Sameckholm

Access Granted is Sam Eckholm's cinematic documentary series on YouTube that takes viewers behind the scenes of military missions, advanced machines, and the people shaping the modern world. Each episode is built around rare, hard-to-get access — think riding inside fighter jets, boarding stealth warships, and observing classified-adjacent defense programs. It's designed to feel more like a documentary film than a typical YouTube video.

Yes — one of the most-watched Access Granted episodes features Sam Eckholm flying in an F-16 Viper, which he describes as the most violent flight of his life. The episode gives viewers a first-person look at the brutal physical experience of pulling G-forces in a supersonic fighter jet, complete with cinematic cockpit footage.

Sam Eckholm's entire brand is built around securing unprecedented access that most journalists and filmmakers never get — his series is literally called Access Granted. Episodes have placed him inside an M1 Abrams tank, aboard a Swedish stealth warship, and close to live counter-drone technology, suggesting he has cultivated strong relationships with military organizations and defense contractors willing to let cameras in.

Sam Eckholm spent 24 hours aboard Sweden's $200 million stealth warship as part of an Access Granted episode. The episode offered a rare, documentary-style look inside the vessel, showcasing Swedish naval engineering and the kind of military technology rarely seen by civilian cameras.

Sam Eckholm presents himself as a documentary host and video creator focused on aerospace and defense — not as a military veteran or active service member. His Access Granted series is framed as journalism-style filmmaking, and his access to military hardware appears to come from media relationships rather than personal service.

War Thunder and World of Warships are military-themed games that routinely sponsor defense and aviation creators because the audience overlap is exceptionally high. Sam Eckholm's viewers — overwhelmingly male and deeply interested in real-world aerospace and military technology — are a natural fit for both titles, and both games have run sponsored content with him on YouTube.

Sam Eckholm has produced multiple pieces of content on drone swarms, covering both the emerging threat they pose in modern warfare and the counter-drone systems being developed to neutralize them. The topic fits squarely into his Access Granted focus on cutting-edge defense technology that is actively reshaping how militaries operate.

Yes — the F-35 is one of the recurring subjects in Sam Eckholm's aerospace and defense content, which makes sense given that it is one of the most advanced and widely discussed fighter jets in the world. Covering programs like the F-35 sits at the core of what Access Granted is designed to document.

Sam Eckholm's confirmed sponsors include War Thunder, World of Warships, Insta360, Airalo, Straight Arrow News, and Navy Federal, among others. The mix reflects his dual appeal — military-tech enthusiasts drawn to his defense content and a travel-minded segment that follows his globe-spanning documentary shoots.

Sam Eckholm has grown to well over a million subscribers on YouTube, placing him firmly in the Macro creator tier. His engagement rate runs well above the category average for science and technology channels, which is particularly impressive for a long-form documentary-style format where viewer drop-off is typically higher.