I cannot recall how or why I first noticed Noah Wilson of Noah Pop TV, but I am certain he was interviewing a Hallmark star and possibly even doing some promotion to bring attention to some of their upcoming seasonal programming. Nonetheless, I was instantly intrigued due to Noah’s infectious enthusiasm and vibrant youth. It is rare to see teenagers interviewing celebrities, and I truly had no idea just how persistent and passionate this young man was. However, as the years have passed, his uncanny ingenuity and positively refreshing content have continued to capture the attention of people all over the world. Recently, I had the supreme joy of chatting with Noah and discovering more about how he has created such a successful virtual media empire that continues to inspire and entertain people from every walk of life.

RH: Noah, it’s so nice to finally “meet” you.

NW: Same here, Ruth.

I have been following your career for a while now, and I have to say I cannot believe you’re only twenty years old!

Well, yes, I’ve been doing this since I was eight.

So how did you get involved in entertainment at such a young age?

I was a huge fan of Kelly Ripa from a very young age. I was home sick from school one day. You know how it goes. You go to school where you’re surrounded by germs. You bring it home and before you know it, you’re sick! When I’m sick, I  like to watch TV. I was flipping through the channels, and I came across Live with Regis and Kelly. I started watching, and it was just so entertaining to me, I thought. I found the jokes hilarious, and I thought Kelly was just lovely.

After that, because the show caught my eye, I started recording the show every day because it came on when I was in school. I was in the second grade at the time, and every day, I would come home and watch.  From second grade up to high school, I was recording and watching the show because I liked Kelly and Regis. But I was also studying them and trying to see how they would interact with their guests and how they would do the show.

After being invited to and appearing on Kelly’s show in New York,  I opened up my own YouTube Channel, which was in 2011. I knew I wanted to have a show like Kelly’s one day, and because I was so passionate about it, I jumped right in. I’ve been doing it ever since.

It is possible that a lot of people don’t know this about me, so let me give you some insider info. I have a twin sister. When I was watching Regis and Kelly and studying how they would do their show, I would try to get my sister to be Kelly and I would be Regis. At the time, there really were no high-def cameras like people film with these days. But we would set up this little camera, and I would act like I had guests like Regis and Kelly did, but it was really just my toy box. So there was the little camera, my toy box, and we would do these little shows. People have never seen them; they were like home videos. My mom probably has them somewhere. I was really just doing that for fun because this was something I really wanted to do.

When I first started my YouTube Channel, it was really just based around Kelly Ripa. I would give people the latest info on her. After doing that for a year or so, I had grown a pretty big audience. But I thought that it was time for me to put myself out there. They knew who Kelly Ripa was, but they didn’t know who Noah Wilson was. I love Kelly and I think she’s great at what she does, but I knew if I wanted to make it in this industry–in the entertainment world–I knew I needed to be putting myself out there.

So that’s kind of how it started. I came up with Noah Pop TV. But even before that, I was working for this company on YouTube called Streamline Buzzer. Since I’m based in Georgia, they had me as their Atlanta Chief Officer. I worked for that company doing article write-ups, kind of similar to what you do, Ruth. After doing that for a couple months, I thought this still wasn’t really me. Of course, I think that reading entertainment blogs is interesting, but that just wasn’t where I felt I was supposed to be, and it wasn’t the best fit for me.

I went back out on my own, and then I got with this company called ooVoo that had an app which was very similar to Skype. It was an app platform software, and at the time, they were just starting out. I created a web series, which ran for a short few months where I would use their app to chat with the celebrities on the platform, and that is how I would show off their platform.

After that, I went back on my own because I still wanted to have something of my own that was original, and that is how Noah Pop TV came about. I just keep going and never looked back. I kept moving forward.

That fills in a few blanks for me because I think I discovered you when you were interviewing a Hallmark actor or two with Noah Pop TV. So how did you go about marketing yourself and getting the word out about your content?

