Jaron Rykiss shared his stories and tips about being a JewTuber at Limmud Winnipeg 2017 on Sunday March 5, 2017 at 2:45 p.m. He discussed how being Jewish influences what he creates and the issues that arise from being openly Jewish online. 

Jaron started creating videos when he was seven. He explained, “I started by making videos for my family and found a genuine love for it. When I look back at those videos now, I think that they were so bad, but at the time I was extremely proud of them. I’ve come a long way since then. At 15, I now have a YouTube channel with over 2500 subscribers.”  

“I post videos that are songs, skits, short films or even just rants about something bothering me. I mostly do humorous videos. I definitely have my own opinions and doing the videos lets me share them. I have a couple of series that I do, as well. One is called “Jaron’s Corner” - basically me being an outlandishly rich and silly man. It lets me say things that are absolutely crazy; things that I would never say as myself. Another series I do is “How to be Your Favourite YouTuber”. In this series, I discuss the technology, film making style, and content of a famous YouTuber.” 

When asked how being Jewish influences his posts, Jaron replied, “I always make a point of being open about my Judaism. I think it’s necessary for a progressive and accessible society to always be honest about everything.  I’ve been a student at the Gray Academy of Jewish Education for 12 years, I go to BB Camp Kenora and my whole family is Jewish; it follows that Judaism is a huge influence in my life.”

“Last year I made a short film called “Nervous” about anxiety. It examines what people get nervous about and helps viewers try to control their nervousness. It performed well at an international competition.  Also, Shaw TV’s Tracy Koga came to my house and interviewed me. The interview and my film were shown on Backstage 360 on Shaw TV.”

Jaron has also branched out into creating music, his most well-known song being “Netflix Lover”.  He just created an Extended Play of rap songs. 

Jaron recently played the lead role in Gray Academy’s Seussical the Musical which played February 5^th to 8^th.  He plays the ukulele and drums. He is looking forward to being on LTP at BB Camp Kenora this coming summer.

You can check Jaron out at www.youtube.com/Jaron or 

www.instagram.com/jaron_rykiss or 

www.twitter.com/jaron_official.