A TEENAGER is fast becoming a YouTube sensation, with his channel set to hit 10,000 subscribers this month.
Craig T Dillon, from Chelmsford, has only been producing clips for the site for ten months, but his pranks and "vlogging" have reached more than 150,000 people, with thousands of those subscribing to his videos.
He said: "I never thought I could reach that many people, it's really cool. It all just began with me and my friends playing a prank in a Tesco supermarket.
"We were putting things in people's trolleys and secretly filming their reactions.
Production
"When we hit 18,000 views I just thought it would be worth trying this again," said Craig, who is studying film and TV production at Colchester Institute.
Armed with his camera and laptop on a trip to Los Angeles, Craig began producing video blogs – or "vlogs" – and uploading them to the site, capturing his first trip to Walmart and the flight over to the US.
"I never really wanted to be famous, but people seem to love the clips," he said.
"I've only uploaded 18 videos in total, but my subscribers are increasing by up to 100 each week so we're hoping to hit 10,000 this month," added Craig, who has been advised not to give his specific age as in the digital world this may affect his "relatability".
A social media pro, the teenager also boasts 37,000 followers on Twitter and mentions modestly that he has "only" 2,000 likes on Facebook.
"My most recent clip is myself messing about with my four-year-old sister and we've already got so many comments. People are just saying how we're both 'adorable'," Craig jokes.
Now making a steady income from his channel, the Essex teen is planning to head back to LA for a month in July to shoot more videos, and attend VidCon, the annual YouTube conference.
"And then I'm off to University in September so it's all really exciting.
"One day I hope I'll be producing films behind the camera, but for now it's me people seem to like watching," said Craig.
