BPS 313: Building Long-Term Filmmaking Revenue Streams with Brady Trautman and Alex Blue

Not many of us get to tick off ‘sailing around the world’ off our
dream to-do list. But our guests today, Brady Trautman and partner,
Alex Blue, have been living their ultimate best life at sea for the
last ten-plus years while creating video content for their
business, Cruisers Academy. The adventure began with Florida
natives Brady and his older brother, Brain, with whom he initially
started the youtube channel, Sailing Vessel Delos, back in 2008. It
wasn’t until 2012 they received their first check from Youtube,
which was basically ‘bear money.’ Soon after, they joined
Patreon.

Eight sailors, filmmakers, and adventurers pile into a 48 ft
sailboat with the goal of exploring and capturing the beauty of
Svalbard, the northernmost settlement in the world, only 600 miles
from the North Pole. The sailing expedition brings 24 hours of
sunlight, dangerous glacial ice flows, and up-close encounters with
polar bears, beluga whales, walrus' and much more! After 2.5 years
of post-production and over 2000 hours of editing, it's time to
bring YOU our biggest project yet!Alex, a media student running her
film and photo company shooting on party boats across South
America, joined the Delox crew in 2017 on a sail across the
Atlantic to South Africa. Alex’s valuable skills helped tell their
story of adventure and friendships, dreams more skillfully. SV
Delos has sailed 45 countries and over 70,000 ocean miles since
2008.

Ever wondered what goes into making a documentary series? Well
here's a behind-the-scenes look at how the 80 North Series was
created! Andy Schell invited us to be on his podcast which was the
perfect opportunity to film the chat, share some sneak peeks, and
relive funny stories from our sailing expedition in the Arctic
Circle.Finding your niche in the film or creative space, in
general, can be a struggle, especially since it is becoming more
and more competitive by the second. But the Delos crew modeled
their business to service a niche audience and have created
multiple revenue streams from sailing around the world and doing
what everybody wants to do.Due to the COVID pandemic, Alex and
Brady have halted sailing for over a year now. They have had to
adjust production strategy by outsourcing editing and diversifying
their output.Six months ago, the couple, along with a business
partner, Sean, launched the Cruisers Academy---offering sailing
lessons, charters, and they released a four-part docu-series, 80°
North. It is a compilation of two years worth of videos honoring
the beauty of the sea and their journeys.

Enjoy my fun conversation with Brady Trautman and Alex Blue.

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