How to Start an Urbex YouTube Channel

To start an urbex YouTube channel, you need a camera that copes with dark rooms, audio people can understand, one properly bright light, and a plan for the three things that decide whether the channel lasts, which are YouTube’s rules, the law and what you reveal about a location. The camera part is the easy part.

This is entertainment and general information, not legal advice. The appeal of my channel is doing things you’re not supposed to, in a respectful way, and I’m not telling anyone to copy that. Trespass is a crime in Illinois, and the Kentucky Speedway case shows what posted video can lead to. WCPO reported that dozens were charged with trespassing and burglary after influencers posted TikTok and Instagram videos from inside the track. I cover the law in Is Urban Exploring Illegal?.

What gear do you actually need?

Less than you think, but the right kind. I film on a DJI action camera, and my video descriptions list that camera and the wireless mic I use with it. I also carry one good flashlight, because most flashlights, including brand name ones, aren’t bright enough. Abandoned buildings are dark, and a camera can only show what a light gives it. The gear I use is linked at the bottom of this page, along with a memory card, so you can see the exact models.

Audio deserves as much thought as picture. In my Lambo garage video I said I wanted to reshoot the place because I didn’t think my footage or audio turned out that great. I couldn’t, because the garage had burned to the ground. Another explorer shared some of his clips, and I used those. Check your sound on the first visit, because there may not be a second one.

What does YouTube require before you can earn money?

YouTube’s Partner Program has two routes. YouTube Help says you can qualify with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or with 1,000 subscribers and 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Watch hours count only from long form videos set to public. Hours from Shorts in the Shorts feed don’t count toward the 4,000.

The page also says YouTube is introducing updates to the program starting February 1, 2027, and that creators should review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027. Check that page again before you make plans around any number, because the terms move.

The honest read is that money comes late. Plan for months of uploads with no income, and make videos you’d be proud of without it.

The two routes also push you toward different work. Long videos build watch hours, and Shorts build Shorts views, but time spent watching Shorts in the Shorts feed doesn’t count toward the 4,000 hours. Decide which format your footage suits. A dark, slow walk through a hospital wing works as a long video, and a single striking room works as a short. Shorts have their own thumbnail format, 9:16, with a recommended 2160 by 3840 pixels and a 640 pixel minimum height, per the same Help page on thumbnails.

What will YouTube remove or restrict?

Dangerous and illegal acts. The harmful or dangerous content policy says YouTube “doesn’t allow content that encourages dangerous or illegal activities that risk serious physical harm or death.” It lists adults performing acts with a risk of serious harm or death among the prohibited content, and it says its list isn’t complete.

There’s an exception for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context, and a video in that category may stay up or get an age restriction. The policy then adds that this “is not a pass to promote dangerous or illegal activities.”

For urbex, that means thinking about what your footage encourages. A video that shows a floor failing and treats it as a game is different from one that explains the hazard. Every page on this site carries the line that you shouldn’t try to recreate anything you see here, and I tell viewers not to recreate anything in my videos. If your videos teach, say so. If they entertain, don’t present the risky parts as a how to. My guide to what’s dangerous inside abandoned buildings is a good checklist of what not to glamorize.

How do you make a thumbnail that uploads?

YouTube’s thumbnail rules are specific. For videos, use a 16:9 image. YouTube recommends a resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels and sets a minimum of 640 pixels wide. File size limits are 2 MB on mobile and 50 MB on desktop, and the format should be JPG or PNG. Custom thumbnails require a verified account.

Thumbnails fall under the Community Guidelines too. Violations can lead to rejection and a strike, and repeat offenses can remove thumbnail privileges for 30 days or end the account. So the danger rules apply to the picture as well as the video.

What about music?

Use music you have the right to use. YouTube’s Audio Library offers royalty free music and sound effects inside YouTube Studio. YouTube says that only music and sound effects from that library are known to it to be safe on copyright. Tracks you download from it won’t be claimed through Content ID. If a track carries a Creative Commons license, you must credit the artist in your video’s description, and the library can generate that text for you.

YouTube also says it takes no responsibility for “royalty free” music from other sources and doesn’t give legal guidance. If you use anything else, get the license in writing.

Do you have to disclose gear links?

Yes, if you get anything of value for them. The FTC’s influencer guide says to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand, and that financial relationships aren’t limited to money. Free or discounted products count. The disclosure should be hard to miss, placed with the endorsement itself and not only on an About page. In videos, it works best in both audio and picture.

The FTC page doesn’t name affiliate links specifically, so read the agency’s endorsement guides for the details. The principle is anything of value from a brand. The gear links on this page are affiliate links, and I’m telling you here so it isn’t buried. The FTC says plain words like “ad” or “sponsored” work, and vague shorthand like “sp” or “collab” doesn’t.

How do you film without burning a location?

I hide most of my locations on purpose, and people always ask for them. I won’t give them out. Naming a place in a title, a tag or a caption is what turns a video into a map, and why explorers keep spots private goes through the cases where it went wrong. I also sell a $9.99 PDF called How to Find Abandoned Places, which covers how I find my own spots, stay safe, and film without burning locations.

Signs and street names inside a frame can give a place away. Look at your footage the way a stranger would before you upload it.

What does this look like in practice?

Take the casino boat video. It’s a long one, with chapters from the kitchen to the bar to a restricted area. The chapters matter, because they give a viewer something to jump to and give you a clear structure to edit around.

The animal research lab video is the opposite problem. Radioactive samples and biohazards are in the title, so the footage has to show the hazard without turning it into a stunt.

Buildings don’t wait. The Loves Park church I filmed is described as closed since 2019 and now demolished, and the Lambo garage burned. Get the footage, the audio and the safety right on the first visit, and keep the location to yourself.