Dan Goz “Nonstop Dan” Interview
On Wednesday, August 11th, I had the privilege to interview Daniel Goz. Mr. Goz also known as “Nonstop Dan” has uploaded 500 videos since 2009 and has over 450,000 subscribers and 100 million upload views on YouTube, and over 100,000 followers on other social networks. His YouTube channel “nonstopdan” is one of the most popular and respected YouTube channels in aviation. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Joshua Kupietzky: What was your inspiration for making a YouTube channel?
Daniel Goz: I started my YouTube channel twelve years ago when I was twelve years old. So I have had it half my life. I am twenty four now. When I started it, it was just a way to express my passion. It had nothing to do with trying to be famous or make money or whatever. It was simply to have a medium to express my love of aviation and YouTube really was that back then. So the intention was never for me to document my trips or to share my opinions.
It was just to find other like-minded people, and I think YouTube is an amazing place for that.
JK: How did your passion for aviation start?
DG: So my passion for aviation has been around for as long as I can remember. When I was three years old, my dad would take me to [London] Heathrow. We would look at the planes landing and taking off. So I think for most “avgeeks,” it is very hard to pinpoint a moment, but it has been pretty much my entire life.
JK: What is your background in aviation?
DG: My background in aviation is that I am an “avgeek.” I have not worked in aviation. I started my YouTube channel when I was twelve. Now, I am twenty four, so I have had it for half of my life.
JK: Do you still have a day-to-day job besides being an aviation YouTuber?
DG: Not since I was seventeen. I had one little job when I was seventeen, but at that point, I started making money from my channel and since then, YouTube has been my one and only job.
JK: When did you start considering YouTube as a career option?
DG: I did not really start to consider it as a viable career path for the long term until I was twenty—in college—and at that point, I decided to drop out of college and just focus on this.
JK: How many flights have you taken and what is the most special flight you have been on?
DG: I have taken a few too many flights. Yeah, a lot, in the several hundreds. I have had so many special flights. Almost every flight I have taken in first class has been incredible, but also I was on the last KLM MD-11 flight. Air India 747 is a very fun and unique experience.
JK: What is your favorite aircraft to fly on?
DG: I love the A380 from a passenger comfort perspective, but on the outside, the A340-600 is my favorite and I also love the 757.
JK: Have airlines gotten in touch with you and asked you to review their services or how does it work?
DG: Airlines do reach out to me and ask me to review their flights or to come to different events. I know they reach out to some other aviation YouTubers as well. I always respectfully say no, since my thing is honesty—being unbiased—but I do appreciate them reaching out and recognizing me and wanting to offer that, but I believe the best thing you can do is be honest and if you are accepting anything for free, be transparent about it. I am always transparent about how I pay, but generally I don’t accept anything for free.
JK: What was your goal when you created your YouTube channel and what do you still want to achieve?
DG: My goal with my Youtube channel since the start has always just been to have fun. It hasn’t been to make it a job [or] to get a certain number of followers or subscribers. It is only to enjoy myself, meet other avgeeks, and express my passion for aviation.
JK: COVID-19 had a huge impact on the aviation industry. What is your outlook on the future of aviation?
DG: I think there are very promising signs for the industry as a consequence of COVID. Things are now starting to look up a little bit; of course, the Delta variant is causing uncertainty, but I think, you know, at least domestically in many countries, it is recovering faster than we would have expected, which is, of course, great news.
