Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Becker.
Ethan, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
So, when I was a young child, my parents would always take me to Disneyland. My earliest memories of Disneyland are when I was two to three years old. I had no idea what was going on, but I loved being immersed and surrounded by the beautiful atmosphere. The rides scared me as a child and my first memory of getting on a ride was my dad forcing me to go on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Funnily enough for the longest time that was actually my favorite ride at the park, but I just liked to watch, not ride, it.
As the years went on, I grew up more and started to overcome my fears of the rides at the park and as of now I go on just about every single ride at Disneyland and California Adventure. Starting in 2016, my friends and I started to go very often and we decided to get a pass because at times we were going every week. A few years ago, I started to get into Disney blogs and forums and reading what was coming next to the parks and any other cool Disney news. That transitioned to watching Theme Park Vloggers on YouTube in 2017-2018 and in 2018 I decided I go to theme parks so much and I have a love and passion for them that I should start a Theme Park based YouTube channel. At that point Theme Park Wizard was born.
I honestly do not know how I came up with the name, but I just love it really flows well and describes me very well. When I started YouTube, I had no idea what I was doing. I had no film experience and was just using my laptop to film my videos at the time. Plus, my lighting and thumbnails in my first few videos are absolutely atrocious. As I did more videos, I learned more about filming and editing with each new video. I also started to make a presence on social media with my own Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages. Through Facebook and especially Twitter, I met some awesome Youtubers that would eventually become good friends of mine and help me out tremendously with tips and tricks on how to improve my channel.
Then I decided I want to really start to grow my brand. I decided to that by making different colored shirts with my now trademarked name and logo on them. During this rough time, I have also been making face masks with some of the proceeds going to the American Nurses Foundation.
As for the future of the brand and the channel, I plan on continuing to grow my channel, blog, and merchandise collection into what I call the Theme Park Wizard empire!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It certainly has not been a smooth road at times, but luckily as I learn more the road becomes smoother. As I previously mentioned, I had no filming or editing skills and my early work was terrible, but I did not let that stop me, I wanted to keep improving and still today I am learning and improving on my prior videos.
As for the merchandise, it has at times put a financial strain on me and sometimes I was not able to make as many shirts as I would have liked, but it was okay I pushed through it and was able to make a decent amount of product for everyone to enjoy!
Please tell us about your business.
My brand, Theme Park Wizard, is all about theme parks all over the world. I am from Los Angeles, so I mostly focus on our local SoCal parks, but I do a lot of Florida parks as well. My videos are about theme park news and rumors such as what ride could be coming to Disney or Six Flags. I also do videos on most things Disney such as DisneyPlus, leadership changes in the company, and the occasional movie or television show review.
I am most proud that I can go to the theme parks themselves and film all the changes happening, so people who are planning to go in the future know what to expect and how to prepare.
I think what sets me apart from other Youtubers is that they are specifically Disney Youtubers and Youtubers that mostly do other parks. Also, Youtubers that vlog in the parks usually do not do informational/news videos. I combine all of that and do everything. I try and get out one video per day on my channel and I am usually at one of the local parks and if not, I am doing an informational/news type of video.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My brand is still pretty small so I would have to say my proudest moments have been reaching 500 subscribers on my channel and all of the awesome supportive comments I get on my videos from my awesome subscribers! I also got my first 5-star review on Google My Business which felt super special and awesome!
Pricing:
- Facemasks- $10 (Some proceeds go to American Nurses Foundation)
- T shirts $20
- Theme Park Wizard Button $1
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theme-park-wizard.square.site/s/shop
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theme_park_wizard/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThemeParkWizard101
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theme_wizard
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJcSzAJm8OVI_1P-yjRm1CQ/
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