YouTube wet shaving channels

[Jens]

And ... given my predilection for "style" in the sense outlined above, perhaps it comes as no surprise that a couple of my other favourite shaving Youtubers are two Italians ... all in Italian, I barely understand a word. But as indicated above, "Substance" is not so much the point as long as it's oozing with "style".

Check out Luca Dinaro:

And not least Mauro Di Lernia:

I love the way Mauro has made his morning coffee (and the sound of his espresso machine..!!), an integral part of his shaving ritual and den. Great atmosphere in this shave den..!

Divertiti, e boun giorno a tutti...!

 

[Attog]

I wrote this yesterday on the Geofatboy thread. I'll edit it to adapt to this thread. Seems fitting! This is how I feel:

"I'm so tired of seeing these videos of guys doing demos with no hair to shave off.
It's ridiculous!
If you don't grow enough visible hair for a shave and/or you shave 10 times a day (with different razors) just to make ad revenue, you have no business making shaving videos!
Just my opinion!"

This. And for me also, I understand that somebody needs to show others proper shaving techniques but then I prefer just reviews without actual shaving because (except at the very beginning) your technique is up to you, no internet shaver will hold your hand.
Also lot of these tutorials are made as a show off not as tutorial.

 

[FarmerTan]

I started watching shaving videos on Youtube in order to learn stuff about shaving, but I gradually came to appreciate them more for the pleasure of doing something completely ridiculous just for its own sake -- "the art of doing nothing", which is an important and laudable exercise of mental hygiene.

Take for example a character like Anthony Esposito, aka "The Stallion":

https://www.youtube.com/c/AnthonyTheStallionEsposito

At first I watched his videos because I considered him knowledgeable on straight razor shaving, and on shaving more generally. As I have tried out various of the products and techniques he has promoted however, and gotten more experience myself, I have come to the conclusion that his supposed mastery is more show than substance.

Instead, I have come to consider him a "clown", but as such I find him quite entertaining.

I think the kitchy fascination with "The Stallion" is comparable to cartoons like "Peppa Pig" or the cult of "Hello KItty":

Inside the cult world of Hello Kitty

It’s 40 years old and worth billions. But what is it that drives people so crazy for the little Japanese toy? Tamara Hinson joins Hello Kitty anniversary celebrations

www.theguardian.com

Like, take the way Mr Esposito the Stallion always includes certain stupid phrases like "what's up" initially, or "Money Pass" for the second pass.
What the h... is a "money pass" supposed to mean anyway..?? Mr Esposito has never explained this as far as I am aware, yet he keeps saying it in every single video. Not only that, other youtubers have started saying "money pass" too, and generally appear to revere "The Stallion", like the goofball "SoSharpDavid".

The Stallions actual soap reviews (for example), mostly just consists of him going "I can dig the scent ...." ... "yea, I can dig the scent" ... yea I am diggin' the scent man ...". through a 20 minute video .... how stupid is that! its hilarious!

Or take The Stallion's goatee..! Given that he fashions himself as some kind of straight razor guru, the goatee stands out because it allows him to conveniently avoid shaving all the places that are by far the hardest with a straight razor. It's totally laughable..!

For all that, the guy has a huge following!! There are soaps and Aftershaves and shaving brushes named after him, and he is all together a "name" in Shavedom. I don't think its for the wisdom of the man, its the clown that sells tickets.

I have singled out the Stallion, but there are many others who, while less extreme, are just as much "clowns"in my book, endlessly lecturing imagined "beginners", doing all sorts of outlandish "comparisons", "top five" lists, etc, etc.

The point is, for me anyway, that whether one produces or watches this kind of nerd-show, its nice to indulge in something "eezy", that smells good, and feels good, and is just about relaxing, and not take things so seriously... Well -- occasionally you might also learn something, or at least get to reflect on something "shaving related" too ... which is kind of hilarious as well, given that it's really just about something very basic and simple: routine grooming of facial hair.

My friend, because of you my lovely War Department is going to hang me until I am dead, dead, DEAD!

You have given the FarmerTan a brilliant idea.

I will start a yootoob channel where I do nothing but shave and quote dead famous people. Harry Truman, Mark Twain, Robert Anson Heinlein..... all famous ShowMeState people, while my wife comes in and tells me how shtoopid I am to be shaving in front of a camera!

I can see it now: Arko endorsement deals coming out my ears!

 

[LRod]

And ... given my predilection for "style" in the sense outlined above, perhaps it comes as no surprise that a couple of my other favourite shaving Youtubers are two Italians ... all in Italian, I barely understand a word. But as indicated above, "Substance" is not so much the point as long as it's oozing with "style".

