Nineteen-year-old Haley Pham is YouTube royalty—and no one’s taking her crown anytime soon. Her vibrant vlogs have consistently captivated the 2.25M+ subscribers of her channel, many of whom have been screening her videos for nine years. Pham has chronicled a large range of content, including her love of dance, beauty, fashion, home decor, her rescue dog Spock, Christian faith, Vietnamese culture (she’s half-Vietnamese and half-Caucasian), entrepreneurial advice and more. Indeed, she has a young entrepreneurs series on her channel, and its first video, “24 hours with a high school millionaire,” has over 1.6M views. This past year, she transformed into a businesswoman herself, launching her own clothing line, Retro Reprise, and a podcast, Call Me Candid, with fellow creator Lilly Ann. Pham has also had her fair share of notable brand partnerships: she has collaborated with Sephora Collection, Fabletics, Care/of and Amazon Kids, amongst others. Below, the digital star reflects on her recent endeavors and shares her secret to achieving YouTube stardom.

When and why did you decide to start your YouTube channel? What is the main message you’re trying to get across through your platform?

When I was younger, I discovered iMovie, and I really fell in love with editing. I would record my outfits and makeup so that I could teach myself how to do cool effects and post them to YouTube. Eventually, I got a real camera and Final Cut Pro. My main message I’m trying to demonstrate is that life is beautiful. There’s so much happiness in the world!


What is your favorite YouTube video you've produced to date, and why?

Episode 1 of “Flipping with Pham.” It’s titled, “Surprising a college student with the ultimate apartment makeover.” We spent months on the video. The production quality is a lot higher, and it’s supposed to mimic an HGTV house makeover TV show. I just love that video overall, and I’m really proud of it!

What is the key to producing a viral YouTube video?

You have to think of a concept that’s broadly appealing and then try to gamify it in some way. That’s why the 24-hour format was so popular for a very long time. It’s usually something difficult that not a lot of people are willing to put themselves through, but it’s something that people would want to watch you do.    


What advice do you have for people who want to grow their own YouTube channels?

It takes 10,000 hours to become a pro at anything, so be consistent and patient. Accept failure and persist nonetheless. 


What made you want to launch your own clothing line, Retro Reprise?

I got the idea for Retro Reprise during my junior year of high school when I learned about the Memphis design and art movement. I really loved a particular pattern and wanted to buy clothing that had it, but I couldn't find it anywhere. That’s why I decided to create it, so that I could wear it myself. I ended up sharing it with my audience because I kept getting a lot of questions about where it was from. 


How would you describe the design aesthetic of the collection? Does it reflect your own personal style?

Retro Reprise is inspired by Memphis designs! The theme is very 80s and 70s.

What was your main goal in establishing your podcast, Call Me Candid?

I wanted to create a place where Lilly and I could inspire others who are trying to start their own businesses. I also wanted to make a big sister type of platform for girls to pull inspiration from. We wanted it to feel like you’re on the phone with a friend.


What are some of the most important topics you cover on the podcast? What has resonated the most with your fans?

We talk about our faith on the podcast, how to start from ground zero and build a business and what it's like to be a female founder. We try to show the truth behind the everyday. 

What’s your endgame? What do you ultimately hope to accomplish in the future?

Hopefully, I will be producing more YouTube content, but I also want to practice my skills in the interior design industry. I really want to flip and renovate an entire house (documenting it on YouTube, of course), get into the real estate business and hopefully do that full-time one day. In the future, I would like to work on something that doesn’t benefit myself in any way but benefits the world.

This or That:

YouTube or Instagram? YouTube.

Starbucks or McDonalds? Starbucks.

iPhone or computer? iPhone.

Netflix or live TV? Netflix.

Stay in or go out? Go out.

Follow Haley on Social Media:

Instagram: @haleypham

YouTube: Haley Pham

TikTok: @haleypham

Twitter: @haleypham