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Phil (Podcast Host)
Hey all, Phil here. Welcome back to the In Good Faith podcast, where today we have one of our more unexpected chats with Scott the Waz. And Scott, if you don't know him, when he was nine years old, he was burning a weekly News show onto DVDs and distributing it to like 20 of his classmates. He called it Wozniak News. He had a distribution list before he had a decade on this planet. And now 20 years later, he's one of the most recognizable pillars of the gaming community on the Internet. Millions of subscribers, a catalog of people
Interviewer
that go back and re watch.
Phil (Podcast Host)
And he has a blue wall that has become genuinely iconic. And while Scott's over a decade younger than me, he also grew up on YouTube. And that can be a very strange thing to live through. You know, most people get to be bad at things in private, to be uncertain in private, to change their voice, change who they are without an audience tracking every step. But Scott didn't get to do that. And while Scott's over a decade younger than me, he also grew up on YouTube. And that can also be a very strange thing to live through. Most people get to be bad at things and uncertain of them in private, to change their voice, change who they
Interviewer
are without an audience tracking every step.
Phil (Podcast Host)
You know, not with Scott. And so what does that do to you? What happens when the thing that you love at 9, it turns into the job that you have at 28. And that job, it can be so exciting, but also you can make it so hard on yourself that the passion, it gets complicated, the burnout, it's real. And you have to figure out, what do I do moving forward, we get into all that. So make sure you're subscribed. You hit that like, button. Sit back and enjoy a conversation with Scott the Wallace.
Interviewer
So, Scott, I don't know if you
Phil (Podcast Host)
feel this, do you?
Interviewer
I don't even know. I feel like I'm setting you up already at first question.
Scott the Woz
Oh, crap. Round one, fight.
Interviewer
Do you feel like the gaming space is generally safe space? And I asked that as someone that like, my main gig is politics, right? And so there's a lot of pushback, a lot of craziness. But in my experience, the only time I have received bigger reactions, whether it's love or hate or whatever, has been when I've delved into the movie space and the gaming space. What are your feelings about it? How do you navigate it? Because I also, I think you made a deliberate rule to never real reference real world events that might be, so that your, your videos are always timely. But I also don't know if it's like worry about audience reaction or anything.
Scott the Woz
I primarily had that rule during 2020 when like Covid was going on. I kind of wanted my videos to be like a fun little like escapism, I guess, where like you could go to them and also, you know, always look back at them and it's not like you're reminded of, you know, all this, all this garbage everybody was dealing with at the time, you know, so it's not necessarily because of like being worried about audience reaction and whatnot. I, I really don't care, like, outside of like, you know, I never want to say anything bad. I always want to make sure that like, what I'm saying is, you know, my, my opinion. But I, I also, I, I don't want to make my videos something that they aren't, you know, and that's why I primarily stick to like, you know what? This is a fun little escapism for somebody that just wants to talk about like, it just wants some dumbass talking about video games. You know, at the same time there's, there's almost like this, this level of like meltdown that a lot of people experience over video games themselves. Opinions about video games, playing video games, you know, all of this. But man, it gets to a point. You just look at how some people talk about these things and it's just, it gets ridiculous sometimes with how over the top people go and how much like people kind of let online discourse kind of take over their, their emotions or even like their mental health and all of that. And you know, a lot of that is, I think potentially because of social media and just how like a lot of things get pushed to you. Like sometimes you just, you just gotta, you just gotta go away from the Internet and just focus on the, on the games themselves.
Interviewer
Yeah, I, I mean, when, when you, when you mentioned that, like, I immediately think back to games like Last of Us two, I was like, I enjoyed that game. But at that time around the release, I was like, I'm going to stay quiet about this because I was like, I'm not going to, you know, just throw myself into this brawl that was happening that I don't understand. But I was interested in your thoughts because, I mean, you have been both a consumer of kind of this media, but also a creator for a long time, right? Like you were, you were making DVDs with hand drawn cover art at nine years old, right? You were running a magazine, a website, weekly video schedule, like for an audience of 20 classmates, which is fucking amazing. And so I'm also trying to put myself back into like young me. And you know, I think most kids, I think, would have quit after probably like a week after maybe like the initial reception or something like that. What, what kind of kept you, what made you interested in doing that and like, kind of. What was the, the payoff in your mind for? Essentially nothing, because we, you know, we think of like more audience, we think of money these days. What was it?
