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Join James Petrossi in 'Leave the Feed: 30 Days of Disconnect' as he interviews creators and mental health advocates about their journeys, the digital quagmire, and tips to create a healthier relationship with social media.
[00:00:00]
James Petrossi: Hello and welcome to Leave the Feed 30 Days of Disconnect. Today is day one. Do it together and no better guest than a master creator, the co-creator of Leave the Feed and CEO of REACH, Dylan. Huey. Dylan, welcome to the show. So day one is all about doing it together and the power of community, and you're a guy that like lives and breathes community. So I thought for your introduction, it would be awesome to hear about how digital communities have shaped your growth as a creator also had like a really positive impact on your mental health.
Dylan Huey: Yeah, well, I think it, it all stems down to my start as a content creator When I was 14 um, when I was 14, I was getting [00:01:00] middle bullied in middle school, and I built my following on a, a lip syncing platform called Musically, where I live streamed for five hours a day every single day for three years straight.
I did anything from having fans teach me French for an hour and I went live with fans. To me reading Shakespeare for freshmen high school. English class homework, right? So I quickly learned the importance of, of digital community wherein I wasn't able to find community in real life, in person, in school.
I turned to social media. So that's been so, so vital for my upbringing of a content creator. And I think community's really been at core. Of everything I've done you know, beyond being a content creator and building a, a community where people are able to be authentic themselves and to know that there's others who relate to them.
You know, I, I, I built a company called Reach, which. Became a national organization, the epitome of a community [00:02:00] in real life, for people who are passionate about social media, which is a traditionally self isolating industry. To be able to have that group thing, to be able to come together, learn from each other, collaborate each other, and really grow you know, so, so I think communities really shaped my entire ecosystem.
I was talking about mental health during a time where everyone else was making small little lip sync videos on. On their phone, and I also made some small little lip syncing videos as well. But I, I think that that aspect really shaped a, a unique narrative into social media, which was that it's okay to talk about authentic, vulnerable topics, you know, and that's something that I did in a, in a sea of lip syncing videos.
James Petrossi: Going back to when you were in your infancy and you were going through struggles in high school and you were looking for support or help or just a way to express yourself, what was it about the digital world that you found? Found it [00:03:00] easier to express authenticity and define that community than in the physical world.
Dylan Huey: I think that. There's just more people online transparently than, than in person, right? You're, you're only surrounded in, in high school with the people that are at your school, right? And if you're getting bullied in your high school, then there's no other path forward. But, I think social media allows you to find those interest groups where there are people passionate, equally passionate about the same things that you're passionate about, right?
You can really find your, your niche. And as someone who is super introverted, it's so much easier to find that community online where there's so many people from around the world where you can have that global communication, community and connection that you really can't be able to get in person.
And I think that, you know, a lot of people do do prey on, the negativity of social media and, and how that it causes things like cyber bullying and harassment. But I think that there's a lot more [00:04:00] good through social media than there is negative. And I think that being able to understand that there are so many different communities and connection points and opportunities on social media because.
Everybody's on social media now to find the people who you can relate to. You know, that's, that's so vital to you know, a sustainable life. You know, knowing that there are other people who are in the same place as you, who are the same age as you, who are. Equally as passionate about the things that you might get bullied about or equally as passionate about you know, the things that other people don't like.
You know, there's at least a few people online who have that same passion and calling as you.
James Petrossi: Yeah, it sounds beautiful. To be able to share a voice, express a feeling, and it be met with open ears, open arms, networks, right? As opposed to. The typical isolation that comes from just wallowing in your [00:05:00] own fears and your own worries and your own right? To be able to open those networks everything that you're doing with Reach.
You know, as you started to build this community, when I first met you, reach was in just a handful of colleges. Talk about like how it's grown and what you're doing to nurture creators and make sure that they actually have a safe and prosperous environment to create an.
Dylan Huey: You know, when I took it over at our USC chapter, it was just a small student organization with 40 members passionate about social media and content creation during the COVID era. Wherein we had guest speakers every single week. You know, and. And when I became president of the USC chapter, I, I took a dive into what pre COVID reach looked like and, and something that stuck out to me was the ability for creators to be able to collaborate with each other.
That's something that I understood because when I was growing on Musicly, I was live streaming with other creators every single day. I wanted to build that aspect of community, and that was something that was [00:06:00] super important for me, you know. Be able to see the juxtaposition be between COVID where we only had guest speakers every single week and nobody was very engaged and interested To 20 19, 20 18 reach where we had amazing, incredible creators like Alan Chicken Chow, who's now the most watched YouTube sports creator in the world.
