Good morning. Do our eyes deceive us? The calendar says 2026, but Casey Neistat has posted three vlogs in the past week.

If “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber comes on the radio, we’ll know that 2016 is truly back.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

YouTube strategist Paddy Galloway’s consulting company has over 1,500 creators and brands on its waitlist—including billion-dollar companies. 

“Few people are able to do what we do,” Galloway told us. “So there's always going to be this influx of supply that we can't meet.”

Why? With a resume that includes MrBeast, Jesser, Red Bull, and the Philadelphia Eagles, Galloway has a proven understanding of YouTube’s algorithm that has helped him 3x monthly views for some clients.

We talked to Galloway about YouTube’s top macro trends →

What works for creators doesn’t always work for brands. Galloway started consulting solely for creators in 2020, optimizing video ideas, titles, and thumbnails. Brands entered the picture in 2022, and now make up 60% of his company’s revenue. 

“A brand can be a little bit more complicated,” Galloway said. “It's not always, ‘I want more views at all costs.’ Brands want to grow their audience, make sure it's framing their content in the right way, presenting the right message, and sharing the different goals they have as a business.”

Creators are slowing down video pacing to optimize for TV. “In 2021, everyone was making videos with a million edits and crazy graphics because mobile was the dominant platform,” Galloway said. “In 2026, TV's the dominant platform and people are making longer, higher production videos with less speed and chaos. That's not a coincidence.”

AI slop only threatens creators with unoriginal videos. While Galloway acknowledges AI content is increasing on the platform, he doesn’t see it as a creative threat. He says if a creator finds a story that only they are able to tell, it shouldn’t matter if someone repeats the format. “Focus on the inputs that made you worth copying,” Galloway said.

On Monday, fashion creator and model Alex Consani made history as both the first trans woman and creator to serve on the hosting committee for the Met Gala. And serve she did.

Behind-the-scenes: The Met Gala has two curatorial bodies: the co-chairs (a small group in charge of programming alongside Vogue’s global editorial director Anna Wintour) and the hosting committee (a larger group of celebrities tasked with ensuring the fundraising gala is a financial success). 

Meaning: In one of the most exclusive rooms in the world, a creator was entrusted with a leadership role for the first time—further legitimizing creator voices in these more traditional spaces. Other members of this year’s hosting committee included Zoë Kravitz and Sabrina Carpenter.

Worth noting: Emma Chamberlain returned for the sixth time as a red carpet correspondent wearing custom Mugler, interviewing attendees about their outfits for Vogue’s YouTube channel. 

Despite some creators in leadership roles this year, fewer were on the carpet—though Instagram hosted a creator-only watch party and other fashion creators partnered with brands like Nordstrom to give a breakdown on the night’s looks.

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Tech review creator Zack Nelson, aka JerryRigEverything, just expanded his off-road wheelchair company into manual chairs—and he says they're 70% cheaper than the competition. Here's how he's doing it →

Context: Nelson launched Not a Wheelchair (NAW) five years ago, manufacturing battery-powered wheelchairs out of a 26,000-square-foot facility in Utah with a 19-person team—all funded by his YouTube channel. 

Looking ahead: Nelson expects the business to turn profitable this year. Once wheelchair sales cover the $30,000/month in rent, payroll, R&D, and maintenance, Nelson plans to cut the financial support from the channel and transition NAW to an employee-owned company.