Scott The Woz Spills His Guts
In Good Faith with Philip DeFranco
0:00 Hey all, Phil here.
0:01 Welcome back to the In Good Faith podcast where today we
0:04 have one of our more unexpected chats with Scott the Wans.
0:06 And Scott, if you don't know him, when he was 9 years old,
0:09 he was burning a weekly news show onto DVDs
0:11 and distributing it to like 20 of his classmates.
0:13 He called it Wazniaak News.
0:15 He had a distribution list before he had a decade on this planet.
0:18 And now 20 years later, he's one of the most recognizable pillars
0:20 of the gaming community on the internet.
0:22 Millions of subscribers, a catalog of people that go back and rewatch
0:25 is a blue wall that has become genuinely iconic.
0:27 And while Scott's over a decade younger than me, he also grew up on YouTube.
0:31 And that can also be a very strange thing to live through.
0:33 Most people get to be bad at things
0:35 and uncertain of themselves in private to change their voice,
0:38 change who they are without an audience tracking every step,
0:41 you know, not with Scott.
0:41 And so what does that do to you?
0:43 What happens when the the thing that you love at 9,
0:45 it turns into the job that you have at 28?
0:47 And that job, it can be so exciting,
0:49 but also you can make it so hard on yourself that the passion,
0:52 it gets complicated, the burnout, it's real.
0:54 And you have to figure out what do I do moving forward?
0:56 And we get into all that.
0:57 So, make sure you're subscribed, you hit that like button,
0:59 sit back, and enjoy a conversation with Scott the W.
1:03 So, Scott, I don't know if you feel this.
1:05 Do you I don't even know.
1:07 I feel like I'm setting you up already at first question.
1:09 A crap.
1:12 Round one, fight.
1:14 Do you feel like the the gaming space is uh generally safe space?
1:19 Uh and I and I asked that as someone that like my main gig is politics, right?
1:23 And so there's a lot of push back, a lot of craziness.
1:26 But in my experience, the only time I have received bigger reactions,
1:31 whether it's love or hate or whatever,
1:33 has been when I've delved into the movie space and the gaming space.
1:38 What are your feelings about it?
1:39 How do you navigate it?
1:40 Because I also I think you made a deliberate
1:42 rule to never real uh reference real world events.
1:45 That might be to so that your your videos are always timely,
1:48 but I also don't know if it's like worry about audience reaction or anything.
1:51 I I primarily had that rule during 2020 when like COVID was going on.
1:57 I kind of wanted my videos to be like a fun little like escapism I guess where
2:01 like you could go to them and and also
2:04 you know always look back at them and it's
2:06 not like you're reminded of you know all this all
2:08 this garbage everybody was dealing with at the time
2:10 you know so it's not necessarily because
2:13 of like being worried about audience reaction and whatnot.
2:17 I I really don't care.
2:19 Like I outside of like, you know, I I never want to say anything bad.
2:23 I always want to make sure that like what I'm saying is,
2:26 you know, my my opinion, but I I also I I don't want to make
2:31 my videos uh something that they aren't, you know,
2:35 and that's why I primarily stick to like, you know what,
2:37 this is a fun little escapism for somebody that just wants to talk
2:40 about like it just wants some dumbass talking about video games, you know?
2:45 At the same time, there's there's almost like this this level of like
2:50 meltdown that a lot of people uh experience over video games themselves,
2:56 opinions about video games, playing video games, you know, all of this.
3:01 But man, it gets to a point.
3:03 You just look at how some people talk about these things.
3:06 Um, and it it's just it gets ridiculous sometimes with how
3:11 over-the-top people go and and how much like people kind
3:14 of let online discourse kind of uh take over their their emotions
3:21 or or even like their mental health and all of that.
3:24 And you know, a lot of that is I think potentially because of social
3:27 media and just how like a lot of things get pushed to you.
3:31 Like sometimes you just you just gota you just got to go
3:35 away from the internet and just focus on the on the games themselves.
3:38 Yeah.
3:38 I uh I mean when when you when you mentioned that like
3:41 I immediately think back to games like Last of Us 2.
3:44 I was like I enjoyed that game.
3:45 But at that time around the release.
3:47 I was like I'm going to stay quiet about this cuz there I was like I'm not
3:50 going to you know just throw myself
3:53 into this brawl that was happening that I don't understand.
3:56 But I I was interested in your thoughts because I mean you have been both
3:59 a consumer of kind of this media but also a creator for a long time, right?
4:03 Like you were you were making DVDs with handdrawn cover art, right?
4:07 At 9 years old, right?
4:08 You were running a magazine, a website,
4:10 weekly video schedule like for an audience of 20 classmates,
4:13 which is[ __] amazing.
4:15 And so I'm also trying to put myself back into like young me.
4:19 And you know, I think most kids I think would have quit after
4:22 probably like a week after maybe like
4:23 the initial reception or something like that.
4:25 What what kind of kept you what what made
4:28 you interested in doing that and like kind of what
4:30 was the the payoff in your mind for essentially nothing
4:34 because we you know we think of like more audience,
4:36 we think of money these days.
4:37 What what was it?
4:39 I think ever since I was young I I wanted to create something.
4:43 I I wanted to be I guess in the entertainment industry for lack of a better word
4:50 because uh you know I would watch movies
4:52 and TV shows and cartoons and all that and I
4:54 would just you know I would uh kind of take a lot of that passion I had
4:58 and channel that into like drawing and like uh
5:01 just thinking of like little little ideas that I had.
5:04 Like I I would uh ride a bike up and down my driveway
5:08 for like hours on end as a kid and I would just talk to myself.
5:11 And the what I would talk to myself, I would like like map out like scripts,
5:16 fake scripts for fake shows and movies or whatever
5:19 I was coming up with or I would just like
5:22 like roleplay as like the character like just like talking
5:24 to myself like very uh you know um uh softly.
5:29 I think I always just really loved uh creating.
5:32 Uh my parents always said like they were like I don't know where you got
5:35 that because my parents were never like really
5:37 like uh artists or drawers or anything like that.
5:41 My grandma painted but that was about it.
5:43 Um it was just it's just like yeah I kind of found my passion pretty early on.
5:48 Like that's just what I wanted to do.
5:50 Over the years like I just kind of like started
5:52 seeing like like a lot of possibilities with stuff like YouTube.
5:56 I I discovered YouTube probably around like 2007 or so and I
6:00 saw all of this and I thought it was like really really cool.
6:03 Eventually like you know I started seeing like a lot of uh the YouTubers back
6:07 then you know uh and thinking like okay
6:10 like maybe I could do something like this.
6:12 Honestly I kind of wanted to do something like that because it was easier
6:15 to accomplish than like doing like an animated thing or or something like that.
6:20 I would I would try to do like little animations like Microsoft Paint.
6:23 Like I would draw a picture, drag it into Windows Movie Maker,
6:26 then draw another picture, then drag it in and try to like line things up.
6:30 Awful.
6:31 But um you know, it that was always a little
6:33 too that was a little too much for me.
6:36 Like I was like I I I don't know if
6:37 I can uh manage this all by myself, you know.
6:41 Um, so eventually, you know,
6:43 I got like a a crappy little video camera for Christmas and, you know,
6:47 um, started trying to like make little little videos and, you know,
6:52 I discovered the DVD maker on my computer and started like making
6:56 a bunch of DVDs almost like I had my own little media empire.
6:59 And, you know, that that was just that was my hobby as a kid.
7:02 It was super exciting.
