5 Videos I Thought Would Go Viral (But Definitely Didn’t)
So, I’ve uploaded over 350 videos to YouTube. Some did okay. One or two maybe even popped off for a minute. But a lot of them? Just me yelling into the void.
In this video, I break down five projects I genuinely thought might take off — videos I poured energy, spontaneity, gear, heart, and half-baked ideas into. I thought they were going to go viral viral. They didn’t. But they were still worth making.
Let me give you the behind-the-scenes rundown.
1. 4 Strangers Get Pho on Thanksgiving
This is probably the closest I’ve come to “going viral.” I was working in a sales office during a cold, rainy Thanksgiving week and I just had to make something. So I grabbed a camera, mic, and a friend and went out on the street in Worcester to find strangers to treat to pho.
We ended up laughing, connecting, and filming the whole thing. I uploaded it the morning of Thanksgiving (2018), and MassLive picked it up. It got about 24,000 views and 270 shares — pretty good, but not life-changing. Still proud of it.
2. Allergic to Cubicles: The Movie
This one was for a motion graphics class. We were supposed to animate a movie intro — I made an entire movie.
No mic. Auto white balance. Terrible audio. But I had a concept, some friends, a janky borrowed camera, and a lot of passion. The main character was literally allergic to cubicles. It was supposed to play on loop in a vintage store. It’s still up on my channel. (Yes, really.)
3. Hollywood Street Movie
Fast-forward to grad school. This was my “serious artist” moment — a mockumentary about the opioid crisis in Worcester, set in an 1888 architect’s house with a character named Worthen Barry, addicted to… earthworms. He overdoses. Has a dream. Wakes up wanting to change his life.
I thought it was artsy. YouTube thought it was… confusing.
4. Hipster Hobbit Christmas Comet
It’s Christmas. There’s a tree. There’s a guy dancing with a cardboard sign that says “I Will Work For Creativity.” There’s a comet. It ends with the earth exploding.
The whole thing is silent, shot in Green Hill Park with drone footage. Conceptual? Definitely. Viral? Not even close. But still one of my personal favorites.
5. Yeezy x Vans x Versace Collab
This was a fake fashion film I made in a torn-down Worcester factory. I wore one Yeezy, one Van, acid-washed jeans, and a Versace shirt. I made a beat in Fruity Loops and danced like I was modeling for a luxury streetwear line on a $0 budget.
I really thought this one would pop. Instead, it faded into the YouTube ether.
So Why Make This Video?
Because failure is part of the process. I don’t regret making any of these. Even the most random or cringey ones helped me learn camera skills, storytelling, editing, audio, pacing — or just made me laugh.
I made this “5 Videos That Didn’t Go Viral” episode as a reminder that it’s okay to miss. We all miss. But showing up, creating something, hitting upload — that’s where the wins are, even if the views don’t roll in.
You can watch the full breakdown here:
👉 Watch the video on YouTube
And if you’ve got a project you thought would blow up but didn’t — hit me in the comments. Let’s start a support group.
Stay weird,
Rich Marks the Spot