Scott the Woz
I think ever since I was young, I wanted to create something. I wanted to be, I guess in the entertainment industry, for lack of a better word. Because, you know, I would watch movies and TV shows and cartoons and all that and I would just, you know, I would kind of take a lot of that passion I had and channel that into like drawing and like, just thinking of like little, little ideas that I had. Like, I would ride a bike up and down my driveway for like hours on end as a kid and I would just talk to myself and what I would talk to myself. I would like, like map out like scripts, the fake scripts for fake shows and movies or whatever I was coming up with where I would just like, like role play as like the character, like, just like talking to myself, like very, you know, softly. I think I always just really loved creating. My parents always said, like, they were like, I don't know where you Got that is, my parents were never really, really, like, artists or drawers or anything like that. My grandma painted, but that was about. Was just. It's just like. Yeah, I kind of found my passion pretty early on. Like, that's just what I wanted to do over the years. Like, I just kind of, like, started seeing, like. Like, a lot of possibilities with stuff like YouTube. I discovered YouTube probably around, like, 2007 or so, and I saw all of this, and I thought it was, like, really, really cool. Eventually, like, you know, I started seeing, like, a lot of the YouTubers back then, you know, and thinking, like, okay, like, maybe I could do something like this. Honestly, I kind of wanted to do something like that because it was easier to accomplish than, like, doing, like, an animated thing or something like that. I would. I would try to do, like, little animations, like Microsoft Paint. Like, I would draw a picture, drag it into Windows Movie Maker, then draw another picture, then drag it in and try to, like, line things up. Awful. But, you know, that was always a little too. That was a little too much for me. Like, I was like, I. I don't know if I can manage this all by myself, you know? So eventually, you know, I got, like, a crappy little video camera for Christmas and, you know, started trying to, like, make little, little videos. And, you know, I discovered the DVD maker on my computer and started, like, making a bunch of DVDs. Almost like I had my own little media empire. And, you know, that was just. That was my hobby as a kid. It was super exciting. I eventually made a YouTube channel, and then I. I deleted it out of fear because I was worried my. My parents would find out that I had it. There was nothing bad on it. I just thought, like, well, you got to be 13 to have a YouTube channel, and I'm only, like, 10. And they're gonna find this, and they're gonna be like, Scott. Like, I'm like, they didn't know the rules. And even then, like, they weren't even hard rules. They were just YouTube saying that their terms of service pretty much.
Interviewer
Was there a video that you made before, let's say you were, like, 21, that you think back on, and it's not like, the cringiest thing or it stands out to you as, like. That was something I loved, man. I asked because I think what. One of. One of the videos that I think kind of affected the trajectory of your life would probably be what, the Internet and you.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, that was. That was the first one. Yeah. Technically, I was under 21 for that. You Know, I would do a lot of videos by myself, but throughout, probably like middle school, high school, junior high, you know, in the. In the mid 2000s, late 2000s, they started to kind of implement more like video project type stuff in. In the school systems where, hey, you guys gotta make a video about this certain subject and whatnot. That's where I came up to bat, where I was like, oh, boy. Like, this is. This is my wheelhouse, you know, like, compared to literally like 99% of the other kids in. In the class. Like, I knew how to edit, you know, I edit. You know, Like, I knew how to use imovie or Windows, movie maker, whatever. So I. I really, like, whenever there was a video project, I would get, like, I would go like, oh, boy. Like, it's my time. They had us do a video project about the Me Lai Massacre. And I'm like, what are we doing? And I did it.
Interviewer
Would you get. What'd you get on it?
Scott the Woz
I'm like, Like, I'm like, you can criticize me for this one. But, like, there are other kids in that where I'm like, they're. They're not YouTubers. Like, I'm like, we're gonna leave this off of the Internet. But it was still, like, it's. It was fun to have the excuse to go just film a video with. With friends and whatnot.
Guest or Co-host
So.
Interviewer
But that video was. Am I correct that that was supposed to be kind of like your last one ever?
