Ilinca, a year 10 student at ISB, has gained a huge amount of success on her YouTube channel, which features a variety of animation type videos. From q and a’s to reaction videos, Ilinca has gained over 150,000 subscribers and over 8,000,000 total views, and has established a loyal fan base on the platform. Here is how it all started, what she has learned from the experience, and what advice she has to give.
How would you describe your YouTube channel to someone who has never visited it before, or is not familiar with this type of content?
I am known as Kimi_RO on YouTube. People mostly know me from some of my animated memes, and silly reaction videos I made a while ago. I like to draw, I also like editing, and I like designing characters. Sometimes I use them in my own stories (I don’t have much experience with that though). To design characters I use this app known as “Gacha Club”. I have around 150k subscribers at the moment.
Why did you decide to start posting YouTube videos?
I started posting out of fun. I actually did have another channel when I was 13 on which I used to post vlogs, but I did not get much appreciation on that. YouTube has been my biggest passion since I was 9 actually.
How did you react when your videos started gaining more and more traction, your second video gaining over 450,000 views and your fifth video currently standing at over 2,000,000 views? Did you ever think that it would get this far?
I was really surprised when one of my videos suddenly started blowing up, and I actually gained 1000 subscribers overnight, which made me really happy. It actually happened when I was going through some hard times, and it helped me a lot, seeing a lot of people giving my work nice comments and all. I did not expect in 2 years to get this far, honestly.
Have you ever had any unique or interesting experiences with fans or viewers?
Actually, yes. I did start talking to some of my fans on my Instagram account. They all seemed really supportive and I did enjoy talking to them. Especially to some of them, who I’ve even become friends with over time. A few of them are now some of my closest friends, and I wouldn’t have been able to meet these amazing people if it weren’t for my YouTube channel. One of them is also Romanian and has a YouTube channel with over 200k, her name “Gacha Girls Ana”. We became really close and started collaborating on some projects.
What is the most important thing that you have learned from your YouTube journey so far?
I think that the most important thing I learned is to be kind. I see some people that are really toxic and use their channels for “clout” [“social capital”, fame, hype, money or connections gained through social media], so I told myself that now I have the opportunity to use this platform in positive ways, and try to make people laugh, feel better and be confident. I sometimes write some inspirational speeches on my community posts in hopes of cheering people up, especially in these hard times.
What is your advice to anyone that is thinking about starting a YouTube channel, or undertaking any other large creative project themselves?
My advice for people who would like to start their own journey is that you should never give up on your dreams. Keep trying and trying, and don’t let mean comments from haters bring you down. Tell yourself you are stronger than them, and even if you fail sometimes, I know how frustrating it is, but still no one started off as perfect. The only way to get there is through hard work and determination. You have the power to be whoever you want, as long as you make sure it is not affecting those around you. Believe in yourself.
We are extremely proud of Ilinca’s hard work. She is living proof that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to, and the way in which she uses her platform to promote positivity is very commendable. Remember Ilinca’s advice “you have the power to be whoever you want”, so go for it and start your own journey.