Aspiring YouTuber wows industry judges to win the 2018 Vlogstar Challenge

The Vlogstar Challenge competition and training programme is for aspiring vloggers (video bloggers), age 16-25 from London and Essex. Powered by the Jack Petchey Foundation and Media Trust and run in partnership with YouTube and the Evening Standard, the programme equips young people with the skills to make their own vlogs. Following this they are invited to enter their vlogs into a competition.

With over 1500 entries, Munna and 14 other finalists showed exceptional talent to make it to this year’s grand final on 31 July at BAFTA, London.

Read on to find out what Munna had to say about the programme and how it feels to take this year’s title.

Congratulations on winning the Vlogstar Challenge 2018! How does it feel?

Thank you so much. I’m still in shock but it feels so amazing.

What experience did you have of blogging and creating YouTube videos before getting involved with the Vlogstar Challenge?

Before I would make YouTube skits and blog here and there on holidays I’d go on. But that’s about it.

What made you decide to attend a Vlogstar Challenge workshop?

So it was actually through the power of social media. I was browsing through Instagram Stories, and I happened to see a Media Trust post saying swipe up. The post was about spending the day at Google at a a workshop. It was actually from there where I found out about the Vlogstar competition and submitting a vlog.

Your winning vlog ‘Anxiety I OWN YOU’ is a very honest account of your experience of anxiety. What was your inspiration behind creating the video?

The inspiration behind my blog was just being honest and true to myself. For a while I was thinking what is it I’m going to create? What is is I’m going to do? I was like, let me just do what is true to me and for me that was anxiety and depression. Going through these emotions is sort of difficult. Every day and you feel down etc., then there’s also the flip side that it’s not always going to be a downhill. Sometimes when you go down you also back up- I just wanted to show that.

Was it difficult to talk about?

Yes, 100%. Like the crying shot[in the video] you saw was real. When I actually created the video I didn’t create it with any intention except for ‘let me just go with whatever I feel.’

On the run up to the final you got to spend the day at YouTube space in London, what was that like?

That was actually so amazing. That’s something I used to dream of and to be honest I still dream about it. It was so amazing having the opportunity to go there and learning. Everybody at YouTube space was so helpful. It was really amazing.

Now you have been crowned the winner of the Vlogstar Challenge 2018 what are your plans for the future?

I guess it’s only up from here and obviously gaining a lot of insight from the one-to-one mentoring [as part of her prize Munna will receive mentoring form YouTube.] That’s the most exciting thing and what I’m most excited about. I feel like I need guidance and it’s always helpful to get advice from somebody who’s done it.

What would you say to someone considering taking part in the Vlogstar Challenge?

Do it, don’t think, just do it. You never know what’s going to happen. Like I’m still in shock, I just can’t believe it, I’ve won.