Being able to collaborate with. Other content creators to build the scene, the plot, the play you know, where, where they have a playground to be able to make content. And that's something that I, I saw was super, super, super. Beneficial you know, to the ability to find creators to come together and collaborate.
You know, so to date, we, we've expanded reach to now a hundred universities. You know, it's only been a, a steady three years and we, you know, we have 5,000 college students, 500 million followers amongst students, a thousand alums, 800 million followers amongst our alums. And at our [00:07:00] core, we, we still are a community to this day.
We grew out even further. We grew out into, you know, a few for-profit sides as well. They all have one single tie in, which is being the non-corporate corporate. You know, in a sense, you know, first and foremost we have a marketing agency being able to help brands and, and entrepreneurs be able to tap into these creators.
/And I think we're really good at being translators between brands and creators, right? So we help a bunch of brands with. Influencer marketing with college marketing, with social media marketing. You know, we, we know the playbook. We know Gen Z because, you know, for, for me, I, I am Gen Z, so, you know, it's a, it's a great playbook.
I, I'm, I'm figuring out how to sell to myself, but I'm also figuring out how to really get these companies to speak their mission and speak their mind. Second thing we have is the talent management group. We represent over a hundred creators with 5 million followers. For me there, there's a few reasons why we started a talent management group.
One is [00:08:00] obvious. A lot of my, my friends growing up who are also content creators, were like, oh my God, well Reach is doing so well. You guys are getting so many brand deals. How can we tap in and how can you help us? Second thing is that we wanna make sure that creators don't get taken advantage of. I I see a lot of documentaries out there with the horrors of being a teen influencer, being a young influencer.
And, and those are things, especially because the influencer space is the wild west that we wanna be able to protect. We want to be able to protect creators and make sure that they are taken care of, but also know their worth. 'cause I think that that's the thing that a lot of creators don't know is what their value is to brands.
Beyond that, we have a ventures division where we have equity in a lot of companies that want to grow and you know, wanna raise funding and we help them kind of incubate them and, and connect them to the right people based on my network. And then we have a, a film and TV division where we are helping executive produce a few feature films and short films.
So the Lay the Land has grown a a lot more. You know, we have five different divisions, our national [00:09:00] organization, our marketing agency, talent management group, venture, and and studios. But I think this. All encompassing ecosystem is truly at the end of the day, what we've been able to build.
James Petrossi: Incredible. Yeah. And it brings me back to a quote that I love that you had in that influencer, and it said for. And foremost, we're a community, not a corporation. And to hold that near and dear to your heart, whether it's nurturing creators, protecting them, providing them with the tools and resources to grow, to get brand deals, to help them understand what it's like to be in the business of being creator and not just in the creation mode, right?
And how to monetize it and make a career out of this.
Dylan Huey: I think that there's. Only so many creators right now who are thinking like a, a business person. Right? And I think that there's two a, a two-pronged approach when you're a creator and not. I like to think of a creator more as a media company or a startup, right? When you're a startup, it's just you, you're a solo entrepreneur, you're working, you're grinding.[00:10:00]
Then you're figuring out how to bring in your first employee, whether it be an editor, videographer, manager, right? Who are the independent contractors that you bring on your team? How do you form an LLC? How do you figure out your taxes? And then you scale and grow. But you know, those are things that creators don't really understand.
I get a lot of creators messaging me a week after tax tax week, and they're like, Hey, I think I did my taxes wrong. Right? And I'm like. Well, what can I do? You're a little too late. You should have messaged me two weeks before. You know, but that's the honest truth is that creators are really passionate about creating, they don't really know the business side of things.
And, and, you know, for, for entrepreneurs, there's a lot of entrepreneurs who are really good at understanding products and understanding how to build things, but they also don't know the business world, right? So it's, you know, how do we get you know, these young individuals who have so much opportunity to really know how to set themselves up for success.
James Petrossi: Right now there's the business side, then there's the mental health. And as you've grown in this industry, [00:11:00] you know, you mentioned cyber bullying, we talk about protecting creators. What are some of the global challenges facing both creators and fans right now in relation to mental health?
Dylan Huey: Yeah, I think that there's a, there's a few things. One, I think in, in general, cancel culture is. Terrible. You know, and I think that that creators get canceled left and right. Obviously, you know, some creators get canceled for the right reasons. But I think that you know, it's a, it's a sticky road because, you know, every single person's making those mistakes.
