“We were in pants to play video games and we are here today.” In front of the 40,000 people gathered within 24 hours of Le Mans, and more than one million fans live on Twitch, Lucas Hauchard, better known as Squeezie, is struggling to contain their tears.
It should be said that on October 8, 2022, the cameraman achieved a feat. Organize a Formula 4 race between YouTubeurs in the legendary Bugatti circuit of Le Mans. An XXL project, which is held again this weekend, from October 3 to 5, written as an F1 Grand Prix, with free tests, grades and a awards ceremony.
“Made by Internet boys, for Internet boys”
However, it all started with a simple challenge, almost launched as a joke, during the Zevent 2020, the Charitable Streamer Zerator event. “What happens if we organize a formula 4 career among Internet people?” He offers. Two years later, the bet is successful.
This Saturday, October 8, 2022, the date of the first GP explorer, the French audience record has just been pulverized with more than one million fans in front of their screens on Twitch. The first edition of the GP Explorer will even rise to a Twitter trend, above the F1 Grand Prix in Japan. A record broke again in the second edition of the race in 2023, with 1.34 million spectators connected.
In the circuit, the 22 Internet pilots overflow with joy. “We did it,” says Squeezie. “It’s a sick thing,” adds Etienne. Everyone cries and taken in their arms. In the stands, it is euphoria, fans exult and screams merge.
Everyone understands that there has only been something. “We saw the birth, in total independence, an event worthy of the world’s largest television channels, but live on Twitch, made by Internet boys, for Internet types,” Squeezie said with pride, in his documentary dedicated to the first edition of the race. In fact, the race was completely organized by Bump, the YouTubeur communications agency.
“He inspired several youtubers”
With a few laps and several million euros, the cameraman raided the way for the main events organized by Internet personalities. “The header has brought the way. By demonstrating that it was possible, he inspired several youtubers to do the same,” he watches with Tech & Co Stéphanie Laporte, founder of the Social Agency Media Otta. Since then, IRL projects (in real life, real life, the editor’s note) have multiplied.
Aminematue organized its Eleven All Stars, a football match among the Streamers in November 2022. In June 2023, Merguez Tuning Show, an engine sports event that looks like a festival organized by the former Vilebrequin duo, car fans vibrated car. McFly and Carlito even inspired the GP Explorer by launching their version of the tournament, such as Pétanque Explorer, in May 2024. On the other hand, Realer proposed the DTH fight, an English boxing gala between the Internet stars in December.
So many projects equivalent to millions of euros. The GP Explorer costs Squeezie between 3 and 5 million euros with each edition. The DRT fight is around 3 million euros. A ventilated cost between filming places, hundreds of hidden cameras everywhere or guests of invited artists. The Squeezie sporting event, filmed as a Grand Prix on Canal+, for example, benefited from the means of production of Visual TV, a company that works regularly for all PAF channels. Artists like Theodora, Sch or Gazo will perform in the stage of the third edition.
If youtubers have been accompanied by brands for several years to finance their sometimes colossal videos, XXL events seemed a much more expensive bet … and risky. The first header was a life size test. Today, brands are queuing to partner with these events.
Legitimizes youtubers with brands …
A successful test, therefore. “Squeezie has sent a real signal to the market: content creators are professionals. They can organize ambitious events, surround themselves with equipment, companies and sponsors. All of them now believe in the capacity of the creators to mobilize multitudes and audiences,” he insists on Romain Cabrolier.
“It is a very general public event,” adds Stéphanie Laporte. “For brands, it is interesting to position yourself at this audience.” As a reminder, the GP Explorer has the title of the most often on Twitch event in France. It occupies fourth place in the records of the world. The GP Explorer 3, even before starting, has more than 15 million visits through videos of drivers’ preparation, race backstage or cars revelation.
What legitimizes cameramen and, above all, reassure brands, now ready to pay a lot the image of content creators. The new sponsors reflect the update of the event, as well as their success: media platforms have given way to great advertisers who can align zeros to support production costs.
After Tiktok and Deezer in 2022, then Samsung led in 2023, the third edition of Formula 4 career brought Boursobank as an important partner, just behind Samsung, who is still the premium sponsor. Airup, Netflix, Alpine or Bentley are also part of the thirty brands to sponsor the GP explorer.
… or more traditional actors
Beyond a simple impulse, Squeezie participates specifically, through the intermediary of your agency, in the logistics of these events. “Both in his position as producer of events and commercial manager, Squeezie has a position as a leader”, or even an older brother, adds Stéphanie Laporte. Therefore, Bump accompanied McFly and Carlito, the organization of the DTR struggle of Billy or Maxime Baiggi, who registered the last broadcast of the Zen interview program of Maxime Baiggi in front of 12,000 people in the Arena Agreement.
This madness has not escaped the most traditional audiovisual actors. As proof, the Squeezie Grand Prix is, for the first time, broadcast on France TV. “What better demonstration to demonstrate the legitimacy of the creators to establish event projects,” says the YouTube representative.
A doubly winning bet for the channels. “The creators of innovan content. When we remember the first header, there were shots, plaque cameras … things that the actors had not seen before,” insists Romain Cabrolier, and whose main competitions did not hesitate to inspire.
Cutting Internet stars especially allows channels to rejuvenate an aging audience. What opens the way to the dissemination of other IRL events of content creators. “The GP has opened the way and created new diffusion standards in the industry. The borders are becoming more and more porous,” Romain Cabrolier analyzes, which prophesies that these “examples will multiply” in the coming years.
“Squeezie has shown that organizing an event of such magnitude, it was possible. But not everyone has the ability to mobilize so many actors and media” summarizes Stéphanie Laporte. If many have been inspired, the events of other content creators remain less impressive. A cameraman copied, but never matched.
Source: BFM TV
