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Hello! David Florian (A.K.A. Dr. D-Flo) here.
The past three months have been a whirlwind. I released my first YouTube video in December of 2016, and now I have 18 videos with 500 subscribers. Initially, I was nervous to start a YouTube channel. I was concerned that my voice, looks, and projects would not be well received. However, I have found the internet to be full of understanding individuals, who are able to look past my poor cinematography skills and appreciate the time I have put into my projects. The success of each video has been directly proportional to the amount of time I invested.
This whole experience became surreal when my LED Word Clock video reached the front page of Reddit. I sat at my computer refreshing the page reading every comment on my post. One of my friends, who did not know that I had a YouTube channel, sent me a picture of the post saying that I should try and build it. Justifying my correlation of time to success, the LED Word Clock was by far my most time-consuming project. This may surprise you because the concept behind the clock is simple. My CNC router had a difficult time milling the traces on the 12”x12” PCBs because these PCBs arrived warped. These boards were expensive, and I ended up ruining $150 worth of materials. So, the success was not without its troubles.
The most common question I receive from family and friends is how do I figure out how to build all these projects? I am neither an electrical nor mechanical engineer, so I spend a lot of time researching components and best practices before I even start a project. If you are going to use a material for the first time always look up its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Materials can have various hazardous effects if cut or heated. Ultimately, safety is my highest priority especially when I am working on a project with my friends. Immediately after my response I get another question asking how I make time for my YouTube hobby. As a full time biomedical engineering student, I do not have the busiest life, but I am still spending 60 hours a week on my studies and laboratory research. My DIYing consumes any of my free time. Where there is a will there is time.
I am very optimistic about the future. If you are reading this then you are the motivation behind my work.
David Florian