7:03 I eventually made a YouTube channel and then I I deleted it out of uh
7:07 fear because I was worried my my parents would find out that I had it.
7:11 There was nothing bad on it.
7:12 I just thought like, well,
7:13 you got to be 13 to have a YouTube channel and I'm only like
7:16 10 and they're going to find this and they're going to be like Scott.
7:19 Like I'm like, they didn't know the rules
7:21 and even then like they weren't even hard rules.
7:23 There was just YouTube saying that uh their terms of service pretty much.
7:27 Was there a video that you made before,
7:30 let's say you were like 21 that you think back on and it's not like
7:34 the cringiest thing or it stands out to you as like that was something I loved,
7:41 man.
7:41 I asked because I think what one of one of the videos that I
7:44 think kind of affected the trae trajectory of your life would probably be what?
7:48 The internet and you.
7:50 Yeah, that was that was the first one.
7:51 Well, yeah, technically I was under 21 for that.
7:54 you know, I I would do a lot of videos by myself,
7:56 but throughout probably like middle school,
7:58 high school, junior high, uh, you know, in the in the uh mid 2000s,
8:04 late 2000s, they started to kind of implement more like
8:08 video project type stuff in in the school systems where,
8:11 hey, you guys got to make a video about this certain subject and whatnot.
8:16 So that's where I came up to bat where I was like, "Oh boy,
8:18 like this is this is my wheelhouse." You know,
8:20 like compared to literally like 99% of the other kids in in the class,
8:26 like I knew how to edit, you know, I edit, you know,
8:30 like I I knew how to use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, whatever.
8:34 Um, so I I really like whenever there was a video project,
8:39 I would get like I would go like, "Oh boy,
8:41 like it's my time." They had us do a a video
8:44 project about the Mei massacre and I'm like what are we doing
8:50 and I did it and that's one video that I'm like no you
8:56 like I'm like you can criticize me for this one
8:59 but like there are other kids in that where
9:00 I'm like they're they're not YouTubers like I'm like
9:03 we're we're going to leave this off of the internet.
9:06 But it was still like it's it was fun to have
9:08 the excuse to go just film a video with with friends and whatnot.
9:12 So, but that video was is am I correct that that was
9:14 supposed to be kind of like your last one ever?
9:17 Yeah, fundamentally like I think I think by the end of high school I was kind
9:21 of thinking like well it's it's time to grow up or it's time to go to college,
9:26 you know, and um I I was going to be a a marketing major in college.
9:32 Um and and I picked that major simply because um like it just made sense.
9:38 like I'm like, "Okay, I guess I can be kind of creative in this job,
9:41 but it would actually be an actual job where
9:43 it's like I could get careers in this." Um,
9:46 and it would pay pay very well, you know, all of that.
9:49 So, that's why I chose that career.
9:51 And so, what happens that makes you go, "Okay, actually, I'm not done."
9:55 Well, like by the end of my senior year, like I you know,
9:58 I was talking with a lot of a lot of my friends
10:00 at the time and a lot of people that, you know,
10:02 I made those school projects with, and I'm just like, you know what?
10:05 you know, we we had to do this one final project
10:07 in in our AP lit class and I was like going like,
10:12 "Oh, let's let's do one final video project." Like,
10:14 "This might be the last time we ever see each other.
10:16 This might be cool." So, uh, eventually it just kind of went off the rails
10:20 and it became like way too stupid or like even like,
10:23 you know, a little too a little too crass to be a school project.
10:26 So, it's just like we were like,
10:27 "Let's just go for it kind of thing." And and it got finished in like July,
10:31 so like two two months after graduation.
10:34 Anyways, but you know,
10:36 I I finished that and I and I put
10:38 that out and I just kind of thought to myself like,
10:41 "Yeah, I do really like this." And I think
10:44 like growing up kind of getting to that college point,
10:47 there's like almost something that changes in in in your brain,
10:50 or at least it did for me,
10:52 where it's like going from high school to college feels like you you get you
10:57 get like this this really intangible feeling
11:00 of freedom that you didn't have in high school.
11:03 you still don't have it like at all,
11:05 but you have like a little bit of that where it's like,
11:08 hey, you could you could skip your classes if you really want to or like,
11:11 hey, you can go here, you can go there,
11:13 you can walk over here, you can go hang out with your friends,
11:15 you can do whatever you want, you know, you know,
11:17 it kind of made me feel more because I think like, you know,
11:20 before uh the internet and you,
11:23 I think I was a lot more picky about like I don't want,
11:26 you know, there shouldn't be any swearing in my videos.
11:28 There shouldn't be any like uh adult things in my videos.
11:31 And I think at that point like it kind of clicked for me.
11:34 I'm like no it's just like I'm growing up
11:35 and this is like a good like you know final video.
11:38 And you know as as I went in college I kind
11:40 of thought like you know what now I I had like
11:42 a lot of like little comedy skit ideas and you know
11:45 I was like you know what I'm I'm going to do it.
11:47 I'm going to do this video and that video and I did like a couple
11:51 and I I think I realized how much I really uh loved doing that.
11:55 And even in college,
11:56 like even though you have um kind of like a a more uh you know,
12:01 you you might be busier at the same time.
12:05 Uh you know, when I would come home from from classes
12:09 and I would I would come home from my job,
12:11 you know, I didn't have anything else to do.
12:13 So, I thought like I'm going to make this my hobby.
12:16 I'm going to make this my little thing that I'm doing whenever I come home.
12:19 I'm going to try to make a video every single week.
12:21 And uh you know something that I always had like a lot
12:25 of love for was a lot of like the video game
12:28 reviews and a lot of the video game review shows on YouTube
12:32 and that's something that I always kind of wanted to do myself.
12:36 So uh you know that's where I was like I'm going to do that.
12:39 I can I can come up with topics every single week.
12:42 Coming up with a good comedy skit every single week that's tricky.
12:45 You could do it but they might not all
12:47 like the the hit ratio might be a little low
12:50 also.
12:50 I mean, then you have to dabble with uh potential burnout,
12:53 which we can touch on.
12:53 So, I'm trying to think of the timing.
12:55 So, when you're when you're watching things that are kind of along the the lines
12:58 of where you're going to enter is that like uh Angry Video Game Nerd times.
13:03 Yeah.
13:03 A lot of like Angry Video Game Nerd.
13:05 There was like the Nostalgia Critic.
13:07 There was there was everything kind of surrounding those those guys.
13:12 um you know like I I would watch like a lot of the stuff that was also on like
13:16 their respective websites at the time and also like
13:19 the websites associated with them because they would have other creators
13:22 and this was kind of during the era when
13:24 YouTube YouTube was kind of like that was the big
13:27 place but it was also like a lot of people
13:30 were trying to make video content work off of YouTube.
13:33 That's where you had like Blip TV and and and all
13:35 of that and and I love as a kid I love
13:39 Wow, I haven't thought about that in forever.
13:41 They were like the first people that actually paid money.
13:45 Wow.
13:44 Oh, yeah.
13:44 Yeah.
13:45 I I got I got a couple cents off of Blip TV.
13:47 I I would post my stupid little videos
13:49 on there because anybody anybody could post on there.
13:51 I thought it was fun because you could set up a show
13:55 or something like it could just be considered a show on Blip.
13:58 I loved that cuz I I always like the idea of making a show,
14:02 not necessarily like a YouTube channel.
14:04 And I love that you could do that and then you could have it
14:06 set where all your videos on Blip could be a video podcast on iTunes.
14:10 And I was like, "This is badass.