I think a lot of people wonder how I go about marketing my work. Well, of course, I post it on all the social media platforms. We have a lot more options now than we did a couple of years ago. I always post on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram. I was also partnering with a couple of websites that would help up and coming YouTube creators. They would help market my work. One of the companies was a multi-channel network that reached out to me to work with them,  and that was Broadband TV back in 2015. My channel hadn’t even been around a year, and here the third-largest marketing company for YouTube creators wants to work with me! They loved my work, and they wanted to help me take things to the next level. There are a lot of creators out there, and a lot of us are doing the same or similar things. There are so many people on the platform that getting exposure can be a challenge.

After looking into Broadband TV, I saw that they worked with some great people, including Sony Pictures. Since they had such a big network of companies they worked with, I decided that this could be really good for me. They have been so loving, gracious, kind, and supportive of me and my work. They have helped market my show by posting on their social media and elsewhere, which gave me more exposure. And also, I just post everywhere. I would even go on news outlets and post my video on their page just to get seen and noticed. I am very passionate about this.

I also think that if you are in this business, you have to be very persistent. There are so many people who are doing this and if you don’t stay on it and keep going and keep pushing, it will not happen. I mean, I have to do it all. I have to film it, edit it, post it, contact people. And I had to do all these other things outside of school. Unfortunately, that meant I didn’t do so well in school. I was so busy doing all this other stuff that school suffered a bit.

I can understand that completely. I know how much time it takes for me to do what I do, and with you, I would venture to say it takes even more time. Trying to do that plus school must have been a challenge. But the benefits are you have a whole career now. So I’m curious. Does it sometimes seem a bit surreal that you’re getting to do all this? Do you ever stop and think, “How did I get here?” 

Yes, I do. Sometimes I get very emotional just to think about. I mean it’s like, “Wow!” Going into this, I was a bit worried because here I was a young kid trying to break into this world. I didn’t know if they would take me seriously. And I was being very serious about doing this. I wanted the PR people and anybody I would contact to take me seriously.

As I look back now at all the people I’ve gotten to speak with, it’s very humbling, and I don’t take any of it for granted. I am so thankful and blessed to be able to get to do this. I feel like God has really been watching over me and helped me by giving me such great opportunities. I’ve gotten to speak with people I would never have dreamed I would be able to speak with! Brooke Shields! And I just spoke with Jacob Young from Bold and the Beautiful. To be able to bring in so many talents…I would never have thought I would be where I am today when I first started out. I was just like, “Well, I’ll give this a shot. Hopefully, Noah Pop TV works.” I even had Lady Antebellum on. They were like my first big celebrity interview. I was so nervous because the CMT outlet was there, and I was the one who had to go first. It was like a press conference, and all the press was there. This was my first time doing that. I was really nervous to go first. As I look back, I am so grateful and so blessed and I can’t wait to see what’s next for me.

I know this is a hard question because I have been asked this too, but do you have three favorite or memorable interviews that come to mind? 

Of course. A lot of fans will ask me about who my favorite stars to speak with have been. And sometimes my mind goes blank, and I’m like, “Who have I had on the show?” {laughs} So I’m like, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to get back to you.”

One of my favorites–and I think I’ll always say this because it was so nice of him to do this–was Charlie Carver from MTV’s Teen Wolf. It was when we were out in Hollywood around  October of 2016. I came up with the idea to do a Halloween segment, and I wanted a star to go Halloween shopping with me. My interviews are always about communicating with a celebrity on a different level, and I thought this would be a fantastic experience. It would give his fans a chance to see that he is just like them, that he is human. So this one was one of my favorites ever. We spent like two hours in the store. It was only supposed to be an hour or so. But you know how filming can last a long time. Though it was so sweet of him to be willing to be on board and do something like that with me. It was wonderful that he was willing to take time out of his busy schedule to do that.

