Kicking off his YouTube journey just two years ago, Australian Kobi “AstroKobi” Brown is already one of the largest science and education creators around today. Recently, we spoke with Kobi about his quick rise, hopes for the future and the key to educational content.
AstroKobi
Subscribers: 2.31M
Uploads: 548
Video views: 1,072,020,589
Content type: Education
User created: Jan 16th, 2022
Head in the clouds
Science can be a complicated topic to discuss, especially in a video format. Even so, Kobi’s genuine love for the subject is apparent in every video he creates. It’s a fascination that kicked off well before the AstroKobi channel was even a thought.
“I was super interested in space, genuinely, for as long as I [can] remember,” Kobi tells us. “I was obsessed with the Moon as a kid and obsessed with the Moon phases. When we learned about that in school, I just became obsessed and never stopped going down the space route.”
His interest in science only expanded from there — something he credits to YouTube. “I was a part of that first generation of kids who sort of grew up watching a lot of YouTubers,” he explains. “When I was 10 years old, I was watching the Vsauce and Veritasiums of the world. So I think that really influenced me.
Naturally, this led him to studying heavily in his academics. “I [got] a degree in physics, astrophysics and applied mathematics. I also studied a bunch of things like biology, chemistry, philosophy, filmmaking … stuff like that. With my final research project, looking for a specific kind of black holes, I was doing astrophysics research.”
From academia to creation
With a clear path leading toward a PhD, diving into content creation instead seems like a pretty drastic jump. But, for Kobi, the transition felt surprisingly natural.
“I was always super into filmmaking,” he says. “Outside of my studies — just as a hobby — I would always be making stuff with friends. Probably since I was 15 [or] around that age. Because I grew up on YouTube (I never watched TV or Netflix or anything like that), it was an easy, natural jump.”
In fact, the AstroKobi channel wasn’t his first foray into the video creation. “I already kind of worked in the creative space, [making] gaming-related videos. I did that for a bit, just [for] fun because I enjoyed that. Then I sort of fell out of love with that sort of thing.”
The experience, however, made it clear to Kobi that he was interested in content creation as an alternative to his current route in academia. “I realized I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of just being a researcher and studying astronomy for the rest of my life,” he said. “I was much more excited about the idea of communicating science [through] videos. And I could see myself doing [educational content] much more long term than doing research.”
That said, Kobi quickly emphasized how continual learning and studying remain a central part of his content. “I’m reading lots of published research on these topics, like published in peer reviewed journals. Also, the astronomy scientific community is very small. My professors and my peers … these are the people doing the research. Oftentimes, [when] I’m making a video, I’ll loosely know someone or know someone connected to these researchers. And they’re always happy to talk. So it’s easy enough to reach out and have a chat about their research directly.”
The niche approach
Beyond his own interests, Kobi saw a gap in the educational content market that needed filling. “I [noticed] in the science community, pretty much all the big creators were 30, 40 [or] 50 years old. And that’s great; I love their content. But I think a lot of younger people find it harder to relate, especially when they might be making content for older audiences. I thought I could fill that gap and … be a younger take on it.
“But not just for young people,” Kobi adds. “[It’s] for anyone who enjoys learning about these topics — which can be quite hard — in a way that doesn’t have to be scary [or overly] technical. Not everyone in my audience has science degrees and is super keen on these kinds of [topics]. They’re just more curious people who enjoy learning about things like space and physics.
Accessibility for all is Kobi’s primary focus, but maintaining a balance between accurate science and entertainment can be difficult. “My main goal is to make the best science videos … so people can enjoy them. Get a feeling for how cool and interesting science can be if it’s not taught in a very boring, or sterile, way.”
Kobi walks us through some of the ways he’s worked to straddle that line, “For me … I show some research to academics who I know. I run the script by them. That helps make sure I’m getting the science right [and also] not misconstruing the facts in an attempt to sell the [topic] to be more interesting or exciting than it is. That’s a [danger], especially when it comes to sensitive topics about ongoing research.”
On the other side of that coin, Kobi approaches things rather simply.
“Imagine you’re trying to explain it to just one of your friends over coffee or something. That’s the best way to know if you’ve got an interesting idea or a good script.”
Hard work and quick rise
Seeing a void within the scientific creator space, Kobi put himself to work. Despite his initial experience being gaming and TikTok, the experience proved invaluable as he transitioned to long-form content on YouTube.
“[I learned] how to make engaging videos,” he explains, “how to structure hooks [and] script writing stuff. It very much took making 500 videos in a row, like one every day, to sort of start to finally get a hang of how to make a video people find interesting.”
AstroKobi officially started in 2022 and in less than two years (at the time of publishing), has amassed 2.24 million subscribers. A rather staggering growth for any creator, and one he attributes to a combination of hard work and great timing.
“I got somewhat fortunate with some circumstances around that time,” Kobi explains. “There [were] a lot of interesting things happening in my niche — in the space industry. It was easy to make some really exciting videos at that time, just because of ‘topic popularity.’”
“The first big video that really kickstarted my channel was when the first image released of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. It was a huge collaboration that took many years [and] released in May of 2022, [right] as I was starting. It was just a bit lucky!”
Making it work
Luck may be a factor, but Kobi puts a lot of time and effort into his work. We asked Kobi to briefly run through his process when crafting new videos:
“Ideation happens in a few different ways,” Kobi explains. “Sometimes it’s as simple as [seeing] what’s happening in the YouTube space … and trying to put my own spin on those topics, or apply it to my niche. Maybe there’s a big space event, or a big discovery. In which case, that would be the topic of the video.”
“I have a huge document of hundreds of ideas. I try to prioritize which ones I want to make. Once I’ve decided on an idea, it’s mostly [figuring] out what the ‘story’ is — the key points I want to communicate.”
Kobi emphasizes the importance of research for his videos, to the point he utilizes a more piecemeal approach to the production side of things. “Because the research process takes quite a while, I’ll typically have three or four videos on the go simultaneously. As I script out portions of it, I’ll record as I go until I’ve done the entire script. Then I can edit it altogether. [I’ll also be] working with a team of animators … figuring out key visuals and making sure those visuals are engaging, but also scientifically accurate.”
There’s a lot going on, and on the production side of things, Kobi largely handles the workload himself. Though he is quick to point out the team of animators, designer, and assistants to coordinate branding and business stuff, “[They] take the load off and let me do the video stuff.”
Looking ahead
AstroKobi’s rise in the scientific creator community is impressive, yet Kobi stays both grateful and humble about it. “I’m at the start of my journey,” he emphasizes. “And I think my goals will continue to shift. Branching out is a part of the plan over the next year or two. Not necessarily leaving space behind, but like yeah, just exploring some other things.”
Between a combination of luck and a steadfast work ethic born from his academic career, AstroKobi has already carved a name for himself in the creator space. The result is a brief, but already impressive YouTube career that’s seen him invited to NASA, with an upcoming trip to Europe in order to film with the European Space Agency. If this is him just getting started, there’s no telling what might come next for the science guru.
