Salish Matter's Father Turned Her Into One of the World's Biggest Social Media Stars at Age 10—Now 16, Hear What She Has to Say About It
Salish Matter’s journey into global fame began when she was 10, stepping onto her father Jordan Matter’s YouTube channel, which at the time boasted about 5 million subscribers. The turning point came during a fitness challenge video in which Salish faced off against a Muscle Beach bodybuilder. “That’s where I really was, like, ‘Oh, wow, she’s good at this,'” the 59-year-old father of two told The Post. “We started seeing more engagement from the audience. Now I was a father [to the viewers], and there was a relationship that people could relate to. There was this niche that we didn’t even consider.” The video, filmed six years ago, has over 30 million views to date. From there, their father-daughter partnership grew into a weekly stream of wildly popular videos that regularly rack up 30 to 50 million views after posting. Together, they now have a combined 46 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
In This Article:
- Origins of a Breakthrough
- A Global Following Built by a Family Channel
- Public Safety, Regulation and the Online World for Kids
- Not a Public Vlog: A Deliberate, Curated Approach
- Salish’s Fame, Awards and Brand Ventures
- Life Behind the Fame: Routine, School and Peers
- Behind the Scenes: The Team, the Schedule and Boundaries
- Future Pathways: The Creator Economy and Family Decisions
- Putting Happiness First: Salish’s Own Perspective on the Future
Origins of a Breakthrough
That breakthrough video marked the birth of the father-daughter partnership. A pattern emerged: Salish tackled increasingly wacky challenges and games, and the videos drew massive audiences week after week. The video’s impressive view count—over 30 million since its posting six years ago—helped propel the channel into a family-led empire where fronting the content became a shared project.
A Global Following Built by a Family Channel
The duo now boasts a combined 46 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, a reach that few families in the online space can match. Their success has sparked conversations about how children should be allowed to be online and how to balance screen time with private life.
Public Safety, Regulation and the Online World for Kids
Yet their rise raises pressing questions about children’s online safety. Many parents worry about rationing screen time and monitoring their kids’ online activity—and would be horrified at the thought of so many strangers watching a teenager’s online antics. This week Australia’s social media ban for under-16s finally came into effect, shutting down more than 1 million social media accounts created by users under 16 across the country starting Wednesday.
Not a Public Vlog: A Deliberate, Curated Approach
Jordan insists that what he and Salish have created is nothing to worry about when it comes to personal life. “We’re not a vlog-style channel where vloggers really do open up their lives. If we go on vacation, neither of us wants to film that. It’s more like we are choosing what aspects of ourselves to share with the audience,” the 59-year-old explained.
Salish’s Fame, Awards and Brand Ventures
Salish has become one of the most recognizable faces of today’s tween generation and has attracted celebrity fans like Khloé Kardashian, Shakira and Dr. Dre. She’s won two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and co-founded a skincare line for teens, Sincerely Yours, which sold out in Sephora soon after launching in September. A pop-up event at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey drew more than 80,000 fans before safety concerns shut it down.
Life Behind the Fame: Routine, School and Peers
Salish says she doesn’t view herself as famous. “I don’t think of myself as famous; I don’t like that word. I feel like I am just a normal teenager, but then sometimes people do come up to me, and that kind of reminds me of everything,” she told The Post. When she’s not filming or at events, she goes to school, plays sports and hangs out with friends. Jordan notes that filming happens on Sundays, on an iPhone, so Salish can have a normal life the other six days.
Behind the Scenes: The Team, the Schedule and Boundaries
The Matter family works with a tight-knit behind-the-scenes team to keep personal life and work separate. “Rowan, who’s the creative director, has known her since she was born and is a family friend. He takes over the directing responsibilities for her so that I’m not stepping in, so I can just be on camera with her and we can have our relationship and be authentic,” Jordan told The Post. All YouTube filming, which is done on an iPhone, takes place only on Sundays, “so she can have a normal life the other six days.”
Future Pathways: The Creator Economy and Family Decisions
Salish’s father believes more parents should embrace tech-savvy kids and see the opportunities in the creator economy, which he says is thriving and has limitless employment potential. “I don’t think that my generation of parents of this age has caught up yet. They don’t realize that this is an incredible opportunity, not just in front of the camera, but the creator economy is one of the few growing economies that has limitless employment potential,” he told The Post. “But people are still going after white collar jobs; all that most likely will be gone in five years from AI or at least severely limited compared to this, which is thriving.”
Putting Happiness First: Salish’s Own Perspective on the Future
When asked about her future, Salish is pragmatic: “So many people ask me this. I feel like there’s an expectation that in junior year [of high school], you’re supposed to know what you want to do and have it all figured out and be applying for college applications,” she said. “I have no idea what I want to do. I think the college experience would be amazing, but it’s so much money that I don’t know if I want to waste it just for an experience.” Jordan sums up their approach: “For me, it’s all about her happiness. If she’s happy, this is great. If she’s not, then we shouldn’t be doing it.”
