5 Minutes with Jim Chapman

I don't think there's anybody on planet Earth who's been doing my job longer than me… I get stopped in the street by people saying, "Oh my god, I grew up watching you"! I'm 38, will be 40 soon. So I guess I'm how people measure time!

I’ve got a huge amount of love for the audience who have been with me since I started on YouTube. Of course, back then, it was a very different beast. But whatever happens, no one's ever going to replicate what we did. I was amongst a few others who were, by accident, by chance, or by force of will, there when the influencer/ YouTuber phenomenon took off. Whatever happens now, we're never going to have that moment again. It was all innocence and adventure with no ulterior motives.

Before social media, my job was to send the bailiffs after people…I was an enforcement officer and I was terrible at it. I could see my career in front of me, and I knew that in a few years I'd be manager, then area manager, and all that stuff. But I didn't feel excitement – it felt like prison.

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There’s still a lot of good stuff on social media… you can find your tribe. If you're into something really niche, you will find your people on social media. It makes the world a much smaller place. You've got information at your fingertips. You've got friendship - I've had people meet in the comments of my content and get married!

There’s also a lot of misinformation and negativity…people are always trying to sell you stuff and there is a lot of extremity. It’s not necessarily about being right, it’s about being loud.

It’s actually my degree in psychology that shapes how I want my kids to engage with social media… I studied a lot of developmental psychology and am so conscious of what this all means for developing minds. We can’t stop it, though, especially for kids who were born into it. You can’t penalise them for it by taking it away.

I also see it as a really valid form of communication. If teenagers talk to friends on social media and they're no longer allowed to, they turn up to school the next day and they've missed a big part of that relationship. But there needs to be checks and balances. There needs to be safety. There needs to be more accountability from the platforms themselves, and that hasn't come yet. I think it's as simple as uploading proof of ID when you start an account. At that point, everyone's accountable for their footprint. No one's going to spread hate behind a keyboard when their account can be so easily traced back to them. 

I’m ageing slower than most…not physically, but time moves in a different way for me. Part of the reason we all suddenly wake up one day at retirement age is that we tend to do the same thing every day. You clock in, you do your job, you clock off, you have your weekends, you have your annual leave. But it’s the novelty and excitement that actually makes time slow down. You live so much more in the present. Plus, I’ve done so much in my time. I’ve travelled far and wide, experienced things most people don’t ever get the chance to. It’s sort of given me extra time. I’m so, so grateful for it.

When I first got famous, I had the world in the palm of my hands… and it would have been really easy for my ego to get out of control, because doors open, people said yes, and the comments were all about me. If you live in that sort of microcosm – or macrocosm, I suppose, reaching that many people – you start thinking you're the centre of the universe.

It's not until you step outside of that a little bit, and you start doing things where people tell you no, or you've got new skills to learn, that you get hit with a shedload of humility. I have a family who will not let me get away with being a dick – they'll absolutely rein me in.

Parenthood is all about the little moments… it’s really helped me slow down. For example, when my little boy fell asleep on me it forced me to just stop. I have such a busy brain and am always thinking of a thousand different things to do. But actually, when he fell asleep on me, it made me think, nothing else matters right now. Those little bits – I can’t get enough of them. They are regular, they are dependable, and they are core moments for us.

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My own childhood was unpleasant, to say the least, but…at least it gave me a real indication of right and wrong. So I hold myself to a very high standard, not only as a man but as a human being. I expect the best of me. I will always do what I think is right. I'm never going to sell out. I'm never going to manipulate or do things that don't feel good to me, because I've seen it play out that way.

I also do loads of work on it. Loads of therapy and I work out regularly to keep my mind healthy. When it comes to mental health, why wouldn’t I try to make myself feel better? I like being inside myself more when I do the work, because I'm nicer to myself, and I see the world in a more positive, more grateful way. My kids get a better dad. My wife gets a better husband. The people I work with get a better contemporary. It’s crazy that it can be seen as a weakness. It’s actually the greatest sign of strength if you’re willing to improve yourself.

I’ve just moved to the Cotswolds and am renovating a very old house… we knew it needed loads of work and I’ve been trying to do as much of it as possible. There are some things I can’t do –we needed a new roof, re-plumbing and rewiring. I've learned so many new skills. When you have tradespeople coming in, there are deadlines, because you can't just decide you're going to do a room in any order – you need to do things in a certain sequence so that the electricians and plumbers can do their things, or the floor needs to be installed first, etc. So, the mental admin of knowing who's doing what and when, and what I've got to do before they arrive – that's really overwhelming. But the house is amazing so far with what's been done.

My top tips for anyone renovating a house are… you need to have a good, trusted team of builders. Word of mouth is key because the number of horror stories I've heard from other people is crazy. My other tip is to be really patient — with yourself and with other people. They can't just drop everything and appear when you want them to. They have lives and schedules. And none of it matters in the grand scheme. If you haven't got paint on the walls when you wanted paint on the walls, you still have walls. You need to have some patience and not expect it all to be done immediately. My third is to give it a go. There are so many things I didn't think I'd be able to do. I look at a job and go, "Oh, that's beyond me". And then I do a little bit of YouTube, a bit of Googling, and suddenly think, " let's give it a go". You'll be amazed at how capable you are.

From a fashion perspective, my personal style is… classic. My whole wardrobe is made out of staples – things that I know work really well. I avoid trends. I don't wear skinny, I don't wear loose. I wear a nice straight fit. I don't wear my trousers really low, I don't wear them up to here, I just wear them on my waist. Once you know the silhouette you're going for and what looks best on your body, it's not rocket science. I know that, really, I can pick two random things and it will work.

I don’t understand people who buy nice things and only save them for the best occasions… or when people buy a nice bottle of wine or whisky and won’t open it. I think people should just live it, try it. The worst thing is finding something that’s been eaten by moths before I ever got the chance to wear it. I’d rather wear things to death than worry about their longevity. It’s just stuff, you can’t take it with you.

The one person’s wardrobe I’d love to steal is…Austin Butler. He’s dressing phenomenally well at the moment. He is great for the casual workwear look. I’m more of an era person, though. The 50s is amazing – that sort of James Dean-y, Americana, Levi’s and denim jackets vibe. The tailoring from that decade is just gorgeous. Such a timeless aesthetic.

My perfect date night is… Deliveroo on the sofa. We have two small kids, so we can’t go out unless we have a babysitter. Sometimes, just sitting in your tracksuit bottoms and getting a filthy burger is delightful.