Connecting Canada: Traveller, video-creator, and YouTube personality Josh Rimer

Mar 21 2018, 4:31 am

TELUS is proud to connect Canadians from coast to coast to Canada’s largest and fastest mobile network, empowering luminaries like these to inspire change through technology.

Daily Hive’s Connecting Canada series features Canadians who motivate and inspire us, and keep our cities connected. From entrepreneurs to social media influencers to community leaders, we dig deep to find out how these change-makers got started, their daily success strategies, and how technology keeps them at the top of their game.


YouTube may seem like a difficult platform to break into, but Josh Rimer has managed to cultivate a dedicated fanbase throughout his years of making videos.

The content creator has been a presence on YouTube since 2007, and most recently has been featured on Canada’s LGBT TV station, OUTtv.

Rimer usually posts two videos per week, handling the shooting, editing, and business managing of his channel all on his own.

Still, he was kind enough to find the time to answer some of our questions about how he made it to where he is today, and what his plans are for tomorrow and beyond.

What inspired you to start making videos, and how did you get from there to where you are now?

I was an aspiring actor and I heard on the news about a couple actors who got TV/film gigs from being on YouTube, so I figured I should put myself on there too! I started with a giveaway/contest type video to try to get some interest/hype built up, and it worked – it became the most discussed video on the platform in 2007.

I kept uploading content and trying different things until 2014 when OUTtv contacted me to start airing some of my content in between their regular programming. After doing occasional travel videos I decided to make that my main focus in 2017 and have been featuring a new gay-friendly destination every two weeks since then.

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What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in that time, and how did you overcome them? 

Changing my content. When people subscribe because they like a certain type of content they then want to keep watching that type of content. So it can be difficult to change your focus and have your followers still be interested.

I think the main way I’ve been able to have some of them stick with me is by ensuring everything I do is personality driven, so that even if the type of video changes, me being in them and connecting with my viewers still stays pretty much the same.

A post shared by Josh Rimer (@joshrimer) on

What would your advice be for people trying to get into the same industry? 

Start creating now! Don’t wait. People often say they have ideas of what they want to do and are just waiting for whatever excuse to get started. Or that they want to create videos, but they just don’t know what to do or what will work. Just start with whatever you have some passion/interest/expertise about.

You need to take the time to play around with the platform and with your content so just start making it now and figure things out as you go.

What does your average workday look like, and what do you wake up looking forward to doing? 

My days are always different, especially because so many of them are filled with travel, but typically there is a lot of editing, social media, video shooting, and emailing.

It’s pretty easy to get up because I love what I do and I love being self-employed. I have a lot of ideas/plans for ways to grow and expand what I’m doing, but not enough hours in the day, so I need to get up and get going if I want to accomplish those things.

A post shared by Josh Rimer (@joshrimer) on

How does technology factor into what you do and what’s the one piece of tech you can’t leave home without?

I shoot all of my videos on my iPhone (which I can’t leave home without) so that’s pretty crazy. We’re talking travel videos that air on a TV station and they’re shot on a phone – that’s how good the technology has become. I do the editing on my laptop so even while traveling I’m basically just as connected and able to do as much as when I’m at home, which is awesome.

What are 5 apps you can’t live without? 

Besides the typical social media ones, I’d say:

  • TuneIn Radio
  • Simplenote
  • PayByPhone
  • Light Alarm
  • Optik TV

How do you handle your work/social life/personal health balance? 

This is a tough one being self-employed and basically doing the jobs of multiple people myself. When I’m in Vancouver I work from home so it can be easy to work for too many hours, but at the same time, it’s essentially a hobby that’s turned into my job so it doesn’t necessarily feel like work.

That said, I have a partner who keeps me accountable to have some downtime and otherwise I basically schedule in social time and exercise to my calendar so that it has to be done just as much as my work does.

A post shared by Josh Rimer (@joshrimer) on

How has the video industry changed throughout the years (be it technology, platform, etc) and how have you changed with it? 

YouTube has changed quite drastically from when I started on it 11 years ago. It wasn’t very crowded back then, people weren’t trying to make money on it, and the quality was low. All of that has completely changed and so has my content over the years. The main thing that has stayed consistent is that personality driven content is what people continue to connect with.

What’s next for your career? 

I’d like to expand what I’m doing to involve more people so I can create even more content. A full-length TV show is something I’ve thought about, but I also have more ideas for different types of YouTube videos and channels that I’d like to try out so I’d like to grow a bit of a team that can help me produce more fun stuff!

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