Life & Work with Nakita Hatch of National

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nakita Hatch.

Hi Nakita, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Our story really began during the COVID lockdowns in 2020. David was working in sales at the time, but because his job involved travelling and meeting customers, he found himself on furlough with a lot of unexpected time on his hands.

David has always had a creative side. Even back at school, he would borrow the school camcorder to film and document things, so making videos was something he’d enjoyed long before YouTube existed. As someone who regularly watched YouTube himself, he’d often thought about creating something on the platform. Suddenly, he had the time to give it a go.

He decided to take a course on YouTube, learn how everything worked and start experimenting with making videos. At the time, the world was going through something none of us had experienced before, and his idea was quite simple: if he could make a few people laugh during such a strange and difficult time, then it would be worthwhile.

That’s how Mr H and Friends began.

The channel initially focused on reaction videos, with David sharing his thoughts, humour and very British perspective on things he discovered online. Over time, American viewers began introducing us to more of their country, particularly its food, history, traditions and the cultural differences between Britain and the United States.

During those early years, Nakita was working in a busy full-time job and was quite happy to leave the YouTube side of things to David! However, when our first daughter, Elana, was born in 2022, things started to change.

While on maternity leave, Nakita reluctantly agreed to appear in a few videos. Being in front of the camera certainly wasn’t something she’d planned on doing, but as the channel gradually moved towards food and cooking, she found herself getting more involved.

Nakita has always loved cooking, so experimenting with American recipes and discovering dishes we’d never heard of felt like a natural fit. Before long, what had started as David’s lockdown hobby had become something we were both enjoying and creating together.

Our viewers became a huge part of that journey, recommending foods to cook, places to visit and experiences they thought we’d enjoy. We began experimenting with American BBQ, recreating regional dishes and learning more about the traditions behind the food.

What started as a bit of fun gradually turned into a genuine curiosity about America. Before long, we weren’t just making videos about the country; we were building friendships with people thousands of miles away.

Eventually, we decided we wanted to experience America for ourselves. Travelling to the United States opened up a whole new chapter for the channel. We were able to visit places we’d only ever seen on screen, experience regional food and traditions firsthand and, perhaps most importantly, meet some of the wonderful people who had been supporting us.

As the channel grew, so did our family. We now have two young daughters, Elana and Alissa, who have become part of our adventures. Being able to share these experiences with them and create memories together is something we feel incredibly fortunate to do.

In March 2026, we made one of our biggest decisions when David left his full-time job so we could concentrate on Mr H and Friends as our family business. It was a big leap, especially with two young children, and certainly came with its share of nerves, but we wanted to give something we’d spent years building the opportunity to grow.

Then, in the summer of 2026, we spent eight weeks travelling across America, covering around 5,000 miles through multiple states and even crossing into Canada. We experienced everything from the excitement of major cities to the charm of small American towns, discovering regional foods, learning about local history and meeting people along the way.

One thing that has always stood out to us is the kindness and hospitality we’ve experienced. We’ve had complete strangers welcome us like old friends, and it’s those moments, often the ones you could never plan, that have made our travels so special.

Today, Mr H and Friends has grown to over 140,000 YouTube subscribers, with around 80% of our audience living in the United States. Considering we’re just a British family living near Bristol, England, we still find that quite remarkable!

But what means the most to us isn’t really the subscriber count. It’s the community we’ve built, the friendships we’ve made and the experiences we’ve been fortunate enough to share as a family.

When David first picked up a camera during lockdown, he simply wanted to make people smile. Six years later, we’re travelling across America, discovering new things, meeting incredible people and doing something we genuinely love together.

And hopefully, we’re still making people smile along the way.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, and I think that’s something people don’t always realise when they watch YouTube.

From the beginning, one of our biggest challenges has been the anxiety around views and video performance. You can spend days creating something you’re really proud of, only for it to receive a fraction of the views you hoped for. Then a video you weren’t expecting much from can suddenly take off! It’s incredibly unpredictable, and learning not to take the numbers personally has been difficult.

That anxiety hasn’t completely gone away. In fact, in some ways it’s greater now because YouTube has become our family business and our main source of income. We’ve taken a big leap of faith, and we’re still working towards earning enough consistently to cover all our bills. There’s always that uncertainty about whether the next video will perform well and whether we’re doing enough to make the business sustainable.

We’ve also had to find our way creatively. The channel started with reaction videos, but over the years we’ve explored different directions, from food and cooking to travel and family adventures. Changing direction isn’t always easy, particularly when people have subscribed for a certain type of content. We’ve had to accept that not every idea will work and that sometimes you need to take a chance and try something different.

There have been some stressful experiences along the way too, including copyright strikes and even legal threats. Those situations can be quite daunting when you’re learning how the industry works, but they’ve taught us a lot about the responsibilities and challenges of running a YouTube channel.

For Nakita, one of the biggest personal challenges was getting comfortable in front of the camera. She was quite happy working behind the scenes and never imagined she’d be sharing her life with thousands of people online. As the channel became more focused on food and cooking, something she’s always loved, appearing in videos started to feel more natural, although it’s certainly been a learning curve!

Another challenge has been dealing with criticism. When you put yourself out there publicly, you’re opening yourself up to opinions from people who don’t really know you. We’re incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful, supportive community, but inevitably there are negative comments too, and sometimes they can be quite personal. You have to develop a thick skin, learn the difference between constructive criticism and unnecessary negativity, and accept that you simply can’t please everyone. We’re only human, so occasionally something still gets under our skin, but we’ve become much better at focusing on the people who genuinely enjoy what we do.

Then there’s the balancing act of running a business while raising two young children. We’re a small family team, so between us we’re researching, cooking, filming, editing, planning future content and managing everything that goes on behind the scenes. It can be exhausting, and there are definitely days when we wonder how we’re going to fit everything in!

