We stumbled across Vinny and Luke of V-Squared, one of the most recent additions of YouTube’s most adorable couples, several months ago while looking for some new favorite YouTubers. Instantly we were drawn into their charm and sincerity as they welcomed us into their home and their lives through the lens of their camera, sharing stories of their life and coming alive on the screen. Since the beginning of last year, Vinny and Luke have gained a strong following on YouTube and are now one of the most loved couples to watch and definitely one of our favorites! We were excited to talk to them and find out a little bit more about their life on and off camera. Check out what they had to tell us below!
1. How long have you been together and how did you meet?
Luke: We have been together for 8 years now! We were in a long distance relationship for 7, and we just passed our 1 year wedding anniversary this August.
2. What motivated you to start making YouTube videos?
Vinny: I have always thought about making YT videos, but to be honest I never thought my life was that interesting. I posted some wedding photos of ours on Tumblr, and it went mini viral over night and I was soon being bombarded by questions of all sorts asking more about my relationship with Luke. One of the questions was whether or not we would ever be interested in starting a YouTube channel, right then and there V-Squared was born.
3. Give a quick bio on yourselves introducing you to us.
Vinny: My name is Vinny. I am 25 years old, originally from New York, and I live in the England with my husband Luke. I majored in Social Sciences with a focus on US Law and Government, but now I am a certified house husband who loves to bake cupcakes and take care of our dog Luna and cat Jasper.
Luke: My name is Luke, I’m 24 and was born and raised in Nottingham, England. For most of my education I was homeschooled by my mum as we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they didn’t want me to hang around with the wrong kids (didn’t make much difference in the end though haha). I then did my degree in Sociology and now work at a University.
4. How did you meet other gay YouTubers?
Vinny: The LGBT YouTube community is absolutely amazing. We typically just watch other LGBT YouTuber’s videos and reach out to them, and the general response is really positive. I believe we all are trying to make some sort of positive impact on our community, whether it be through laughter or dealing with serious topics, we all have a common goal that immediately opens up the doors to communication.
Luke: I was never drawn to LGBT groups while I was growing up and I think that was because there was no single common interest other than we were LGBT, however that changed completely with LGBT YouTubers as we all completely obsessed with YouTube and it turns our that it helped me make some of the best friends I’ve ever had.
5. Who are your three favorite YouTubers?
Vinny: Tyler Oakley is my absolute hero. He is a big reason why I started posting videos. I adore Super Fruit and have been following Scott and Mitch when their a cappella group (Pentatonix) won the American TV show the Sing Off. Lastly, Miranda Sings is an absolute riot.
Luke: My obsession with YouTube started back around 2007 and I used to (and still am) addicted to Michael Buckley, Tyler of course is the queen of YouTube and will never be dethroned and finally Miranda feeds my soul.
6. What are three things about the other person we wouldn’t know by looking at them?
Vinny: Luke is incredibly intelligent. He won an award for his University degree for the highest dissertation. He is an absolute compeer geek and whiz (in the best possible way). His sense of humour is absolutely impeccable. His whit and humour always makes me laugh.
Luke: Vinny is one of the most creative people I know, he is so amazing at identifying colours he can practically tell you what pantone they are. He also has the ability to make anyone love him within 5 seconds of speaking to him, I’m so jealous!
7. Where is the other person’s ticklish spot?
Vinny: Luke is pretty much ticklish everywhere. Tickling him is one of my favourite things to do even though he hates me for it!
Luke: Vinny pretends to laugh when I tickle him just to humour me, but quite honestly he can just shut it off when he wants to. GRR!
8. What is a movie, book, television show you would recommend to a stranger on a plane?
Vinny: I am currently obsessed with ‘Suits’. You can find me most days on the sofa watching it on Netflix. I love any John Green books – The Fault in Our Stars has to be my favourite by him. I’m a huge fantasy geek and would say the new Hobbit movie would be the film of choice.
Luke: My all time favourite movie, albeit slightly depressive, is the Pianist by Roman Polanski; It combines heartbreaking history with amazing acting and a soundtrack by my favourite Pianist Chopin. I’d tell everyone to watch the West Wing, I have the whole box set and after I finish watching it I start right from the beginning again!
9. What are some opportunities that have come as a result of making YouTube videos?
Vinny: Luke and I actually will be in a film that is set to premier at the Starmus Festival September 23rd, called 51 Degrees North, where we actually play ourselves. We’ve made a ton of friends in the YouTube community- some of which we have been fangirling over for years! But most importantly, we have met awesome subscribers at a couple of meet ups one in London (Thanks to Shep689) and another in New York City.
Luke: I vividly remember a moment when we made our first collab with Billy & Pat, we were all stood on their apartment rooftop looking at the New York skyline on a winter night and I had Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind running through my head. I took a few moments to soak it all in and thought to myself if nothing else comes from making these videos, this has made it all worth it.