Scott the Woz
Yeah, fundamentally, like, I think. I think by the end of high school, I was kind of thinking like, well, it's. It's time to grow up or it's time to go to college, you know, and I. I was going to be a. A marketing major in college, and. And I picked that major simply because, like, it just made sense. Like, I'm like, okay, I guess I can be kind of creative in this job, but it would actually be an actual job where it's like, I could get careers in this and it would pay. Pay very well, you know, all of that. So that's why I chose that career.
Interviewer
And so what happens that makes you go, okay, actually, I'm not done.
Scott the Woz
Well, like, by the end of my senior year, like, you know, I was talking with a lot of. A lot of my friends at the time and a lot of people that, you know, I made those school projects with, and I'm just like, you know what? You know, we had to do this one final project in our AP lit class, and I was like, going like, oh, let's let's do one final video project. Like, this might be the last time we ever see each other. This might be cool. So eventually it just kind of went off the rails and it became, like, way too stupid or like, even like, you know, a little too. A little too crass to be a school project. So it's just like we're like, let's just go for it kind of thing. And. And it got finished in, like, July. So like two. Two months after graduation anyways. But, you know, I. I finished that and I. And I put that out and I just kind of thought to myself, like, yeah, I do really like this. And I think, like, growing up, kind of getting to that college point, there's like, almost something that changes in. In your brain, or at least it did for me, where it's like going from high school to college feels like you get. You get like this. This really intangible feeling of freedom that you didn't have in high school. You still don't have it, like, at all, but you have, like, a little bit of that where it's like, hey, you could. You could skip your classes if you really want to. Or, like, hey, you can go here, you can go there, you can walk over here, you can go hang out with your friend. You can do whatever you want, you know? You know, it kind of made me feel more. Because I think, like, you know, before the Internet and you. I think I was a lot more picky about, like, I don't want, you know, there shouldn't be any swearing in my videos. There shouldn't be any, like, adult things in my videos. And I think at that point, like, it kind of clicked for me. I'm like, nah, it's just like, I'm growing up and this is like a good, like, you know, final video. And, you know, as. As I went in college, I kind of thought, like, you know what? No, I. I had like, a lot of, like, little comedy skit ideas. And, you know, I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do this video and that video. And I did like, a couple. And I. I think I realized how much I really love doing that. And even in college, like, even though you have kind of like a more, you know, you might be busier at the same time, you know, when I would come home from. From classes and I would. I would come up from my job, you know, I didn't have anything else to do. So I thought, like, I'm going to make this my hobby. I'm going to make this my little thing that I'm doing whenever I come home. I'm going to try to make a video every single week. And you know, something that I always had, like, a lot of love for was a lot of, like, the video game reviews and a lot of the video game review shows on YouTube. And that's something that I always kind of wanted to do myself. So, you know, that's where I was like, I'm gonna do that. I can. I can come up with topics every single week. Coming up with a good comedy skit every single week. That's tricky. You could do it, but they might not all, like, the hit ratio might be a little low also.
Interviewer
I mean, then you have to dabble with potential burnout, which we could touch on. So I'm trying to think of the timing. So when you're. When you're watching things that are kind of along the lines of where you're gonna enter. Is that like Angry Video Game Nerd times?
Scott the Woz
Yeah, a lot of like, Angry Video Game Nerd. There was like the nostalgia critics. There was. There was everything kind of surrounding those. Those guys, you know, like, I would watch like, a lot of the stuff that was also on, like, their respective websites at the time and also like the websites associated with them because they would have other creators. And this was kind of during the era when YouTube. YouTube was kind of like, that was the big place. But it was also like a lot of people were trying to make video content work off of YouTube. That's where you had like, Blip TV and all of that. And I love, As a kid, I love.
Interviewer
Wow. I haven't thought about that in forever. They were like the first people that actually paid money. Wow.
Scott the Woz
Yeah. Yeah, I got. I got a couple cents off of Blip tv. I would post my stupid little videos on there because anybody, anybody could post on there. I thought it was fun because you could set up a show or something. Like it could just be considered a show on Blip. I loved that because I. I always like the idea of making a show, not necessarily like a YouTube channel. And I love that you could do that and then you could have it set where all your videos on Blip could be a video podcast on itunes. And I was like, this is badass. I'm on itunes and all that. You know, like there's. Yeah, I think I saw the revenue on Blip as a. As a 13 year old and I was going like, oh, boy.
