and found out how to make good thumbnails with Canva. Once I have that burning desire, I’m a good student. “After three or four months, I started getting around 20 or 30 calls a month saying: ‘I watch your videos, I want to be your patient.’” ALIGNING THE BUSINESS But then the pandemic hit: the worst possible situation for a profession demanding hands-on body work. Willen took the opportunity to formally study animal chiropractic. At the end of intensive training, he was certified through the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA). He has since helped straighten out the aches and pains of animals of every description: chickens, cats, dogs, pigs, sheep and horses. The next step was clear – start a new channel. “I thought it would be really cool to do another channel and call it Animal Cracker. I spent $2000 and a lot of time getting the name copyrighted. And now, I can’t use it to sell cookies, but I have the name for everything else: education, videos, TV,” he says. Animal Cracker follows Willen’s adventures in chiropractic work on almost every kind of animal you can imagine. In the first month, he hit the threshold of 1000 subscribers, allowing him to become a YouTube partner and start monetising the channel with advertising – it had taken his House of Chiro channel six months to reach the same numbers. The channel is now on its way to 300,000 subscribers and nine to 13 million views a month, with up to 200,000 hours watched. These numbers – and the ongoing popularity of the channel – have not come easily, though. ‘Build it and they I STARTED GETTING 20 OR 30 CALLS A MONTH SAYING: ‘I WATCH YOUR VIDEOS, I WANT TO BE YOUR PATIENT’
CARING HANDS Education is at the core of Willen’s videos
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AT LAST, A GUINEA PIG GROOMING CHANNEL
Sopranos . He said, ‘When I saw you work on a horse, I figure you could work on me.’ It’s the bedside manner – people can feel my heart through the animals and see that connection, then think that’s something they would want for themselves.” A LIGHT TOUCH Production tech on the channel is kept lean and mean – mostly iPhones and lav mics. Though a fixed directional mic on the iPhone rig is sometimes used, the Rode Lavalier Go is generally the mic of choice for filming with the animals. Willen might be working with a horse between him and the camera, and horses are not known for being
will come’ still exists only in the realm of magical realism. “Last month, we made 52 videos with 120+ postings over six platforms. We have a full-time social media person. It’s tough to do social media. You think ‘I’m going to make a million dollars on YouTube!’ I make about $72,000 per year between both channels, but I also spend $72,000 a year on a social media person and people who edit.” What the Animal Cracker channel does do is drive traffic back to Willen’s main chiropractic business. His animal work has been strictly not for profit. “I have this big client from Brooklyn who looks like he should be on The
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