Itsjudyslife vlogger Judy Travis recently visited Manila to be s part of the Moms' Edition of Youtube Fan Fest. The Asian Parent was able to talk to her about vlogging, motherhood, and vlogging about motherhood!
Itsjudyslife: Judy Travis
Born in Seattle, Judy Gutierrez Travis is a Filipino-American vlogger. She started her Youtube channel, itsjudyslife, in October 2011.
"It was a passion for makeup," she says about her early vlogging days. "I was a college student at the University of Washington. I was studying full time and I was working part-time."
While working in the makeup industry, she stumbled upon a makeup tutorial video of Youtuber Michelle Phan on how to do a smokey-eye in three minutes.
"Ever since, I was hooked," she tells us. "And I realized that Youtube was an open platform that was free for anyone. And I was like, 'Okay! I'll show people how I curl my hair!' That was the most terrifying thing that I did, but I'm glad I did it because it led to this wonderful life I call my career."
Judy started posting videos as a side hobby, then she began getting positive feedback from viewers. Her viewers loved her videos, she then continued shooting more videos and gained more popularity. After which, she started creating more videos due to popular demand.
Today, because of itsjudylife, Judy is a member of the million subscriber club on YouTube. itsjudylife has 1,660,506 subscribers and has over 920 million views. Her YouTube channel listed in the top 1% of the YouTube’s “Google Preferred” Channels For Advertisers in both “Beauty” and “Family & Children’s Interests” categories.
Judy is now a wife to Benji Travis and a mother of three beautiful girls namely Julianna, her eldest, and her twins Miya and Keira—who also love make-up as much as she does. She shares videos of her love for makeup and her life with her family through her daily vlogs, as well as tips and experiences of being a mom.
Although she is bubbly on-screen, Judy says she can be very reserved and describes herself as a "hermit crab."
"I feel like I'm pretty much an introverted person, which I think is why I'm a Youtuber," she jests. "But when I'm meeting my viewers or when I'm talking about something I'm passionate about, I bloom. Like I love talking about my kids, and Youtube..."
Being an introvert, Judy reveals that when she was just starting out her channel, she would imagine that she was talking to her best friend when she's in front of the camera.
"Imagine if you upload a video on Youtube and then you watch yourself," she says animatedly. "It's the most awkward, cringy thing! That's how it was like for me. Until I changed my mentality."
She adds, "Rather than looking at the camera and thinking that thousands of people are watching, I would look into the camera and act as if I'm talking to my best friend. 'Cause that way, the way I'm talking will be on a casual level. You're not trying to be politically correct, per se. You're not trying to be perfect with your choice of words."
Judy admits that she doesn't plan so much on her content, simply because "it's my life."
She explains, "Mine is just girl-next-door, daily vlogger, casual... I'm far from high production. But I think it's why I love doing it. I'm capable of doing it by myself."
And it's this natural and unscripted moments that endeared Judy and her family to her followers.
Advice to first-time YouTubers
Judy shares a very meaningful advice to all first-time YouTubers who would want to start recording and uploading. She simply says, "Well first of all, just do it. I mean this is not a Nike ad, but literally just do it!"
She continues, "And also you don't have to have the best equipment. It doesn't have to be a 500 dollar camera. It could be as simple as on your phone."
"And I noticed when we're doing a meet and greet everybody had an iPhone and that's the best quality cameras that you know you have already. You don't have to invest in equipment—that could come along the way, but if you're passionate enough to share something, just record it and hopefully you're doing it, because of genuine passion and it is not career-driven," she adds.
She believes, "Because if it's gonna be career-driven then you might have some disappointments and then burnout right away. Just make sure you're passionate about it and like I've said many times before..."
"YouTube, I don't know it's funny that I could call this career is the best thing ever. And yeah this is my life and I'm so grateful for living in such a blessed and happy life and a lot of these thanks to you guys. But I'm so passionate about it and I love creating videos," she expressed.
Additional report by Camille Luzande
Also read: Anak nina Judy Ann Santos at Ryan Agoncillo, gumawa ng beauty vlog