Continuing the Community Board Observer Interviews series (check out my previous interview with Hollie), I had a fantastic opportunity to meet remotely with Heru Prasetyo, Original Content Lead at Nothing and someone I’ve admired ever since meeting him in 2022 for the Nothing Series #4 shoot.

As one of the great creative minds behind the Nothing YouTube channel, I wanted to hear his story and understand how Nothing take ideas from the drawing board all the way through to production.

Adam Bowman (CBO): Thanks for taking the time to sit with me today, Heru! I’m sure many in our community already know you, but for those who don’t, could you quickly introduce yourself and your role at Nothing?

Heru Prasetyo: I’m Heru, and I’ve been at Nothing for coming up to four years. I lead the Original Content team - me, Sam, Jordan, and a few others supporting us. We run the YouTube channel and sometimes other comms like keynotes and social pieces. I’m originally from Birmingham but lived in Peckham for 10 years. I recently bought a guitar and learned to play a song by Mk.Gee after attending a gig, which I’m quite proud of. I also picked up a stills camera and have been doing street photography.

Adam: That’s great - I love street photography, thanks for sharing! How did you get into the world of Original Content?

Heru: I started at a media agency called Factory Media, placed there through a government initiative called “Creative Access”. I moved from generalist producer to video editor, then motion designer; creating graphics for the TV channel Dave. After about a year there, I produced and shot documentaries on people like pro skateboarders, wingsuit flyers and surfers - people doing amazing things. One was about building a mountain bike track in Madeira using old military maps.

I was young and eager, and met a lot of great people. One of them brought me into Fnatic, an esports org I describe more as an influencer agency. We worked with young, often untrained gamers, helping them build brands and tell authentic stories. We’d develop strategies, shoot content, and build their channels - some blew up overnight with 100k+ followers.

Adam: Sounds like a really varied and exciting space to be working in. And you were at Fnatic before joining Nothing?

Heru: Yeah, five years at Fnatic, a couple before that at the agency. At Fnatic, brands like BMW and Gucci would sponsor influencers, and we’d help produce content for those partnerships. For instance, Gucci dressed League of Legends players for stage appearances, and we told stories around those moments.

Adam: So you were into creating content from a young age, how did you end up applying to join Nothing?

Heru: Bro, I’ve been a Carl Pei stan. I’m a little embarrassed, but funny story - I worked with him before, then two or three years later got DM’d on LinkedIn from a headhunter for a startup. I realised it was for Carl’s new company, interviewed and met Carl, and he didn’t recognise me at first; which is funny because we’re quite close now. I still don’t think he knows we’ve worked together before.

I’m a tech nerd - built PCs, been a gamer, and owned OnePlus phones since the OnePlus One. When I realised this “London startup” was Carl’s new venture, it all clicked. I loved the concept behind Ear (1), and with Jesper, Henrik, and Tom H involved, people I really respect, it was a no-brainer.

Adam: With you being one of the OGs at Nothing, I imagine things have changed over the years. We’ve seen the YouTube videos go through iterations, such as the original black and white series. How has your role evolved over time?

Heru: A big shift was when we did the iPhone review with Carl. He asked Sam and me, “How do we go crazy on YouTube?” We felt things at the time were too constrained, so he gave us two months and a budget to try anything. That’s when we made the iPhone review, reacts, and giveaways - content we’d want to see as fans. It marked a shift from product-focused to audience-focused content. After the Phone (3) launch, we’ll be doubling down on that approach, and the team’s growing to support our growing ideas too.

Adam: How receptive is Carl to your ideas?

Heru: In the beginning, it was about earning trust - showing we could deliver. Once our early videos landed well, it became more collaborative. Carl’s a heavy YouTube consumer himself, so he gets the platform in a way most CEOs don’t. Now we can pitch him in a taxi ride on the way to set. I back it up with data on what our audience consumes.

Heru: For example, “blind date” video with Rob was pitched last-minute, inspired by Between Two Ferns. In order for this to be the best it could be, Rob needed to feel empowered that he could do what he wanted. So I gave Carl a safe word, “pineapple”, in case things got too intense, though he forgot it by the end!

Adam: Interesting to hear how it all works behind the scenes! Whose idea was it to put Carl on a rollercoaster for the Phone (2) launch video?

Heru: That’s a funny story. We were in Japan, had a free weekend, and his Chief of Staff at the time, Andrea, suggested Disneyland. Me and Sam were up for it, Carl refused saying he has a fear of rollercoasters. Sam and I exchanged a look and that moment stuck with us. A year later, during a phone launch, we knew we might be meeting up with Casey Neistat. We remembered Carl’s fear and thought: he’s always stressed, so how can we “make tech fun again”? The rollercoaster was our answer.