Another one of my favorites I won’t forget was with Brooke Shields. This one was special because I had always wanted to be able to do media days like the junket press interviews. But even though I wanted to do it, I never knew how to get involved with it. A lot of people probably don’t know this about me either, but when I don’t know how to do something, I will keep looking and finding ways to hopefully be able to do it. I kept thinking in my head that there had to be a way to do it somehow, so I kept searching.

Well, I had an email pop up one night and it was from the movie outlet that Brooke Shields was with. After I got this email, I said to my mom that I had to go do this. All I had to do was fly out to New York, and they would tape the interview themselves. I just had to be prepared with all the questions. And I have to say that Brooke is so sweet and down-to-earth. I think she was very surprised to see me since I was so young. Junket press interviews are always long days for these stars. So much media rotates in and out. Access Hollywood was there along with many others. And I was her last one, but we had fun. And I like to make my interviews fun. I don’t like for them to be where people aren’t interested or intrigued. I don’t want people to be bored watching my interviews. I always try to make them entertaining, fun, and uplifting because we need a lot of that in the world today.

My third favorite would probably be Jacob Young from Bold and the Beautiful. He was very nice to me, and I won’t forget that. He has transitioned into country music just this year. The interview I did was held at the beginning of January, and he came on my show to release his single before going on any other show.

So I understand you are now with a new online streaming service that recently started up. What can you tell us about this?

Yes, Indistry TV is a new streaming service that is different from Netflix and Hulu. They are wanting to put a spotlight on young people like myself. They realize it’s hard to be seen by everyone with all the content out there today. They really want to help people that are emerging talents and artists. They want creatives like myself to be able to reach a global platform.

Indistry also has integrated marketing, so it’s a valuable tool. They are appealing to the Millenials and trying to be what that segment of the population wants and likes. For example, Millenials don’t like to watch commercials, and with this platform, if we have a product or someone on the show promoting something, there would be a little red dot that flashes up on the screen. Then they could pause the video and make a purchase of the product or item being promoted.  Then you can watch the video after you make the purchase.

This streaming service is all about sharing stories and inviting the viewers to be a part of that story. Everyone who comes on the platform has a story to share. I really like the content and the fact that it is shared in an inspiring, uplifting way. They wanted me to be on their streaming service. After we had a couple of conference calls and chats, I knew I wanted to invest the time and work involved to be able to make this work out. It’s going to reach a bigger audience. And it’s better for us because we’re not just on YouTube. It’s a great overall streaming service that believes in me and my talent as well as all the other talent on their platform.

So the service has just newly started. It’s different from YouTube. They’re going to showcase movie entertainment. You know, like they have ABC News? We’re going to be like the “ABC Movie News.” Beyond film, we’re going to have musical guests, art, fashion, entertainment. We’re going to showcase everything in the world of entertainment. My actual title is Indistry’s millennial entertainment authority.

That’s really cool! So this is a streaming service that people can sign up for, right?

Yes, the sign-up process is just like all the other streaming services. Originally, people could get a thirty-day free trial, but if people sign up with my code, iHollywoodTV, you can get a sixty-day free trial. Of course, we hope you’ll continue the service and watch after the sixty days is up because you’ll get to see extended links of iHollywoodTV content.

My series is going to be a digital on-demand series. It will be fifteen- to twenty-minute episodes. If you go on YouTube, you only see two- to three-minute videos. All of those will be transitioned over to iHollywoodTV, and we’ll be doing a lot of exclusive content for Indistry too.

Some of the guests that we have coming up are Casey Deidrick, who is known from MTV’s Teen Wolf. He’s also been on Days of Our Lives. He’s going to be on to talk about his new series Driven. Then we have “Selfie Kid,” the kid who took the selfie with Justin Timberlake at the Superbowl. He is hilarious, Ruth, you would love him! He’s going to be on to share his story and what’s new with him. Then we have this sweet, little girl who’s going to be in an episode airing in September. This girl went viral. She was performing a song and people really loved her voice and her personality. She trended on the internet. She and her mom came from Orlando, Florida to our taping location in Georgia. So we’ll get to hear her story and how she’s dealing with the fame of being a viral star and what made her want to pursue a career in music and theater. I love that we get to showcase stories in our episodes that you wouldn’t see anywhere else.

