Ben Degros vlog

[Shtonk]

Did Ben do a favourable review on Cariuma when they were sending them to influencers?

Yeah he did and he talks about it in the quittung video posted above. This AVE vid is eerily similar. Hope the money was good...

[radcunt]

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Am I the only one that has always been massively annoyed by this dude?

[close]

Nah I always thought he had an anal retentive type of vibe but Gifted Hater love(d) him so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Have never finished a video of his

Yeah but Gifted Hater likes Ricky Glazer & other dipshits too.  I also couldn't finish that Vans video.  He seemed to be giving an honest enough review, but I couldn't give less of a shit.  He likes being paid though

[versacekid420]

https://youtu.be/zqMfqw-tleo?si=7vEH1w5sR5UiZ7hl

[SkatingOnNeptune]

Benny boy really said give money pls

[Shtonk]

Is he not making enough with his drywalling Business?? Didn't he say in a gifted hater Interview how learning a trade was a good career?

[Shuh]

Also did he just expose the Colorway Illuminati?

[Sick Duck]

Is he not making enough with his drywalling Business?? Didn't he say in a gifted hater Interview how learning a trade was a good career?

i think he just takes on some small jobs with the client knowing he’s gonna be filming youtube videos. Don’t think he’s done any construction full time for years

[frtzgn95]

what kinda person accepts money? he is a pure evil. what is your next step ben? podcasting with mikey taylor?

[CarcassToss]

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Am I the only one that has always been massively annoyed by this dude?

[close]

Nah I always thought he had an anal retentive type of vibe but Gifted Hater love(d) him so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Have never finished a video of his

[close]

Yeah but Gifted Hater likes Ricky Glazer & other dipshits too.  I also couldn't finish that Vans video.  He seemed to be giving an honest enough review, but I couldn't give less of a shit.  He likes being paid though

Not annoyed but never got the allure. His snark seems kinda bitter and he'd say shit like he rode Indy's because that's what you do in Vancouver cuz they're cool there and then he would go back and forth for years kinda gaslighting himself at times and it seemed like any other YouTuber but he'd get a pass cuz of his age.

[thehogsniper]

It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[Sketch Hitchcock]

It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

Not trying to defend Ben because I don’t really care, but did you watch the video?  He said a rep sent him the Asics shoe and that he’d love to get paid to do a review.  I think he’s being fairly transparent about the whole thing, and he’s built up enough good will over the years I think his audience will dig him getting some cash for what he’s doing

[thehogsniper]

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[close]

Not trying to defend Ben because I don’t really care, but did you watch the video?  He said a rep sent him the Asics shoe and that he’d love to get paid to do a review.  I think he’s being fairly transparent about the whole thing, and he’s built up enough good will over the years I think his audience will dig him getting some cash for what he’s doing

I didn't catch the line about the rep, but being a shill is still being a shill. Only videos he's made in the last two months on YT have been self-promotion (real) or ad-placement (asics/vans). By this logic we should never have made fun of Cariuma, because a lot of people got money.

[Sketch Hitchcock]

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[close]

Not trying to defend Ben because I don’t really care, but did you watch the video?  He said a rep sent him the Asics shoe and that he’d love to get paid to do a review.  I think he’s being fairly transparent about the whole thing, and he’s built up enough good will over the years I think his audience will dig him getting some cash for what he’s doing

[close]

I didn't catch the line about the rep, but being a shill is still being a shill. Only videos he's made in the last two months on YT have been self-promotion (real) or ad-placement (asics/vans). By this logic we should never have made fun of Cariuma, because a lot of people got money.

I hear you, but I feel like he’s obviously more of a tastemaker/influencer at this point.  If Ben thinks it’s cool or a product has his sign-off it gets people stoked on trying it.  Whether you choose to try the shoe or not is up to you… seems like a good business model for Ben (at least to me).

[RichardBarkley]

It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

Get a life, who gives a fuck

[Dad Board]

I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

[thehogsniper]

I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

unironically letting your channel become part of VF Corp's astroturfing is pretty wack, no matter how you decide to jump through mental gymnastics to justify it. guy is a shill.

blow it out your ass

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[close]

Get a life, who gives a fuck

[Dad Board]

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I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

[close]

unironically letting your channel become part of VF Corp's astroturfing is pretty wack, no matter how you decide to jump through mental gymnastics to justify it. guy is a shill.

Expand Quote

blow it out your ass

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[close]

Get a life, who gives a fuck

[close]

so anyone who skates for Vans is a shill too because they appear in ads and get paid to wear them?

[CarcassToss]

So DLX flies him around and he presumably got kickbacks from that but it's working with Vans that makes him a shill?

