The inspiration to name his YouTube channel woke Nick Matarazzo up at 2:30 in the morning.

“I was thinking about it for at least three hours, trying to figure out what we could do with this new channel,” he said. After he woke up, he immediately began writing down potential channel names.

“Jersey to Syracuse” is a YouTube channel created by New Jersey natives and Syracuse University students Matt Cobuzio and Nick Matarazzo. The channel specializes sketch comedy and prank videos about the typical college experience. Within three months of posting their first video in December, the channel has acquired 5,489 YouTube subscribers. The boys usually post a new video every Monday at 4 p.m.

Cobuzio, a sophomore television, radio and film major, and Matarazzo, a freshman public relations major, started out as acquaintances in high school. Now, seven months later, the pair are inseparable.

They finish each other’s sentences and bounce off each other’s ideas. These two are more than partners — they’re not only bound by their fraternity, Theta Chi, but also by their mutual passion for creating YouTube videos. With this connection, “Jersey to Syracuse” was born.

Cobuzio wanted to partner with someone just as dedicated and driven as him, he said.

“Nick definitely has a motivation and an inspiration for YouTube, and that’s why I wanted him,” he explained.

Matarazzo said he was already a big fan of Cobuzio’s personal channel, so when the opportunity arose to join forces, Matarazzo could not have been more thrilled. He said it’s always been a goal of his to be in one of Cobuzio’s videos.

After the duo got together, Matarazzo had the epiphany about the group’s name during Thanksgiving break last year. When titles with the words “orange” or “juice” became unsatisfying, Matarazzo thought of their current name.

Just recently, this power duo decided to bring their friend, freshman engineering major Tatiana Ensslin, on board to help them with scripts. She has already been a part of two videos.

“Half of the time we film, it’s not even written down. Ninety percent of what makes it into the video is us on a whim. Nick and Matt are really great,” Ensslin said.

After filming for six to seven hours daily for a week and a half during Winter Break, the men behind JTS launched their first video on Dec. 23, 2013, called “How Animals Open their Christmas Presents.”

The channel currently has 14 videos, covering everything from relatable situations, to expectations versus realities and even a fake Super Bowl commercial, which received 65,000 views within four days of posting.

Matarazzo and Cobuzio both said the fans’ comments were the “best reward, hands down.”

A lot of their ideas spawn from being university students and websites like Imgur. “Anything that I see, especially around campus, usually becomes an idea that could be a potential video,” said Matarazzo.

As far as challenges go, time is really the only obstacle. Juggling schoolwork, extracurricular activities, being a part of a fraternity while producing the videos can take a toll, however it still does not pose a threat to their goals, Cobuzio said.

Generating a large viewership is definitely one of their main priorities, as they aim to reach 50,000 subscribers in the next year, Cobuzio said. Matarazzo, who said he has a strong business sense, said he continuously thinks of how they can strategically move their channel forward.

To help achieve their goal, Cobuzio and Matarazzo began a TubeStart campaign — a platform offering crowd funding for web series — on March 10. They are aiming to receive $1,250 from donors to help their big video ventures in the future.

“We want to get to know our fan base and we’re willing to reach out to them. We need them as much as they need us,” Ensslin said.

Cobuzio said he and Matarazzo are great partners. He hopes it will lead to a job down the road, he said. For now, JTS is their niche, and no one can take that away from them.

Matarazzo said: “I love doing it and it’s a lot of fun. It never feels like work to me.”

Published on March 17, 2014 at 12:06 am

Contact Julia: iaoltean@syr.edu