Nathan Graber-Lipperman: Where do you find yourself right now?
Daren Vongirdner: I am in my guest bedroom in Grand Rapids. I’m looking at the snow. It’s beautiful. I just bought a sled. I can’t wait to get out there.
NGL: What’s on your mind outside of sledding? It sounds like you’ve been pretty busy these last couple weeks.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s the holiday season. I haven’t even figured out what I’m going to do for Christmas yet, which I think is just days away.
That’s where I’m at.
NGL: I think the calendar would agree with you there. I do want to dive into leaving New York City and your series Miles Away a bit more in depth. But I was also curious: What have been your biggest takeaways since you put the series out? Any noteworthy DMs you received, or creative lessons you feel like you learned?
When the TikTok stuff went crazy, I kind of abandoned all of my focus on YouTube. I didn’t regret that, but I was afraid I’d have to start all over, and I don’t think my type of storytelling is conducive to a good thumbnail and title.
I mean, I haven’t figured it out yet. But what I’ve learned is that even without getting millions of views, my stories do really seem to resonate with people.
I’ve been very strategic in the past on trying to be as authentic as I can—while still trying to start each video with a hook, trying to grab people in. I think that’s part of the creator landscape.
But with Miles Away, I really just wanted to show my siblings, my mother, even my father (if he watched) what my life looked like. It really freed me up, and in doing so, I think that made it resonate with people more.
I got so many messages from people. I mean, even if you go through the comments, it’s wild. I’ve never seen a YouTube comment section like that. It’s just 99% positive. I’ve only released three videos, but only one of them has two dislikes.
And I think it’s just because people really miss their families, and they can see themselves in it. That’s my favorite type of art—when I can see myself in it, it really resonates.
NGL: What’s your family’s response to the videos been like?
In the last video I posted, there was this scene where I rented out a roller rink, and I’m talking about how some people in my family aren’t speaking right now. And I know what that’s like cuz I didn’t speak to our dad for a long time, and I’ve learned on this journey that it’s easier on this side—always expecting some type of call instead of the opposite.
Anytime they do hit me up, it’s like, “dude, I was crying so hard that moment when you talked about death.” So that’s always very nice.
NGL: So, we reached out to you because we really loved Miles Away. But the more I dove into your work over the years, I realized you have a lot of Internet lore.
DVG: I worked at a library when I was 16, and I hated it. I worked in the kids section. All I had to do was put the books in alphabetical order, and after two hours, I’d be like, “cool, I’m done.” And then a kid would come and just pull out all the books.
After that, I was like, yeah, I’m going to be an artist. And I tried my very best to make that happen.
My first actual job was with Philip DeFranco. I don’t even remember why I was a fan of his. I watched his videos, and I just tweeted at him one day. I think he tweeted something along the lines of, “I’m going to Charles Trippy’s wedding. I’m drunk on a plane. Ask me a question.” And I was like, “Here’s my shot.”
So I replied. “Can I have a job?”
And he replied pretty quickly. “What’s in it for me?”
“I’m a really hard worker! I’ll do this, I’ll do that.” I believe the next day, I was on the phone with his executive assistant—shout out to Dani [Rosenberg]. She was great. She is great.
I started as an intern in the internship program. They’re like, “We’re starting this new company called SourceFed, Google gave us a million dollars, blah blah blah.” Within two weeks, I had Skyped Phil a video of mine—even though we were instructed not to do that—and he pulled me into his office and told me it was excellent work.
They hired me full-time, and it’s been a journey ever since.
Daren on the SourceFed channel.
After that, I was like, yeah, I’m going to be an artist. And I tried my very best to make that happen.
My first actual job was with Philip DeFranco. I don’t even remember why I was a fan of his. I watched his videos, and I just tweeted at him one day. I think he tweeted something along the lines of, “I’m going to Charles Trippy’s wedding. I’m drunk on a plane. Ask me a question.” And I was like, “Here’s my shot.”
So I replied. “Can I have a job?”
