Good morning. To celebrate hitting 20 million YouTube subscribers, Ryan Trahan is launching a new daily series (his biggest yet) starting June 10 and lasting all summer. 

Catch us next Tuesday wearing weird sunglasses, sipping a fun drink, and getting ready for “the Game Plan.” Let’s party like it’s the Penny Series.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

The Bucket List Family Launches Boutique Vacation Brand

The Bucket List Family (Garrett and Jessica Gee and their three kids) has amassed over 4 million followers in the last decade documenting their travel adventures across the world, from feeding giraffes in Kenya to scuba diving with sharks in Mexico. 

They’ve written books with National Geographic, launched a bucket list app, and started developing an animated series.

Their next adventure: The Bucket List Collection, an offering of boutique hospitality experiences including accommodation, meals, and curated itineraries.

“Our mission has been to inspire young families and help people manifest and plan their trips,” Garrett told us. “Now we’re going to create these destinations that are the best go-to trips on the planet. Full circle, this is our way of taking everything we’ve experienced and paying it forward to other families.”

Breaking down the business: 

• The Gees own the properties they’re offering up as part of the Bucket List Collection (one in Canada’s Berry Island and another in Mounu Island, Tonga). 

• Both islands already had family-run accommodations on-site when the Gees purchased them earlier this year.

• The Gees will run the marketing and hire on-site managers. Each island has 4–12 suites and inclusive experiences start at about $1,100 per night per person.

The audience response? Within the first hour of launch, Berry Island had over 60 booking inquiries. Five days later, it’s now at 250. Garrett said their first three bookings were for week-long stays at about $15K each.

“We don't even consider ourselves the owner of these islands, we’re stewards. It’s our job to protect them and share them in sustainable ways and that’s why they’re a bit more of a pricey experience,” Garrett said.

Zoom out: The Gees want to do to hospitality what MrBeast did to chocolate or Cassey Ho did to activewear—leverage a creator-driven approach and bring their audience along in a YouTube series as they build the business with this goal →

“Our priority is how can we be a sustainable business that makes enough money to pour back into the areas to protect and improve them,” Garrett said.

Starbucks Wants Two Creators Ready to Grind

Starbucks announced a nationwide search for its first Global Coffee Creator position, a yearlong contract role to make content from Starbucks locations around the world. 

The details: Starbucks is bringing on one current employee and one external creator with a passion for coffee, traveling, and online content. Applications (which include a video element) close June 13.

Starbucks said it’s received hundreds of applications so far, from lifestyle creators like Tatianna Areizaga to experienced baristas like Izzy Polnaszek.

Big picture: Starbucks joins a growing list of companies tapping creators to build their brand messaging. John Deere is paying a “Chief Tractor Officer” up to $192K to make their social content. Etsy just announced a partnership with Mythical that will feature a Rhett & Link-curated storefront plus integrations across newsletters and YouTube. And Converse recently brought on Amelia Dimoldenberg to host a dating series called Chuckmates on the brand’s YouTube channel.

Sponsored by Artlist

How 4 Artists Preserved the Story of a Disappearing Country

What happens to a place when the world stops paying attention? Artlist sent four artists on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to find out.

For one week, they documented the culture, music, and sounds of Tuvalu. The result? A one-of-a-kind asset collection that captures the spirit of this remote island that’s disappearing due to climate change.

Artist's mission is to empower creators with high-quality footage made by real artists and premium AI tools. With a simple global license, you get access to everything you need to produce your next great video.

Go along on the adventure and see how creativity lives on forever.

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 Becoming a Creator Tool?

After eight years of anticipation, Nintendo finally released the Nintendo Switch 2—complete with tech to let users more easily chat with players and livestream from the console directly. 

Creators are counting it as a new tool for content production and audience connection. 

• “It’s supposed to be this much more social console, where you can share your gameplay with other people at the same time,” Marques Brownlee said in his review noting the new camera accessory on the Switch 2. 

• Tech creator iJustine shared how she used the camera to collaborate with another creator.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Kai Cenat confirms a streamer remake of Total Drama Island.

• 66% of surveyed US consumers see YouTube as a “realistic destination” for feature films and TV shows, according to a Looper Insights poll.

• Nick DiGiovanni’s seasoning brand OSMO is expanding into 3,000 Walmart stores, plus Amazon and TikTok Shop.

• The “beige Amazon influencer” lawsuit between lifestyle creators Alyssa Sheil and Sydney Nicole Sloneker is headed for dismissal.

• Twitch streamer Emiru is throwing the first pitch at an upcoming San Diego Padres game.

➕ Community Tab

We have a lot going on these days: Press Publish NYC in September, Coffee With Creators tomorrow, and our regularly scheduled 3x/week newsletter. We’ve been able to keep things running smoothly (and share lots of peeks behind the curtain) thanks to our brand new website, courtesy of our amazing partners at Rare Days and beehiiv.

Our new site is an accurate representation of who we are as a company…and it’s a lot easier for you, our readers, to navigate. Check it out right here.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: For Paper Magazine, Joan Summers interviews Benito Skinner on making Overcompensating, content creation, and flavored vodka.

• Watch: Science creator Styropyro creates the world’s strongest handheld laser, able to burn through a penny, tungsten, and synthetic diamonds.

• Listen: In the first WTF episode since he announced his forthcoming retirement from podcasting, Marc Maron reflects on leaving a legacy with singer-songwriter Josh Homme.