The only thing that's different is that these creators are on a, you know, a battlefield where there's millions of people watching them. Right. But the honest truth is, you know, we all. Do make mistakes. And you know, I'm sure every single person out there, you know, if you try to find dirt on them, you know, no one's, no one's Jesus, nobody has, you know, a perfect you know, a perfect track record.
You know, so, so I think that's the first and foremost thing is that, you know, cancel culture is. [00:12:00] It's so terrible because it, it, it, one, it just demoralizes creators who are super passionate about wanting to make content, but then it also right now puts them into, you know, this, this. Whole of fear where they are scared to be their true self because what are their true self is gonna get them canceled, right?
You know, for their political beliefs or for their ideologies or, you know, for how they express themselves, right? They, there's a fear of expression. You know, the second thing that I think is, is a detriment to creator lifespan is just. Burnout. I, I think that burnout's so big in the creator space.
Every creator has a lifespan. The lifespans typically like three to four years. You know, and, and. I think that there's a lot of creators who are constantly posting and constantly making content because they wanna deliver to their [00:13:00] audience that, that love them. And obviously it's a revenue stream for them, you know?
But sometimes they, they lose that spark of momentum, right? I think that social media is very unique because it's not a nine to five, it's a 24 7, you're working on Saturdays, Sundays, you're making content that evening, you're replying to fans at midnight, right? So, so it's a whole different. Thing rather than working corporate America where you have to figure out how to balance yourself.
And I think creators don't really understand that balance and that that. That importance of one, I think, you know, this is solved by finding a community, but then two, actually doing what you're passionate about. You know, a lot of creators start making content and there's 700 videos in and they're like, I never really loved cooking in the first place, but all I'm making is cooking content, because I felt like that was a lucrative platform and, and niche.
You know, the honest truth is that you should from day one, make content that you love because if you love it, then someone else will love it.
James Petrossi: [00:14:00] Right now going back to burnout and being on 24 7, you know, thinking about day one, doing it together, leave the feed. have a passion for digital online communities. Reach is epic. It's growing, and yet you're an advocate for leave the feed. There's a group of creators on this podcast and then leave the feed.
Disconnect to reconnect that are behind this movement. Why is leave the feed and disconnection important to the creator community?
Dylan Huey: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, it's funny because when James first reached out to me,
James Petrossi: I.
Dylan Huey: he was like, yeah, this leave the feed thing and leave a feed product that I'm, I'm working on. I would love to get you involved. And I was like. But did you watch my Ted talk? I, I said that I love social media.
I think social media is great. And, you know, he, he explained to me that that leave the feed meant more than just, Hey, stop using social [00:15:00] media. Turn off your phone. You know, and for me, I think that that's the, the importance is that you know, that leave the feed isn't completely get rid of. TikTok, get rid of Instagram, don't post content.
But I think it's a remembrance of the importance of relationships. I think that truly it's, you know, getting to know yourself and getting to know the people who are around you. Both your online community and your in real life community. Right. And I think that there's a deeper level, and I think that social media, a lot of times we, we play on a surface level playing field where, you know, who do you really know?
Like who, who, how, how close are you with the people that you're, you're, going on TikTok with and commenting on their, their TikTok section, right? You, you really don't know them. You might see their content, you might know of them, but you don't know what they're going through. You don't know who they are, you know, behind the screen.
And I think that that's a whole different person is who that person is behind the scenes. And I think that's [00:16:00] what lead the feed for me really emphasizes is the fact both on the fan and the creator level. You know, that, that. We really want to get to know individuals rather than, than characters that are portrayed on social media.
You know, especially where there is a sea of, of people that you might talk to once a month or you might comment on their posts and they'll comment back, right? Or. Vice versa. Right. So for me, that's what Lead the Feet has always resonated for me is that importance of really getting to know the people who are around you, who are surrounding you, who are being your cheerleaders.
Both on the online space and the, the in real life space.
James Petrossi: It's gotta be a big challenge because. Like four or five years ago, blended realities were sort of just becoming a thing, you know? Like there was sort of the online space and the offline space. with. The way technology has moved forward, the lines are really blurred from everything that we do. We sit down, we order [00:17:00] food, we scan a QR code, we, you know, like we're connected all the time.
So how do you find that time? Like how do you find those moments as a creator and a CEO to sort of like, unplug, take a break and like what works best for you?
