Youtubers Convention: Meeting Joe Sugg, Zoella, Tyler Oakley and more
I went to Itatube Convention in Milan where reunited there were all my favourite Youtubers: Joe Sugg, Zoe Sugg (Zoella), Tyler Oakley, Tanya Burr and Jim Chapman, Marcus Butler, Louis Cole and Ben Brown. I got to meet them all.
Youtubers Convention: Meeting Joe Sugg, Zoella, Tyler Oakley and more
Itatube 2014: how everything started
At the beginning of the day, I felt like a teenager again. I don’t get so excited about fictional characters, actors or singers. But this is different. They are guys my age, guys who decided to do something they – firstly – enjoy (making videos), with no second aim. They are so down to earth compared to Italians, that hurts.
What am I talking about? Meeting some of the greatest Youtubers yesterday at Itatube at the Alcatraz in Milan. It was the most tiring event ever. We were stuck in line as tuna fish + so damn hot + stressed out + frightened not to make it to our chosen meet&greets.
First of all, I went there with a group of unknown girls who shared the same passion. Anyway, I managed to say hi to all of my favs Youtubers. Meeting them and chatting a little was a great opportunity. Here’s the day. It was mind-blowing.
The meet & greet
Meet #1 with Nick Miller – Louis Cole (FunForLouis) – Ben Brown – Steve Booker
I was a little bit scared, I am not able to freak out or do anything similar…I was just scared the moment when you effectively get in front of them. I went straight to Nick and he was really nice, asking me my name, didn’t understand it so we kept talking about it for ages. Photo all together.
Then, I hugged Louis, he was intimidating, just because he is so tall… Photo 2. Then Steve told me he was in Palm Spring (my sweater) just about one week ago (: and then I rushed to Ben! He was the sweetest. I mean, I wish I had the chance to talk more with him because girls of the staff pushed us to leave. Luckily for me, he stopped one asking her to take more pictures, meanwhile saying to me not to worry that they were gonna be around again later. Photo 3.
From all the pictures, I love so much the authenticity of their smiles (especially Ben). They are normal guys, who love what they are doing and doing it together because their friendship is so solid. They are a true inspiration. Enjoy the pics.
Later on, they moved to the Q&A panel where someone from the audience asked: “What’s your biggest fear?”. There, Louis and Ben went pretty deep saying: not changing the world. It would seem cheesy but they explained that they wanna contribute in some way at making the world a better place. If they could do something, they wanna go out there and trying to, as for the Rickshaw Run across India.
Meet #2 with the girls: Tanya Burr + Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter)
Zoe (Zoella) was sick so Louise came out to tell us that. I was kind of disappointed but I couldn’t be angry because she was really sick, not the sort of diva tragedy. Just, I really wanted to meet her and tell her how much she helped me in some dark moments after I came back from the US, back to the Italian mentality.
She is the one who made me realize – now with no more objections or apologies – that if you don’t feel like doing something, you don’t have to feel pressured to standardize to your group of friends (they would understand you – eventually), just say no and don’t feel guilty or a loser for that choice.
Anyway I got to meet Louise who is so cute, like a Barbie doll just on a human scale. Also, she is a little bit crazy and so so funny. She was in charge of taking the selfies with Tanya too.
Meet #3: Tyler Oakley
He is AMAZING. Seriously. Lots of people weren’t able to get to the Tyler, Troye, Hannah’s meet&greet so he decided to come back later, twice!, for a short autographs session and a photo session. He really likes his fans, and he enjoys meeting and chatting with all of them.
Moreover, I was really glad to meet an American – otherwise, after hearing all those beautiful British accents, I would have immediately bought a one-way ticket to the UK – and he surprised me by his open sweetness and kindness. Just look at the picture yourselves.
Meet #4 with the guys: Alfie (PointlessBlog) – Caspar Lee – Jim Chapman – Marcus Butler – JOE SUGG (ThatcherJoe)
We waited in line for 2 hours. Or more. I don’t know but it was insane. And luckily, I managed to arrive there. Because my main purpose of the day was meeting Joe Sugg. He is my favourite. I love that he keeps the tradition of thatching roofs just because he likes it. He likes to stay outdoor and then he is super super nice. And cute. And interested. Plus his accent. Okay, he is my Youtube weakness.
Meeting him was incredibly great. Given that we were the last ones, we had to hurry up, so we were supposed to take just a photo group but all I cared at the moment was Joe. So I asked him if we could have taken a Polaroid together and he said yes. While posing he decided to go and change his side, to the smolder sugg side! 🙂 He just can.
Picture taken, he wanted to see it but Polaroid takes ages to reveal themselves so I told him I would tweet him and he said: “Or Instagram maybe.” Much better. After a bit, all the guys arrived separately downstage, so I meet him again and I was able to show him the polaroid and he liked it so much.
Finally, tonight I woke up at 3.30 because of the lights on my phone and I discovered that he liked the photo on Instagram as he previously said. What a simple man. I wish I could just meet him outside and talk with no pressure. But I feel lucky to have met him, and yes, he is sincerely nice and terribly funny.
Well, that is all from that day – lots of other things happened. Meeting such famous Youtubers who are so nice and down to earth was a beautiful experience. Yes, there was a lack in the organization, but it was the first time. Hope next year will be better, because YouTubers were so excited to do it again, and so are we!!