14:12 I'm on iTunes and all that, you know, like there's
14:15 I think I saw the revenue on Blip
14:17 as a as a 13-year-old and I was going like, oh boy, it's
14:21 validating for the validating.
14:23 Come on." I mean I mean and for you that feels
14:25 like it it adds up cuz you know in your head
14:28 it seems like you know you were very fascinated by like
14:30 more of the mainstream worlds but to to like what you've touched
14:33 on that you know this felt more approachable now think about
14:37 think to you know all these years later how the worlds
14:40 have merged right uh I think of like odd odd ones
14:43 out on Netflix I think like all these things that we've seen
14:46 and I'm gonna I have a question here that I
14:48 want you to know it comes from a place
14:50 of relatability because if I do not preface
14:52 that it's going to sound accusatory or judgy the That's okay.
14:57 I'll take it like that anyways.
14:59 Let's hear it.
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16:07 So, something I noticed is that like the onscreen Scott in your videos,
16:10 right, can seem like anxious, definitely obsessive at times,
16:14 uh, socially awkward in ways that can kind of read
16:17 as more than just like a pure performance, right?
16:19 And so, I guess when you first started,
16:22 like in in your head, are you exaggerating certain traits for comedy?
16:28 Uh, is this something that you're aware of?
16:31 Is it almost confessional?
16:32 I don't know.
16:33 I mean, I just I want to know if that's part of the thought process at all.
16:37 I think to an extent everybody on YouTube is is cranking it up a little bit,
16:42 you know, like like how many people on YouTube are like to be fair,
16:46 I can I can think, you know,
16:47 I've probably heard like stories of like actors that it's just like,
16:50 oh, they play like these really uh
16:52 mellow people on screen and then they're coke.
16:54 They like do coke and like they're like all wild, you know?
16:57 Oh, there there's plenty of that in our space, too.
17:00 Yeah.
17:00 Uh, I mean like my onscreen presence is always me, but it's also like,
17:06 you know, I am cranking it up to 11 for the most part,
17:09 you know, like obviously like I I will exaggerate things for comedy or I'll
17:14 exaggerate things to kind of like get my point across and all of that.
17:17 Um, but I I find that I found that throughout the years, you know,
17:21 focusing so much on YouTube because YouTube is definitely
17:24 something that's it almost feels it feels attainable enough,
17:29 but then when you actually get it, it's like, well,
17:32 now I got to make this my whole world pretty much,
17:35 you know, like it's just like, well, I got what I wanted, so now what?
17:39 I got I got to keep things rolling.
17:41 So, by the time like the the channel started taking off,
17:44 probably around like 2018 or so was when like it became like a really
17:48 serious like I am focusing on this all the time kind of thing.
17:52 Um, so focusing on it all the time.
17:55 Um, I think I needed to do that for where I'm
17:58 at and I'm very content with where I'm at right now.
18:00 Like I'm I'm a I'm a lucky I'm a lucky bastard.
18:04 I got like all this stuff and like you
18:06 know like the channel makes great money, all of that.
18:08 I'm incredibly fortunate to be in that position,
18:10 but I don't think I would really be in that position
18:12 or I would really kind of have the mental
18:14 clarity that I have now if I didn't grind
18:17 myself to a bone for a couple of years there.
18:20 Um, is I almost feel like you kind of you almost have to do
18:23 that in in YouTube's case if if you want to see like a lot of like growth.
18:29 And I didn't necessarily care about growth.
18:32 Like I was just kind of thinking like like this is what I got to do for my show
18:35 and this is what I got to do to because
18:37 this is what I would want to see as a viewer.
18:40 Um but the thing kept on growing like
18:43 I would have been happy at like 200,000 subscribers.
18:45 Like that was like holy crap.
18:46 Like this is so much.
18:48 Like this is fine.
18:48 And then well we're at like 2 million now.
18:51 Like that's I I never expected that.
18:53 And that's that's very very cool.
18:56 But it gets to a point where I'm like I got I got nothing else.
18:58 Like it's just like what else do I want?
19:00 Like it's just like it's like that's great.
19:02 Like I I don't need I'm not like, "Oh,
19:05 it needs to grow more." Like I'm like, "No,
19:07 it's it's been at a perfect spot." And uh you know,
19:10 I I I have me uh grinding myself to a bone to thank for that.
19:14 But I think as a long-term creator,
19:16 I I always use YouTuber, but everyone says creator these days.
19:20 You have to find that point, right?
19:22 Cuz then because otherwise you haven't fully explored
19:25 like where your comfortability is at that point.
19:27 And then that that that's that's how you find I mean first decade
19:31 of YouTube there were like six times I thought I was going to quit.
19:35 Uh so no I think I think that makes sense
19:37 and then it does sound like you're at a a much
19:39 healthier place and you're kind of comfortable with I guess
19:42 what you how you want it to affect your career.
19:46 Yeah.
19:47 Um you know I I I think at the time it just kind of felt like
19:51 um you know I have this I have the everything I I have what I wanted.
19:56 I wanted to uh to do YouTube for a living and now I just got to keep it growing
20:01 and um I think I lost a lot of myself
20:04 at that time to the YouTube channel which again
20:07 you know like I said like you know you kind of have to go through the you kind
20:10 of have to go through some stuff like that to get
20:13 to a a point where you can reflect better.
20:16 Um cuz I look at like Sorry, not to fully cut you off.
20:20 I'm very interested when when you say you kind of lost yourself.
20:23 How how do you mean?
20:25 The YouTube channel was was all my life was pretty much
20:28 like like maybe I might go do something here or there,
20:31 but that was all I was doing for like years there for I
20:35 mean like years there is probably like four three four years or so.
20:40 Um, and even then when I started to realize like it's just like all right,
20:44 we got to we we we got to rearrange some things here,
20:47 it was still hard to like figure out like like what what
20:50 life is or something if if I'm not working on these videos, right?
20:56 Basically all the time.
20:57 I I got pretty burnt out like at the end of 2021 and then
21:01 uh you know beginning of 2022 I was figuring out like all right,
21:04 how am I going to do this moving forward?
21:06 And I was trying to figure it out for like one to two
21:08 years there and and still like and I and I think I made it
21:11 um public what I was trying to do like I was trying to tell
21:15 people like yeah you know like this is you know I got burnt out
21:18 and I'm trying to like figure out like what the healthy way moving forward
21:21 is and I saw a lot of people go like good for you Scott
21:24 good for you all of that but you know like overall I don't think
21:27 I got to a good point until like two maybe even three years later.
21:32 Um, but yeah, I mean like I I kind of saw even in like my personal life
21:36 like how I would act personally with people
21:39 like I felt more like a character than anything.
21:43 And um you know I felt like I had to like whatever be entertaining or be uh
21:50 funny or all this and you know like it's it's fun to be funny with your friends
21:55 and all of that but you know it gets to a point that like okay you're
21:57 not being a person you know like it's
21:59 almost feel it almost feels like a performative thing.
22:02 It's not like I was told that by them or anything, but it's just like,
22:05 you know, like I I would just kind of feel that, you know,
22:07 internally with myself.
22:08 And, you know, over the years, like I think I I've definitely become a lot more
22:12 comfortable with just um myself as as a human being.
22:16 And I think a lot of that was also, you know,
22:18 during that YouTube uh you during the buildup of that YouTube time,
22:23 um you know, just feeling a lot of pressure.
22:25 I think at the time, especially like at the time,
22:27 like other creators were being outed
22:30 for being scumbags or weirdos or or whatever.
22:33 And oftentimes I'd see people go, "Well, thank God we have Scott.
