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Meet Ryan Van Duzer of DuzerTV in Boulder

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Van Duzer.

Ryan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My career as a storyteller was born on public access TV back in 2006. I had just returned home to Boulder after two years working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras. My degree in broadcast journalism trained me for a job with a traditional news outlet, but after an internship at 9news in Denver, I learned that local news wasn’t my passion. My goal was to share inspirational stories that motivated viewers to get off their couches and challenge themselves. On public access, you can create whatever you want (much like Wayne’s World) and in July 2006, The ‘Out There’ show debuted on channel 54. Does anybody watch public access? Not really, it’s one of those channels that you flip by as quickly as possible. You also don’t get paid, thank you mom for letting me live rent-free in your basement! However, the experience was invaluable. I learned to craft my skills with filming, editing, and storytelling. The 30min show highlighted outdoor adventures in the Boulder area. It was low budget, gritty, goofy, and I ended every episode with an emphatic GET OUT THERE! I heard that drunk college students loved my show when it aired at 2am.

This experience lead to creating similar content for the Daily Camera newspaper. I became known as the ‘Out There guy’ and I was paid 50 dollars for a weekly video. YouTube was in its infancy at the time and newspapers all across the country began prioritizing online video. My stories ranged from highlighting local hikes and bike rides to covering the Olympics in Beijing. I loved it!

Working locally was cool, but I wanted to reach more people with my Get Out There message. As fate would have it, the Travel Channel began offering a course in online filmmaking and I jumped at the opportunity. I spent most of my savings ($2500) and away I went to the nations capitol for the 4-day course. To make a long story short, this lead to almost ten years of freelance work with the Travel Channel. I created short videos for their website, got to travel the world, and made enough money to move out of mom’s basement. Yay!

I had fun working in the TV world, but these days, I’m a full-time YouTuber. I absolutely love the freedom to share my heart and soul with my channel, interact with viewers, and tell stories that I’m deeply passionate about. My mission is still the same, to inspire viewers to GET OUT THERE!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I had to make a lot of sacrifices along the way. For one, I barely made any money at the start of my career. The freedom of being a freelancer is exciting, but it’s a constant hustle. In order to make this work, I kept my expenses very low and took outside jobs to fill in the holes. I’m forever grateful to my mom for allowing me to live at home…as a 29 year old, ha!

The TV world is fickle. It’s crushing to put all your hopes and desires into a project that never gets off the ground. The highs are incredible, but they were few and far between.

DuzerTV – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in creating video content for YouTube that aims to inspire people to challenge themselves. My mantra since day 1 is ‘Get Out there!’ My channel focuses on cycling and running, but anything in the great outdoors is fair game. The videos are high energy, with a touch of goofy, while maintaining an authentic voice. I’m most proud of the messages I get from viewers when they excitedly tell me that my channel has inspired them to get off their couches and try something new. That’s my emotional paycheck.

I also do motivational speaking and LOVE IT! I share the importance of perseverance, teamwork, compassion and gratitude. High School audiences are my favorite, they’re the perfect age to be inspired.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success by the feedback that I get from viewers. When they tell me that my videos have inspired them to bike more, run more, or just get outside, I know that I’m doing my job. I’ve never been driven by money. Knowing that I’ve changed someone’s life for the better is my paycheck.

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