Interviewer
Yeah, it's validating for the moment. It's validating. Come on. I mean, I mean, and for you, that feels like it adds up because, you know, in your head it seems like, you know, you were very fascinated by like more of the mainstream worlds, but to, to like what you've touched on that, you know, this felt more approachable. Now think about, think to, you know, all these years later how the worlds have merged. Right. I think of like odd ones out on Netflix. I think like all these things that we've seen. And I'm going to, I have a question here that I want you to know. It comes from a place of relatability. Cause if I do not preface that, it's gonna sound accusatory or judgy. The answer, that's okay.
Scott the Woz
I'll take it like that.
Interviewer
Anyways, let's hear it.
Scott the Woz
Yes.
Interviewer
Perfect.
Scott the Woz
That'd be fun.
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Interviewer
So something I noticed is that like the on screen Scott in your videos, right, can seem like anxious, definitely obsessive at times, socially awkward in ways that can kind of read as more than just like a pure performance.
Scott the Woz
Right.
Interviewer
And so I guess when you first started like in, in your head, are you exaggerating certain traits for comedy. Is this something that you're aware of? Is it almost confessional? I don't know. I mean, I just. I want to know if that's part of the thought process at all.
Scott the Woz
I think to an extent, everybody on YouTube is. Is cranking it up a little bit, you know, like. Like, how many people on YouTube are like. To be fair, I can. I can think, you know, I probably heard, like, stories of, like, actors that are just like, oh, they play, like these really mellow people screen, and then their coke, they, like, do coke and like, they're like, oh, wild.
Interviewer
There's plenty of that in our space too.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, I mean, like, my on screen presence is always me, but it's also like, you know, I am cranking it up to 11 for the most part. You know, like, obviously, like, I. I will exaggerate things for comedy or I'll exaggerate things to kind of, like, get my point across and all of that. But I. I find that. I found that throughout the years, you know, focusing so much on YouTube because YouTube is definitely something that's. It almost feels. It feels attainable enough. But then when you actually get it, it's like, well, now I gotta make this my whole world. Pretty much, you know, like, it's just like, well, I got what I wanted, so now what I got, I gotta keep things rolling. So by the time, like, the. The channel started taking off, probably around like 2018 or so was when, like, it became like a really serious, like, I am focusing on this all the time kind of thing, so focusing on it all the time. I think I needed to do that for where I'm at, and I'm very content with where I'm at right now. I'm a. I'm a lucky. I'm a lucky bastard. I got like, all this stuff and like, you know, the channel makes great money, all that. I'm incredibly fortunate to be in that position, but I don't think I would really be in that position or I would really kind of have the mental clarity that I have now if I didn't grind myself to a bone for a couple of years there, because I almost feel like you kind of. You almost have to do that in, in YouTube's case if, if you want to see, like, a lot of, like, growth. And I didn't necessarily care about growth. Like, I was just kind of thinking like, like, this is what I got to do for my show and this is what I got to do to. Because this is what I would want to See, as a viewer, but the thing kept on growing. Like, I would have been happy at like 200, 000 subscribers. Like, that was like, holy crap. Like, this is so much like this. Well, we're at like 2 million now. Like, that's, I, I never expected that. And that's, that's very, very cool. But it gets to a point where I'm like, I got, I got nothing. Like, it's just like, what else do I want? Like, it's just like, it's like, that's great. Like I, I don't need, I'm not like, oh, it needs to grow more. Like, I'm like, no, it's, it's been at a perfect spot. And you know, I, I have me grinding myself to a bone to thank for that.
Interviewer
But I think as a long term creator, I always use YouTuber. But everyone says creator these days. You have to find that point, right? Because then, because otherwise you haven't fully explored like where your comfortability is at that point. And then that's, that's how you find, I mean first decade of YouTube, there were like six times I thought I was going to quit.
Scott the Woz
So.
Interviewer
No, I think, I think that makes sense. And it does sound like you're at a much healthier place and you're kind of comfortable with, I guess, what, how you want it to affect your career.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, you know, I, I think at the time it just kind of felt like, you know, I have this, I have the. Everything. I, I have what I wanted. I wanted a, to do YouTube for a living. And now I just got to keep it growing and I think I lost a lot of myself at that time to the YouTube channel, which again, you know, like I said, like, you know, you kind of have to go through the, you kind of have to go through some stuff like that to get to a point where you can reflect better. Because I look at like, sorry not
Interviewer
to fully cut you off. I'm very interested when, when you say you kind of lost yourself, how do you mean?
