I've been rather introspective lately so I figured I'd take a break from that and take some time to proselytize about some of my favorite YouTube channels. I think all these channels have had a profound impact on me as I've watched them over the years because I find them to be inspiring, insightful, and meaningful in their own ways.
Juji is crazy. I can't tell if his partner in crime, Tom, is crazier for choosing to follow him all over the place while documenting his fitness journey, however. These two go to any lengths necessary to meet up with fellow fitness freaks of all sorts. Rock climbers, grip gurus, world record holding strongmen, WWE superstars, etc. But he's also a man of the people. He'll set up a grip challenge in the middle of the mall and ask folks to try it out. It's hilarious and wildly entertaining often because of Juji's, Tom's, and their guest's contrasting personalities. It's a perfect yin and yang. I love this channel too because, despite all the antics performed in the name of entertainment, these two are not afraid to sit down and do some serious reflection on their work, what they've learned, and how they could grow to become better people. They aren't afraid of admitting that there are a lot of big egos in fitness (including their own) and that can give people a false impression of what working in the fitness industry is like.
TheraminTrees is a great channel because it's more intellectually focused. It exposes the techniques people use to psychologically manipulate others and I have found it to be a wonderful tool in dealing with people who are manipulative in my own life. It also puts forth a persuasive case for atheism. This is one of the channels I would regularly watch when I went through my phase of questioning the existence of God and it was one of the main reasons why I chose to become an atheist. The arguments are straight forward and honest. There's no fluff or mincing of words. The information is presented calmly, coolly, and without fanfare. One of the reasons I find this channel so persuasive is because of how it stands on it's merits. TheraminTrees doesn't try to trick you into believing what you should. He just lays out a beautifully organized presentation of his argument. If you want to learn how to argue skillfully without relying on the scummy tactic of emotional manipulation, start by watching his videos and taking notes.
Gad Saad is professor who teaches at a Canadian University and his area of focus is evolutionary psychology. He does a lot of videos where he talks about how a certain human behavior can be explained by biology and evolution. He stands as a confident bastion of truth in a sea of confusion when it comes to male and female behavior and what actually drives our mating preferences. He's also someone a man can actually relate with, you know, the "toxic" type. Gad also brings on other guests and has some deliciously fruitful conversations with them. He's also hilarious. He shows that it's possible to be a well respected professor and scientist while also being just "one of the guys" at the same time. He doesn't hold back on his opinions just because there's pressure to tip-toe around everyone's sensitivities. I admire the grace with which he presents his arguments, his towering confidence, razor intellect, and dense spine. I'll be learning from him for many years to come!
The Act Man, another solid rock of pure manliness, does some of the best video game reviews I've ever seen. He really takes the time to analyze all the good and bad aspects of a game to come to a consensus on how he feels about it. Everything he does is well researched with examples, citations, and well edited clips and skits that illustrate his points as he critiques a game. He's also a pretty badass martial artist who's got a lot more going on than just being a gamer. He's the kind of guy who would eviscerate your shitty game in a review, kick your ass in a bar fight and then steal your girl with his blunt but hilarious humor. I salute you, acting male.
penguinz0 critiques crap YouTube content, crap games, crap movies, crap advertisements, and basically anything that deserves to get shit on. His view on things is so cynical it makes you wonder if he's depressed but he's so funny at body slamming poorly made content that you tend to look past that uncomfortable feeling to laugh at how insanely bad some of the stuff he's looking at is. He's not the type of guy you'd hang out with to feel good about yourself but he's exactly the kind of guy you'd go to if you wanted to some serious advice on how you're fucking up.
Joerg is a big German guy with a laugh that'd make Father Christmas blush. He builds dangerous homemade weapons, like a spinning saw blade launcher, and when he tests them, he relies on his "safety t-shirt" for protection. He really exercises a lot of ingenuity in his diabolical weapon making quest. He's a mad scientist that you'd be comfortable leaving your kids with for a day, as long as you wouldn't mind them being obsessed with weapons and engineering after he was done watching them.
No music. No talking. Just a master smith forging some of the most beautiful knives and swords you have ever laid your eyes upon. He documents his whole process and puts it on YouTube for all to see. There's something really fascinating about watching this guy work to turn glowing hot steel into something that's a "killer" (see what I did there) work of art.
Armoured Skeptic is a rational character that questions all claims that fall before his throne and he'll tickle your intellectual nut-sack. He's got a method of questioning down that exposes frauds for exactly what they are: frauds. The skeptic dives into all sorts of topics including, but not limited to, conspiracy theory, social justice, and religion. He also has a second channel, where he critiques movies along with his girlfriend. I'll be honest though, I purely watch Greg's alternate channel for the good feels I get from seeing these two smarmy dweebs pick on each other. It's like when you see two puppies play fighting with each other at the pet store. It's just so damn wholesome.
A crazy Australian runs through the outback catching whatever creatures he can literally get his bare hands on, all the while giving us little factoids on how the little buggers live in the wild. He's Steve Erwin 2.0. He gets some hate for "disturbing nature" but that's coming from people who are probably jealous of the fact that he's an absolute boss.
This channel is the shit. It covers all sorts of topics related to self-improvement. You can tell that The Bioneer isn't just showing off how cool he is as well. He's genuinely trying to deliver you information that you can understand to make improvements in your own life. The Bioneer covers topics like intelligence, strength, resilience, mentality, visualization, etc. He's trying to teach us how to learn as much as we can in the most effective manner so that we can all improve. What a service! Thank you Bioneer!