How To Revive A Dead Channel And Go Viral
From failed reaction videos to millions of views, Leander Hofkes is an expert YouTube strategist who shares how he revived his dead channel and ideates videos with millions of views.
Before Leander Hofkes was helping channels cross millions of views or launching branded projects with great packaging, he was just a teenager in the Netherlands uploading videos that barely got seen.
Now he's one of the top YouTube strategists, helping multiple channels to skyrocket their views - and he shares his knowledge and journey in this blog!
Why Leander’s First Three Years of YouTube Still Mattered
Before Leander Hofkes was helping channels cross millions of views or launching branded projects with bulletproof packaging, he was just a teenager in the Netherlands uploading videos that barely got seen.
He started in 2016, uploading reaction videos to music he didn’t even like. Why? Because he thought there was a gap in the market, but with little success.
He tried again a year later, this time with Fortnite. And while the game itself was exploding, his videos weren’t. For three years straight, he uploaded without any real traction. No breakout moment and no real income.
But that’s where it all started...
Why Uploading Bad Videos Still Builds Skill
Leander didn’t launch with a strategy or a viral hit. He started with half-baked ideas and content that no one really watched, but that wasn’t a waste.
That phase taught him:
He made hundreds of dollars total across years. He also faced several issues, like videos being claimed, asking his internship manager for time off just to make content despite it not paying off.
Obsession Beats Motivation
If you talk to creators who’ve actually made it, they all say the same thing of "This doesn’t work unless you love it".
Leander was hooked on YouTube from the start. He didn’t grow up with Netflix, he grew up on FaZe Clan, Call of Duty edits and watching YouTubers post every day and dreaming of doing it too.
Making the video was the reward. Finishing it felt like winning. It didn’t matter if it was good. It didn’t matter if anyone watched. He kept uploading, not because he was growing, but because it was fun.
Why That Phase Still Matters
Years later, that early grind shaped everything. Even though the videos didn’t pop, they built the muscle:
Most creators want to skip this part. But skipping it skips the skill too.
Leander didn’t wait until he had the right niche, he just uploaded and figured it out later. Fastword a couple years later and now he helps creators do the same thing, except with a decade’s worth of hard lessons baked into the process.
His journey didn’t start with results. It started with reps.
Finding a Format That Finally Clicked
After years of trial and error, Leander wasn’t just guessing anymore, but was paying attention.
He’d seen other creators try to jump on Fortnite trends and he tried to do the same - things like killing Twitch streamers, calling out bigger players chasing beef between top names like Mongraal and Symphony. But none of it stuck.
Then he stumbled into something by accident and it changed everything.
1. Spotting the Spark
At the time, Leander was working in a supermarket and saving money for a PC. He wanted to get better at Fortnite, specifically on keyboard and mouse, which was still a steep learning curve for controller players like him.
He looked up tutorials.
What he found shocked him.
Channels with just 2K or 10K subscribers were pulling millions of views on one specific format of videos: progression content - documenting how they improved day by day.
It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t optimized, but it was real and relatable.
People wanted to watch creators get better in real time.
2. Why It Worked
The reason it worked wasn’t just timing. It was alignment.
Most importantly, Leander finally had an idea that gave viewers a reason to care. It wasn’t just about him getting better, it was about showing the viewers what that journey looked like too.
That video didn’t just outperform his other videos, it shifted everything.
How Leander Turned Momentum Into Success
Once the first progression video took off, everything changed. Leander wasn’t guessing anymore, he had a blueprint and he ran with it.
1. Doubling Down on What Worked
Leander watched his competitors closely. A few had a viral video… then killed their momentum by pivoting too soon to completely unrelated content styles.
He wasn’t about to make the same mistake.
Instead, he did the opposite and milked the format.
He created more progression-style videos, tutorials, challenges and content that fit within the expectations of his audience.
“I wasn’t making six-week experiments,” he said, “I was staying focused. If this is what works, I’m going to push it as far as I can”.
2. Broadening the Concept Without Losing the Core Premise
Eventually, he knew the progression format had limits. So he evolved it, without abandoning the core premise.
Instead of just showing his keyboard and mouse journey, he created general improvement challenges. He even had ideas like playing Fortnite’s Arena mode for 8 hours straight, where he narrated his matches, layered in humour, emotion, and storytelling.
He did this because the Arena mode attracted a similar viewerbase, someone trying to get better.
“I knew they wanted to improve. And if I could show that journey in a more entertaining way, I could grow my audience without losing my base.”
One video got 600K views, then another did the same, then a third.
How Leander Rebuilt His Channel From the Ground Up
At his lowest point, Leander had almost nothing left. His views were down, bank account was nearly empty and he was on the verge of giving up YouTube entirely.
But instead of quitting, he made a different choice - he reinvented himself.
1. One Last Shot at a New Format
Leander decided to abandon gameplay videos and try something completely new.
He looked around the Fortnite space and noticed something interesting:
It was risky and unfamiliar, but it was also a clear opportunity.
2. Leading With Curiosity
While most creators were covering the Fortnite World Cup champion, Bugha, Leander flipped it into "What happened to the losers?".
That small shift made a massive difference.
The idea hit a few key targets:
And when he uploaded it?
It exploded.
3. Why It Worked
Leander wasn’t just posting content anymore but was building narrative.
