---
title: 'Building the Setup I Always Needed'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=zuLHHKQFotA'
video_id: 'zuLHHKQFotA'
date: 2026-07-27
duration_sec: 830
---

# Building the Setup I Always Needed

> Source: [Building the Setup I Always Needed](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zuLHHKQFotA)

## Summary

In this video, a full-time creator shares his journey of moving into a new house and building a studio from scratch. He emphasizes the importance of functionality over perfection, using existing gear, and creating spaces that facilitate content creation rather than just looking good.

### Key Points

- **The Trap of the Perfect Setup** [00:02] — Many creators spend time and money on the perfect setup before building a system that actually helps them create. After 11 years, the creator realized that the gear doesn't matter if it doesn't aid production.
- **Why a New Space Was Needed** [00:51] — The family outgrew their previous house, and the creator felt tied to a past version of himself. They decided to move to a house with a dedicated studio space to expand as a creator.
- **Problems with the Previous Setup** [02:45] — The creator confined himself to one space, constantly adjusting cameras and lights instead of creating. Gear accumulated but workroom was lacking.
- **Current Setup Overview** [03:44] — The current setup includes a streaming nook with a desk, a creative workspace with an ultrawide monitor, and a logistics area for sharing tasks with his wife Megan.
- **Shared Workspace for Teamwork** [05:48] — Megan helps with finances and bills, so the creator set up a space where both can plug in MacBooks to collaborate and stay organized.
- **Space for Collaborators** [06:15] — The creator wants to provide a workspace for other creators like Jay Hawk and Rob, giving them a place to create and work.
- **Test Bench for Budget Setups** [07:24] — The creator plans to build a test bench to showcase that good streaming setups can be built for under $1,500, challenging the notion that expensive gear is required.
- **Using What You Have** [08:09] — Instead of buying new gear, the creator emphasizes utilizing existing equipment, like refinishing an old desk rather than buying a new epoxy one. Clutter piles up physically and mentally.
- **Embracing the Process** [09:49] — The creator shows the messy middle of moving, including missing ethernet, broken fridge, and fiber internet issues, to highlight the reality behind polished setup tours.
- **Current Priorities: Walls and Placement** [11:11] — Dark walls were a must. Existing desks were repurposed with extra legs. The focus is on functionality first, then aesthetics over time.
- **Looking Forward** [12:53] — The creator is excited about building a space for creating, not just for photos. Future videos will cover the streaming setup and budget options.

### Conclusion

This video emphasizes that a functional workspace is more important than a visually perfect one. By using existing gear and focusing on workflow, creators can build a studio that truly supports their craft.

