At his farm on the banks of the Murray River in South Australia, Mintu Brar unfolds his tripod, picks up his microphone and presses record on his camera.
While it may seem like an odd job for a citrus and grape grower, for Mr Brar, documenting his experience for his 145,000 subscribers is just as important as cleaning his irrigation filters.
Since 2014 he has filmed more than 500 YouTube videos, some with more than half a million views, covering a broad range of topics from farming, to history, and politics — all spoken in Punjabi, the fastest-growing language in Australia.
"When I started [the videos] people liked it," Mr Brar said.
"Then lots of people came to my channel, and now it's my big passion."
Big picture thinking
The Punjabi-Australian YouTuber didn't become a global superstar overnight.
Born Gurshminder Signh, Mr Brar's family farmed table grapes, citrus, guava and vegetables in the Indian state of Haryana near Punjab.
He migrated to Australia on a skilled mechanic visa with his family 15 years ago to join his sister and brother-in-law, who had settled in the Riverland town of Winkie.
"When I came here I [had] just $127 in my pocket and the clothes off my back," he said.
While his new home in Kingston-on-Murray, with a population of about 300 people, was far away, Mr Brar said it wasn't so different after all.
"My home town Punjab means five waters — the same thing as the Riverland, where all the land is on the river," he said.
Mr Brar said his interest in creating videos was ignited while working in Broken Hill, when he came across the world's largest acrylic painting by a single artist — Ando's Big Picture.
"I thought why not show it to other people," he said.
Working alongside his American friend Manpreet Singh, Mr Brar made his first video for the channel Pendu Australia, which translates to Country Australia.
Mr Brar attributes the popularity of his videos to his "reality TV" presentation approach, and his grassroots-style of content distribution, using platforms like WhatsApp.
"Every show when I'm starting, I don't know what I'm going to [say], but when the mic's on, [and the] camera's on I just start speaking," he said.
"And people love that because all my words come from the heart."
Building his audience
YouTube is not Mr Brar's only medium.
He has published a book called Kangaroonama, started his own news website and was a broadcaster on Harman Radio, one of the first 24/7 online radio stations in Australia.
"I was getting feedback from the taxi drivers that when my show [started] they would close their meters and stop taking customers," he said.
"They wanted to listen with proper concentration."
Despite his success, he said language had been a barrier to some of his aspirations.
"I've got opportunities in politics, [and] in media due to my followers," he said.
"But English is not my mother tongue, that's why it's a little bit hard to go to the next level," he said.
Part of Mr Brar's audience appeal is sharing his struggles, as well as his successes.
Like many farmers he has been navigating the fallout from flooding, income loss from China's tariffs, and higher costs from fruit fly outbreaks.
"I know it is a very bad year and we can't make money but still my positive attitude says 'it's part of life,'" he said.
"I can survive with just two chapatis [Indian bread]."
Connecting to community
When he's not farming or filming, Mr Brar is fielding phone calls.
He said his videos catered to a growing interest from Indian nationals looking to migrate to Australia.
"I have my phone number listed on my channel, [so] every day people are asking me for advice," he said.
"If I had $10 for every person I helped, I would be a millionaire."
In turn, Mr Brar's generosity has been rewarded on his overseas travels.
The content creator has been invited to interview farmers in New Zealand, Dubai, Pakistan, Canada and the United States, with plans to travel to Europe this year.
"When I am going anywhere people recognise me," he said.
"I don't need to spend any money when I'm travelling … because our community is very good with hospitality."
Despite his growing profile, neither international fame, nor financial gain are his focus.
"I'm not doing anything for money, I'm just doing this for my passion," he said.
"I want to spread the good things to my community."
