These 15-year-old twins from Kerala have been running their own YouTube channel in Malayalam since 2015 and create content showcasing DIY science and technology projects made at home. Devaj V and Devang V from Kozhikode, who named their channel Dev Broz, have a whopping 152,000 subscribers on the video platform. They use the earnings from their YouTube channel to pay their tuition fees at school. Whatever is left is used for buying raw materials for the videos they make.
Devaj tells us that they started the channel for fun in 2015 when they were in Class 5. "We first began uploading low quality mobile videos showcasing simple magic tricks. We were excited about the video platform and thought we should do something on it for fun," the 15-year-old creator adds. The duo then gradually began putting up other kinds of videos related to tech and science-related concepts and they realised that's what their channel should be all about. Around Class 6, however, they stopped making videos as they lost interest and weren't getting too many views to keep them engaged. As they aged, the itch came back. They got back to creating videos again in Class 8 as some of their videos began getting a lot of views.
In February 2018, the duo made slime using only glue, which they decided to experiment with at home and it worked. The video garnered over six million views, which then led to an increase in their follower count. "That's when we got the silver play button and decided to take this seriously," adds Devaj. When a verified YouTube channel like theirs reaches a specific milestone they become eligible for a YouTube Creator Reward. The trophies given out are of different sizes: each button and plaque gets progressively bigger with the channel's subscriber count. The Silver Creator Award that the twins received is meant for channels that reach or surpass 100,000 subscribers.
Devaj reveals that their parents have been extremely supportive as the brothers were inquisitive and curious about pretty much everything from an early age. "If we would get a toy car as a gift, we would open it, check out the functioning and completely re-assemble it. We would take out the parts and experiment with them and see what could be done. When we were younger we began experimenting with things available at home," he adds. The twins have conducted numerous experiments with everyday stuff but not all of these videos are on YouTube — only the ones that are successful have been put up. They are currently in Class 9 and their school had organised a programme to felicitate them for their successful experiments. They are also often invited to inaugurate science exhibitions in their area, which Devaj feels is quite encouraging.
The duo chooses their video content in terms of events that are of relevance to the public. However, they don't make videos on a daily basis, it depends on whether they get something good to create or showcase. For example, their recent hands-free hand sanitiser video was created and posted because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hand sanitisers are the most important product in the current scenario. The 15-year-olds are self-taught and they refer online, read and do research on Google as they continue to create videos.
They also buy some of their stuff online — like the software Arduino — which is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware that they used to make the hands-free hand sanitiser. "Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message — and turn it into an output such as activating a motor, turning on an LED or even publishing something online. We used the software for the hand sanitiser video — connecting all the parts to make it work," explains Devaj.
The teenage YouTube stars have set up their own studio at home where they shoot and edit the videos all by themselves. Their upcoming video will be about a temperature reader that they have been working on. "You can walk up to the reader and it will read your body temperature automatically. It is not handheld and is completely contactless. We are not getting the raw materials because of the lockdown and so the next video is getting delayed," he concludes.