22:37 He would never do that." And I'm going like, "Correct.
22:41 I'm not doing any of this stuff, but Jesus Christ,
22:44 it feels like you're all looking at me like
22:49 you're never going to you're never going to screw up, aren't you, Scott?" Right.
22:52 Right.
22:53 And you know, I'm like, well, hopefully no, but I'm I am a human.
22:56 Like, I might I might screw up at some point.
23:00 I think it was a lot of pressure overall.
23:01 And I think that kind of like added to me um you know,
23:05 like I said, like losing myself a bit.
23:07 But to be fair, like as I've grown up, like I do feel like um you know,
23:12 that era in which I did that was like early to mid20s, right?
23:17 And um you know those are very uh those are very uh I I guess
23:23 uh formative formulative years uh where it's just
23:26 like you really start to figure things out.
23:29 And I think I you know not that I lost those but more
23:32 so it's like I think I learned a lot of stuff
23:33 that like whatever like you you normally wouldn't in that era and like
23:39 but I also didn't learn a lot of stuff you would normally learn.
23:41 Like I don't know like it's just like a lot
23:43 of it came down to like just grinding out work
23:45 and not really working like my emotional intelligence I guess
23:49 at that time cuz I was too busy working on videos.
23:52 So it's just like you know just kind of focusing
23:54 more on that uh in in the more recent years.
23:58 Um there definitely helped me out a lot.
24:02 Yeah, there are a few things there that I want to unpack.
24:04 The first is when you're talking about losing yourself,
24:05 everything feeling like a job, a character.
24:07 I mean a number of your videos, right?
24:10 they involve people that you were like high school
24:12 friends with or you know I I mean has
24:16 has during that time period or maybe I don't know if it's still
24:19 a thing like did the dynamic of working with those people did it
24:23 ever create real tension or did did it feel like there was distance
24:28 there that maybe happened because you know this was a job as well
24:33 to an extent from my perspective I've had I've had issues um kind of coming
24:38 to terms with some things and uh you know it's stuff that I've worked past.
24:42 It's stuff that will come up every now and then,
24:44 but um you know, for the most part,
24:46 I've kind of come to peace with a lot of it, but um overall like you know,
24:50 a lot of my a lot of the friends like um you know,
24:54 they've been a part of videos ever since
24:55 like the the school projects and all of that.
24:58 And uh you know eventually when I moved on to uh
25:01 the the Scott the Waz YouTube channel in its current state uh
25:06 you know especially when that was kind of picking up steam and and all
25:10 of that like um it was it was kind of a fun excuse to get get
25:14 my friends together and and everything and uh you know like maybe film a funny
25:18 little little bit or or something stupid and hang out with them a bit too.
25:22 And uh for a couple years there like some some of my friends and I
25:25 would like we would hang out once a week and maybe they would like you
25:28 know might be like hey I might need gameplay for like this game you guys
25:32 want to play this game or like random stuff like that or like hey can you
25:34 guys like hold the camera here or sometimes
25:36 they would just come over to directly
25:38 help out with the videos and for a while there I was so um I I
25:44 was so worried about it being like
25:45 a business thing because I've always heard the thing
25:48 of like don't uh don't go into business with your friends and all of that.
25:52 And I would say I I would say that's more so like don't start
25:58 a business with your friends kind of thing because I feel like that's that's
26:02 when you because you know like when you half own a business with like
26:06 a friend then I think that's when a lot of tension can kind of rise.
26:09 when you and your friends all know like everybody's
26:13 role and and the position of everybody then I
26:17 think there you know it's perfectly fine because um
26:22 I was very uh worried about like hiring my friends
26:26 or like turning into a business thing but eventually
26:28 I kind of realized like you know that's that's
26:30 that's a sustainable method forward um to kind of make
26:35 this more of like in quotes a job um
26:38 but also keep the the fun of it and keep the passion there.
26:42 And and a way to do that is like instead of hiring
26:44 a bunch of random people that are qualified to do to do the work,
26:48 I'm going to train all my all my friends to uh edit.
26:51 Oh my god.
26:52 Do all this stuff with me.
26:53 So that's that's what we're doing right now.
26:55 Good luck.
26:56 __] good luck.
27:00 It's been working.
27:01 But hey, with with a lot of a lot
27:03 of people it will and then some people it really won't.
27:06 whether because of skill or because of ego depending on which thing.
27:10 But I I was very interested because I've
27:12 I've experienced this with both people that are partners
27:16 or uh employees uh and then even just people
27:20 that you're openly uh friends with in the space, right?
27:23 Uh for me it it might be a little bit different although
27:25 I don't know how much because I have a news show uh
27:29 over the last 20 years especially now I have almost gone out
27:33 of my way to not be friends with people like I'll be friendly but uh
27:37 not like and I'll you know even like any if someone's on the show
27:40 we say friend of the show even that is like there there's distance because
27:45 it it the last 20 years had trained me
27:47 to unfortunately look at most people as like liabilities um where
27:52 it's like when you're like when you're saying like people
27:53 are looking to me and going like at least we got
27:55 Scott like I you know I always try and do
27:59 the best version of my or be be the best person
28:01 that I can be but then all of a sudden
28:04 like this especially happened like the first decade of my career
28:07 someone that I was friends with it was like okay
28:09 all of a sudden they have like a controversy and everyone's
28:11 like[ __] shouting at me especially with me having
28:13 a news show that was focused on YouTube at the time
28:15 to talk about things and so you know I felt
28:18 more uh beholden to audience and so I would uh
28:22 you because people there was like a trust there
28:24 and so I talk about it but it was emotionally exhausting,
28:29 right?
28:29 I was very interested to know your your thoughts there and if like if you had
28:32 any conflicts uh regarding whether it be uh
28:35 those like high school friends or anything like that.
28:39 Yeah, I mean I think I I think I've kind of uh I I I
28:43 think I have a similar mindset to you when it comes to like like other creators.
28:49 Um because truly like I don't know any of these people.
28:54 Like I'm like I like their stuff.
28:58 Sure.
28:57 And like they're friendly to talk to, but like overall I don't know any of them.
29:03 I don't know what they're like off the camera.
29:06 Maybe some of them I do.
29:07 Like I've I've hung out with like a a bunch of them and and everything,
29:11 but like you know, I don't know.
29:13 I don't know what they're like when they go home.
29:14 I don't I don't know what they're like right now, you know?
29:16 Like it's like I truly don't know.
29:19 But I think um some of the online perspective is like, "Oh,
29:22 you guys are like hanging out all
29:23 the time and chitchatting all the time." And like
29:26 for the most part like I I only really talk to like my my like real friend,
29:32 real friends like yeah,
29:33 my my real in-life friends who who I do work with, but it's like,
29:38 you know, they're they're more so like they're not like other creators.
29:41 They they they work on videos with me,
29:44 but for the most part, you know, you know, they're they're own people.
29:47 They're not really like trying to become YouTuber.
29:50 If they want to become, then like I'm I'm all for it.
29:52 They can do that.
29:53 But it's also like, you know,
29:55 um I think there's there there's kind of a feeling where
29:59 there's like an excitement when you meet another creator or like,
30:04 you know, you can you can talk about that.
30:05 You can talk shop with them pretty much.
30:07 That's what I like to say.
30:08 like it's it's nice to be able to talk to somebody else about this kind
30:12 of thing because it is a it is a very unique kind of position to be in.
30:18 I wouldn't necessarily call it like I I think
30:21 a lot of YouTubers call this a very a hard
30:23 job and and very like you know like oh my god like all of this and like things
30:28 __] have never had[ __] never had a real job.
