Zen and the Art of YouTube Domination

Does yoga imitate real life, especially the part about "going with the flow"? For Duke O'Connor, the answer is a resounding yes.

After spending 35 years as a home remodeling contractor, O'Connor got into yoga in 2000 following an angioplasty. Eventually he started teaching and then making yoga-related videos that he posted on YouTube. About four years ago, O'Connor began making white-noise videos with titles like "Rain, 60min, Texas Thunderstorm" and "The Sounds of a Box Fan, 8hrs, Sleep Sounds." Today, he has more than 200 relaxation videos on YouTube channels (www.youtube.com/user/yogaduke, www.youtube.com/user/texashighdef) that have been viewed more than 60 million times. (O'Connor's website, www.texashighdef.net, also sells MP3s and DVDs.)

"Every person with a sleep problem has the right sound to help them sleep. Or they have a sound that winds them up," O'Connor explains. "With some people, the sound of a box fan would drive them insane. With other people, it just puts them out into a coma."

What does it take to create an eight-hour video of a box fan? Attention to detail.

"I capture the whole sound," O'Connor says. "It's more like I am filming an orchestra and trying to re-create the sound that I am hearing. I don't go out with just one microphone because if you point one microphone at some rain, you're not going to get it to sound like it does when you're there."

The payoff has been good so far, netting O'Connor a cumulative six-figure income over the years. (It's also landed him into an elite league of YouTube/Google users; he's considered a "Top Contributor," one of about 550 members drawn from 53 different countries.) He recently collaborated on some videos with Canadian singer-songwriter Marcomé. And his work has also come to the attention of video designer Peter Flaherty. O'Connor agreed to travel across Texas for Flaherty to shoot time-lapse sequences of ominous clouds across big Texas skies; the sequences are now being used by the Metropolitan Opera's production of Parsifal as a giant projection behind the performers.

In addition to his success, O'Connor says he likes to give back. He made a two-hour video of rubber ducks and candles floating in a kiddie pool and donated it to the Dell Children's Hospital to help patients relax. He also came up with a plan to raise money for the hospital to get video equipment for terminally ill children so they can make "My Last Days" videos for their loved ones.

"It gives them an opportunity to save a little piece of their spirit for the world. Last year, we raised five figures, which was enough to buy the computer and camera, but we didn't raise enough to buy the complete system that would give Dell all the capacity it needed."

O'Connor has teamed up with the Central Texas Speedway in Kyle to hold fundraising events for the hospital. O'Connor also built a new concert stage for the speedway. "I ordered it from China and was in charge of its installation. It has a motorized top that goes up and down and raises up 35 feet. It's 76 feet wide and 40-something feet deep. It's probably the last big thing I'll ever build." O'Connor is looking forward to seeing the stage used in the upcoming Kyle Fair and Music Fest (Oct. 17-19).

As for up-and-coming videomakers, O'Connor offers this sound advice: "Don't concentrate on where you are going to get to. Just stay on the path."