## Transcript

setups. You see, what I've noticed over the years is people will spend time and money trying to build the perfect setup before they actually build a system that helps them create. And as we've been moving and I've been building my new
setup, I almost fell into the same trap. As soon as I got into the space, I started thinking of the dream scenario, the one perfect desk with the perfect lighting and the perfect angles. But after 11 years of creating full-time, I
remembered that none of this actually [ __ ] matters. So, instead of overnight trying to build the most badass setup possible, I'm trying to build something way more important. A studio that makes creating content
easier. And I want to bring you guys along.
first place? So, we've been in our house for 6 years now, and it was never meant to be a home for us that long. And I didn't expect my career to do what it did over the years, which is is a positive thing. But
essentially, our life and our family have outgrown the previous house. I also couldn't help but feel tied to this like previous version of myself, like this [ __ ] that I just had to escape. And over the years, it was fine that I took the
space that we had with the house, and I expanded into other areas. After we had point our guest bedroom wouldn't be able to be a guest bedroom because of the kid, it eliminated our ability to to utilize
years now, especially when I was going so hard on Kick, we had debated the idea so hard on Kick, we had debated the idea of me even moving my setup into a studio still utilize the guest bedroom and then have a bedroom for our son. But then, it
"Okay, why would we still pay a mortgage on this place that we don't enjoy would have be reliable for all of our own problems when we could find a house that actually fits our needs, our space, and gives me more room to expand as a
creator. So, that's why we got this place. This entire space is mine. It's for Big E. I want to have an area where we organize bills, taxes, everything specifically so there's no confusion. It It's here. If I want organizers for our
products that I'm either upgrading from or things that brands sent me out that I no longer need. If I want organizers and space for a folding table, for merchandise, for whatever reason, we got that. Essentially, I've
that. Essentially, I've worked in bedrooms and corner of houses and taking over spaces in our house for years. This is the first time where I've had genuine space to build everything
from the ground up the way I want to over the next couple years. Okay, I've want to talk more about the problems I had in my previous setup. Again, like I mentioned, I tried to lock myself into the ultimate setup. And because of that,
I confined myself into one space over many years. I found myself setting up things more than actually producing and and creating things. Constantly moving cameras, constantly adjusting lights. Every other week tearing the desk setup
apart to try to move it to get the better angle for the shots or having the streaming setup interfering with YouTube and and content creation. Trust me, after all the boxes I've gathered of [ __ ] I've acquired over the years, I
wasn't running out of gear, I was running out of work room.
>> Okay, so for now, here's what we got going on. So, I was just recording some station here. And this is my little streaming nook for the time being. It's going to lie. Cables are everywhere. I need to order some more things, but the
biggest thing right now is I wanted to make sure everything function because I example, this room doesn't have [music] ethernet cables ran, so I had to run one outside myself. And we got two gig fiber now, so you know that I'm going to take
advantage of that. I'm not sure about the drawers yet. I had them, so I'm just using them for now. I do like this desk, so I think I'm going to keep that for the gaming and streaming setup. But then we come over here and this is a little
don't mind the cables. They're going to be everywhere for the time being. But I really missed having the creative workspace and I absolutely love this desk. I just love how open and free this is with one ultra-wide monitor. [music]
I wanted to create a little area where I could just plug and play the MacBook. So that's what this is. This is the creator station. This is for editing, design, these videos that I'm producing, this video right here, it's all done in this
space. And then one thing I really liked about the last room is how I started creating this little area where I had this toolbox and I used the couple stands for some of the photos. And then I said to myself, why
don't I actually just create an area that I can utilize more for shooting. Great little spot for top-down shots. I can put decor down there, mount a light up there. And look, it's not done by any means, but I think for now,
this looks sick as [ __ ] But again, I wanted to bring you guys out here too important space. Now, a lot of things are in tubs right now. This is just the reality. This is the middle of the move. We're a family down here by ourselves
with three people trying to do all of this alone. I loved the Vernal desk at the last setup. I love this ultra-wide for workspace and Megan also upgraded to a MacBook, too. I also just got her on an an iPhone as well. But, what a lot of
people don't know is Megan tries as much as possible to >> help keep up with like finances, like the bills, like the paying of bills, the taxes. So, [music] I wanted a space where we could work together more like a
team. So, I'm setting up this area where either one of us could just plug our MacBooks in and we can share things and we can keep up-to-date with just everything going on. Consider this a logistics area for me and her. That's
That's what I wanted this to do on top of also being space for if anybody else >> I would love for Jay Hawk and Rob to come through and they're really busy dudes. They got a lot of brand deals. I wanted to give them their own space that
they could create and work at as well. years is creating different areas where I can different things. Right now, obviously, really dirty, but at a certain point
there's nothing stopping me from putting down a little vlog tripod down there to get shots and talking points in here. So, after these bins are out of here, there's going to be another table out here that I can use for a couple things.