Scott the Woz
The YouTube channel was, was all my life was pretty much like, like maybe I might go do something here or there. But that was all I was doing for like years there for, I mean, like years There is probably like four, three, four years or so. And even then when I started to realize, like, it's just like, all right, we gotta, we, we gotta rearrange some things here. It was still hard to like figure out like, like what, what life is or something if, if I'm not working on these videos.
Interviewer
Right.
Scott the Woz
Basically all the time I. I got pretty burnt out, like, at the end of 2021, and then, you know, beginning of 2022, I was figuring out, like, all right, how am I gonna do this moving forward? And I was trying to figure it out for, like, one to two years there and still, like. And I think I made it public what I was trying to do. Like, I was trying to tell people, like, yeah, you know, like, this is. You know, I got burnt out, and I'm trying to, like, figure out, like, what the healthy way moving forward is. And I saw a lot of people go, like, good for you, Scott. Good for you, all of that. But, you know, like, overall, I don't think I got to a good point until, like, two, maybe even three years later. But, yeah, I mean, like, I kind of saw, even in, like, my personal life, like, how I would act personally with people. Like, I felt more like a character than anything. And, you know, I felt like I had to, like, whatever, be entertaining or be funny and all this. And, you know, like, it's. It's fun to be funny with your friends and all of that, but, you know, it gets to a point that, like, okay, you're not being a person, you know, like, it's almost. It almost feels like a performative thing. It's not like I was told that by them or anything, but it's just like, you know, like, I would just kind of feel that, you know, internally with myself. And, you know, over the years, like, I think I've definitely become a lot more comfortable with just myself as a human being. And I think a lot of that was also, you know, during that YouTube, during the build up of that YouTube time, you know, just feeling a lot of pressure. I think, at the time, especially, like, at the time, like, other creators were being outed for being scumbags or weirdos or whatever. And oftentimes I'd see people go, well, thank God we have Scott. He would never do that. And I'm going like, correct. I'm not doing any of this stuff, but Jesus Christ, it feels like you're all looking at me like where the bar is. Like, you're never gonna. You're never gonna screw up, aren't you, Scott? Right, right. And, you know, I'm like, well, hopefully, no, but I'm. I am a human. Like, I might. I might screw up at some point. I think it was a lot of pressure overall, and I think that kind of, like, added to me, you know, like, I said, like, losing myself a bit. But to be fair, like, as I've grown up. Like, I do feel like, you know, that era in which I did that was like early to mid-20s. Right. And, you know, those are very. Those are very, I guess, formative, formulative years where it's just like, you really start to figure things out. And I think I, you know, not that I lost those, but more so it's like, I think I learned a lot of stuff that, like, whatever, like you. You normally wouldn't in that era, and like. But I also didn't learn a lot of stuff you would normally learn. Like, I don't know, like, it's just like a lot of it came down to, like, just grinding out work and not really working. Like, my emotional intelligence, I guess, at that time because I was too busy working on video. So it's just like, you know, just kind of focusing more on that in the more recent years. It's definitely helped me out a lot.
