Katie and Cullen seemed like perfectly normal people when I met them six years ago.
They lived in an upscale neighborhood of a Birmingham suburb. She had been a child psychologist. He had been a software developer. But they had both left their secure, high-paying jobs. Why? They had become YouTube stars — and they were making enough money that they didn’t need jobs anymore.
I had a freelance photo assignment in March 2015 from a magazine to shoot pictures of the family for a cover story. They had nearly 100,000 subscribers on YouTube at the time and their popularity was rapidly growing. The story was all about their unlikely success.
They seemed like genuinely nice people. There was no air of pretentiousness about them. They didn’t even really seem that impressed with their sudden fame. I liked them.
But when I watched their YouTube channel — and read the comments from their adoring fans — I was absolutely baffled. I couldn’t figure out why anybody wanted to watch videos about their lives. Today, they have more than half a million subscribers to their channel, so I seem to be the odd one.
As I keep pondering whether there’s a media opportunity for me — on YouTube or something similar — I keep coming back to the puzzling realization that the public wants something which I don’t yet understand.
And how could I possibly be successful in a medium which I apparently don’t even understand?

Inflated expectations make good people act like entitled children
I have a history of ignoring signs that warn me it’s time for change
The love I crave seems beyond horizon, always out of my reach
AUDIO: Partnership idea sounded great, but it was just a dead end
We can see injustices of the past, but still honor men who achieved
Why do so many of us stay where we know we’ll remain miserable?
Three of Colorado shooting victims died protecting their girlfriends
These aren’t revolutionaries; they’re nothing but thugs and looters
Tell me the music you listen to and that’ll reveal a lot about you