A YouTuber has revealed how she makes more than $1 million a month by sharing quirky videos of herself eating to relax people.
Naomi Grace MacRae, 27, who lives inInnisfil, Ontario, has amassed almost eight million subscribers who can't get enough of videos that show her consuming items such as an edible hairbrush, Champagne bottle or dish sponge.
The success of her HunniBee ASMR channel has meant she's been able to quit her job in the fitness industry to focus on making autonomous sensory meridian response videos, which feature sounds that provoke a relaxed and pleasant sensation in the body - with fans using them to de-stress or drift off to sleep.
Her videos are a spin-off of the mukbang trend, which originated in South Korea and features content creators eating huge amounts of food on camera, but Naomi is careful not to consume everything that's laid out in front of her.
She also makes sure a lot of her creations are sugar-free and has a home gym and works out three times a week to stay in shape, as well as measuring all her food portions carefully in day-to-day life.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Naomi saidthat her first experience of ASMR came from watching a YouTuber, Gentle Whisper tapping on a mirror while whispering.
'I instantly got this intense wave of tingles at the top of my head, to my shoulders and down my back. Lets just say I was addicted and completely infatuated with ASMR from that day on,' Naomi said.
Naomi Grace MacRae, 27, (pictured) who lives in Innisfil, Ontario, Canada, boasts almost 8 million subscribers on YouTube
'Although, I didn’t totally understand what ASMR was. I started doing more research found that "ASMR" is the acronym for autonomous sensory meridian response. This is the intense sensation I felt that one night and realized I have felt it many times before when I was younger.'
Naomi explained that she was interested in fitness and competed in multiple bodybuilding bikini competitions before starting to make a living from eating junk food.
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She also spent time working at a health supplements store and making custom meal plans for people who were looking to get in better shape.
Before going to a Christian college in California in search of a break, Naomi admits that she didn't believe starting her own YouTube channel would go anywhere.
However, a chance encounter convinced her to order the gadgets needed to try.
Naomi said: 'When I went to a Christian college in California, this random person came up to me, had no idea my name or who I was, and said to me they felt like God was telling them that I need to start a YouTube channel and that I would help lots of people and it would be very successful. So I ordered a mic that night and wanted to give this thing a shot. That was in 2017.
Naomi (pictured) said she studied the types of ASMR videos that got the most views on YouTube to be able to get enough views to quit her job
'It was here where I fell in love with the west coast and the dream of becoming an actor. My first video on HunniBee ASMR was filmed in my dormitory in California.
After returning to Ontario, Naomi worked in ahealth supplement store job to help cover bills and expenses, but when she got home she would start filming.
'I immediately would go upstairs to my room, do my makeup, hair, clean my room and set up my mic to film a video. I would then film sometimes two or three videos in one night - sometimes filming until 3am.
'Then the next day I would get up, go to work, come back and start editing the video. These videos were not mukbang videos, just normal ASMR ones.
'Before my channel took off, I was posting maybe once or twice a month. I was getting some money each month but nothing you could actually live off of. I enjoyed making videos so much though, I always dreamed about doing it full time.
Naomi (pictured) said it took only three months to achieve her first one million subscribers and then another three months later the amount doubled
'I then studied which ASMR videos got the most views and how much they were uploading. I came across Jane ASMR who gets insane views for her mukbang videos and thought maybe I could try it.
'I then posted my first “edible lipstick Mukbang” video on April 12th 2019. I had 400,000 views within the first day or two which felt amazing because I wasn’t used to those types of views.
'My views were around maybe 10 to 40,000 per video. So in this month of April I did a lot of trial and error to see what videos got the most comments, views, likes, etc.
'For the people who might not know— Google actually owns YouTube and both me and YouTube get paid thru Google Adsense. It's almost as if myself and YouTube are a team and Google pays us both a check on the 21st of every month, and we get paid based on the amount of views each video gets.
'So as I started to make more of these “edible Mukbang” videos, my views started sky rocketing and so did my revenue.
WHAT IS ASMR AND WHAT ARE ITS POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS?
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is an enjoyable or relaxing sensation often accompanied by a 'tingly' feeling.
A large online community claims ASMR clips on YouTube provoke a response likened to a warm tingling on the skin in some viewers.
It is most commonly triggered by whispering, but can be brought about by an array of stimuli, including gentle touches, observing mundane tasks, and hearing crinkling/tapping sounds.
The sensation typically begins at the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine, helping people to relax, relieve stress or sleep.
Researchers say the feeling can be a response to specific sights, sounds, touch, smell, and other stimuli.
ASMR may benefit people struggling with anxiety and depression, but there isn't any proven direct evidence yet, according toDr Craig Richard of ASMR University, an online community devoted to researching the topic.
'A 2015 research paper reported the 500 participants in the study watched ASMR videos to relax and to deal with stress and that watching ASMR videos had a positive effect on their depression,' he said.
'Another strong area of support for the potential helpfulness of ASMR are the thousands of comments posted on online forums, Facebook groups, the ASMR subreddit and especially YouTube videos.
'Although this type of anecdotal evidence is weak, the sheer volume of it has helped to bring attention and focus to the potential therapeutic value of ASMR.'
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'I then did another “edible dish sponge” which I made myself of course, and I got one million views within the first couple days, which was one of the best feelings ever.
'I also made the dish sponge cake completely healthy and sugar free so I knew I could make other fun edible things without all the calories. It was then that I decided I wanted to make HunniBee ASMR a Mukbang channel.
'I quit my job after that and went full on with YouTube. It took only three months for me to hit my first one million subscribers, and then another three months after that I hit two million. If I never took the risk of quitting my job and going full on with my channel, I would not be where I am today.'
