05/19/2026
A New Career??? Lucky I’m Stubborn.
Since my mid teens, endless ideas pop into my head. Sometimes these are original ideas and sometimes they are versions of existing ideas with my “improvements.”
At the time of the idea, I feel they are all brilliant, but as time passes, tweaks are needed, improvements are made, and plans are hatched. A few of these ideas have become actual businesses, or solid investments over time, where most died on the vine, and for good reason.
Since 2010, when we started Swicked Cycles, most of my ideas have been based around that passion. Additions to our offerings, community rides, charitable events, and shop designs. All fun stuff to work on and dream about, and easy to make a reality in most cases.
Then, just over a year ago, I got an idea that I could be a YouTuber. I mean, how hard can it be? Hundreds of Thousands of people are doing this across endless topics.
I already write stories each week for our FB followers and the local paper, so translating this into video shouldn’t be overly difficult . . . should it?
Being that I knew nothing about videography, I reached out to a friend who does, and he guided me toward a good camera and some basic equipment. I already had a laptop, a spare desk, and all the riding gear you could ever imagine, so I was set.
Ride lots, film a bunch of it, and tell some stories. It was nothing out of the norm for me and I could even include some family and friends, ‘cause who doesn’t love to be in a video.
After a bit of research, it looked like I just needed 500 subscribers and then a couple of thousand hours each year of viewing time to start earning some cash. It wouldn’t be much cash, but who knows what this can grow into.
So, off I went. I spent $1000 on a camera and some really basic accessories and I was ready to rip.
Wait, how would I carry all this stuff on rides? I bought a new hip pack and I was ready to rip, again.
On my first outing I killed the battery 3/4’s of the way through my long day of filming. Oops. I bought some spare batteries and a charger to help avoid the same issue next time out. I was ready to rip, I think.
Once I got some riding footage, I realized I had to edit it all. So my buddy set me up with a pro editing program, which is not cheap, and I was ready to learn. But, wow, this editing stuff can be complicated, so I hired a coach for my first few projects. He was a friend, so it wasn’t too much cash. (Well, that’s what I told Chenoa.)
I was on my way with some basic equipment, a few entry level editing skills, and some solid story ideas. Let’s start making money!!!
I planned a trip to Peru, seven days of riding in some of the most spectacular mountains on our globe. World class footage right? On day one, I realized I didn’t have enough memory cards to capture all the riding, so I went to the local, super touristy, camera store and paid a huge premium for two more cards. I was set . . . probably.
Soon after I got home, and attempted to edit almost 80 hours of footage, I realized that my old laptop was not going to cut it. Luckily my pro editing buddy was upgrading his equipment and I scored with his hand-me-downs. A huge upgrade for me and more computer than I’ll ever need . . . maybe.
Now, for real this time, I was set. All I had to do is tap into my huge network and get subscribers. I only need 500 and I know thousands of mountain bikers that will love this type of thing. Easy Peasy, as my kids would say.
My first video launched nine months ago on my YouTube channel, https://m.youtube.com/?ra=m, and I’ve posted just over 30 vids so far. Good riding locations, some humour, some deeper topics, and some fun stories. In all estimations from the social media world, I should be quite wealthy by now. BUT, as you may already know, the social media world and real life are vastly different.
From day one, I looked at this as a hobby, not a career, but there is a little dream somewhere in the back of my head, hoping for some income one day.
The level of enjoyment I get out of this new creative outlet, has been huge. Luckily so too, 'cause I added up everything I’ve spent so far, and it seems to be quite a bit more than I thought. And as you may have guessed, the income I’ve earned so far is a pretty simple number. ZEEERRRRO.
No-one ever said fun stuff was free, and I’m having a ton of fun being a “YouTuber”, but I think I’ll stop calculating how much it earns and just enjoy the process, ‘cause there is a lot of red ink on that spread sheet.
If any of you enjoy watching it half as much as I enjoy making it, that’s enough for me.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin'