And he replied pretty quickly. “What’s in it for me?”
“I’m a really hard worker! I’ll do this, I’ll do that.” I believe the next day, I was on the phone with his executive assistant—shout out to Dani [Rosenberg]. She was great. She is great.
I started as an intern in the internship program. They’re like, “We’re starting this new company called SourceFed, Google gave us a million dollars, blah blah blah.” Within two weeks, I had Skyped Phil a video of mine—even though we were instructed not to do that—and he pulled me into his office and told me it was excellent work.
They hired me full-time, and it’s been a journey ever since.
NGL: Love that. Were you a self-taught editor?
DVG: Regardless of the situation I’m in, I always try to learn from my peers. At that point, everyone around me had gone to film school, and I learned how to edit off YouTube. I learned how to film stuff just based on having a handycam that my mom got me when I was a kid. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, but I’m a quick learner, I guess. I had really good peers around me who were willing to teach me.
And then I almost got poached by Rhett and Link. I worked at Smosh. I edited for Jarvis Johnson. I’ve been in the YouTube world behind the scenes for a long time and it wasn’t until I moved to New York in 2020 where I was like, I’m going to really try to be a creator as well.
That [SourceFed] era was really tough on me [though]. I was in my early twenties. I was trying to figure out life, but there were a lot of great things that happened during that time. Whether it’s editing or shooting or being a leader or working and collaborating with people, I attribute so much of my success to that building, which I’m so grateful for.
And then I almost got poached by Rhett and Link. I worked at Smosh. I edited for Jarvis Johnson. I’ve been in the YouTube world behind the scenes for a long time and it wasn’t until I moved to New York in 2020 where I was like, I’m going to really try to be a creator as well.
That [SourceFed] era was really tough on me [though]. I was in my early twenties. I was trying to figure out life, but there were a lot of great things that happened during that time. Whether it’s editing or shooting or being a leader or working and collaborating with people, I attribute so much of my success to that building, which I’m so grateful for.
NGL: I kind of stumbled upon the fact that you were a prolific musician as well. You put out a lot of music, a lot of songs. Your 2016 album “My Life Became Beautiful” reached number ten on iTunes at one point.
DVG: My uncle handed me an acoustic guitar one day and I was super obsessed with this band, blink-182. I listened to them exclusively for fifteen years. So music and film have always been something that I was really intrigued by, and I always wanted to be in a band.
Growing up and watching blink-182’s documentaries and stuff…I just really romanticized that life. So I was doing all the YouTube stuff during the day, and at night, I was making music. I’m thirty-four now, and I’m looking back like, I didn’t even have a personal life. All I did was work. No wonder why I was sad.
Around this time in 2016, I went into my boss’s office at SourceFed. He was like, You’re doing great, and we’re actually going to have Christmas bonuses this year. You’re going to get $30,000.
I was like, “What? $30,000?”
Mind you, two days prior, I had written in my journal that I’m going to save $10,000 and quit this job so I can focus on music. I literally quit the next day. I gave him a thirty-day notice, but he was so upset. I was like, “I’m sorry, I got to follow this dream.”
So I quit, and I remember waking up that first day not having to go to an office. And I was just like, “okay, I guess I just make music now.” It became this unhealthy obsession with trying to make a hit song—trying to get my career to the next level. And I feel like because I was trying so hard, that might be why I didn’t get to the place that I wanted to. I was so hard on myself, and I was my biggest critic.
As far as iTunes goes, if you had a surge or a spike of streams, you’d be Number One for the night. But eventually Bruno Mars is going to kick you off the charts because it’s all about longevity. I don’t want to downplay that [though]. That’s still very cool to me.
NGL: I appreciate the fact check because I read that on Famous Birthdays—and Famous Birthdays is, of course, known as a bastion of extremely accurate and rigorous reporting.
What was your experience like several years later, when you really started sharing your videos on TikTok—and kind of had a bit of a boom trajectory on the app these last several years?