Check out Luca Dinaro:

https://www.youtube.com/c/LUCADINARO

And not least Mauro Di Lernia:

I love the way Mauro has made his morning coffee (and the sound of his espresso machine..!!), an integral part of his shaving ritual and den. Great atmosphere in this shave den..!

Divertiti, e boun giorno a tutti...!

Mauro is one of the ones I really like. Plenty of hair to shave off every time and an all around cool vibe that he's got. And luckily I understand most of what he says.

 

[FarmerTan]

@Jens : now I just HAVE to day "money pass" and wink at the camera with an extreme close up of my incredibly handsome face, while my wife hits me over the head with a frying pan and I will soon be ROLLING in the money! Thank you for the idea my friend!

 

[haggis]

There are not many channels to which I would subscribe but the Farmer Tan Frying Pan Panopticon could well be the one.

 

[Toothpick]

I've decided to make some shaving videos. But seeing as I'm lazy and have been known to grow a beard I'll be putting out a very limited run of videos. Toothpick's LE Shave Videos. Probably 2-4 every 5-20 years. I'm an expert and the ultimate authority and no other opinion matters except for mine. So get ready!!

 

[Jens]

@Jens : now I just HAVE to day "money pass"

Mr Stallion is a rich repository for stupid and obnoxious one-liners. I suspect he is already widely plagiarized on this account. But a satirical approach to plagiarizing him would be truly innovative and original. You have my vote!

 

[FarmerTan]

Mr Stallion is a rich repository for stupid and obnoxious one-liners. I suspect he is already widely plagiarized on this account. But a satirical approach to plagiarizing him would be truly innovative and original. You have my vote!

I am an original, God ain't cruel so I'm sure He hasn't reused the mold He made me from! So thank you! I have got to go watch some of this Video Star's yootoob stuff to get inspired.

I've always thought that it would actually be fun to watch an old flatulence filled man shave and give life advice to young men that their mom's would kill you for giving them!

My theory is this: my son is a really great human, and I tried to corrupt him at every turn: I told him to go out and play in the road as a toddler, and that taught him to never listen to me!

Yeah, my lovely bride has the patience of Job. How she puts up with me without taking lots of vacations without me is amazing. Ask @dmshaver ; he's met her, and I caught him looking for wings on her back all the while we were eating BBQ!

True story doggone!

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

He was the one I turned to when I wanted to learn how to use a straight razor years ago. I found his videos candid, straight forward and his explanations clear. (For the sake of transparency he is a retailer of ours.) That was back when he had something like 5,000 subscribers. I see he now has 80,000+ so good for him!

I would not say we are friends but are acquainted via work over the past thirteen years. Someone else noted he has a background as that of an electrician and that is the case. I don't think he would mind me mentioning this, it does give a back story on how this all came to be. A buddy of his that he rode cycles with had moved out of state but wanted to learn how to use a straight. He tried explaining it on the phone but it was hard to follow verbally. So he said, "Hey, there is a site YouTube - let me make a video and then you can just watch it.

So he made the video and his buddy logged on and watched it and learned how to use a straight. A month later, Geo took a look at the video and was stunned to see there were 2,000 view of it in one month. "Hmmm, maybe I'll make another..." So he did and it was lather, rinse, repeat. But then guys began asking where they could buy the stuff he was using. So he started a store. And it has been a lot of hard work and well earned success ever since.

I see him as a rags to riches story. No college degree, no prior experience being on a video, and he had never run a business before. But he just started in, learned as he went and has been very successful. My guess is he can hire an electrician now if needed! He has thrived in a crowded field that is competitive and ever-changing. He has the chops, plain and simple. And he is the same today as he was starting out. That is impressive in my book.

 

[Ron R]

He was the one I turned to when I wanted to learn how to use a straight years ago. I found him candid, straight forward and his explanations clear. (For the sake of transparency he is a retailer of ours.) That was back when he had something like 5,000 subscribers. I see he now has 80,000+ so good for him!

I would not say we are friends but are acquainted via work over the past thirteen years. Someone else noted he has a background as that of an electrician and that is the case. I don't think he would mind me mentioning this, it does give a back story on how this all came to be. A buddy of his that he rode cycles with had moved out of state but wanted to learn how to use a straight. He tried explaining it on the phone but it was hard to follow verbally. So he said, "Hey, there is a site YouTube - let me make a video and then you can just watch it.