30:31 __] never had a real job.
30:33 It's exhausting.
30:34 It could be emotionally out that's about it.
30:37 Like it's like overall I make my own hours.
30:41 I wake up whenever I want.
30:42 I sit down and I get to work on a video about something that I care about,
30:46 but I also don't have to do that if I want to.
30:49 I could just fart out some random video or something
30:52 and and it will I I could like make money off of that.
30:55 Like like I don't know.
30:56 I I find that a lot of YouTubers uh act like this is
31:00 like a super difficult job or something and woe is me or something.
31:04 I'm just like, "Bro, come on." Yeah.
31:06 Oh god.
31:06 You don't know.
31:07 You don't know how hard it is to figure out.
31:09 Yeah.
31:09 Oh my gosh.
31:10 No one understands how difficult it is to do
31:12 the situation I am in control of and put myself in.
31:16 Yeah.
31:16 Like like if you're if you're upset that you're not making as much money,
31:20 just just change your video titles.
31:22 I don't know.
31:22 Try something new.
31:23 I don't know.
31:25 But yeah, you know, like there's there's a general feeling of like,
31:29 you know, like to go back to the original point,
31:31 like talking to other YouTubers about like uh you know,
31:33 the way they create things.
31:34 Like I love talking about creating stuff.
31:36 I love I love I love talking about the creative process, all of that.
31:39 But yeah, it's something that I've realized that it's just like I
31:42 don't I don't know these people at the end of the day.
31:44 You seem very focused on like just your content
31:48 and it it almost feels like maybe you've like actively tried
31:51 to be quiet or stay out of any kind
31:54 of controversy like not dealing directly with you but with anyone.
31:59 Uh yeah, because it's none of my business for the most part.
32:01 Like if it's just like if there's a YouTube controversy going
32:04 on like I'm kind of like it's none of my business.
32:07 Like it's just like part of me feels like it'll it'll
32:09 resolve itself or like there's there's other stuff that comes out.
32:12 I don't know what's going on here.
32:15 as much as you know like I I understand my own morals and I
32:18 understand like what what I would do
32:20 in certain situations like I'm kind of going
32:22 like yeah but like I don't I don't know this person and I don't
32:26 know what's truly going on and I think it's best to just kind of like
32:30 you know just focus on what you're doing foc focus on your own life you
32:37 know when you're hungry and you want like a real meal but cooking it sounds like
32:40 a punishment that is me on my my backtoback meeting days and so my move lately
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33:45 Have there ever been any times or are there times where you
33:47 if you've even internally wondered if like silence cost something as well?
33:52 It it was really tragic what happened with uh
33:54 do you do you remember the the YouTuber Etekica?
33:59 Yes.
33:58 How Yeah.
34:00 um where he you know he he ended up taking his own
34:02 life and it was like a very you know tragic situation.
34:06 But like months before that point um there is like this ongoing joke
34:13 with people online where like it was like the the John Tron subreddit changed
34:20 it to the Scott the Was subreddit because John Tron wasn't uploading much
34:24 and um you know John mentioned that in like his Flex Tape 2 video.
34:28 Um, and I think that got that got a lot
34:31 of people a lot of people online to be like,
34:34 "Oh boy, this is our new little running gag.
34:36 The Scott the Was community changes subreddits." You know?
34:40 Um, and again, I I almost feel like that's where some of that stuff started was
34:44 like uh this feeling that I'm like
34:46 this little uh this little golden child that's like,
34:49 "Oh, well, we're going to replace this YouTuber
34:51 with Scott because Scott uploads and we like Scott,
34:54 blah, blah, blah." I didn't like that.
34:56 They did that with like Etekica like
34:59 months months before like that, you know, um he you know, he passed away.
35:06 And uh you know I think at the time he took it in good like in in whatever good
35:11 spirits but I think like when when he was like
35:14 more publicly kind of uh you know having having problems
35:20 uh a lot of people were more so being critical
35:23 of him and just kind of being like dude you're like
35:25 you're being a clown right now and they you know they
35:28 ended up like changing changing a subre back to like me.
35:32 That's when I I I'll step in for that.
35:34 But I remember I I stepped in and said like, "Guys, you can't." Like I'm like,
35:38 "No, don't don't do any of this." And also like I I publicly told people like,
35:43 "Stop changing subreddits to like my my YouTube channel and and all of that." So
35:49 like there are times where I feel like it's just like I really,
35:51 you know, I I I should come in and say something.
35:55 um you know, stuff like that where I feel like it's like
35:59 this is kind of like a uh like if I if I
36:02 don't kind of like rein people in I guess like it's it's
36:06 just going to get worse and worse or like people are just going
36:10 to be like kind of like uh you know just just do
36:14 something that you know even if it's all in even if you
36:18 think it's all in good fun like it just kind of like
36:20 you know you know we're talking about like real people here and stuff.
36:23 It's fun to poke fun here and there, but it's also like,
36:26 you know, like, "All right, guys, the joke is over.
36:28 Let's rein it in kind of thing." So, so you do to a certain degree feel
36:31 like almost like a certain personal responsibility on some things.
36:35 Yeah.
36:35 I think I think you have a personal
36:37 responsibility when it comes to like community.
36:45 Yeah.
36:46 if you see your audience, the community, uh, viewers,
36:49 anything are doing a certain thing and and they almost, you know,
36:54 I I I think this was these were certain
36:56 these were very unique situations where it's almost like
36:59 they were doing it in a way to like I guess I guess like honor me or something.
37:05 I don't even know.
37:06 Like that's I guess like that's almost how it felt.
37:09 And I almost felt like it's just like I have
37:10 to come in and I have to be like no, this isn't like doing this.
37:14 this is kind of like I feel like this is just kind of like
37:18 making things weird or like making things worse or or anything like that.
37:23 And uh you know sometimes I think a lot of people can get very passionate
37:28 about things online and they don't really understand
37:30 like the uh the real world like perception
37:33 of like what what they're doing or uh how it's just like yeah this is kind
37:38 of weird at the end of the day like maybe like tone it back a little bit.
37:42 We all, you know, we all we all
37:44 obsess over certain things online or or in general.
37:48 It's it's all good.
37:49 But sometimes I think, you know,
37:51 a lot a lot of viewers online can be a little too they they can go a step far.
37:55 And it's not necessarily all the time a malicious act.
38:00 But sometimes you just have to like step in and be like,
38:03 "Hey, like don't do this." Like I get it, but don't do it.
38:08 you know,
38:09 so wanting seemingly wanting like these two different worlds where it's like you
38:13 and then this other world with audience and views and creators and and all that.
38:17 Is that is that part of the reason why you still live in Ohio and like
38:22 you didn't do like that YouTuber thing
38:23 where everyone went to California or New York?
38:25 Uh or is that even just like is that just
38:27 completely separate like as far as the calculus there?
38:29 I mean, like, I've always been open to moving somewhere else,
38:34 but I don't think it would probably be like one
38:36 of the big creator hot spots like LA or New York or anything.
38:41 I like visiting those those areas.
38:43 It's it's fun to visit.
38:44 But overall, when it comes to like,
38:46 you know, real world applications of like like,
38:49 okay, what am I doing that would benefit greatly from living out there?
38:54 living in Ohio.
38:55 I mean, like I I got like an office building for us and we're actually planning
38:58 on I'm I'm planning on buying an office building
39:01 here in the next like couple months or so, which is going to be
39:05 calm down, money bags flexing on me.