One for taking product shots, again, having a folding table for any [music] merchandise. But, on top of it too, I want to have a test bench. Obviously, I like setups, right? But, the biggest thing I like about setups and
trying to give back in in videos to anybody out there is [music] I like to try to help other people be efficient, right? And I can't stand how like the online world tells you you can't do this thing with that thing or people like
like no way you could have a an entire stream setup that's good and has good video and audio for under like $1,500, like PC, microphone, everything. I want to have a place to to do that. I want to start getting these things
>> and saying, "I call [ __ ] Look at what I'm able to do with with this [music] setup. So, you can kind of get why I wanted to have so much space for one thing you might notice, we got the Vernal desk. I've had this desk for
I've had this desk for years. [music] Now, this might be new and I will be replacing that. But, one key thing I wanted to do was I didn't want to buy wanted to do was I didn't want to buy new [ __ ] I wanted to utilize what I had
wrong as creators. It's one of the things that that I harp about. A lot of times, it's not that you need camera. It's not that you need a new desk. It's that you need to put in a little extra energy and effort to utilize what you
have and slow down and and focus on the things that are actually important. None of this [ __ ] is going to matter unless I work, unless I show up to create. So, that's why when I found myself staying up till 11:00 one night looking at epoxy
desktops, I'm like, I got to stop, dude. The [ __ ] that I have is already more than [music] enough. I got to utilize it. I got to stick with it. Maybe I desks, that's fine. Use my hands, take the time, [music] sand it down, refinish
it the way that I want to have it look. But, the key thing was and the thing >> [music] >> I wanted to actually utilize this [ __ ] instead of stuffing it into a corner to just buy the new thing that looked
throughout the years. Putting stuff back and letting [ __ ] pile up, even if it's [ __ ] you know you need to get rid of, you have no need for, that [ __ ] doesn't just pile up in your house, it piles up in your mind, too. Look at this [ __ ]
dude. Look, I got tubs full of cables. I got boxes full of products that I don't use that at one point they were worth 1,000, 2,000 dollars, but over time I've just let them sit. I've let them collect in in the corner of a room and devalue
in in the corner of a room and devalue and build just more chaos up here. So, I just didn't want to buy a whole bunch of new [ __ ] to stack up on [ __ ] that I I think it's pretty logical. Okay, so why it's important that I make this
video while I'm still in the process of things and it all looks chaotic and sloppy. One, this is the reality. This is how [ __ ] actually is. But mainly, this is the part that most extravagant setup videos miss. Like the end result
with solid B-roll footage to some good music. Everybody loves the finished product. [music] Nobody talks about the middle. Over the last few weeks, it's middle. Over the last few weeks, it's been chaos. It's been annoying as [ __ ]
Missing parts, caveats to things like even though this house was built just a few years ago, there's no ethernet ran up to this room. Desk issues, mounting issues, AC issues. And the first week we were here, the refrigerator went bad.
And then when we went to install the fiber internet, we couldn't put it in the way the house is built. But we're rolling with the punches and we're creating setups naturally over time that work and
aren't locked in. I'm not creating those negative situations that put me into a scenario where [music] I would have to put so much work into a setup and then over analyze and over stress if I should be tearing it down. By using the space
some things up for their own unique workflow, then it allows me to actually try these things and experiment [music] and see what I like and dislike. So, that way over the next couple years, I can adjust and fine-tune over time. So,
for now, the biggest importance was at least the walls. Like I had to get this room painted. There's no question to that. I personally love this dark look. It's It's just a style that I appreciate. Then, I wanted to utilize
the desks that I already had. So, I did that. I bought some extra legs from Amazon, put them on the big live edge butcher block desk that I've enjoyed MacBook area. And then I created this little pocket in the room to where I can
down and record these videos. Now, I will be updating this section over the you guys will enjoy that upgrade. So, subscribe and stay tuned for that. But then it's also the streaming area on the
overstressing and overanalyzing the look of it right now. It needs to be functional, so that way I can actually do my job. So, I figured step one, dark walls, desk placement, lighting, workflow. That in of itself has already
got me so amped up not only to build this setup and make it look good over a period of time, but it's got me pumped to create. I know so many of you guys could relate on this idea of stressing about how everything will look on
camera. But then we don't think about the process of actually using it. I think so far this room looks pretty badass, and it's not even close to being even know what I'm going to do with some of this still, and that's exciting. I
still have cable management to do, lighting to work on. We got to do some because taller ceilings means it's a little bit more echoey. But this leaves videos, [music] more setups in the future. But for now,
for the first time in a while, I feel like I'm in a space that I'm building for creating. It's a space coming together to actually produce the content instead of just taking photos on an idea that this is the perfect setup for
the next couple weeks, we're going to be focusing on the streaming setup. I'm going to be putting my 4K gaming and streaming setup together. But on top of around with a couple budget options. So, make sure you guys are subscribed for
that little [ __ ] Either way, I'm pumped to be turning this space into something that I've wanted for years. That's all I got for you guys today. I'm That's all I got for you guys today. I'm out. Peace. Deuces.