Interviewer
Yeah, There are a few things there that I want to unpack. The first is when you're talking about losing yourself, everything, feeling like a job, a character. I mean, a number of your videos, right, they involve people that you were like, high school friends with or, you know, I mean, has during that time period or maybe. I don't know if it's still a thing, like, did the dynamic of working with those people, did it ever create real tension or did it feel like there was distance there that maybe happened because, you know, this was a job
Scott the Woz
as well, to an extent, from my perspective, I've had. I've had issues kind of coming to terms with some things. And, you know, it's stuff that I've worked past. It's stuff that will come up every now and then, but, you know, for the most part, I've kind of come to peace with a lot of it. But overall, like, you know, a lot of my. A lot of the friends, like, you know, they've been a part of videos ever since, like the. The school projects and all of that. And, you know, eventually when I moved on to the. The Scott Theas YouTube channel in its current state, you know, especially when that was kind of picking up steam and. And all of that, like, it was. It was kind of a fun excuse to get. Get my friends together and everything and, you know, like, maybe film a funny little. Little bit or. Or something stupid and hang out with them a bit too. And for a couple years there, like, some. Some of my friends and I would, like, we would hang out once a week and maybe they would, like, you know, I might be like, Hey, I might need gameplay for like this game. You guys want to play this game? Or like random stuff like that, or like, hey, can you guys like, hold the camera here? Or sometimes they would just come over to directly help out with the videos. And for a while there, I, I was so. I was so worried about it being like a business thing because I've always heard the thing of like, don't, don't go into business with your friends and all of that. And I would say, I would say that's more so like, don't start a business with your friends. Because I feel like that's, that's when you. Because, you know, like when you have. Own a business with like a friend, then I think that's when a lot of tension can kind of rise. When you and your friends all know, like, everybody's role and the position of everybody, then I think there, you know, it's perfectly fine because I was very worried about like, hiring my friends or like turning into a business thing. But eventually I kind of realized, like, you know, that's, that's, that's a sustainable method forward to kind of make this more of like in quotes, a job, but also keep the fun of it and keep the passion there. And a way to do that is like, instead of hiring a bunch of random people that are qualified to do, to do the work, I'm going to train all my, all my friends to, my God, do all this stuff with me. So that's, that's what we're doing right now.
Interviewer
Good luck. Fucking good luck.
Scott the Woz
It's been working.
TurboTax Sponsor Announcer
Yeah.
Interviewer
Hey, with a lot of, A lot of people it will. And then some people, they really won't, whether because of skill or because of ego, depending on which thing. But I was very interested because I've experienced this with both people that are partners or employees and then even just people that you're openly friends with in the space. Right. For me, it might be a little bit different, although I don't know how much, because I have a news show over the last 20 years, especially now, I have almost gone out of my way to not be friends with people. Like, I'll be friendly, but not like. And I'll, you know, even like any. If someone's on the show, we say friend of the show. Even that is like, there's distance because it.
Phil (Podcast Host)
The last 20 years have trained me
Interviewer
to unfortunately look at most people as like, liabilities, where it's like when you're, like, when you're saying, like, people are looking at me and going like, at least we got Scott. Like I, you know, I always try and do the best version of my. Or be, be the best person that I can be. But then all of a sudden like this especially happened. Like the first decade of my career, someone that I was friends with, it was like, okay, all of a sudden they have like a controversy and everyone's like fucking shouting at me. Especially with me having a news show that was focused on YouTube at the time to talk about things. And so, you know, I felt more beholden to audience. And so I would, you know, because people, there was like a trust there and so I talk about it. But it was emotionally exhausting.
Scott the Woz
Right.
Interviewer
I was very interested to know your, your thoughts there and if like, if you had any conflicts regarding whether it be those like high school friends or anything like that.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, I mean I think, I think I've kind of, I think I have a similar mindset to you when it comes to like, like other creators because truly like I don't know any of these people. Like, I'm like, I like their stuff, sure. And like they're friendly to talk to, but like overall I don't know any of them. I don't know what they're like off the camera. Maybe some of them I do. Like, I've hung out with like a bunch of them and everything but like, you know, I don't know. I don't know what they're like when they go home. I don't, I don't know what they're like right now. You know, like it's like I truly don't know. But I think some of the online perspective is like, oh, you guys are like hanging out all the time then chit chat and all the time. And like for the most part like I, I only really talk to like my, my like real friend, real friends. Like yeah, my, my real in life friends who, who I do work with. But it's like, you know, they're, they're more so like they're not like other creators. They, they, they work on videos with me, but for the most part, you know, you know, they're, they're their own people. They're not really like trying to become YouTuber if they want to become then like I'm, I'm all for it. They can do that. But it's also like, you know, I think there's there, there's kind of a feeling where there's like an excitement when you meet another creator or like, you know, you can, you can talk about that. You can talk shop with them, pretty much. That's what I like to say. Like, it's. It's nice to be able to talk to somebody else about this kind of thing because it is a. It is a very unique kind of position to be in. I wouldn't necessarily call it, like, I. I think a lot of YouTubers call this a very hard job and very, like, you know, like, oh, my God, like, all of this. And like, things have never had.
