words by KAREN CRUZ
If you have no idea who Cameron Dallas is, just ask your preteen niece or teenage sister and be prepared for the deafening, girlish squeals of excitement. With over 6 million Vine followers, 5 million Instagram followers and 3 million Twitter followers to date, he’s a bona fide internet celebrity, made famous by the funny, satirical videos that he posts on social media. Surely his school boy good looks don’t hurt his online following either.
You are quite the internet sensation! Did you start out doing videos through vine or YouTube?
“I actually started on Instagram, and a lot of people don’t know that. I went from Instagram to YouTube to Vine. I upload on all of them, though!”
What inspires you to make each video? How do you come up with these ideas?
“Making people laugh is one of the main things that inspires me. You’d be surprised how many people tell me how my six-second video brightened up their whole day. Coming up with these ideas can be really random, but I just try to take basic things in life and make then funny by adding a little twist.”
Any particular favorites?
“One of my favorite vines is when I was shooting a bubble gun over a guy. I was so scared to do it because I didn’t know how he was going to react… But he ended up just laughing and smiling like he was a kid again.”
How long does it take to shoot a typical vine video? A YouTube video? How many do you typically do in a day?
“Vine videos can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour…sometimes even longer. YouTube videos take a while because you have to get props, then film, and then edit – so probably like twelve to sixteen hours total. I try to post a YouTube video once a week and a vine every other day.”
Do you have any favorite Viners or YouTubers who you follow yourself?
“Some of my favorite Viners or YouTubers are Christian Delgrosso, King Bach, Marcus Johns, Simple Pickup, Ed Bassmaster, Jack Vale, and Roman Arwood.”
We all know that you have a huge fan base. What advice would you give your fans and other people on social media to deal with haters and hate comments in general?
“When it comes to hate comments, it’s best to just ignore it and not respond. Learn from me, because every time I’ve responded, it worked against me. It’s always better to be the bigger person.”
I heard you got a movie deal! Tell me a little but about it.
“I just got done filming a movie called Expelled! The director, Alex Goyette, was amazing. I also had the pleasure of working with Marcus Johns, Lia Marie Johnson, Andrea Russett, Matt Shively, and Teala Dunn. It was a lot of fun on set. I put a lot of hard work into it, so I’m excited to see how it turns out! The movie premieres on December 10th and opens in theaters on December 12th in LA, New York and Chicago.”
What do you credit to you having such a huge following?
“I believe everything that I have received is a blessing. I owe it all to God. It’s all because of him!”
photography TEREN ODDO www.terenoddo.com
styling KELSEY DOLCE
grooming JHIZET PANOSIAN using AMIKA at CROSBY CARTER MANAGEMENT
photo assistants RAHIL and JAKE