But for all the challenges, there have been so many wonderful moments that we could never have imagined when we started.

We’ve travelled to places we might never otherwise have visited, met people who have become genuine friends and experienced incredible kindness from complete strangers. We’ve also had the opportunity to introduce our daughters to new places, people and cultures, creating memories together that we’ll treasure forever.

Ultimately, we’re trying to build a life where we can do something we both genuinely enjoy while spending more time together as a family. We’re under no illusions that it’s an easy path, and we’re still figuring things out as we go, but we’ve learned so much about ourselves and each other along the way.

If anything, the challenges have made us appreciate the journey even more. What started as a little creative outlet during lockdown has brought us opportunities, experiences and friendships we never could have predicted.

And whatever happens next, we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built together and excited to see where this adventure takes us.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We’re the creators behind Mr H and Friends, a family YouTube channel where we explore American food, culture, history and everyday life through our British eyes.

At its heart, our channel is about curiosity, discovery and having a bit of fun along the way. We love exploring the differences and similarities between Britain and America, whether that’s attempting to recreate an American dish in our kitchen, learning the history behind a particular tradition or travelling across the United States to experience something for ourselves.

Food has become a huge part of what we do. Nakita loves cooking and enjoys the challenge of recreating dishes that our American viewers recommend, particularly regional specialities that aren’t widely known here in the UK. We’ve discovered everything from American comfort food and desserts to the wonderful world of BBQ, which has become something of a passion in our household!

David brings his love of filming, storytelling and editing to the channel, along with his sense of humour and willingness to give almost anything a try. Together, we’ve found a balance that works for us, combining our different interests and personalities to create content that feels natural and entertaining.

We also love getting out and exploring. Our travels around America have allowed us to take viewers along as we experience different states, visit small towns, discover local restaurants and learn about the people and communities that make each place unique.

One of the things we’ve discovered, which we never really expected when we started, is how much our experiences seem to resonate with Americans themselves. When we visit somewhere new, try a regional dish or get excited about something that might seem completely ordinary to a local, it often sparks a sense of nostalgia or pride among our viewers.

We regularly receive comments from people telling us that we’ve reminded them of something they loved growing up, encouraged them to revisit somewhere they haven’t been in years or helped them appreciate something about their hometown or state that they’d almost forgotten about.

It’s lovely to think that while we’re discovering America for the first time, we’re also helping some Americans rediscover what they love about their own country. Sometimes it takes seeing somewhere through somebody else’s eyes to remember just how special it is.

We think that’s one of the things that makes our channel a little different. We’re not experts on America, and we don’t pretend to be. We’re simply a British family who are fascinated by the country and genuinely enjoy learning about it from the people who live there.

Our audience plays a huge part in shaping what we create. So many of our video ideas come directly from viewers recommending recipes, sharing family traditions or suggesting places they think we’d enjoy. That interaction makes the channel feel less like we’re creating content for an audience and more like we’re sharing experiences with a community of friends.

We also try not to take ourselves too seriously. Things don’t always go to plan in our kitchen, we occasionally get things completely wrong, and our reactions aren’t always what people expect! But that’s part of the fun, and we think people appreciate seeing the genuine moments rather than everything being perfectly polished.

As creators, we’re involved in pretty much every stage of the process, from researching ideas and planning videos to cooking, filming, editing and sharing our experiences across social media. There’s a lot more work involved than people might imagine, but there’s something incredibly rewarding about taking an idea and turning it into something that thousands of people enjoy watching.

What we’re most proud of isn’t any particular video or milestone. It’s the community we’ve built and the connections we’ve made between people on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

We’ve received messages from viewers telling us that our videos have brightened a difficult day, given them something to look forward to or reminded them of happy memories from their childhood. Those messages mean an enormous amount to us, particularly when we remember that David originally started the channel simply hoping to make people smile.

We’re also incredibly proud that something we created together has grown into a family business and given us opportunities to travel, meet wonderful people and create memories with our daughters.

At the end of the day, we’re just a normal British family who happen to have a YouTube channel. We enjoy spending time together, trying new things, having a laugh and sharing our experiences with anyone who wants to come along for the ride.

And if our adventures help someone see their own hometown, state or country with a fresh sense of appreciation, that’s something we’re especially proud of.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
There are lots of ways people can get involved with Mr H and Friends, and we’re always happy to hear from people who have ideas, recommendations or opportunities they’d like to share.

One of the things we love most is hearing from our viewers. Whether it’s a family recipe that’s been passed down through generations, a little-known restaurant we should visit, a local tradition we might not have heard of or somewhere special in their home state, we’re always looking for new things to discover.

Some of our favourite experiences have come from suggestions made by people watching our videos, so please don’t be shy about getting in touch!

We’re also open to working with brands, businesses, tourism organisations and fellow creators whose interests align with what we do. We particularly enjoy collaborations that allow us to discover something new, share an interesting story or introduce our audience to products, places and experiences we genuinely think they’ll enjoy.

For businesses and destinations across America, we love the idea of helping tell their stories through the eyes of a British family experiencing them for the first time.

And of course, the simplest way to support us is to watch our videos, subscribe to our YouTube channels, leave a comment and share our content with friends and family. It might seem like a small thing, but that support really does make a difference, especially as we work towards growing our family business.

You can find us on YouTube at “Mr H and Friends”, where we share our main adventures, cooking and travel videos, and “Mr H and Family”, where we share more of our family experiences and food taste tests. We’re also on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Above all, we love hearing from people. Whether they’ve been watching us for years or have only just discovered our channel, they’re always welcome to come along for the adventure!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mrhandfriends.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrhandfriends/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrHandFriends
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mrhandfriends