DVG: At that point, it’d been ten years of me producing content for other people. And, to be quite frank, watching them get rich. Money was a big motivator for me when I was younger, and I think all of us are still trying to find that financial freedom, obviously.
So I feel like back then, I was really bitter. But when it was finally my turn, and the content I was making…I was really proud of it. At the time, it was this series called Day One of being a New Yorker, which was just a random idea in my notes app two weeks before moving there.
Obviously, I had edited videos or produced videos that had got millions of views for other people, but never for myself. So that was the first one that was like, That feels different. Especially when it’s something that you would’ve made regardless of if anyone watched it—I made that so my partner Ava and I, when we’re old and gray, can go, “Remember when we were hot and we moved to New York?”
It was fun, but god, I was never able to find a healthy schedule. I think, right now, I’m in the best spot I’ve ever been in. I have this show that I’m working on with a studio. I have this YouTube channel that I’m trying to build that I think has so much potential. And even if it doesn’t do what I hope that it does, I’m still having so much fun and I’m learning how to become a better filmmaker.
I miss waking up and then your video has three million views, but at the same time, I also don’t miss it, because it came with a lot of heaviness.
NGL: It sounds like 2024 has been quite a monumental year.
DVG: I feel very grateful. I’m alive. Still playing basketball. A little out of shape these days, but life is good.
NGL: I appreciate the fact check because I read that on Famous Birthdays—and Famous Birthdays is, of course, known as a bastion of extremely accurate and rigorous reporting.
What was your experience like several years later, when you really started sharing your videos on TikTok—and kind of had a bit of a boom trajectory on the app these last several years?
What was your experience like several years later, when you really started sharing your videos on TikTok—and kind of had a bit of a boom trajectory on the app these last several years?
DVG: At that point, it’d been ten years of me producing content for other people. And, to be quite frank, watching them get rich. Money was a big motivator for me when I was younger, and I think all of us are still trying to find that financial freedom, obviously.
So I feel like back then, I was really bitter. But when it was finally my turn, and the content I was making…I was really proud of it. At the time, it was this series called Day One of being a New Yorker, which was just a random idea in my notes app two weeks before moving there.
Obviously, I had edited videos or produced videos that had got millions of views for other people, but never for myself. So that was the first one that was like, That feels different. Especially when it’s something that you would’ve made regardless of if anyone watched it—I made that so my partner Ava and I, when we’re old and gray, can go, “Remember when we were hot and we moved to New York?”
It was fun, but god, I was never able to find a healthy schedule. I think, right now, I’m in the best spot I’ve ever been in. I have this show that I’m working on with a studio. I have this YouTube channel that I’m trying to build that I think has so much potential. And even if it doesn’t do what I hope that it does, I’m still having so much fun and I’m learning how to become a better filmmaker.
I miss waking up and then your video has three million views, but at the same time, I also don’t miss it, because it came with a lot of heaviness.
So I feel like back then, I was really bitter. But when it was finally my turn, and the content I was making…I was really proud of it. At the time, it was this series called Day One of being a New Yorker, which was just a random idea in my notes app two weeks before moving there.
Obviously, I had edited videos or produced videos that had got millions of views for other people, but never for myself. So that was the first one that was like, That feels different. Especially when it’s something that you would’ve made regardless of if anyone watched it—I made that so my partner Ava and I, when we’re old and gray, can go, “Remember when we were hot and we moved to New York?”
It was fun, but god, I was never able to find a healthy schedule. I think, right now, I’m in the best spot I’ve ever been in. I have this show that I’m working on with a studio. I have this YouTube channel that I’m trying to build that I think has so much potential. And even if it doesn’t do what I hope that it does, I’m still having so much fun and I’m learning how to become a better filmmaker.
I miss waking up and then your video has three million views, but at the same time, I also don’t miss it, because it came with a lot of heaviness.
NGL: It sounds like 2024 has been quite a monumental year.
DVG: I feel very grateful. I’m alive. Still playing basketball. A little out of shape these days, but life is good.
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