Dylan Huey: Yeah, I, I think there's a few things, right, and I think that. There's a few different levels, right? I, I can go with the cliche of going outside and going to the gym and not being on your phone. Right. But, but I'm, I feel like everyone's gonna say that. Same cliche. I, I do love playing tennis and I've played tennis three times a week.
That's my, my time to touch grass. But I think, you know, to, to go onto your question you know, I, I think it's really getting to know my friends without, having screens attached and also talking about work. Obviously, you know, being a creator and running reach my, my community, my peers, my friends are.
Also content creators. And I think the reason why I've been super successful is that when I go out to dinner [00:18:00] with my creator friend, when I go hang out with my creator friends, the last thing I want to talk about is content creation and social media work related stuff, right? You know, I think the, the better thing is getting to know them and who they are.
You know, what, what they enjoy. What they have fun doing, doing things that traditionally you wouldn't do on a screen, right? Going to amusement parks, going to the beach, e, et cetera. I, I think that those have been really, you know, key points for me and, and in my career because people understand that I'm not focused on, oh, what's your next.
Video that you're gonna post that, that might go viral. I don't really care to hear those, those ideas and, and those are great and there's a time and place, but I think, you know, when you're in person with these other, these creators for me, and I don't know how other people are because I don't, I don't ask them, I, I really try to narrate the conversation and, and direct the conversation.
I wanna make [00:19:00] it about, about you and, and who you are and get to know you rather than the, the character that you portray on the screen. That's why for me, I don't, I don't like cancel culture because I think some of the, the, the creators who you know, are, are getting canceled left and right. I think that they are great people and they are.
Down Earth. And you know, for me, they, they're also people like me. So I think that that's been a, a really big, important piece is getting to understand and know the people behind their masks that they have.
James Petrossi: Right. Yeah. That's beautiful. I mean, it really stuck out to me getting to know yourself, getting out there in the real world, the real, real environment, whatever your passion is, like sort of getting your hands, you said to like touch the grass or like to feel the earth, to smell the air, you know, to like remember that there is a life behind the screen and far too often whether it's a creator. In pursuit of creation or whether it's a fan [00:20:00] in the pursuit of scrolling and capturing the next piece of content that inspires them or they wanna share. Sometimes we all need to pick our head up and say like, oh my gosh, like, wait, you know, there's world around me.
Dylan Huey: I, I think I'm, I'm unique in the fact that I don't do market research on, on other creators content, right? I don't spend time. Consuming TikTok videos of my fellow creator peers. And I think that that's. More or less unique because, you know, I, I, I want to create content that is revolutionary and unique and, and individual to myself.
I don't necessarily need to be the, a thousandth Mr. Beast. I don't need to be the, a thousandth kai who's doing their next subhan right. For me, I, I. I'm happy to make my own unique content because I know that the content that I love to make is content that other people would love to consume, just because I think that authenticity, excitement, joy, and happiness is reflective [00:21:00] from a screen, right?
So, so it saves me time from having to scroll through trends because I, I just wanna make my own trends.
James Petrossi: I mean, it inspires me. I'm a content creator making this podcast right now, and one of the reasons that I fell in love with having you as a partner on this was your TED Talk social media saved my life and I was like, this is, this is the type of guy need here. You know,
Dylan Huey: Yeah.
James Petrossi: it is powerful.
Dylan Huey: You wanna know something funny? I've actually never watched a podcast or listened to a podcast in my life. So, but I've got, I've been on like a hundred podcasts. I just, I've never listened to it because, and I, when I, when I do these podcasts, I also don't look at the questions. James, you sent me the question before, and.
I didn't even look at it. I, I, I responded to you. I said, the questions look great, but I didn't read it. You know, for me it's all about authenticity and you know, I, I I think that the most true words come out [00:22:00] when you are least prepared, right? And for me, I don't need to have pr training behind me to, to know that the words that I'm saying are words that are true to myself.
And I wanna live and die with the words that I say.
James Petrossi: So in the spirit of living and dying by the words that you say, people right now that are just starting to take on this 30 day challenge. they're just looking for some sparks of inspiration on how do I be more conscious of my social media consumption? Some of them are creators, some of them are fans.
What is your hope for anyone that's taking this challenge and is going through this 30 days?
Dylan Huey: Yeah. You know, it's, it's funny because, you know, I don't necessarily think that, my hope is that they completely get rid of their phone. You know, I think that for some people that is their intent that they're coming in with is that they decrease their screen time significantly. But I, I think that my hope is that they understand.[00:23:00]
The world around them a little bit better, right? They understand themselves, they understand their, their friends, they understand their family, and they can think in a multilateral approach, right? They can start to have a little more empathy and to hear other sides of conversations in which maybe beforehand they might have.
