If you’ve followed Caretaker on Instagram for awhile, you may remember the five glorious months we ran a contest where one of our followers got their rent paid for by us. Those were fun times. From July through November, we spent almost $7000 paying our Instagram followers’ rents.

But, like all good things, the rent contest came to an end. We loved seeing the smiles on your pretty little faces when you won, but it was time for something new. While the contest definitely got the memes on our Instagram account lots of love, it didn’t make anyone more aware of what we actually do. Then Nasty Gal jacked our swag, and we decided to step back and think of a new plan.

We’re super excited to introduce the Caretaker Content Residency.

Every month for the rest of 2019, we’re choosing one person to be our Content Resident. At the very least, each Content Resident is given a free Caretaker apartment in NYC for a month. During that month, they can enjoy their time in the city, as long as they spend a few days hanging out and creating content with us.

We’re tired of seeing influencer collabs where a buff dude in a tracksuit is holding up his fav (#ad #sponsored) pre-workout smoothie. We want to work with amazing, talented people to make content that entertains and educates. If you’re familiar with our Instagram account, you probably get what we’re going for - but keep in mind: what you create with us doesn't have to be meme-related at all! We'd love interesting video content, photojournalism, irl events. The options are endless.

It’s perfect for people who’s lifestyles require or allow them to travel a lot - artists, freelancers, remote workers, and so on; but it’s open to anyone who creates any kind of content. Also, before you get all worked up: we're not just asking you to do a bunch of work for no money. We value the people we collaborate with. Payment beyond the free place to stay is, of course, offered.

Want to know how to get involved? Check out the application instructions below.

Our first Content Resident: Oobah Butler

Our first Content Resident moved in to his Caretaker apartment over the weekend. His name is Oobah Butler, and he’s best known for creating several wildly viral videos for Vice over the past year. The most iconic? He got the backyard shed that he lived in to be the top-rated restaurant in London on TripAdvisor - and it wasn’t even a restaurant. The stunt and the video documenting it gained worldwide attention. The Washington Post called him “The Donald Trump of TripAdvisor.” He was interviewed on one of the most watched TV news shows in Brazil. The video was discussed in a special Parliamentary hearing on fake news in Singapore. He got called a ‘naughty’ boy on Good Morning Britain. The video has over 50 million views online.

The media attention continued and became completely overwhelming, inspiring Oobah’s next stunt. Hoping to take a little break and tired of being asked all the same questions over and over, he employed a group of look-alikes to do interviews, TV, and radio appearances in his place. People who (sort of) looked like Oobah were interviewed, pretending to be him, across the world. Fake Oobahs appeared on TV in Australia, India, Bulgaria, and in the U.K.

His next project was faking his way into Paris Fashion Week by pretending to be a fashion designer named Georgio Peviani. A few business cards, some charisma, and some denim bought from a street stall got him far - fashion buyers from Milan wanting to sell Peviani denim, designers letting him try on the most expensive pieces in their collections, entrance to the trendy Vivienne Westwood show, and into an after party where he hung out in a bounce house with Alexa Chung, a super-famous model and TV-personality with over 3 million Instagram followers. He even got her to say ‘Georgio Peviani’ in a video selfie with him.

Now, Oobah’s publishing his debut book in the United States. It’s called How To Bullshit Your Way to Number 1, and, seeing as he’s a demonstrated expert at bullshitting, I recommend checking it out. He needed to be in the states for the book release, and we needed a Content Resident. So here we are - Oobah will be living in a Caretaker apartment for a month, and creating a few videos with us for our YouTube and Instagram that we think you’ll really enjoy.

Want to be a Caretaker Content Resident?

Of course you do. I want to, but obviously I’m not eligible because I already work here making content. If spending a month in NYC in a free apartment appeals to you, hit us up. There’s a reason we didn’t call this an artist’s residency. You can be a memer, a podcast host, a tattoo artist, a mime, a musician, a makeup artist, a painter, a comedian, an event planner, a poet - anything. If you’re creative and making cool stuff in any medium, we’d love to hear from you.

To apply to be a part of Caretaker’s Content Residency, send the following to submissions@flip.lease:

• Your name, where you currently live, and which months in 2019 you’re interested in
• A brief description of yourself and what kind of work you make, including any examples or relevant links
• Sell yourself a little - what makes you a great choice for this?
• Any information about extra accomodations you’d need for housing. This will in no way alter your chances of being chose, but will help us make sure we provide every resident with an accessible and comfortable place to live.
• Questions you have about the program

If you’re feeling wild, you’re welcome to also send:

• Any ideas you have for content you’d like to make for Caretaker
• Links to your social media accounts
• Anything else you want us to know!

By the way…

If this idea really excites you but you’re worried about leaving your current apartment empty while you spend a month in NYC, don’t stress. Subletting is kind of our thing.