Meet Jacob Peistrup

The YouTube channel is a big part of my job, but I also:

• Handle full-service SEO: Web design, content strategy, linkbuilding, optimization.
• Build lead funnels and lead-nurturing systems.
• Talk about how to do SEO in the real estate industry.

It all started 6 years ago in my room, talking to a camera I was afraid to turn on.

How I Got Here: Upbringing

I grew up moving around every couple of years. New town, new house, new school. My mom's a doctor (anesthesiologist), so we moved wherever the next job opportunity came up. Growing up like that, I learned how to adapt quickly, be independent, and figure things out on my own. But it also taught me a few things I had to unlearn as I got older. When you grow up thinking everything is temporary, you learn not to plant roots. I never got great at making close friends.

I was shy, never very athletic, and always the new kid. My parents divorced when I was 8, and my dad got really sick a few years after. He was in and out of the hospital for months, and multiple misdiagnoses later, we learned he had severe multiple sclerosis. At the time, we were living 30 minutes outside Boston, MA.

My dad's family all started flying into town from St. Louis. They came for the hospital visits and therapy sessions, trying to figure out what to do with dad. He got to a point where he couldn't take care of my brother, me, or himself. His family decided it was best to move him back to St. Louis. My mom, my brother, and I stayed in Massachusetts for a few years and then decided it was time to move back to St. Louis, too.

High School & College

We came back to STL the summer before I started freshman year at MICDS. I was always the new kid in school. Making friends was tough, but I loved school.

I took 11 AP exams, went to academic competitions like Science Olympiad, held a part-time job, and took night classes at WashU in high school. Nerdy stuff. The good kind.

From the first day of freshman year, I was obsessed with having good grades and building a strong college application. In hindsight, I might've been too over the top about focusing on school, but it all worked out.

I decided to attend Northeastern University in Boston, where I received a merit scholarship covering a third of the tuition. I got my real estate license in Missouri when I was 19, during my freshman year at Northeastern.

I joined the school's real estate club and immediately became hooked. Not just with buying and selling real estate but with the people building things, developing neighborhoods, and marketing at scale. I didn't have experience, connections, or a big budget. But I had an instinct for branding, and I figured if I couldn't outspend people… maybe I could out-create them.

I finished my four-year bachelor's degree in just five semesters, thanks to AP credit from high school and taking an overloaded course schedule at Northeastern.

YouTube: Year One

In May 2020, I launched a YouTube channel called Living St. Louis. Originally, it was called JRP Properties, after my initials. I rebranded the channel to a more searchable name: Living St. Louis.

I filmed on a Lumix GH5S (I still use it today), edited in iMovie, and mostly just winged it. I tried all sorts of social media content: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, paid ads, organic content, you name it. But I kept coming back to YouTube. At the time, I had no idea how to make content people were actually searching for, or how to structure it in a way that built trust.

That fall, I made two decisions that changed everything:

1. 1I committed to uploading to YouTube every week.
2. 2I teamed up with Madison Hayes, a top-producing agent who saw my videos and reached out.

By February 2021, one of my videos had gone viral. It was a tour of Nelly's 10,000-square-foot mansion in Wildwood, Missouri. I shot it on my phone, edited it quickly, and uploaded it without much thought. It now has over 500,000 views, and it was the moment I realized this wasn't just content… this could be a business model.

The Pivot

Six months later, I pivoted out of sales and went all-in on marketing. I became the dedicated content and lead-generation partner for Gateway Realty Group, supporting the agents, growing our team, and building a brand that drove business to the team.

Since then, I've layered in long-form SEO, automated email funnels, dozens of niche landing pages, and neighborhood content hubs. I've helped our agents close over $50 million in closed sales volume from content. I've turned Living St. Louis into a local brand that:

• Ranks on Google and YouTube
• Drives inbound leads for my agents
• Generates inquiries for our mortgage partner
• Builds credibility for our developer partners

What I Do Today

I work with a small handful of partners: people I believe in, who serve clients at a high level. What I do isn't just content. It's strategy. It's storyboarding videos, writing articles that rank, building backend systems that turn attention into trust and trust into actual business.

If you're a developer trying to get a $100M project off the ground, a real estate team looking to grow your pipeline, or a mortgage company ready to create better content, that's where I come in. I don't do short-term hacks. I build long-term visibility, one asset at a time.

Lately, I've been focused on helping developers tell bigger stories through video campaigns, and exploring how AI is reshaping SEO and marketing.

What I Believe In

• Content should build trust, not just fill a calendar.
• Accuracy matters. If you're going to speak publicly, do the research and know your shit.
• I'd rather be known well as a marketer instead of well-known.
• Great marketing is collaborative: you bring the vision, I bring it to life.
• The best content lives longer than you think. Make it worth watching.