Meet Zachary Morris | YouTube Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zachary Morris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachary, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
When I started doing CZsWorld full time in Spring 2017, it had been about 6 months since I had graduated from college. At the time, I was very excited to see how productive I could be without schoolwork weighing me down. So there was really no work-life balance at that time. There was just work, and if I was lucky that day, sleep. Fast forward to 2020. Most people would probably look at my life and say there’s still no work life balance. But for me there’s a big difference. Because I put in the work early, I was able to save up, so I am now able to outsource a lot of work by hiring video editors (the most time-consuming part of my business). I still spend almost all of my time working, but I’m also able to find time to take care of my health and occasionally relax. I actually view it as a way to increase my productivity, because I’m able to get more done in less time after taking breaks to exercise or relax. It also forces me to work smarter, rather than harder, and spend my time on things I need to do to grow my business. So now I get more done than ever. Some of the best advice that I’ve ever received is to work on your business, don’t work in your business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I run the horror YouTube channel: CZsWorld, where I analyse horror movies, break down characters, and also tell my own horror stories. I think what sets CZsWorld apart from other channels that analyse film is attention that I put into making the analysis’ entertaining and approachable for general audiences, not just film people. It also helps that I have a background in the film industry, which not only helps me better understand the movies I discuss, but also allows me to make my videos look like movies of their own with high production value and entertainment value. I attended film school for 4 years, and spent 5 or 6 years working on sets and developing my craft. I wouldn’t say it was easy; as I mentioned, there were a lot of long sleepless nights of work along the way, but I really enjoy what I do, so it never feels hard in the same way that doing math homework or something is hard. It’s more of a difficult video game level kind of hard — and similarly, it’s very rewarding when I hit my goal. Being on the internet and having an audience that I interact with on a personal level makes each release even more rewarding, because I love seeing how they all react to my videos, and one of my favorite parts is continuing the discussion even further in the comments and seeing the community grow. My big goal with the channel is to be the first thing people think of after they watch a horror film. When people want to better understand a horror movie, they go to CZsWorld to see my interpretation. I think a lot people in the greater film community can sometimes be dismissive of the horror genre, and it makes me happy to see my viewers get excited about the artistic and psychological side of scary movies. I’d also like to use the channel to establish myself in the industry and one day direct my own horror film. I think it would be cool to direct an audiobook too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I never go out unless there are events going on. Before the quarantine began, I would obviously frequent horror related events like movie premieres, haunted houses and even spooky art showings. Outside of my industry, I like attending concerts. When there aren’t any going on, I can usually be found at Emo Nite, a punk-rock themed DJ set at the Echoplex. I’m also a big roller coaster enthusiast, and between Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood and Disneyland, SoCal has no shortage of world class attractions. So if you were my friend coming into town to visit me, I’d probably have you come in October (after we have COVID-19 vaccine of course). I’d take you to visit Knott’s Scary Farm the first night, walk the red carpet of the new Halloween movie the next, and top it off with a party on All Hallows Eve. As for food spots, I’m not an expert on the local cuisine since I usually don’t eat out, but if I have a visitor, the Southern California Mexican restaurant game is very strong. I’ve also had good experiences with Japanese food in Hollywood and in the valley, but that could be because I really like Japanese food. It may be cliche, but you gotta do In’n’Out, since you can’t really get it in other regions.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I mentioned the advice I received — “work on your business, don’t work in your business”. I don’t remember specifically who said it, but I know where it came from. I watch a lot of “YouTube Help Channels” that give advice on running a channel having a business online. Some of my favorites are Tim Schmoyer’s Video Creators, Roberto Blake, Nick Nimmin, Rob Wilson’s videos on VidIQ and Darious Britt’s D4Darious.

Website: http://czsworld.com/
Instagram: @czsworld
Twitter: @CZsWorld_Horror
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CZsWorld/
Youtube: http://youtube.com/czsworld/