39:08 I live in Ohio, but buddy, you're like, I bought it for three cans of Diet Coke.
39:14 I bought it for three three kidney beans, you know?
39:18 And like this kind of ties back in with like how, you know,
39:21 I'm I'm working with my friends too is we're all local to each other and I
39:27 just prefer that to like uh working uh
39:30 you know like uh online and and and everything.
39:32 we all hang out a lot and it's like you know like as much as it's
39:36 like that's kind of like some anxiety that I've
39:38 had you know like I've kind of like
39:40 come to terms it's just like you know what like I'm I'm happy I'm happy when I'm
39:44 with them and uh I'm happy with the balance of things and you know I I try
39:48 to be like upfront with them and ask them
39:50 like how do you feel about this and you know as long as everybody is good then
39:54 you know like everything is good and everything
39:55 is good you know and Ohio makes things affordable to do so if I was in LA
40:00 I could not probably afford to pay all
40:03 of them and bring on them full-time and all that.
40:06 So, I to totally get that.
40:08 I mean, even I I moved to Georgia in the last year
40:10 and a half and the price of doing business here dramatically easier.
40:14 It's there's a lot more flexibility and as long as someone's down
40:17 Georgia's great uh to come like we're slowly building out a thing.
40:20 It's great.
40:21 you you mentioning something like I feel
40:24 like some people like some of your viewers
40:26 that hear you talking about that they might get into a headsp space
40:29 of like I'd love to see more of that like the build and I
40:32 feel like you have avoided like
40:33 the the confessional kind of parasocial playbook almost
40:37 entirely like no vlogs no not a ton of personal disclosures no like hey
40:41 guys real talk videos like do you feel like you're going to continue keeping
40:45 your personal life almost entirely private
40:47 or has there been that like Green Goblin
40:50 mask voice in in your head that's like start this start that personal channel.
40:55 Share share that thing.
40:57 I think my main thing for like personal stuff
41:00 I I'm not interesting enough to really do that.
41:02 Like I it's just like I I think that's better that way.
41:05 They won't take that as an excuse.
41:07 I say that constantly about when people ask me to start up a vlog channel.
41:10 They're not going to take that.
41:10 But I 100% ag like understand that thinking.
41:13 I'm not going to agree because that's me saying you're boring.
41:15 But yeah, I I mean like you know I I remember seeing like vlog channels back
41:19 in the day and a lot of it was like doing crazy stuff every day.
41:23 May may not even be crazy stuff but just
41:25 doing stuff of no and man that is exhausting.
41:28 And again the the big thing is I'm not interesting enough to to do that.
41:34 You know like I eat the same breakfast every
41:36 morning and then I go do the same thing and I sit down here and I edit
41:40 my videos because that's what that's what I love doing.
41:42 I love I love creating like a a production.
41:46 Yeah.
41:46 That So, that brings me to a thing that I'm interested in.
41:48 What is in your mind,
41:49 what is the ugliest kind of maybe like most invisible part of the process?
41:53 Like the thing that never makes it into the the like uh would
41:56 make it into a behind-the-scenes video like just a guy staring at a wall.
42:00 Like what what is A lot of it kind of comes down to like the cleanup afterwards.
42:06 Not saying like it's like, "Oh,
42:07 there's like[ __] all over the walls or anything,
42:10 but more so like with what I do, like there's a lot I I I film a lot of shots
42:14 and stuff and there's a lot of scenes where it's just like
42:17 I bring up a certain game and maybe I I have
42:20 to play a game and and show it on on camera and stuff.
42:23 Every element has kind of its uh it's really annoying elements.
42:28 Like writing takes a while.
42:31 I want what I make to say something.
42:35 Even if it's nothing like that prophetic or whatever.
42:39 Like I just I I want what I'm making to like
42:42 it's just like you hear my opinion and it's also the fact,
42:45 but it's also entertaining and there's some jokes in there.
42:48 But so like from that perspective,
42:50 like it's long it takes me longer to write things,
42:53 but it's because like I have like a higher degree
42:56 of like this is where things need to be qualitywise.
43:00 Okay.
43:00 Okay, but when you sit down to like write a script,
43:02 what do you need to be true before the writing of that script works?
43:06 The last video I put out on the Scott
43:08 the Was channel up to this point was like a uh
43:11 was a Christmas special from last year because I'm
43:13 working on like a bunch of bigger videos right now.
43:15 So, it's been a while.
43:16 But the Christmas special I put out last year,
43:18 uh the the whole concept of that was like I
43:22 had like 10 switch toss or or something around there.
43:25 And uh we worked with like a local organization to kind of hook
43:29 us up with like some kids who had families where they were like,
43:32 "Hey, like yeah, like they could, you know, uh you know,
43:36 they'd be open to us donating them game consoles."
43:40 And uh you know there were kids where it's just like
43:42 the the parents were like yeah like it was just like
43:44 they would love to be on a YouTube video or something.
43:46 So that was kind of the crux of that and I
43:48 kind of tried to create something around that video.
43:52 And that video was definitely much more of like
43:54 a um a comedic kind of skit-based video.
43:59 And from that perspective, I'm trying to think like, okay,
44:02 like I know like bit by bit in my head where things need to be.
44:08 Like it it's going to start here and then it's going to go here.
44:11 But there's also an element where it's like you want to keep it tight.
44:15 And that's something that I feel like I've had a problem with before where it's
44:19 like I'd rather just throw a bunch of[ __] at the wall and be like,
44:21 "Oh, joke." And it all kind of works, you know?
44:25 But at this point I'm kind of like no.
44:27 Like every line or every other line at least needs to lead to the next
44:32 in some way and it needs to bring you to the next scene.
44:36 There needs to be a purpose for everything.
44:39 It's kind of like I think like the South
44:40 Park writers said the same thing of like the first thing that popped in my head.
44:43 Yeah.
44:44 Yeah.
44:44 They're they're masterful writers when it comes to this um
44:47 this format where they've done like lectures where they're
44:50 like you can't have your bullet points be and then
44:54 this happens and then this happens and then this happens.
44:56 It needs to be this happens therefore or but this happens
45:02 because you can't just have like all right like uh you know
45:05 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
45:05 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
0:00 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
45:06 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
45:06 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
45:06 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
0:00 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
45:06 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
45:07 joke joke joke joke joke joke joke and you know it all
45:07 ends we found out this really simple rule that maybe you guys
45:10 have all heard before but it took us a long time
45:12 to learn it but we can take these beats which are basically
45:16 the beats of your outline and if the words and then belong
45:21 between those beats you're basically you got you got something pretty boring.
45:26 What should happen between every beat that you've written down is
45:30 either the word therefore or but right so so what I'm saying
45:35 is that you come up with an idea and it's like okay
45:36 this happens right and then this happens no no it should be
45:41 this happens and therefore this happens but this happens therefore this happens
45:47 and that as soon as we are able to and literally
45:49 sometimes we'll we'll write it out to make sure we're doing it
45:53 uh we'll we'll have our beats and we'll say okay this happened,
45:56 but then this happens and that affects this and that does to that.
45:59 And that's why you get a show that feels like, okay,
46:02 this to that to this to that, but this here's the complication to that.
46:05 And there's so many scripts we read from new
46:08 writers and and and things that we see.
46:10 God, I see movies.
46:12 Yeah.
46:12 Yeah.
46:12 You see movies, you're just watching,
46:13 it's like this happened and then this happens and then this happens.
46:16 That's when you're in a movie just going,
46:17 "What the[ __] am I watching this movie for?" Just
46:19 like this happened and then this happened and this happened.