Did people think he wasn't getting some sort of financial benefits when he started designing decks and doing shoe work with Etnies? This vid sounds like he made it just to clearly spell out what was already happening.

I don't give a shit about the AVE 2 as a shoe but watched and he did have critical notes about it. It's not like it was a complete joke of a review. It's more honest than Christian Sanchez using every shoe review to sell his insoles.

[Pbn_jake]

So DLX flies him around and he presumably got kickbacks from that but it's working with Vans that makes him a shill?

Did people think he wasn't getting some sort of financial benefits when he started designing decks and doing shoe work with Etnies? This vid sounds like he made it just to clearly spell out what was already happening.

I don't give a shit about the AVE 2 as a shoe but watched and he did have critical notes about it. It's not like it was a complete joke of a review. It's more honest than Christian Sanchez using every shoe review to sell his insoles.

Flores, but also-damn.

I also agree, most shoe reviews christian makes are just copy and paste where the main focal point is to sell his shit.

[Xen]

I love Ben but that video was pretty bad for all the above reasons. Especially his "Oh I had the wrong wheels to skate Venice curbs" excuse. The more people become industry insider types the less interesting they seem to be I suppose. I dunno. Not for me.

I skate those curbs (and just FYI a **ton** of people swap wheels before skating that spot) the bike path side is very smooth, the other [ledge] side sucks balls; some go harder, some go softer - I don't blame him too much...can you skate anything there? Yep. Is it easier on certain wheels? Without a doubt. Since Dragons/x-formula came about that's what most regulars skate there because of the rough side. I sure has hell wouldn't roll down there, knowing I'm skating there for a few hours, with anything harder than an x97/spit 93a (yes, even x99s are too chattery there).

I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%

100% anyone here saying they wouldn't is lying to themselves. Did VANS give some parameters to those they sent the shoe to? Guaranteed...and it was up to those people to abide or not. The whole AVE2.0 thing is really, really weird...for the brand, the skater, and an lesson learned for the industry (hopefully).

[CarcassToss]

It seems like the new normal tho. It's not like DLX didn't do the same with the 93's and easy riders. It's not inherently wrong it's a pretty standard practice in a lot of industries it seems.

Imagine being Local Joe and never even getting a box lol gotta feel lonely.

[thehogsniper]

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I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

[close]

unironically letting your channel become part of VF Corp's astroturfing is pretty wack, no matter how you decide to jump through mental gymnastics to justify it. guy is a shill.

Expand Quote

blow it out your ass

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[close]

Get a life, who gives a fuck

[close]

[close]

so anyone who skates for Vans is a shill too because they appear in ads and get paid to wear them?

someone who has a long-term contract and is a professional skater listed on their team page is presenting themselves as under contract to promote the product. They're not shoe reviewers, and Ben seemed like just a normal dad skater until the shit with DLX.

So DLX flies him around and he presumably got kickbacks from that but it's working with Vans that makes him a shill?

Did people think he wasn't getting some sort of financial benefits when he started designing decks and doing shoe work with Etnies? This vid sounds like he made it just to clearly spell out what was already happening.

I don't give a shit about the AVE 2 as a shoe but watched and he did have critical notes about it. It's not like it was a complete joke of a review. It's more honest than Christian Sanchez using every shoe review to sell his insoles.

You throw your name on a board and/or have a hand in designing a product, you have every right to reap the benefits of your own work. When you base your entire image on being laid back and casual, having talked in the past about feeling bad for getting paid to do a cariuma review, build up your reputation as someone outside the industry, then throw that all out the window when vans comes knocking? That's BS. If he got sent some free product, that's fine in my book because it just means he doesn't have to buy it. When money is being exchanged so you suddenly give some wack ass product attention and claim you never have skated better? The whole video is him trying to justify it to himself and his audience.

[CarcassToss]

Dawg he says he's never skated better in literally every setup review video he did during his first 4 years. You gotta know not to trust his conclusions.

Also what if it's true? The shoes work great for him? So he should downplay it so you think he's more balanced. Dude is thankfully off Etnies and he's now skating Asics.

[pugmaster]

EDIT: Harrison Ford is also a carpenter. You can try to argue that he was a carpenter since he doesn't do it anymore, but anyone who swings hammers will tell you it is a lifelong obligation in the same vein as "once a marine, always a marine." I made all of that up except for the fact that Harrison Ford was employed as a carpenter in his youth.

[versacekid420]

i’d love to be an endorser of vans. all i skate are old skools and authentics and no one wants to skate those. for a small fee of free shoes i’ll do the talking. in the words of bossman d-low, get in with me.

[radcunt]

Still reckon he staged the quitting thing more than he admits though. He knows YouTube too well and loads of people were doing it at the time and getting heaps of traction. Basic psychological trickery.