Interviewer
Never had a real job, motherfucker. Never had a real job. It's exhausting. It could be emotionally out. Yeah.
Scott the Woz
That's about it. Like, it's like, overall, I make my own hours. I wake up whenever I want, I sit down, and I get to work on a video about something that I care about, but I also don't have. Do that if I want to. I could just fart out some random video or something, and. And it will. I. I could, like, make money off of that. Like. Like, I don't know. I. I find that a lot of YouTubers act like this is like, a. A super difficult job or something, and wo. Is me or something. I'm just like, bro, come on. Yeah.
Phil (Podcast Host)
Oh, God.
Scott the Woz
You don't know.
Interviewer
You don't know how hard it is to do. But, yeah. Oh, my gosh. No one understands how difficult it is to do the situation I am in control of and put myself in.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, like. Like, if you're. If you're a. Upset that you're not making as much money, just. Just change your video titles. I don't know. Try something new. I don't know. But, yeah, you know, like, there's. There's a general feeling of, like, you know, like, to go back to the original point, like, talking to other YouTubers about, like, you know, the way they create things. Like, I love talking about creating stuff. I love.
Interviewer
I love.
Scott the Woz
I love talking about the creative process, all that. But, yeah, it's something that I've realized that it's just like, I don't. I don't know these people. At the end of the day, you
Interviewer
seem very focused on, like, just your content, and it almost feels like maybe you've, like, actively tried to be quiet or stay out of any kind of controversy. Like, not dealing directly with you, but with anyone.
Scott the Woz
Yeah. Because it's none of my business for the most part. Like, if it's just like, if there's a YouTube controversy going on, like, I'm kind of like, it's none of my business. Like, it's just like, part of me feels like it'll It'll resolve itself or like there's, there's other stuff that comes out. I don't know what's going on here as much as, you know, like I, I understand my own morals and I understand like what, what I would do in certain situations. Like I'm kind of going like, yeah, but like I don't, I don't know this person and I don't know what's truly going on. And I think it's best to just kind of like, you know, just focus on what you're doing, focus on your own life.
Phil (Podcast Host)
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Interviewer
Have there ever been any times or are there times where you, if you even internally wondered if like silence cost something as well.
Scott the Woz
It was really tragic what happened with. Do you, do you remember the, the YouTuber Etika?
Interviewer
Yes.
Scott the Woz
How. Yeah, where he, you know, he, he ended up taking his own life and it was like a very, you know, tragic situation but like months before that point there is like this ongoing joke with people online where like it was like the, the John Tron subreddit changed it to the Scott the was subreddit because John. Sean wasn't uploading much. And, you know, John mentioned that in, like, his Flex Tape 2 video. And I think that got. They got a lot of people. A lot of people online to be like, oh, boy, this is our new little running gag. The Scott the was community changes subreddits. Oh, you know, and again, I almost feel like that's where some of that stuff started, was like, this feeling that I'm like this little. This little golden child that's like, oh, well, we're gonna replace this youtuber with Scott because Scott uploads and we like Scott, blah, blah, blah. I didn't like that they did that with, like, Etika, like, months. Months before, like that, you know, he. You know, he passed away. And, you know, I think at the time he took it in good. Like, in. In whatever good spirits. But I think, like, when. When he was, like, more publicly kind of, you know, having. Having problems, a lot of people were more so being critical of him and just kind of being like, dude, you're like. You're being a clown right now. And they, you know, they ended up, like, changing. Changing his suburb to back to, like me. That's when I. I'll step in for that. I remember I. I stepped in and said, like, guys, you can't. Like, I'm like, no, don't. Don't do any of this. And also, like, I. I publicly told people, like, stop changing subreddits to, like, my. My YouTube channel and all that. So, like, there are times where I feel like it's just like, I really, you know, I. I should come in and say something. You know, stuff like that where I feel like it's like this is kind of like a. Like, if I. If I don't kind of, like reign people in, I guess, like, it's. It's just gonna get worse and worse. Or, like, people are just gonna be like, kind of like, you know, just. Just do something that, you know, even if it's all. Even if you think it's all in good fun, like, it just kind of like, you know, you know, we're talking about, like, real people here and stuff. It's fun to poke fun here and there, but it's also like, you know, like, all right, guys, the joke is over. Let's rein it in kind of thing.