From that point on, he kept refining the format and made more Fortnite-focused documentaries. He then expanded slightly to adjacent games, meme topics and eventually broader content.
The key was that he didn’t jump too fast to different content styles/formats.
He didn’t go from “Fortnite player” to “general commentary” quickly, but built bridges between his current audience and the next one.
How He Escaped the Gaming Niche
Plenty of creators try to pivot out of their niche but most end up failing.
Leander pulled it off by gradually, strategically and without losing the audience he’d spent years building.
1. Don't Ditch Your Base But Expand From It
After his Fortnite documentaries took off, Leander knew two things:
- He couldn’t rely on the game forever.
- But he couldn’t abandon it cold turkey either.
So he zoomed out and researched what his audience really cared about?
It wasn’t just Fortnite, but it was improvement.
That insight became the foundation of his pivot and his next few videos still lived in the Fortnite world, but they spoke to a broader interest.
Instead of “how to win more games”, he created structured challenges like grinding competitive Arena modes for hours, documenting the emotional highs and lows, and building a deeper connection with viewers.
2. Format Transfer That Didn’t Feel Forced
Leander started playing with the packaging of his content.
He borrowed ideas from other niches, like “8 hours straight” challenges and translated them into the Fortnite space. One of his biggest hits came from applying a trending structure to his niche.
This wasn’t copying, but was adaptation and it worked because it still felt native to his audience.
They didn’t see it as a new format. They saw it as a better version of what they already liked.
3. From Gameplay to Narrative
As the videos evolved, so did Leander's role. He wasn’t just a player anymore, but he was a storyteller.
He narrated games, added emotional beats to the videos and humour, as well as treated each upload like a mini-documentary. That shift laid the foundation for his broader content. He was no longer defined by a controller or a kill count, but was defined by perspective.
4. Testing New Topics Slowly
With a more narrative-first style in place, Leander began testing topics adjacent to Fortnite:
He didn’t make a hard cut, but micro-pivots, and each new video had at least one familiar element - the tone and the storytelling style his audience already trusted.
By the time he uploaded content unrelated to Fortnite (like videos on FaZe or KSI) his channel was ready for it. His viewers had grown with him.
Idea First, Everything Else Second
Most creators hit record first and brainstorm second. Leander flipped that completely as his best-performing videos weren’t accidents, they were the result of obsessive research, precise pattern-matching and smart packaging long before the first edit.
Now, when he helps other creators launch, he spends months on research before a single video is uploaded.
1. Validation Over Vibes
Leander’s early videos were all instinct, but once he started building a strategy, everything shifted.
He started asking:
That’s how he spotted the "$19 Fortnite Card" opportunity. This was a pattern he noticed across platforms, like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and even meme compilations. He saw demand that wasn’t being met properly so he filled the gap.
2. Total Addressable Market Isn’t Just for Startups
Leander talks about TAM like a strategist, not a typical YouTuber. He breaks it down simply “How many people are likely to care about this topic, and how broad can we go without alienating our base?”.
When he pivoted from pure Fortnite tutorials to competitive challenges, that was TAM.
You don’t grow by abandoning your niche. You grow by expanding it.
3. Packaging is 80% of the Work
The first version of his meme documentary underperformed. The thumbnail didn’t click. The title didn’t spark curiosity. But instead of scrapping the video, Leander reframed it, turning it into a more emotional, story-driven hook.
That version exploded.
He learned a key lesson, that even if the edit’s great, nobody watches what they don’t click.
He treats thumbnail and title ideation like writing a short story with conflict, curiosity and a clear payoff.
4. Research Can Be a Cheat Code
The reason Leander’s newer projects succeed so fast? They’re built on deep research.
He will:
When he helped launch Out of Bounds, a basketball storytelling channel, it wasn’t by luck. They spent weeks validating players, concepts and packaging strategies.
The result? Monetized on day one, viral within days.
Stealing Like a Strategist And Using Style Transfer to Build Fresh Formats
Creativity isn’t about pulling ideas out of thin air. It’s about spotting what works, breaking it into parts and putting it back together in a way that feels original.
It’s not copying, but remixing with purpose.
1. Find the Outlier, Then Reverse-Engineer It
When Leander is ideating, he starts by looking for outliers. These are videos that overperformed compared to the average of a channel.
And if you're looking for outliers, the best place to find them is by using 1of10.com! This tool lets you find thousands of outliers from across any niche, helping you to find inspiration from places where you wouldn't expect it! Further helping you separate yourself from your competitors.
That’s where most creators stop, but Leander goes deeper:
2. Transfer Across Niches for Instant Freshness
He’s also looking far across niches, genres and even platforms.
He might take:
3. Remixing Is Better Than Copying
There’s a reason Leander doesn’t just carbon-copy trending videos. He knows what happens when creators chase trends without understanding why they work.
That’s why he emphasises:
He doesn’t want you to be second-best at someone else’s format. He wants you to build a better version for your niche.
Conclusion
Three years of uploading without results and burnout from chasing formats too hard. Near-total collapse when the views stopped and the bills didn’t. But each phase, even the most chaotic, was building something.
He didn’t just find formats, but he studied them. He didn’t just pivot, but also he tested, validated and reverse-engineered what worked elsewhere.