Who the hell is Squeezie?

Lucas Hauchard has never had a job interview. Or, even, really, a job, at least in the traditional sense.Rather, the 30-year-old YouTuber better known as Squeezie has made a career entirely off his own back, mostly from his own bedroom, out of what many of us would consider a pipe dream: playing video games.

Still, he was a bit of a late starter. When he was a teenager growing up in Antony, a suburb of Paris,his schoolmates would narrate and record their Call of Duty sessions before uploading them onto YouTube.Even though Squeezie was, by his own admission, ​“terrible” at first-person-shooter games, he decided to followsuit, aiming to entertain his initially meagre viewers with a decent dose of humour​.It was a canny hack that, even as his gameplay substantially improved over the years, set him apartfrom his peers. Here was a gamer who, refreshingly, didn’t take himself too seriously. And so Squeezie —a pseudonym inspired by a Tiësto tune called Squeeze It —was born in 2011.

Certainly, it was no barrier to the teenager’s success. By the time he was 17, Squeezie was the youngest French person to have more than a million subscribers on YouTube. At the time of writing, he has 20 million and counting.

Having killed it as a shoot-’em-up streamer, Squeezie has now pivoted from gaming to game shows. On YouTube,he hosts Qui est l’Imposteur?,a slickly produced Traitors-style series where guests have to identify an imposter within their group, and Le Pire Date, in which guests share their worst dating stories. He’s also released a handful of singles, appeared on classic French reality TV show Fort Boyard and hosts the super popular IRL motorsports event GP Explorer. Squeezie has even launched his own kombucha brand, Ciao. Little wonder that, shot here in head-to-toe Louis Vuitton, he finds himself contemplating just how far he’s come from his bedroom

What’s your favourite thing about your job?

Squeezie Being able to bring my ideas to life. So many people are incredibly creative and have great ideas, but they don’t have the chance to actually make them happen – due to lack of knowledge, resources, support, whatever. I have that chance, and every time I upload a video I think: ​“Damn, I imagined this six months ago in an office while drinking my coffee and now it exists.” I feel incredibly lucky.

Looking back, what would you tell a younger Squeezie?

S Absolutely nothing!

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

S When I was young, like many other YouTubers, I was afraid that everything could suddenly end for me. I remember Amixem, another French YouTuber, telling me that we should spend a little less time stressing about something that has very little chance of happening – like a sudden end to our careers – and much more time being grateful for the fact that we’re lucky enough to make a comfortable living from our ideas. That really stuck with me.

What about the worst?

S We should go to Ibiza for two months to clear our heads and come back ​“refreshed”.

You once said that if You Tube hadn’t worked out , you wanted to be a sales person at the French video game retailer Micromania. What’s something new you’d love to try that you haven’t already?

S I’m super nostalgic for the era of co-op games and LAN parties. In Asia, internet cafes are very common, but it’s not really a thing in France. And yet the French are deeply into video games and esports. So I think it would be possible to revive this decades-old concept and successfully create spaces that bring together groups of friends united by the same passion.

How does it feel to have started your career in your bedroom and now be shooting with a massive fashion house like Louis Vuitton?

S It’s so surreal. Each time something like this happens I feel like I don’t belong here… On another level, I’m really glad to represent this culture. I try to pay tribute to it through as many art forms as possible, like fashion and photography.

Describe yourself in three words.

S Hardworking, impulsive, stubborn.

What is the biggest misconception people have about you?

S People often think that I’m not involved anymore, that people in suits and ties do everything for me, that I just show up on set. And I’m actually fine with that misconception because it means the videos are good!

What’s the nicest thing a fan has ever said to you?

S Every time a fan tells me I helped them go through tough times in their life, it hits me right in the heart knowing that my work can be a little bubble of light amid life’s challenges. It makes me feel that what we do isn’t in vain, that we leave a positive mark on millions of people. That, to me, is the greatest reward ever.

What are the last five things you Googled?

S The cinema at Place de Clichy; Atavik, which is a pet food brand; [the game] Diablo 4 Paladin Build; HLTV, a site that tracks [the game] Counter-Strike match history; and Nutripure, a protein and supplements brand. Google was able to completely figure me out in just five searches.

What was the last stupid — expensive thing you bought?

S A sparkly pink hat in London before heading to the World Cup of Darts [sic] final. I was there to support Luke Littler and I had to blend in with the incredible atmosphere of the competition! Oi oi oi!

What’s the one thing that money can’t buy?

S My girlfriend’s salads. I hope one day you’ll be lucky enough to try them.

Do you have any self-imposed social media rules?

S I ditched Twitter from my phone and only hop on it on my computer. I highly recommend that.

What’s your pet peeve?

S Gotaga. He’s a French streamer. He’s that friend who’s not only gonna wreck you when you both start a new game at the same time, but [after a week playing it] be better than you at something you’ve been grinding at for a year.

What’s your favourite item of clothing?

S Not so much an item: denim. I love it so much, whether it’s on jackets, bags, hats, shirts… I feel it instantly gives off an amazing vibe and I don’t really know why.

Who would you like to play you in a film about your life?

S Aaron Paul.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

S I’m a huge cliché: I drink coffee while playing a video game.

GROOMER Bénédicte Cazau-Beyret PRODUCTION Angels Production PRODUCERS Meme MengandAleks Aleksic PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT Massimiliano Cortesellistylist’s ASSISTANT Lise Roudier Decoster PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Anna Hedderich PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Michi Zimmermann