Agadmator: “Be consistent and make content that you enjoy yourself!”

He is the most followed Chess YouTuber around. He is a household name in the chess world and has published more than 2000 videos so far. But most importantly, he has kindled a love for chess in the hearts of the people by sharing his own love for the game and taking his viewers over an amazing number of exciting chess games. He is none other than Antonio Radic, popularly known as Agadmator!

In the interview that follows, Agadmator reveals the origins of his channel and underlines his approach to it. Along the way, he also guides budding YouTubers on how to make the best of their own YouTube channel. To conclude, Agadmator talks about fan encounters and discusses his plans going forward, not just for his channel but also on a personal level. Keep reading to know more about the man who revolutionized Chess on YouTube!

Shubham Kumthekar: How did you get acquainted with chess and how did your Youtube channel come into being?

Antonio Radic: My grandfather Anto Krnjic was a FIDE Master. He taught me chess when I was four or maybe five years old. But then, I got really bored with it and I didn’t play until I was about 16. At some point, I just started playing local guys in pubs and bars and in school, and I really took up chess for around a year before I went to college. I took all the books that my grandfather had and went through them. I studied some openings, some endgames, some general principles. And then, I stopped learning about chess for a very long time. I still enjoyed playing it but it wasn’t until maybe 2016 that I really started uploading videos on my channel. Well, everything just happened from that point on!

In the chess world, ratings and titles are heavily valued. What challenges did you face in this respect when you were building up your channel?

When people first started watching my channel, some of them – but not all – were like, “I am not going to watch this guy… he is rated like 1900.” So, it would make more sense for them to watch videos from someone who was higher rated. But it didn’t bother me all that much and other than this, I did not really face any other challenges.

When you started making videos, did you have a certain kind of audience in mind?

No, I just wanted to show, for example, Bobby Fischer’s Game of the Century. I really enjoyed the game and I wanted other people who may not have seen it to enjoy it in a way that I saw it – the way I perceived the game, how I thought about it, and which moment of the game did I think was the most important. That is what I really tried to highlight for my audience. I did not have it in mind that these videos are for people rated 1600 to maybe 2000. It was more like: whoever finds themselves on my video, they are welcome to check it out!

Here’s a small introduction to Agadmator’s Chess Channel. Check out his video on the ‘Game of the Century’ played by the great Bobby Fischer himself!

You mention in one of the previous interviews with Chessbase India that you used to work with your father and then you switched over full time to making videos. How tough was it to make the decision of turning into a full-time YouTuber and that too in a niche field like chess?

It wasn’t all that difficult. When I was still shooting weddings and editing wedding videos, I didn’t upload all that much. Only later on when I got a job as a graphical designer here in a local company that I started doing more YouTube. When I used to come back from work, it used to be around 3 or 5 PM depending on the day. I would also record two videos on those days and this would pretty much consume my entire day. But when my YouTube revenue started exceeding what I made on my day job, it wasn’t really a tough decision to switch to YouTube.

At this point, I had around 25,000 subscribers. Yes, it was still a little bit risky to switch, but I thought that I better just do it!

One thing that really makes me curious is that sometimes, I see you upload a video within minutes of the end of the actual live game. How do you manage to do it? It fascinates me!

If it’s like a rapid game that lasts for maybe 35 – 40 minutes, more often than not I watch the game live, and then, if I am interested in something, I also analyze it while watching it live. So basically, by the time it ends I pretty much know what happened in the game, and then I just record it. I don’t know why people find it so interesting! It’s like the game finished, I was watching it for an hour or so, and I just make a shorter version of it.

One reason why I personally find that interesting is because you are used to seeing people edit their videos…

I never edit my videos. If I had started making YouTube videos without doing some other job, then maybe I would. But this way, I simply did not have time to edit videos. I barely had enough time to record them!

You mentioned in one of the earlier interviews that you try and put out at least one video a day. You also mention that regularity is the key to success on YouTube. But let us say you’re traveling somewhere or you go on a vacation. How do you manage your channel in such cases?

Well, I don’t travel that much (chuckles) and when I do, I either prepare for it or I take my laptop with me. In that case, I often record the videos when I am on the seaside, or on my way to Germany. Even when I was in London, I recorded videos there. So it’s not all that different. It’s surely easier at home when you have your standard setup and your big screens and everything, but otherwise, you make do.

I can relate to this in many ways. Sometimes work just follows us, especially in the field of Chess, doesn’t it!

Yeah, especially if you are in the news business – I wouldn’t really say that I am in the news business but I do sort of deliver news to people on a daily basis. So if something really spectacular happens, I would like to be amongst the firsts to mention that. That isn’t always a priority. But if I can manage it, then I try and do so.

When you are a prolific YouTuber and when people really love your videos, it is clear that you’re doing something right. In your case, what is it that you think you’re doing right in terms of making the videos? What is your approach and what is your YouTube strategy in general?