46:21 That's not a movie, you know?
46:22 That's not a story.
46:23 Like Trey said, it's those those two.
46:24 But because therefore that gives you the causation between
46:28 each beat and that makes that that's a story with that latest video.
46:31 Like I think I finally like figured that out at least
46:35 like I've thought I've I've known about that that writing structure
46:38 but with that that latest video like I feel like that one was
46:41 like okay like this is tight everything like nothing is here for BS reasons.
46:46 It all makes sense.
46:47 There was like a there was a lyrical song in that video,
46:51 but like it was like a minute long and it explained
46:54 like like it it it needed to be there storywise or something.
46:59 So it's like you know it's not just like oh here's a song for the sake
47:02 of a song or something like it's just like
47:04 all right this needs to be here for story purposes.
47:07 Um before like I've done songs before but they
47:09 were kind of like oh this is here because it's
47:12 cool rather than like oh this actually adds
47:15 to the video or adds to the story and all that.
47:17 I know it's a little stupid to be like,
47:19 I make videos about video games and you I care about the story or something,
47:23 but I think it's just very exciting as a as somebody who writes
47:27 all the time to kind of just see like everything come together more,
47:31 especially as I grow.
47:33 Um, and as the YouTube channel ages and to just feel like,
47:37 oh, what I did here was actually like really good.
47:40 At least I feel like I'm like, that feels that feels incredible.
47:44 That feels awesome.
47:45 But in terms of writing, like yeah,
47:47 like it's just like I don't even know where I started with that video.
47:50 Like in like any video for that matter,
47:52 like it's kind of just like, hey, I need to write something right now.
47:55 And sometimes sitting down, it's just it's not happening.
47:58 And that sucks.
47:59 That sucks that whole day.
48:01 Like you can only get like a paragraph or something down.
48:04 That's the worst feeling in the world.
48:06 But then sometimes you're on fire.
48:07 And then sometimes when you're on fire,
48:09 you don't realize what you're writing is pure trash.
48:12 that connects to a lot of like authors that I've heard talk
48:15 on it or or write about it that they're kind of finding
48:18 where it's going to go in the process rather than having
48:21 even like an outline where then they're like coloring in the lines.
48:24 And so that's that's really interesting.
48:25 And then it makes me wonder with your content specifically,
48:28 it sounds like you're really thoughtful around the content,
48:31 very specific about control and and controlling the things that you can control,
48:36 but where where is your mind when then there are recurring gags like Madden08,
48:40 Dick Vital on the desk, like becoming Scott the W lore and mythology that it
48:46 doesn't feel like you designed them to become that, right?
48:49 It's like it's like the audience is this just other thing that's attached to it.
48:54 And I don't do you ever I don't know.
48:55 I mean I don't know what the the question is there.
48:57 Sometimes do you feel like the the tails wagging the dog?
48:59 Is it is it just part of the natural process?
49:02 What do you think?
49:03 I I do like to uh make sure what I'm making is accessible to a general
49:09 audience but to long-term fans or viewers and if
49:13 you understand a reference then then it's there.
49:17 Um, and even then sometimes I feel like
49:19 I've kind of like delved a little too deep
49:21 into like like oh when you see people talk
49:24 about like oh yeah Scott the laws lore or something.
49:27 Sometimes I'm like okay well how about you know
49:29 maybe this is a video for them or something.
49:31 And sometimes it goes a little too deep into that.
49:34 Sometimes it doesn't all of that.
49:35 It definitely become more difficult over over the years
49:39 because I've done this for about like 10 years now.
49:42 So there's all kinds of things where it's like I don't know.
49:44 I've I've definitely said things that contradicted what I like what
49:48 I've said or like you know screwed up continuity of a video
49:53 game review show whatever you know like there's all kinds
49:56 of stuff but I do what I do because I think
49:58 it's fun and I think it's I think it's fun
50:02 to be a little stupid sometimes like I think a lot
50:05 of people over the past like 10 years have been so
50:11 deadly afraid of being a little cringey and Like it's just like,
50:16 "Oh, I don't want to I don't want to do this or do that because
50:19 it might be cringe or something." And like
50:21 I'm never trying to be cringe or anything,
50:23 but you know, like some people say it's just
50:25 like I hate when Scott breaks into song or something.
50:29 And I'm like I think it's fun.
50:31 Like I'm not a singer.
50:32 I think it's fun though.
50:34 You know, like there's all kinds of You got to make it for you.
50:37 You got to make it for you.
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51:45 So, at the end of the day,
51:46 I think the mindset that I like to have is if I was a viewer right now,
51:50 what would I like to see?
51:51 Not what are all these viewers saying they want to see?
51:54 Sure.
51:54 Because a lot of people, a lot a lot of people watching,
51:57 they don't actually they don't 100% understand like if
52:01 if if they're not vibing with a video you produce,
52:04 sometimes they don't really they don't really know how to describe that to you
52:11 and instead they're kind of like grasping at straws to be like,
52:13 I didn't like this video and here's why.
52:16 There's there's like um you know, you have like the angry video game nerd.
52:19 A lot of people will say about like recent videos
52:21 like he's not angry enough and I'm and I'm kind
52:24 of like when I watch like a recent video I'm
52:26 like he's playing up the anger like crazy in this one.
52:29 He's screaming more than he ever did.
52:31 So it's just like I think there's like uh
52:33 people that you know they try to grasp at straws
52:35 for like what don't I like about this new video
52:39 and I think it can kind of misdirect you sometimes.
52:42 I think
52:43 and and the and the show like on its surface right it is about video games.
52:46 My question with that is like what do you
52:47 think that the like the show is actually about?
52:50 Like is there a thing that's underneath all
52:51 of it that you've never maybe quite said out loud?
52:55 The show is often kind of just about the character of Scott
53:01 um who is obsessed with like video games and all of that.
53:05 And that's not untrue based on my my actual self,
53:10 but there's been plenty of like episodes
53:12 of Scott the Was that aren't about video games.
53:15 There was like one about Tinder.
53:16 There was one about speed dating.
53:19 There's one about like a court case.
53:20 All of this where like video games aren't like there.
53:23 It's kind of like a little special little thing where it's like
53:26 here's a Scott the Was episode that's not about video games at all.
53:30 And I've often seen people say like that you're like, "Oh, I really like that.
53:33 I I love those episodes." And that makes me feel very good as like a writer
53:37 and as somebody who would like to do like
53:39 more like a like a comedy focused like thing.
53:42 I think the show is very capable of being
53:45 kind of whatever I want to meld it into.
53:47 Scott, I want to thank you so much for being
53:49 for being open and and talking about uh so much
53:52 of your process and just your life because I know
53:54 that it's not one of the main things you do.
53:56 So, the what I want to do to close it out
53:58 is to then flip it back to kind of how we started.
54:03 All right, hit me with it.
54:05 What do we got?
54:06 Nintendo, PlayStation, or Xbox gun to your head?
54:08 I mean, that's that's completely opinionated,
54:10 but I've always been a grimy little Nintendo boy.
54:14 The most underrated console.
54:16 I like the PSP, but that sold a lot.
54:19 What did you like on the PSP?
54:20 Cuz for my experience,
54:22 it was like you could mess with the the back and it's going to affect the game.
54:25 And I was like, that's so cool.
54:26 And then I think I played it for maybe four hours and then
54:29 it was in a shelf or like in a in a cup.
54:31 You know, that's the thing that I've seen with everybody with the PSP.
54:37 But the fact that you had like you had like 3D
54:40 Grand Theft Autos on that thing and they were like pretty fullfeatured.
