travel videos. Even though your blog-style videos so not fare as well as the straight tech reviews, I suspect that your core audience (the ones who stick around, not just checking in when a new watch appears on the market) enjoy all of your content. Best wishes for the new year and for continued growth of your channel.

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

My wife tells me that's why I have a knack for this stuff! Thanks for the kind words!

@bsmukler

4 ай бұрын

You bet!

Really interesting video! Thanks for sharing! One follow-up question. You mentioned the different income streams, but I'm curious (if it's not too personal) how you handle some of the other things that might be missing by not working for a company? I'm primarily thinking about healthcare and retirement. Thanks again!

@ChaseTheSummit

4 ай бұрын

Health care is tough here in the USA it's VERY expensive particularly with 4 children. We're quite fortunate in that my wife's employer provides discounted health insurance. I pay Dental out of pocket, and I contribute to an individual 401K for myself as well from funds that I rolled over from my old employer. Adulting is hard lol.

@moose304

4 ай бұрын

@@ChaseTheSummit Gotcha. Thanks! I'm also in the US and healthcare has been one of my biggest mental (and legitimate) hurdles to overcome when considering starting a business. Just SO expensive.