Well, that’s one of the most common questions I get, but there’s no easy way to answer that. I think it’s a mixture of everything. My videos are not too long and they’re not too short either. They stretch from maybe 10 minutes to sometimes even up to 20 minutes. For a chess video, I think that’s appropriate. I like to think that people who enjoy chess have at least a little bit of a longer attention span!

I really enjoy making videos. I think people also pick up on the fact that I don’t like to waste people’s time. I don’t have sponsors who I promote. I don’t have the mid-roll ads in any of my videos. And I think those are some of the things that people might enjoy on my channel. It may also have something to do with the choice of games. Overall, it would be interesting to hear about this for me. Maybe I will make a poll or something so that whenever I get that question again, I am ready for it!

People are always curious about what Agadmator means, and you have often emphasized that you will reveal it when you hit 1 million subscribers. Has that always been a backstory for you, or did it just catch up in some way?

Well, I actually did reveal it in my first-ever stream, and the video is still public! But I have about 2000 videos on my channel, so finding the video is not an easy task. But after some time, people just started asking me and then I said, “Nah, I am not gonna reveal it just yet!”

Considering our chess world is pretty large and you have more than 650,000 subscribers now, do you ever get recognized at places or have you ever had any fan encounters as such?

In my home town, people pretty much know who I am. They even knew me before I started doing YouTube since it is a very small town. But when I go to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or maybe some other places, more often than not people do recognize me. There is a funny story when I was in London for the World Chess Championship match between Carlsen and Caruana. I had some time to kill so I was sightseeing in the center of London. I went to listen to this guy play violin on the street and I was going to drop him a few Euros. Over there, I encountered Henry and Kevin Tran and I didn’t know who they were. But they said, “Hey, you are Agadmator! Can we take a photo with you?” I was like, “Yeah sure.” In the end, it turned out that they are a comedy channel from France and are a much bigger channel than mine!

But again, I don’t travel that much. If I traveled more, I am pretty sure I would meet more people. But even like this, I do get recognized more often than not.

Considering the current COVID times have been great for creating new content, how have things changed for you during this particular period of time?

Well, not that much. But what I think has happened is that a lot more people who were never interested in chess have decided to take up chess. When you are at home and you don’t really have all that much to do and you don’t have all that many hobbies, chess seems like an ideal thing to start. But other than that, it did not affect me in creating content in any negative way.

What is your piece of advice to budding YouTubers, streamers, or anyone related to this field?

What I can definitely say is that you should be consistent and you should make content that you enjoy yourself. Sometimes, of course, you want to make content that attracts the most viewers. But if you are doing that for too long and if you don’t make content which you enjoy yourself, you’re going to be unable to do that for very long. You will either get bored with it, or you will be annoyed by it. Therefore, you have to be true to yourself, you have to be consistent, and you have to try and make the content as high quality as possible. I don’t mean that you need an 8k camera or something like that, but a decent microphone, for example, goes a long way in helping your case.

One of the things that I personally always try and do is to not waste the time of my subscribers. My approach is: here’s the content and whether you like it or not, I will not be wasting your time. Of course, you can throw in a few jokes in between. Some important segments of content are always welcome. But maybe spending five minutes on nothing related to the actual content will lead to people disliking you. Unless that’s what you enjoy, then you should also be true to yourself and do that. There will always be people who enjoy watching you for that!

I don’t think you can really say, “Okay, I’m now gonna make a YouTube channel and I am gonna grow really large.” It all depends on what makes you happy, what you enjoy making, and whether or not a lot of people enjoy what you personally enjoy. If you fake that you enjoy something and then make content on it, people will pick up on that very quickly. 

Going forward, what are your plans – not only for the channel but also for your own self?

For the moment I am pretty busy with the channel and with the preparation for my podcasts. Also, we are about to launch our chess manga, the first chapter of which should be out in June. So when all of that settles and when we are really getting it going, then I will start looking into some other things, maybe even things that have nothing to do with chess. But I might also start improving my own chess, something I have wanted to do for a while, and maybe even play a few open tournaments just for fun. And who knows, maybe I will even try and get a title!

Agadmator recently released his first-ever podcast wherein
Super GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was his first guest

Blitzkrieg

Favorite YouTube channels – one chess and one non-chess…

For chess, it’s a tough one. I will go with Jozarov’s Chess Channel. For non-chess, it has been a while since I have seen anything. But if I had to name one, I would say it’s 331 ERock. He makes these metal covers for famous songs.

Three chess players of all time whom you would love to invite for dinner…

I would go with Capablanca, Tal and Spassky. I would love to play with Nezhmetdinov, but for dinner, I will be sticking with these three!

When you are not doing something related to chess, you are generally found doing…

Hanging out with Jelena, my girlfriend. We have been together for a very long time now and we are actually planning a house and are in the process of building a house. So that’s pretty time-consuming. But other than that, I watch some movies and TV shows, read a book here and there, play some video games, take Medo (Ed. – Agadmator’s famous dog!) for a walk, visit the family and so on.

Your favourite quote or your motto in life…

I am sure there are a handful of such quotes. But if I had to choose one, it would probably be ‘live and let live’. It is one of my favorites.

– – – – –