Indistry will also be featuring emerging artists. Every month they put a spotlight on artists and we’re going to incorporate and bring those on the show as well. Overall, it’s going to be a good, fun, positive energy show. I really think people will be able to just enjoy watching it after a long day at work. Now not only will members be able to watch content, but they will be able to interact with it.  Members will be able to shop, socialize, and engage with it. The content on this first-of-its-kind streaming service is actually shaped by its audience.

Noah, thank you! You explained this platform so well that I think I’m going to investigate the possibility of signing up. It sounds interesting, and I love the idea of telling stories and appealing to young people. I have a fifteen-year-old daughter, and it may be of real interest to her too. 

Thank you, Ruth. You know, these programs are programs that creative people like myself have created. You don’t see this kind of programming from Netflix or Hulu. There are creators who have created movies and short films, and it’s just amazing to see what young people have created. These are creators from all over the world. And with Indistry, they are finally able to reach a global platform. And I love the team at Indistry. They really believe in young creators and they just want to get them to the next level.  Members will be able to interact with the content they are viewing and actually define it. I am so thankful to be a part of this platform, and I’m so excited. I can hardly wait to hear everyone’s feedback now that we’ve been going for about a week.

So, Noah, where do see yourself in like five or ten years?

Right now, I have such a great team and a fantastic manager, Michelle Prodigo. I wouldn’t be able to do all this without her. She’s like my second mom in a way. She is so supportive of what I do, and I love her dearly.

My entire team would like to see iHollywoodTV be like the talk shows you see on TV today with a live audience. I think that would be really great. In the next five or ten years, it would be great to see iHollywoodTV taped at a studio, and I have always wanted to have a live audience. That would be so much fun too. I would love to see the show take that direction, and it would be great to then have so many more people who work for the show. I would like to see us tape in a city–New York, LA, Atlanta. Atlanta is getting a lot of movie buzz. I’m just so grateful that Indistry is giving me this opportunity to gain more of a global audience. I’ve always wanted to create something that is big and to see something that I created becoming bigger in the next five or ten years would be incredible. And then you would be the VIP guest!

Oh, I’d be honored. Thank you, Noah, you did an incredible job of explaining everything, and now I feel like I know a little bit more about you. You’ve managed to get me very excited about everything that’s happening for you.

Ruth, it is my pleasure, I really hope everyone will check us out on iHollywoodTV on Indistry, and I thank you for your time too.

I unquestionably relish highlighting positive, hard-working young people like Noah, who have carved out their own niche in the world of entertainment and who continue to celebrate and be grateful for their blessings every step of the way. At the age of twenty, he has accomplished more than numerous people achieve in a lifetime, and amazingly, he is still pursuing and reaching for his goals. I always figure if you’re going to dream, you might as well dream big, and in the case of Noah, he is living proof of that altruism. Noah’s persistence is fierce and commendable, and his talents are undeniable. Moreover, I am encouraged and reminded of something Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” I tend to think Mrs. Roosevelt would have been one of Noah’s champions, and I am thrilled to be able to share this young man and his exemplary, innate capabilities with the world.

If you are not familiar with Noah and his engagingly signature interview style, I would invite you to visit all the links below and consider following him and his shows where applicable. I am mesmerized by Noah’s dedication to his craft, and I can only hope and pray that a few years from now, his hopes of a televised show with a live audience will become a reality. But even if that dream takes a bit longer than we all might expect, we can rest in the confidence that Noah is not going to veer from his positive and entertaining way of viewing the world of entertainment, and with his dedication to his core principles and beliefs that he can make this world a better place and genuinely effect lasting change, I tend to view the future of this world through a lens of hope, peace, and love.

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