Turning your hobby into your career: Joe Miller, Head of Video, Classics World

Getting paid to make classic car content is a but a pipe dream for many a young enthusiast, but for Classics World’s Joe Miller, head of video, the dream is very much a reality. It all began after YouTube viewers wanted to know more about his Fiat Seicento Sporting, a car which, nearly a decade later, is still on his drive.

Miller Corner was (and remains) that car’s home online; a channel named after the beloved yoghurt, it was to remain a hobby until advice from a certain Ian Seabrook (aka HubNut) sent Joe down a different path.

Eight years later, as a self-declared ‘one man band’ behind Kelsey Publishing’s Classics World YouTube channel, more than 33,000 subscribers flock to Joe’s content.

Why did you start Miller Corner?

‘I like talking and presenting and I like working with cameras; it wasn’t originally about cars. When I started I couldn’t drive and when I passed my driving test I did a few videos about my car: “Here it is, here’s why I like it”, and so on.

Those videos got far more views and that was actually what I liked doing […] I’m of the belief that you should make content that you would enjoy and would want to consume.

I made the decision to go into cars [as the focus of the channel] so I started making films about going to shows and about different work on the car with a few road trips. I had a fairly stable audience and at the time I was working at an insurance company […] it was paying well but I wasn’t enjoying it.

At the time I was following HubNut and he mentioned he was editor of Classic Jaguar and I like writing and I like cars - a natural combination - so I messaged him and asked him how he got into the industry.

[Ian replied]: “Ten years ago I sent my CV to Phil Weeden at Kelsey [Publishing], he gave me my big break; send him a CV and see how you get on.”

I did a covering letter explaining that I’d done some amateur writing, I sent them the link to my YouTube channel with a certain number of subscribers and they had me in for a week [In 2019].’

Did anything come of it?

‘There was a six week gap [after the placement] when nothing happened, but Phil called me to say, “Thank you, but all our roles are filled on our magazines, but we’re looking to branch out into video”.

[He asked if I would be interested] in joining the company to do video stuff with the occasional bit of writing as and when required.

“Absolutely,” [I said]. I moved up to Peterborough for the job, spent a few months laying the groundwork for the channel and working out who was going to present what and what that was going to involve.

How did things go?

‘We gained a massive amount of traction in lockdown because you’ve got a captive audience. We had the one particular video about the Mk1 Golf GTi, Escort XR3i and MG Maestro that shot to 140,000 views overnight [in December 2020].

Prior to that, we’d be doing well if we got 2-3000 views for videos. [Before the hot hatch feature] we had 8000 subscribers; [they] doubled overnight. It was fairly organic [growth] until 2020 when it just exploded.

We got to the point where we pushed and were getting one to two videos out a week, doing what we could in lockdown on phones. It blossomed from there and we started doing larger shoots. We were in and out of lockdown and when we were allowed out, it all fell in to place nicely.

We had Lancaster [Insurance Services] come on as sponsor [in April 2020] which helped from a financial point of view; now we’re doing two, sometimes three videos, and we’ve just got over 34,000 subscribers with multiple videos with over 150,000 views.’

Has the channel changed your taste in cars?

‘[It] broadened my motoring experience, definitely. When I came into the job I’d driven maybe half a dozen cars including a driving school car.

[There was plenty of] stuff I wasn’t expecting to like but I fell in love with. I was only a few months into the job and did a video on a Mercedes-Benz W123.

At the time I was into small, revvy, fizzy hatches and a big barge wasn’t really my sort of car; everything about [the W123] felt well engineered and complete.

That was the first car I wanted to keep; I got out of it thinking “I don’t want to give this back”. [Joe bought his own in December 2022 from auctioneers, WB & Sons].

[There were a] few cars that I had no expectations of, like the Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk3. We had one on Kelsey fleet, a £500 nail that Jeff [Ruggles, then-editor of MiniWorld and now Classic Car Buyer] bought; it was not a nice example.

I bought into the hype about it being lazy, slow and heavy and dull. It’s not an exciting car [but] I couldn’t deny how competent it was, it felt like a far newer and nicer car than it was.

What does a typical Classics World shoot comprise?

‘It’s filmed with the edit in mind. [If we’re going to do a car from a dealer], we’ll agree beforehand what we want to pick from their stock and what will get plenty of views.

