4 min readNew DelhiMar 2, 2021 09:59 AM IST
First published on: Feb 27, 2021 at 08:13 PM IST
“This was by far the most thrilling experience I have had with fishing and vlogging,” said Sebin Cyriac who shot Rahul Gandhi’s recent adventure in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Thangassery in Kollam, Kerala, including his sudden dive into the sea for a swim with fishermen.
“Nothing was pre-planned. I came to know about it the moment the Congress leader jumped into the sea. He suddenly handed over his mask and phone to a fisherman near him and jumped straight into the water,” Cyriac, a popular Kerala-based fishing vlogger, told the indianexpress.com.
Cyriac says he had suggested Gandhi should wear a lifejacket before they began the trip in the early hours of February 25, but the latter had said he would not require one.
The 29-year-old vlogger said he realised that the 50-year-old Congress leader was an accomplished diver when he actually jumped into the sea. “Only a skilled and confident diver can jump into cold water like that and that too without a lifeguard and any other assistance.”
Cyriac believes that the quality of his videos and his strong subscriber base of 1.66 million made Gandhi and his team approach him. He said he was contacted to shoot the expedition of the politician a few weeks ago. “The final nod came just a week ago though. There was rigorous planning involved owing to the risk factor and climate.”
“All they wanted me to do was help with the translation and capture the politician’s time at sea in all its naturalness,” he said. “They didn’t want any special effects and preferred to capture the adventure as it is.”
The video also features the Wayanad MP talking to the fishermen of the poll-bound state about the sea and fishing.
Watch the full video here:
Cyriac said Gandhi and his team did not “interfere” in the editing process.
“Even after the shoot, there was no restriction from him or his team and that’s what I liked most. I had the freedom to shoot and edit the way I wanted to for my channel.”
Cyriac uploaded the video — “Deep-sea fishing with Rahul Gandhi” — on his YouTube channel, Fishing Freaks, on February 25. The video has so far garnered more than 1 million views.
Cyriac, who started his vlogging career two years ago, did not intend to start a YouTube Channel. In fact, he was set to migrate to Canada and, while waiting for his visa procedures to conclude, he posted a short video of him fishing on YouTube.
“It was a plain clip, with no edits, introduction and commentary, however, the video ended up getting 10,000 likes”.
“Seeing the response, I started taking my camera for my fishing trips regularly and gradually improved the quality of the videos by adding introductions and explanations,” he said.
Cyriac added his followers and views increased with each video and that’s when he decided to take it up seriously.
“Taking inspiration from shows like ‘River Monsters’ and other wildlife stories on National Geographic and Discovery, I started including more details and introduced better editing techniques.”
Picturesque villages, paddy fields and rivers are in the backdrop in most of Fishing Freaks ‘ videos and viewers also get a glimpse of Cyriac’s family, who join in many of his fishing adventures.
Sharing his tips for future vloggers, the 29-year-old said the key to making good content on any platform is variety and creativity. “I try to bring in diversity in my content. People should not be able to predict and that’s what will keep them hooked to the video. I also try to introduce news editing techniques and patterns and for that shows on National Geographic and Discovery have had a huge influence.”
About his future ventures. Cyriac said he wishes to collaborate with celebrities, much like Bear Grylls’s series Man vs. Wild, which features celebrities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 29-year-old vlogger said he realised that the 50-year-old Congress leader was an accomplished diver when he actually jumped into the sea. 
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