So he made the video and his buddy logged on and watched it and learned how to use a straight. A month later, Geo took a look at the video and was stunned to see there were 2,000 view of it in one month. "Hmmm, maybe I'll make another..." So he did and it was lather, rinse, repeat. But then guys began asking where they could buy the stuff he was using. So he started a store. And it has been a lot of hard work and well earned success ever since.

I see him as a rags to riches story. No college degree, no prior experience being on a video, and he had never run a business before. But he just started in, learned as he went and has been very successful. My guess is he can hire an electrician now if needed! He has thrived in a crowded field that is competitive and ever-changing. He has the chops, plain and simple. And he is the same today as he was starting out. That is impressive in my book.

Nice & well written brief history on Geo's video's, I learned a few things also when I 1st got into Tradional wet shaving from Geo. My conclusion of him he is a natural teacher and clear thinker and promotes products that good and healthy for wet shaving group.

 

[Phoenixkh]

At least, Kevy Shaves and the Executive Shaving Company's Brian Mulreany (now retired) have whiskers when they shave. As I said, sometimes, I wonder if some of these guys even have blades in the razors.

It reminds me of that time when we were in a balloon shaving contest at a summer church picnic... My wife took the blade out of the TTO and was "shaving" with a significant amount of flourish.. waving her arms around... wiping off shaving cream with abandon.... I had trouble not laughing and losing the balloon out of my mouth... We "won"... though how anyone missed that she was shaving without a blade, I'll never know.... It was intended as a good natured joke........ not to win the contest, as her antics demonstrated... some of the contestants were horribly offended, even after we explained we didn't win.. she was just joking around.

All that to say.. the vast majority of the YouTube shaving videos are a joke. <eg>

 

[dmshaver]

Yeah, my lovely bride has the patience of Job. How she puts up with me without taking lots of vacations without me is amazing. Ask @dmshaver ; he's met her, and I caught him looking for wings on her back all the while we were eating BBQ!

True story doggone!

I’ve seen her wings, sir! She fluttered her wings & wiped the BBQ sauce off your chin. A truly amazing woman! True story doggone!

 

[Jens]

I used to like the first couple of years that PaulHFilms made videos [...] The early ones of Michael Freedberg were alright too.

Yea, I liked the early stuff by these two guys too. PaulHFilms has become too big and routine, and Michael Freedberg is not doing shave videos on a regular basis any longer. But I saw a really nice interview with Michael Freedberg a while ago on Youtube, done by Mantic59 (Mark). In it, Freedberg explains how, from the onset, he had an ironic distance to the whole project, sort of acknowledging how absurd this obsession with filming oneself shaving was. But it became too much of a chore for him, it stopped being fun. So he quit. You could sense this kind of hint of humor in his videos, I really liked them.
In the interview with Mantic59, Freedberg also drops a bit of a bomb on Mantic59, saying that his distinct preference is for boar brushes. This appears next to incomprehensible for Mantic59 ... I already knew that Mantic59 takes for granted that badgers and synthetics just gotta be superior to boars. The "sharpologist" site makes no secret about it. Gravitating towards being a boar favouring person myself, I thought this part of the interview was hilarious. Great interview, Mark!! Thanks, Freedberg!

 

[CJB3]

Here is a nice, no nonsense YouTube video that I found helpful when starting out:

Now that I know more, I do things a little differently, but I like his direct, helpful, and positive manner.

 

[Mike M]

@Jens : now I just HAVE to day "money pass" and wink at the camera with an extreme close up of my incredibly handsome face, while my wife hits me over the head with a frying pan and I will soon be ROLLING in the money! Thank you for the idea my friend!

Each week your wife could hit you with something different but don't forget to do a video "The @FarmerTan guide to concussion"

 

[FarmerTan]

Each week your wife could hit you with something different but don't forget to do a video "The @FarmerTan guide to concussion"

It wouldn't be difficult, as she tells me at least once per day that she "has a frying pan with my name on it" or sometimes she says it's a "rolling pin"..... Nobody knows the trouble I have seen....

 

[BanjoCowboyMartaTobes]

Did ya hear Twitter is going to merge with YouTube and Facebook?

It will now be call YouTwitFace.com

 

[Jens]

Did ya hear Twitter is going to merge with YouTube and Facebook?

It will now be call YouTwitFace.com

It sort of sounds like a perverse profanity... I hope the moderator won't delete your post...

 

[BanjoCowboyMartaTobes]

It sort of sounds like a perverse profanity... I hope the moderator won't delete your post...

I hope it’s not an overtly offensive term in other cultures. For me twit means a foolishly annoying person.