10. Is there any money to be made in making YouTube videos?
Vinny: There is if you want it to be! I believe most of the money comes from the exposure that YouTube brings to the channel creators. We see a lot of YouTubers crossing over into popular culture in cosmetics, film, modelling, music, and more.
Luke: Back in the day YouTube was a real money maker but now you need to make a lot more sponsorship deals to get enough to support you. If you put in the work you can definitely make the big bucks though!
11. What kind of camera and software do you use?
Luke: I’ll answer this as Vinny doesn’t care about this stuff like I do! Haha. We have a very basic DSLR (Nikon D3200) that works really well for static shots and we mostly edit in Final Cut Pro X but also have the whole Adobe Suite just in case (but mainly for my playtime).
12. When did you know you were making an impact on YouTube and starting to get a following?
Vinny: Honestly, YouTube is still so new to both Luke and I. We have only been making videos for about 9 months, and it still feels like we are the newbies. I don’t think I’ll ever feel like I’m making an impact on the YouTube scene.
Luke: Every milestone that we pass takes us by surprise. When we first posted, 1000 seemed like Mount Everest let alone 30,000. The impact comes from the amazing emails we get that tell us how we’ve helped them find hope in love again or come out to their families, nothing beats that feeling!
13. What is too personal to talk about in your videos?
Vinny: I think there is a time and a place to talk about any subject matter in a video. So for that, I would say that nothing is too personal to talk about in a video. If speaking up helps at least one other person, than I’m willing to talk about it.
Luke: We’ve tried our best to not race into talking a lot about our sex life, it’s something that gains you a lot of views but not a lot of respect. We had so many questions about who is top/bottom and I personally take issue with the fact that people think this is an acceptable question to ask a gay couple, even if they are strangers, especially when it would never be OK to ask a straight.
14. Define Sexy. Who is the sexiest celebrity? Sexiest city? Sexiest Song? Sexiest Place to kiss?
Vinny: Sexy is all about confidence for me. If you believe in yourself and you rock it, I think that’s pretty darn sexy. Sexiest celebrity is hands down my man Channing Tatum. Sexiest City: Barcelona. The people there are beautiful. Song: Pour Some Sugar on Me – Def Leppard. Sexiest place to kiss? I never kiss and tell 😉
Luke: I agree with Vinny, sexy is about the way someone carries themselves. If you know who you are and you don’t hide it, that’s a real turn on. Sexiest celebrity has to go to Jake Gyllenhaal or Marlon Brando. Sexiest City is probably NYC. Sexiest Song has to go to Ginuwine with ‘My Pony.’ I don’t think there is a place that is NOT sexy to kiss.
15. Being that you’re married, what are your feelings on same sex marriage legalization in the US?
Vinny: I think it will be entirely legalized in the near future. These past couple of months we have seen a huge wave of support and states one by one are finally recognizing equal marriage.
Luke: I think same sex marriage was a hugely important symbolic gesture, especially in America. It took something which they found incredibly sacred and said “Hey, we deserve this too.” This will go a long way to make further steps of equality.
16. Did you take a honeymoon and if so, where?
Vinny: We did not! We spent most of our money on visa and moving me from New York to England. We were just happy to finally start our lives together. As far as I’m concerned, every day with Luke is a honeymoon.
Luke: Like Vinny said, when you’ve been in a long distance relationship for 7 years, the last thing you want to do is get back on a plane. Being together was our honeymoon. Although now that we’ve been married for over a year I’d like to go somewhere hot!
17. What advice would you give to someone wanting to be successful on YouTube?
Vinny: In the words of my idol Tyler Oakley, “Be the best you.” Those four words are what I live by. There is only one you, and by default that makes you unique. Be genuine. I think as a culture we are used to being mislead – when we finally see someone who is authentic and just being themselves, we gravitate towards them.
Luke: I think you have to start with something unique to offer, rather than starting just because you want to be YouTube famous. For us, that was our relationship and the unique path we took to get there. If you have something interesting to say, people will listen.
18. What are the three secrets to a successful marriage?
Vinny: Communication, laughter, and trust.
Luke: Communication, Respect and Honesty.
19. Where would you like to be in five years?
Vinny: I would love to be somewhere in Europe or New Zealand, with my tiny cottage and a beautiful English style garden. I basically am a modern day ‘hippie’ and would love a little patch of land with Luke to settle down and start sinking some roots (literally and figuratively).
Luke: Anywhere than where I currently am. I get itchy feet and always like to try something new, whether that’s where I live, where I work or what I do for play. I’d like to see more of the world and look back with no regrets.
20. What are your three simple luxuries?
Vinny: We recently bought an iMac, and I am in love. Bubble baths, and every Lush product imaginable.
Luke: Chocolate is the most simple and it makes me the most happy (a close second to Vinny anyway). I also love our new iMac and a piano (although we don’t have room for a real one at the moment *sad face*)
Make sure to check out all of their videos on their channel!
“The Fault in Our Stars for the LGBT Community”
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