No shade, reckon he’s an honest dude but is just massaging the truth a bit to make it feel nicer. End of the day, it doesn’t matter.

[kelbywest]

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I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

[close]

unironically letting your channel become part of VF Corp's astroturfing is pretty wack, no matter how you decide to jump through mental gymnastics to justify it. guy is a shill.

Expand Quote

blow it out your ass

Expand Quote

It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

[close]

Get a life, who gives a fuck

[close]

[close]

so anyone who skates for Vans is a shill too because they appear in ads and get paid to wear them?

What the fuck kind of comparison is that lmao bro is fried

[Dad Board]

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I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

[close]

unironically letting your channel become part of VF Corp's astroturfing is pretty wack, no matter how you decide to jump through mental gymnastics to justify it. guy is a shill.

Expand Quote

blow it out your ass

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

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Get a life, who gives a fuck

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so anyone who skates for Vans is a shill too because they appear in ads and get paid to wear them?

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What the fuck kind of comparison is that lmao bro is fried

Maybe a little, but I don’t like how people get a pass for selling their skills in one regard and then absolutely shit on for doing it for a product feature video. Anyone who’s watched Ben over the years has undoubtedly learned something about their gear or have been inspired to try something new etc. but a sponsored video from vans is enough to ruin his credibility? People just want to turn on a motherfucker it seems like.

[RichardBarkley]

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I’ve joked about the AVE video but I would take a trip/paycheck from vans 1000%
YouTube does not pay nearly as much as people think and it’s super unreliable month to month. Some of you guys expect people to be these altruistic pillars of selfless service in a capitalist society. He put in the video that it’s a sponsored video, didn’t call it a review and gave enough information about that dumbass shoe for anyone who looks it up. If you buy $130 shoes with the intent on skating in them than you’re in a special class of people anyways. I’m glad he got paid because what he does is work. Editing is work. Being on camera giving people information and energy is work. Yes it’s more enjoyable than working dishpit at old spaghetti factory but it takes a lot of time and effort and it’s insane that him making one in 300+ videos about a product he got paid for is enough for people to turn on him. Y’all are acting like he broke out into a raid shadow legends ad break. Ben is a real one in a sea of phony fucking grifters and clout chasers.

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unironically letting your channel become part of VF Corp's astroturfing is pretty wack, no matter how you decide to jump through mental gymnastics to justify it. guy is a shill.

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blow it out your ass

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It's interesting because up until the AVE 2 shit, he presented himself as an honest and objective reviewer, but now he's admitting that it was all marketing and he got paid for it. It's pretty ridiculous that he's trying to split hairs by saying it's good because they didn't give him talking points or script the review. The fact that he got a paid deal to market the AVE 2 means objectivity has been completely thrown out the window. They flew him out to california in business class, gave him the experience of some bizarre "industry" meet and greet with AVE, and made him feel recognized by one of the major shoe companies in the industry.
I do get pretty irked when I hear people use the old "I am trying to secure my families future" line. It's appealing to the emotional empathy of his audience by framing it in this way, but in reality he's shilling out to the demand of a corporation for a payday because he's a Youtuber. one minute he's singing the praises of the etnies joslin, the next minute he's saying "every time I try anything else I'm not skating as well as I am in the Vans" and then he's praising the asics japan pro. One minute it's about the issues with Youtube and having to make content, and the next he's saying he would make another video for a company if they paid him and gave him free shit. Completely sidesteps the price-point being $130 USD/$175 CAD. It's absurd, and from this point forward it's kind of blatantly obvious that every video review could just be a paid ad. Maybe Asics sent him those free pair! Who the hell even knows.

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Get a life, who gives a fuck

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You seem to be taking this personally or something given how upset you are getting.

It's just a YouTube blog and he has been pretty honest.

[ejazzle]

Still reckon he staged the quitting thing more than he admits though. He knows YouTube too well and loads of people were doing it at the time and getting heaps of traction. Basic psychological trickery.


No shade, reckon he’s an honest dude but is just massaging the truth a bit to make it feel nicer. End of the day, it doesn’t matter.

he even says it multiple times about how nine club would have probably never reached out if it wasnt for that video.

I have no problem with people getting paid for work. But if your entire career has been built off unbiased reviews you cant just start getting paid to shill products and pretend like they aren't going to be biased reviews of the product. He should expect a bit a backlash from viewers. If you are getting paid to do a review of a companies product there is inherently going to be bias. Just like how he says now he can't do reviews on DLX stuff cause he flew too close to the sun.

Him discounting the price as a factor for a shoe review has to be a joke. Are you going to have the same expectations for the $25 airwalks the same way you would for the $130 vans sockshoe?