We then turn up having pre researched the cars and get [static shots] before it gets dirty.
Then I’ll do a quick intro, camera the car up get [anyone else presenting] set up then leave them to it for as long as they need to.

As a company we don’t script, when I present I’ll work my way down points I make, maybe do 2-3 takes, then give the car back.

[It’s] Formulaic now; if the car’s there and we’ve pre-researched it, and the weather is on-side, we can do 4 or 5 cars in a day and in fact we have done.’

Have there been any hectic shoots?

‘There was a Jaguar XJ6 Series III […] that was not a well car; it was a little bit tired. I drove it to a nice spot, did my first [static] shots and then the shoot went downhill. I coaxed a video out of that car.

It wouldn’t charge, so I had to jump in and hold the revs up so it wouldn’t stall; it would stall if it was allowed to idle. We had to use a jump pack in between the rain and the cameras going.

I remember doing a piece to camera demonstrating kick down and it going no faster; it was kicking down but nothing was happening. It was on two or three pots at best. As I was saying how smooth and torquey a Fiat 500 on L plates went past me.’

And your best shoots?

‘Some cars have been outstanding because of what they are, like the Citroën DS, my dream car. The shoot took a while because of traffic but the car was fine and the owner said I could do pretty much what I wanted with it.

Another was a Mercedes-Benz R107 SL, shot during a glorious summer. All the tech worked, and I rattled off what I wanted to say first time; I was back in 45 mins. Everything that could have worked from the car to the scenery to the weather worked; it was the easiest shoot I’ve ever done.

And what about your Fiat Seicento Sporting?

‘As a 15/16-year-old, I was working at McDonalds and had to rein in my ambitions. If you’d have given 17-year-old me all the money in the world I’d have bought a classic Mini, but in the real world they were too expensive.

A neighbour had a Seicento Sporting that I spotted while walking the dog one evening; I researched them and they looked sporty but were in reality a 1.1-litre, so you could afford to insure it. My dad found an example on Gumtree.

8 years since I got it, it’s stuck with me. Without sounding soppy, it’s what it means to me; I drove it to Poland and was in a smash; it’s been through every job, every girlfriend every time in my life.

I’d never driven in Europe before and did 1000 miles on my own. I’d arranged to go to a Polish Fiat festival [in Tychy, where Seicentos were built] after speaking to a few guys online who spoke English.

The guy who I was meant to convoy with broke down, and I was heading back to the ferry when at a junction in Germany, I stopped too far out and a lorry took the nose off the car.

It was totally written off but I got the car back safely. I’d seen what the Polish do with them and I was inspired [to keep it].

[I] bought another car and spent an autumn and winter reshelling it; a year later I resprayed it at my dad’s work, which has a paint shop. There were plenty of times [I had] to get out of that car and [decided not to because of what it’s been through with me].

I wind Jeff Ruggles up [that] it’s a Mini for sane money. You get fuel injection, electric windows, a drivers’ airbag and no known rot spots.

They’re still really affordable, well under a grand. [Seicentos] don’t have the aftermarket but I enjoyed the challenge [sourcing parts]. If you want a Mini but can’t afford one [a Seicento] is hard to beat.’

What’s the plans for Miller Corner?

‘My genuine intention was to keep both channels going but after a year Classics World was getting way more traction. I put [Miller Corner] on the back burner for 18 months and pointed my subscribers at Classics World; it’s in my interest that Classics World does well.’

Where do you see Classics World heading?

‘I like to see Classics World as my baby. It’s a one-man department, filmed, edited and [somewhat] promoted by me. I’d like to see it grow further; YouTube is a treadmill that never ends.

We want 40,000 [subscribers] by the end of the year and that’s achievable. We’ve got bigger things planned like drone shots, bigger road trips and a podcast, which has just launched.

It’s always been a naturally growing product; we have got an audience by them following us and that’s what we want to keep on doing.

How would you advise someone wanting to get into the industry like you did?

‘Try and keep the hobby and the job separate. I’ve made Miller Corner now into a more blog style, done at my own pace; it’s a bit of fun

Do what you’re interested in. Don’t be the next Carfection; whatever your passion is don’t get dragged into the highest production values someone else will be better at it than you. If your passion shines through, people will gravitate to it.’