54:44 You had like all these like home console looking games and then
54:47 you had the the movies the UMD movies on PSP that was awesome.
54:52 So having that connection it sounds like to to like the games and the space.
54:55 Is there a game that has ever made you cry or is there one that closest to it?
54:59 I I think as a kid I was playing like some Warriioware
55:01 game and it was pissing me off and I got so frustrated.
55:05 I think I teared up.
55:07 You're like, "Fuck a storyline." He's like,
55:09 "I just want I just want to get past this level."
55:12 Is there a game that you've replayed the most times?
55:15 Yeah.
55:15 In terms of replaying, it's tricky.
55:18 I mean, again, I'm a little Nintendo Goblin,
55:20 so Mario Galaxy is like my favorite game of all time.
55:23 There's probably a maybe like six six times I've I've played through that one.
55:30 Is there a game that you think is
55:31 a masterpiece that you've played in the last 2 years?
55:33 Expedition 33 is another one of those that I was talking about of like,
55:37 oh, it's it's in that giant sea of games that I'm trying out.
55:41 It's pretty cool.
55:42 The combat's fun as hell and like it it
55:45 has such a very unique aesthetic and feel to it.
55:48 I definitely understand kind of the hype behind it.
55:51 What is a game that everyone should play before they die?
55:53 If I had to pick one, I mean, what what would your answer be to that?
55:57 Well, it's it's hard to recommend it now because
55:59 there's the remake that though it spans across three games.
56:02 I I was up part of the generation where I was like Final Fantasy 7 was one
56:05 of the like hit me at one of my emotionally
56:08 vulnerable like formative moments like when I was growing up.
56:10 So, for me, I'm like that game was phenomenal.
56:13 You have to go back to the '9s I think
56:15 for like this is a game that everybody needs to play.
56:18 I probably would say A Link to the Past on Super Nintendo.
56:23 Okay.
56:23 That just seems like the most like purely well-designed
56:26 like adventure puzzle game that like it's just like
56:30 you sit there and it's just like this this is
56:32 just a great um example of excellent game design
56:37 and it's from like the early '9s and it's just like that just seems like
56:41 okay from this point forward like the video
56:43 games can be much more than just like pixels on a screen kind of thing.
56:46 That just feels like the most correct answer from in my brain right now.
56:50 Yeah.
56:50 No, you even mentioning that I'm like, "Oh god." Like once again,
56:53 it's that thing of like how old I was.
56:55 Ocarina of Time comes to mind.
56:57 Like that game blew my mind as a as a kid.
57:01 I remember like reading a magazine.
57:03 I was like they obviously we know that it's not the case,
57:06 but uh I remember the first reports around
57:08 the game were it's going to be 100 hours.
57:11 I was like what 100 hours?
57:14 And uh I was like it blew my mind.
57:15 than the experience was great.
57:17 But uh what's the most overrated game of all time?
57:19 I'll just say because we were mentioning Ocarine of Time.
57:22 I I I'll say Ocarine of Time.
57:26 This guy comes into my home.
57:27 Not because it's a bad game.
57:30 It's just, you know,
57:32 I think for a 10 out of 10, I think I think crank it down to a 9.5.
57:37 Buddy, are you looking at it though at Are you looking at it?
57:40 I like that you're like, "Hey, cut it down to 0.5 lower." I mean,
57:44 are you looking at it though through a 2026 lens?
57:47 I mean, because I think part of the reason some a game like
57:49 that gets a 10 out of 10 is the time, the the comparison.
57:53 Well, even then, like I'm kind of like a lot of Ocarina of Time.
57:57 I mean, it's pretty similar to something like A Link to the Past,
58:00 but it's just in 3D now.
58:02 And that's that's a big deal, you know,
58:05 but it's also like, you know, it's like, all right, man.
58:09 I think I think I think games have Eclipse.
58:12 There there are better games than Ocarine of Time.
58:14 What's a game that everyone hates that you genuinely love?
58:17 Have you ever seen Ride to Hell Retribution?
58:21 No.
58:21 It's Oh god, that game is awful.
58:23 It's the trashiest pile of garbage.
58:27 It was on the Xbox 360, PS3, PC back in 2013.
58:32 It's awful.
58:34 It's It's It's genuinely god awful, but I beat it.
58:37 Do you love it?
58:38 It's funny.
58:40 Okay.
58:40 Okay.
58:41 I think it's funny,
58:42 but that that was that was the first thing that came to my head.
58:45 What is the worst console ever made?
58:46 And you also cannot say Virtual Boy.
58:49 Worst console of all time.
58:50 The Philips CDI is genuinely awful.
58:53 Yeah, I mean that's that's got to be that's got to be the worst.
58:56 Oh, the Gizmando.
58:57 Do you know the Gizmando?
58:59 Sounds like a thing you just made up right now.
59:02 No, it was funded by the Swedish mafia.
59:04 So that's cool.
59:06 The plastic on that system, it's like a crappy handheld.
59:09 Yeah, it's a crappy handle from like 2005.
59:11 It like it it's bad.
59:13 So, I'd say Gizmando/ Phillips CDI.
59:17 What's a what's a game that you know is bad, but you cannot stop defending.
59:21 A lot of Metroid games, man.
59:22 Metroid has some stinkers that I will defend sometimes.
59:25 But Metroid Other M sometimes I'll defend
59:27 that one where I'm like, it's not that bad.
59:30 Scott, the last question I am going to ask you,
59:32 is there a game franchise that should have stopped after the first one?
59:35 You have Overwatch, which never should have gotten a sequel to begin
59:39 with because the sequel just they reverted it back to Overwatch one.
59:43 They I think recently they were like, "Oh,
59:46 Overwatch 2 is changing its name to Overwatch." And it's just like, "Well,
59:51 Scott, what is what is the plan?
59:53 Like what's where do you want to take this in five years?
59:56 Are you just kind of vibing and you're having a good time
59:58 and you're figuring it out or do you got do you have a plan?"
1:00:00 the the plan is to uh probably bring the the main Scott
1:00:05 the Was channel back a little more like to like more frequent uploads.
1:00:09 That that's always my goal, but uh you know,
1:00:11 it's just been difficult uh over the past like couple of years.
1:00:15 Um but uh you know, just kind of keep what I'm doing.
1:00:17 I I would like to expand things, try new things,
1:00:19 but overall like the the plan is to uh
1:00:22 create like a good like in quotes business structure.
1:00:26 I don't want to grow really in terms of like
1:00:28 um the amount of employees I have or anything.
1:00:31 I'm pretty content with just just my guys that I got right now.
1:00:35 Yeah.
1:00:35 Maybe one or two extra people here and there, but you know,
1:00:38 for the most part, I it it's all about just kind of creating a good
1:00:43 uh good life for for me, you know, people around me and uh you know,
1:00:49 just kind of taking the opportunity because
1:00:50 this is genuinely a once in a-lifetime opportunity.
1:00:53 I want to plant the seeds right now to ensure that the future
1:00:57 has a lot of doors open wherever I'd want to go.
1:01:00 But I think no matter what,
1:01:01 I'm always gonna want to do YouTube because this is kind
1:01:03 of this is kind of like my first love, you know.
1:01:06 Yeah.
1:01:06 Well, I love that.
1:01:07 Scott, thank you so much for the time, man.
1:01:09 Of course.
1:01:09 Thank you.
1:01:10 It's an honor to be here, man.
1:01:11 It's been awesome talking to you.
1:01:12 Thank you so much.