Teen Makes Thousands Via YouTube Videos

HOUSTON - YouTube videos are no longer just for fun. For a growing number of people, they're a way to make a living. A teenager from Sugar Land is earning thousands of dollars a month off his hobby.

Kevin Wu, 19, makes short, comedy videos using a computer and cheap light in his bedroom. Somehow his schtick has propelled him from obscurity to Internet celebrity with an international following.

Not bad for the 2008 Clements High School graduate, whose first YouTube video from two years ago shows him dancing in his backyard.

"There was a period where no one watched my videos, and it was just me talking to a camera. I would get a comment once every three days."

Now, kevjumba, as he's known, has more than 585,000 subscribers and is the sixth most popular YouTube user of all time. He's even had to hire a manager to handle his apperances and unexpected fame.

"Once you build a big enough audience on YouTube, you can ask YouTube to make you a partner," says Wu.

The college student makes thousands of dollars a month off a portion of YouTube's advertising revenue. He earns money based on the number of views his videos get.

"I'm not in this for the money. Money is nice, but ultimately I just want to entertain people."

It's hard to say why Wu's videos are so popular to mainly the teenage crowd. He's modest, relatable and there's something about his videos that just make you smile.

"Primarily you just need to make fresh, funny content. I don't know if I still want to make videos when I'm 40 years old."

But his interest in humor and multimedia has opened doors he never expected and given him the chance to give back at such a young age. Wu has started as second YouTube channel called Jumba Fund. Every view on this site counts toward a charity.

-- KevJumba's Main Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/kevjumba?blend=1&ob=4
-- KevJumba's Charity Fund Channel