Adam: Did he get over his fear of rollercoasters?

Heru: He got over his fear and even rode it multiple times, since we rented the whole coaster for the day!

Adam: May as well get your money’s worth! There have been some pretty wacky videos, how do you brainstorm ideas with your team?

Heru: We’ve adopted a method similar to Colin and Samir’s “iterative brainstorming.” Sometimes it’s blue-sky thinking - stunty ideas like absurd Android vs. iPhone experiments. Other times, we take something that worked, like the iPhone review, and iterate on it. I’ve stepped back a bit to empower our producers, but we all come together in big sessions to pitch ideas and build decks.

Adam: And how do you decide what makes the cut?

Heru: We look at two things: will the audience watch it, and is it aligned with our brand values? Some ideas are deeply meaningful, like a video on the psychology of design, while others are bets on going viral. It’s part data, part gut feeling. We also ask, “Is this something only Nothing could create?” because that’s how you carve a niche on YouTube.

Adam: Have there been any videos you expected to be smaller scale that’ve blown up?

Heru: The iPhone review blew past expectations. Carl was nervous before it launched. Our top video back then had 80k views. I guessed 200k. Sam guessed something like 400k. I even joked I’d take a shot for every 100k views - it’s now at 4.3 million. Carl still teases me about those shots.

Adam: You hit 1 million subscribers recently.

Heru: *celebrates*

Adam: So you must be doing something right - what do you want to do next? Is there anything you’ve not done yet that you want to try out?

Heru: We want to go bigger, keep growing. We’ve figured out the machine - how to ideate, test, and produce content. Now we want to scale. It’d be a dream if, when people mention creators like Marques, Mrwhosetheboss, and Casey Neistat, they also mention Nothing. We want to build a creator identity and collaborate widely, plugging others into our unique content universe.

Adam: Not asking you to choose a favourite, but have there been any collaborations you’ve especially enjoyed?

Heru: Marques was incredible - professional, chill, efficient. We jumped on a quick call, aligned on everything, and he delivered perfectly and bang on time. Honestly, such an easy person to work with. If he says he’s going to do something, he does it.

Adam: And anyone you haven’t featured yet that you’d like to collab with?

Heru: Loads. Michael Reeves, Mark Rober, Cleo Abrams - they’re creative geniuses. There’s so many, but those three would be really cool.

Adam: How do you usually approach collabs?

Heru: Often through Carl’s network - he’s hyper-collaborative. Sometimes it starts with a DM, like with Marques. Over time, Carl’s trusted me to reach out directly, which is wild. It usually starts informally, and then we keep the conversation going.

Adam: You yourself have featured in quite a few videos now - what’s it like being one of the faces of Nothing? Have you been stopped on the street yet?

Heru: I’ve been recognized a few times - usually at Nothing events which is normal. Once on the street, someone shouted my name then “Nothing” at me which was really random. Then once at a restaurant where the waiter thought I’d been there before, then realised he’d recognised me from the videos. I’d never been on camera before Nothing. One day we needed someone for a shoot and I jumped in. It built from there. A lot of people think they can’t do it, but with practice, you find your authentic on-camera self.

Adam: You’ve also got some fame on our Discord server with the Heru emojis. I’ve made a few of them myself!

:herunod: from Discord

Heru: Yeah, that’s surreal but funny. The community is great - super creative, kind people. Whenever I’ve got to chat to the community, every single person is the sweetest, loveliest person. Always good vibes with them.

Adam: Has anything surprised you about working at Nothing?

Heru: Honestly, it’s how many perceived barriers in business or marketing are imagined. Carl’s openness to experimentation showed me that you can challenge assumptions. You pitch something different, and he’s like, “Let’s do it.” That attitude has been really empowering.

Adam: Any exciting content coming up for us to look forward to in the near future?

Heru: Lots! Content around upcoming products is dropping soon. We’re also doing a new Nothing TV podcast-style episode with Rob and Carl. And more community render reviews, which I love because they feel alive and organic. The dialogue that we have between the community and ourselves is really cool.

Adam: Amazing, thank you Heru! Anything else you’d like to add before we wrap up?

Heru: Yeah - I’m stuck at 6.5k ELO in Counter Strike. If anyone in the community can help, hit me up.

Adam: Nice, I’ll definitely put that in there! 😂 Thanks again, Heru. You’ve been really open and generous with your time - I appreciate it.

Heru: Anytime, man. If the community has feedback, questions, or content ideas, my door’s always open.

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I hope that you enjoyed this insight into Heru’s life in Original Content! Thanks again to Heru for giving up his time to do this interview. If you have any questions for him that I didn’t cover, drop them below for a chance to have them answered.

Who would you like to see me interview next? Let me know your thoughts below!