A YouTube star is viewed

As the curtain opens, the action starts and the light shines over him as he begins to sing and dance on a stage while a crowd watches him. On stage, his passion for acting grows and Christián Chick becomes Mr. Dat Chick.

Chick became a popular social media personality with a Facebook page and YouTube channel where he posts his videos. The most viewed video has more than 11,000 views (as of mid-April).

Chick, 22, mechanical engineer and Japanese major, said he always had an interest in acting. He was scouted at Narbonne High School to try out for an annual show.

“I was scouted by one of the stage directors to try out for the annual Broadway show they put on,” Chick said. “I got in and had multiple leads. I learned numerous songs and dance routines. I love being on stage and after that, I was surrounded by friends who shared my passion.”

MrDatChick is the first channel he started in 2010 and it is now used for posting behind the scenes videos. Another channel Chick has, MrDatChickTV, is for the action, drama, and comedy films. ChristianSeeChick, his third channel, is used for his creative project and is a way for him to showcase his acting skills.

According to YouTube statistics, 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute. Because of this, it is getting tougher to become a star.

Chick was initially acting first, but to set him apart from competitors, he slowly started to direct after he began writing.

“I used to write a lot of short scripts then I started making short films,” Chick said.

Chick wanted to be an English major and changed his major shortly after declaring his major, but he still has a passion for writing.

“Ever since I tried advanced placement English classes in high school, I’ve fallen in love with writing,” Chick said. “I write short stories frequently.”

Chick feels like acting out his stories is the best way to help other people that are passionate about film, just as he is.

“I thought the best way to convey my stories to others was to act them out myself with the help of some friends,” Chick said.

“My strongest strength as an actor is that I’m a people person that can communicate well with everyone on set,” Chick said, “so I can get the best idea of what character I’m supposed to portray.”

There is a lot of competition for people on YouTube. Chick has entered competitions to showcase his film skills. One of the competitions he entered was Internet Icon, something similar to shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent.

“It’s like American Idol except it’s different YouTubers from all over the U.S. and Canada coming together to compete at making videos every single day,” Chick said.

The show was judged by Ryan Higa of NigaHiga, Timothy Delaghetto, and film star Christine Lakin. He attended the event with his partner O’Hara. They entered the video on Facebook and made it to the top 100 out of participants in North America.

“We met the amazing judges and the producers of the show and a wide array of amazing YouTubers that we just instantly got along with, especially Will Pacaro,” Chick said.

They didn’t win their competition but also didn’t walk away empty handed because they learned how to make their videos better.

Chick plans to write and direct a musical with his new crew and publish it later this year. In the future, Chick wants to explore playing more serious roles, ones different from his comedic roles on YouTube.

Chick’s favorite actors are YouTube actors. He watches a lot of videos on YouTube daily looking for ways to im prove his channel. Lany Tran, 20, business major, worked with Chick on one of his videos.

“He is a very fun guy to work with and he has a unique personality,” Tran said.

Chun Hoi Tan, 19, economic major, is a friend of Chick’s and a fan of his videos.

“Chick is a very chill guy with some crazy ideas,” Hoi Tan said. “He can always come up with something on the spot.” In five years, Chick said he plans to be finished with his mechanical engineering major. In 10 years, he said he wants to continue posting YouTube videos even if he becomes a well-known actor.

Arriana Young is a friend of Chick’s who appeared in a video of his. “In the future, I see him working at a station like Comedy Central,” Young said.