Naomi (pictured) said in the beginning of her channel, she would spend up to 30 hours creating the food for her videos
'I remember when I first posted a video, I wasn’t getting as many views as I was expecting, and honestly I was sad about it. But here’s the thing with YouTube, a lot of the time a video won’t go viral right away. Its a slow grind.
'Then when you look back at that video six months later it has over 10+ million views. People get easily discouraged on YouTube if they don’t get the views they want, and so they quit.
'Life is by inches not by feet, It’s a series of mini steps not by one giant leap. My channel started with one subscriber and with one view. Keep on going. Don’t throw in the towel. This is in all aspects of life.'
Naomi explained that she currently has had a team of people helping her with creations and editing, but for the first two years of her YouTube career she did everything herself.
Naomi said: 'Everything is such a crucial part in making a video successful. I would say my videos in the summer of 2019 were the most challenging. Not one video in particular but literally all of them. Every new video creation started with me making the food.
'This would take sometimes 30 hours depending on how complex the edible items were. Then I would go out to Bulk Barn, grab some miscellaneous candy, and go back home to do my hair and makeup.
'I’d then sometimes have to wait a couple hours for my family to go to bed because I couldn’t film with them all moving around downstairs. The microphone would pick up every single noise, especially in our old house. The mic was so powerful it would even pick up radio frequencies, so I had to switch mics all the time.
Naomi (pictured) revealed that she would drink up to six energy drinks a day, to be able to look lively while filming at 2am
'This was so frustrating. Anyway, I couldn’t film during the day either - even if no one was home - because of the constant sound of cars going by. So the only way around that was to film at 2am, and I’m ashamed to say this but I would literally drink six Rockstar energy drinks a day.
'This is terrible, I know. But it is the only way I could survive and be looking alive in my videos. The thing is my channel was absolutely taking off. All I could think about all hours of the day were what videos I should do next and how quickly I could get a video up. I slept maybe four hours every day that entire summer.
'So basically around 3:30 to 4am after I was done filming a video, I would upload the clips straight to my computer and start editing. My goal was always to get the video up that same day.
'I didn’t even want to sleep until it uploaded to YouTube. Although I usually ended up falling asleep around eight in the morning and waking at 11am with my laptop either falling off me or upside down on the floor.
'These were the most exciting times but definitely the most challenging on me. I was just so obsessed with YouTube and couldn’t believe how someone like me had a channel that was growing so rapidly. It was so exhilarating and still is to this day.'
Naomi (pictured) revealed that her husband is part of the team that has been working with her to make videos in recent years
Naomi works out with her husband (both pictured) throughout the week and tracks her diet to stay healthy
Naomi explained that she now has a baker who provides two to four themes for her videos and her husband Matthew Macausland has soundproofed the studio she uses to film.
And while her channel is focused on eating, Naomi has found a way to ensure it doesn't impact her waistline.
'I actually have a lot of stuff made sugar free and sweetened with stevia, but there’s also stuff that is not sugar-free of course,' she explained.
'All of my jelly stuff is sugar free, made with Konnyaku jelly powder - its absolutely delicious, mixed with water, flavoured, then sweetened with either stevia or those sugar free things you squirt in water. I also don’t eat everything that’s on the table. I know a lot of mukbangers do that but I just can’t.
'My other trick is I will film two to four videos in one day which helps because then I don’t need to film for at least another week and a half. This is no different than having a cheat meal once a week. We have a gym in our studio house as well so my husband and I will workout there a couple times a week.
'The biggest thing for me though is my diet everyday. I eat super healthy and weigh/track all of my food on the My Fitness Pal app. I’ve been doing this ever since I competed in fitness competitions. My husband thinks I’m crazy for weighing my food on a food scale but honestly I enjoy doing it and love knowing exactly what I’m putting into my body.
'I have been blessed with the best friends and family ever. Everyone is so supportive and thinks the channel is super cool. I don’t think any of us can still believe that this is my job and what I do for a living.
'Although, when I first started the channel, none of my friends knew. I was just super embarrassed and didn’t know what they would think. But when I went full on with ASMR mukbang and the channel took off, I didn’t care anymore. I came to my senses that I need to be proud of what I’ve accomplished and who cares what other people think.
Naomi (pictured), who now earns over 7-figures a year, revealed she spends her earnings investing in real estate and travelling
Naomi explained that she has had some 'weird requests' from subscribers including an offer of $5000 USD for a video of her feet and sexual content such as sucking a pickle close to the microphone.
She said people enjoy ASMR videos because the videos are relaxing and free, even if they don't get the feeling of their senses being stimulated.
'You feel like you are being cared for by the asmrist on the screen. You feel so comforted and safe. I’m not to sure how else to describe it,' Naomi added.
Naomi said earning more than seven figures a year from YouTube has provided her with many opportunities to invest.
She said: 'The one thing that no one other than close friends and family know is that my husband and I are obsessed with renovating, real estate and interior design. As of right now we have just finished renovating a home and a townhouse that we are about to put on the market.
'Decor and interior design is one of my biggest passions outside of YouTube! We also love the watch market and investing in high end watches, such as Patek Philippe which are great little investments.
'My husband and I are super passionate about travelling and experiencing different cultures. Before we started travelling, I feel like we used to live in this “bubble” and that was all we knew. But then after going to these countries you see how small your world really is and that there is so much more to experience.
'We are using this time while we are young to have these crazy adventures. One day we will have kids and our entire lives will be changed so why not experience it now.
'We just bought a $5 million dollar home on the water not to live in but as a rental for executives. We also have another waterfront property and a few other real estate investments that we rent out. This wouldn’t have been possible without YouTube and faith in God of course.'
