About
In 2021, Canadian couple Chase Matheson and his partner, Shelby, joined the growing ranks of professionals who left their full-time jobs for a life of nomadic world travel. Their story, however, deviates from the typical narrative of fleeting adventure. A closer look at their digital enterprise, 'Chase and Shelbs', reveals a carefully constructed business model that has transformed a dream into a sustainable career.
Chase and Shelbs: History and Growth
The public-facing narrative of 'Chase and Shelbs' began in 2021, when a planned six-month trip to Thailand evolved into a permanent nomadic lifestyle, fueled by the positive reception to their initial vlogs. This pivot, however, was built on a digital foundation laid a decade prior. Corporate records confirm their YouTube channel was established on December 10, 2011, a full ten years before their full-time launch. This decision to use an aged digital asset, rather than start anew, suggests a sharp understanding of platform algorithms, potentially bypassing the initial visibility struggles that plague new creators.
This strategic head start has paid dividends. The channel has amassed over 154,000 subscribers and more than 20.6 million total views across more than 663 videos. While their Canadian nationality is a stated part of their identity, their audience is global, drawn to a journey that began in Southeast Asia and has since evolved.
Chase and Shelbs' Content and Style
The channel's content strategy is built upon the dual pillars of culinary exploration and adventure travel. This approach broadens their appeal, capturing both food-focused travelers and adrenaline seekers with videos ranging from trying Cuy (guinea pig) in Ecuador to cliff jumping in the Philippines.
Their operational history reveals a distinct "regional deep dive" strategy. Phase one, from 2021 through early 2024, was a multi-year immersion in Southeast Asia. Their archives document extensive travels through the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and India. It was content from this region that proved instrumental in their growth. Videos like "FIRST TIME Trying Pani Puri (India's most popular street food) 🇮🇳" (over 807,000 views) and "Our First DELHI Metro Ride 🇮🇳" (over 561,000 views) vastly outperformed their typical content, indicating a strong audience appetite for authentic, immersive cultural experiences in South and Southeast Asia.
In mid-2024, the channel executed a deliberate strategic pivot, marking the beginning of phase two: a deep dive into Latin America. Recent uploads feature a consistent stream of content from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, and Ecuador. This methodical, continent-by-continent approach allows them to build topical authority and serves as a cost-effective operational model, minimizing long-haul travel and simplifying logistics.
How Chase and Shelbs Make Money
The financial engine powering the 'Chase and Shelbs' enterprise is a highly diversified "creator stack" that extends far beyond platform-native advertising. Quantitative analysis indicates their estimated monthly YouTube AdSense earnings fall within a modest range of $376 to $1,000, a figure insufficient to sustain their lifestyle. Their true business skill is evident in the robust, multi-layered monetization infrastructure they have built.
This model is comprised of at least five distinct revenue streams. Direct fan support is facilitated through two platforms: buymeacoffee.com/chaseandshelbs for small donations and a direct paypal.me/chasemathesonyoutube link for larger contributions. An e-commerce vertical exists through a Creator-Spring merchandise store, selling apparel and accessories with brand-aligned slogans like "In The Mood For Food."
Affiliate marketing represents their most developed revenue stream. They operate two distinct Amazon Storefronts—one for the U.S. market (amazon.com/shop/chaseandshelbs) and another for their home Canadian audience (amazon.ca/shop/chaseandshelbs). This dual-storefront tactic is a particularly smart optimization, reducing friction for their followers and maximizing conversion rates. They also partner directly with travel-service brands, providing affiliate codes for eSIM providers Airalo (code CHASE4488) and Nomad (code CHASRKLP).
Finally, they use YouTube's native monetization tools beyond simple ad revenue. They actively promote their Channel Memberships program, which offers exclusive perks for a recurring monthly fee, creating a predictable income stream from their most dedicated supporters.
Chase and Shelbs: Network and Collaborations
The 'Chase and Shelbs' network extends beyond their primary channel. Chase Matheson maintains a solo channel, @TheChaseMatheson, which has over 4,770 subscribers. This secondary channel, actively cross-promoted in the main channel's video descriptions, serves as a supplementary outlet for content that mirrors their joint travels through Latin America, effectively building Matheson's personal brand in parallel.
A critical aspect of analyzing their network is entity resolution—differentiating the subjects from other similarly named individuals. Chase Matheson, the Canadian vlogger, is not to be confused with Robert Chase Matheson, a Tennessee-based journalist who filed a First Amendment lawsuit, nor a Georgia-based freelance graphic artist operating as @ArtByChase. Similarly, his partner Shelby has been disambiguated from numerous other creators, including a Florida-based homesteader, a Europe-focused travel vlogger (Shelby Heisler), and lifestyle bloggers based in Pennsylvania (Shelby Berger) and Austin, Texas (Shelby Sorrel). This process of negative confirmation ensures the focus remains on the correct, verified subjects of this enterprise.
Chase and Shelbs Today
Chase and Shelbs are actively producing content from South America, continuing the second major phase of their global journey. Their success illustrates that a sustainable career in the digital nomad space comes from deliberate strategy—a compelling narrative, a sharp understanding of audience preferences, an efficient "regional deep dive" content model, and a diversified business architecture that captures value at every level of audience engagement.