Only thought that their side was the correct side. I, I think that that aspect of empathy, vulnerability and, and clear communication is something that I hope that they get from, from this book. I think that truly though, at the end of the day, these. These individuals who are starting their own 30 day challenge should set goals for themselves.
What do you personally hope to get out of it? Because that's such a unique journey and such a unique thing, right? I can't tell you, you know, to decrease your screen time by 40% by participating in this book, right? The things that I can tell you is to. Get to hear your peers a little bit closer. Get to understand your friends.
If you have a [00:24:00] disagreement with a friend or you know, a loved one, get to know why, where their side is, because I've been using this phrase recently but it's, I believe that he believes or she believe. He slash she's right. Right. So anytime I'm, I'm in a disagreement and I've been using this with my lawyer recently a lot.
I'll be like, well, I believe that he believes he's right and I believe that she believes she is right. But I also think that I'm right. Right. So there's always some middle ground because everybody thinks that there's Right, and there's every side to different stories. And I think lead the feed is going to allow people to really get.
Into their relationships and personal life a little bit more deeper to start to understand those aspects of life that they might have not thought about before.
James Petrossi: I think you're exactly right and you know, you don't have to go through this challenge. Lock your phone away. You don't have to not check social
Dylan Huey: I.
James Petrossi: And the most important thing is that you find those areas that speak to you, [00:25:00] and just look to find balance, look to explore, and look to have. Fun with it. I mean, this is a chance to really learn and grow and evolve.
Dylan Huey: I think that there's two things that I want people to, to walk home with one or you know, or to do. One is to. Reconnect to a long lost passion of theirs. You know, so if they loved you know, playing guitar when they're younger, but just fell out of love, try to pick that back up and second call someone that you, you haven't talked to in a while, maybe you know, you guys lost that friendship, or maybe you guys just grew distant and have that conversation.
Because at the end of the day, we're not strangers. We're, we're all one small. World and, you know, the world's too small for, for anger, hate, or grudges to be had.
James Petrossi: Man, hallelujah. Wise words, I can probably leave it at that. Any other things? Any other knowledge drops you wanna put down or should we leave it at [00:26:00] that?
Dylan Huey: That's a good question. That's, that's the call to action on my side. I think, you know, at the end of the day, I think that, that believe the feed story that we're trying to tell you know, with the book is, is something that. Isn't a one-time thing. And I, I know that, that we have pages where you can write on the book, but you know, it might be something that might be beneficial to read seasonally or, you know, every single year.
And I think that that's what's so beautiful about the book. I don't, I don't usually like reading books multiple times. You know, but I think Lead the Feed really brings, you know, a un message that no matter where you are staged in your life, there's something that you can get back. There's something that you can to take home.
You know, and no matter if you're reading it for the first time or the fifth time, there's that sit, there's a different nugget of inspiration because you're gonna interpret it differently. It's, it's kind of like a, a fortune [00:27:00] teller. You know, when you. Go to a fortune teller. They say all these like vague things.
You know, and it's for you to interpret because you know, it's your, your time to understand you more personally. That's the same thing here. It's a little less vague than a fortune teller. We're not a fortune teller who's trying to. Encourage you a hundred bucks just to be able to, to predict your future.
We're not predicting your future, right? It's for you to predict your own future. I think that that's the biggest difference is we are creating that narrative and that mission and, and, and those challenges for you to be able to better your own future and to better your own life. And, you know, taking multiple times to get there is an act of self-development is not a, a sign of weakness.
And I think. Being able to read the book multiple times will allow you to really hone in on, on your skills that you really wanna develop. Maybe it's, you know, one, one year, it's [00:28:00] really focusing on actually disconnecting from your phone a little bit more, and then maybe, you know, next the following year, you know, you want to you know, get back you know, with the relationships that you used to have and, and that's your goal.
You know, and I think that the book. Different when you, when you have different goals in mind that you set.
James Petrossi: Awesome, awesome. Wise, wise words. Thank you so much. Hey, thanks for being an awesome partner in this, and every time I talk to you, I. Always learn something new from you, so I really appreciate it. For everyone listening, please subscribe to this channel, share, leave the feed with a friend and don't be afraid to disconnect. Thanks so much, Dylan.