As my YouTube channel fast approaches 25,000 subscribers (currently 24,507) and my blog + newsletter on Substack continues to grow (now 3,124 subscribers), I find myself feeling less triumphant and more…grateful.
Because it’s taken me over two years to get here.
Two years of collecting, creating, and curating.
Two years of writing and researching.
Two years of showing up whether the numbers moved forward or backward.
I don’t make flashy, high-production viral videos. I make slideshows. For a niche audience. For people who appreciate a queer aesthetic, a queer mood, a queer eye.
My growth was never going to look like a rocket launch. It was always going to look like a staircase. Step by step.
On Substack, I’m not delivering breaking news or chasing trending topics. I’m writing mostly about what’s going on in my world. About what I’m thinking about. About what I’m experimenting with and learning in real time. It’s personal. It’s specific. It’s human.
That kind of work doesn’t usually explode. It accumulates.
We live in a culture obsessed with speed. Fast fame. Fast money. Fast results. We’re constantly being shown highlight reels of people who “made it” overnight. But what we don’t see are the years behind those moments. The quiet repetitions. The small, uncelebrated milestones.
Slow growth forces you to build something real.
When your audience grows gradually, you have time to improve. To refine your voice. To understand who you’re actually creating for. You’re not scrambling to keep up with sudden attention. You’re building trust, brick by brick.
Behind every one of those 24,507 YouTube subscribers and 3,124 Substack readers is a person. Someone who chose to click subscribe. Someone who decided my work was worth inviting into their feed, their inbox, their living room. Someone who decided my work was worth their time.
That continues to floor me. Every day of the week.
Slow growth means those subscriptions weren’t impulsive. They were intentional. Earned. Sustained.
It also keeps me grounded. I remember when 100 subscribers felt monumental. When 1,000 felt impossible. When 10,000 felt like a distant dream. None of those milestones came all at once. They came because I kept showing up and doing the work.
Even when it was quiet.
Even when it felt small.
Even when it felt like nobody was watching.
Slow growth builds patience, resilience, and gratitude.
Slow growth also reminds me that life isn’t a race.
There’s no trophy for getting somewhere first. There’s only the satisfaction of building something that lasts. Something aligned. Something true to you.
In my book, success isn’t about how fast you grow. It’s about whether you can sustain that growth. Or not. Whether you still recognize yourself in what you’ve built. Whether love and are proud of the process, not just the outcome.
So if you’re reading this, you’re part of my slow but steady success story.
Thank you for subscribing.
Thank you for returning.
Thank you for growing with me.
Thank you….yes, YOU, boo!
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. According to my YouTube Studio dashboard, nearly 80% of those who watch my videos aren’t subscribed. Counting non-subscribers, my channel’s audience is likely well over 100,000. WOW!
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NEW + NOW PLAYING (ON YOUTUBE)
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
03-03 = Don Kilhefner (1938 - ) = American activist and psychologist 🌈
03-03 = Perry Ellis (1940-1986) = American fashion designer 🌈
03-03 = Jean O’Leary (1948-2005) = American activist, Lesbian 🌈Feminist Liberation founder, and National Coming Out Day co-founder 🌈
03-03 = Xavier Bettel (1973- ) = Prime Minister of Luxembourg 🌈
MAN CRUSH(ES) OF THE DAY
“…We don't care whether you accept us. We accept ourselves. Because we accept ourselves, society changes.”
Don Kilhefner
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
Alexander Graham Bell
https://youtu.be/tC_bkjBMxOk?si=wLedna4pqtpCZb69
All my dance hall favourites in one place.
I can go one step further back to the very early 1970 to a club(in the disco age) on the shore at Roker, just south from Newcastle upon Tyne, the club was the Rococo on the lower promenade the upstairs floor had the Gay part and downstairs was the Str8 part. At closing time sweating heaving folks all piled onto the beach and many times skinny-dipping was the rule of thumb. First call on my 30 mile drive back home was a late night Chinese take away for scampi and chips with curry sauce. Then onto the A1 road to hang out at the motorway services at Washington where Nissan were starting to think about their first English factory. The motorway cafe was basically an extension of the Rococo club. Usually getting home as dawn broke.
All part of my life rich and colourful tapestry. All safely tucked up in my memory box in the Ivory Tower........ Cheers DougT 🏴🇬🇧
https://youtu.be/CU1Nmb9_-dI?si=m-cvNKw_AggavKRh
An aside folks, a deep chill out session, a few drinks/smokes kick back and chilllllax, even dance/wave your hands about like you dont even care. Cheers DougT