Interviewer
So you do, to a certain degree, feel like, almost like a certain personal responsibility on some things.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, I think. I think you have a personal responsibility when it Comes to like, community. Yeah. If you see your audience, the community, viewers, anything are doing a certain thing and they almost, you know, I, I think this was, these were certain, these were very unique situations where it's almost like they were doing it in a way to like, I get, I guess like honor me or something. I don't even know. Like, that's, I guess like that's almost how I felt. And I almost felt like it's just like I have to come in and I have to be like, no, this isn't like doing this. This is kind of like, I feel like this is just kind of like making things weird or like making things worse or anything like that. And you know, sometimes I think a lot of people get very passionate about things online and they don't really understand, like, the, the real world, like, perception of like what, what they're doing or how it's just like, yeah, this is kind of weird at the end of the day, like, maybe like, tone it back a little bit. We all, you know, we all, we all obsess over certain things online or in general. It's, it's all good. But sometimes I think, you know, a lot, a lot of viewers online can be a little too. They can go a step far and it's not necessarily all the time a malicious act, but sometimes you just have to like, step in and be like, hey, like, don't do this, I get it, but don't do it.
Interviewer
You know, so wanting, seemingly wanting, like these two different worlds where it's like you and then this other world with audience and views and creators and all that. Is that, is that part of the reason why you still live in Ohio and like, you didn't do like that YouTuber thing where everyone went to California or New York? Or is that even just like, is that just completely separate, like, as far as the calculus there?
Scott the Woz
I mean, like, I've always been open to moving somewhere else, but I don't think it would probably be like one of the big creator hotspots like LA or New York or anything. I like visiting those, those areas. It's fun to visit, but. But overall, when it comes to like, you know, real world applications of like, like, okay, what am I doing that would benefit greatly from living out there, living in Ohio? I mean, like, I got like an office building for us and we're actually planning on, I'm, I'm planning on buying an office building here in the next, like, couple months or so, which is
Interviewer
going to be, calm down, money bags flexing on me.
Scott the Woz
I live in Ohio, but you're like,
Interviewer
I bought it for a. Three cans of Diet Coke, bought it
Scott the Woz
for three, eat kidney beans, you know, and like, this kind of ties back in with, like, how, you know, I'm. I'm working with my friends too, is we're all local to each other, and I just prefer that to, like, working, you know, like, online and, and everything. We all hang out a lot and it's like, you know, like, as much as it's like, that's kind of like some anxiety that I've had, you know, like, I've kind of, like, come to terms. It's just like, you know what? Like, I'm happy. I'm happy when I'm with them, and I'm happy with the balance of things. And, you know, I try to be, like, upfront with them and ask them, like, how do you feel about this? And, you know, as long as everybody is good, then, you know, like, everything is good and everything is good, you know, and Ohio makes things affordable to do. So if I was in la, I cannot probably afford to pay all of them and bring on them full time and all that.
Interviewer
So I total, totally get that. I mean, even I moved to Georgia in the last year and a half and the price of doing business here, dramatically easier. It's. There's a lot more flexibility and as long as someone's down, Georgia's great to come. Like, we're slowly building out a thing. It's great. But you mentioning something, I feel like some people, some of your viewers that hear you talking about that they might get into a headspace of, like, I'd love to see more of that. Like, the build. And I feel like you have avoided, like, the confessional kind of parasocial playbook almost entirely. Like, no vlogs. No. Not a ton of personal disclosures. No. Like, hey guys, real talk videos. Like, do you feel like you're going to continue keeping your personal life almost entirely private, or has there been that, like, green goblin mask voice in your head that's like, start this, start that personal channel. Share, share that thing.
Scott the Woz
I think my main thing for, like, personal stuff, I. I'm not interesting enough to really do that. Like, it's just like, I. I think that's better that way they won't take
Interviewer
that as an excuse. I say that constantly about when people ask me to start up a vlog channel. They're not going to take that. But I 100% agree, like, understand that, thinking I'm not going to agree because that's like saying you're boring.
Scott the Woz
But yeah, I, I mean, like, you know, I remember seeing like vlog channels back in the day and a lot of it was like doing crazy stuff every day. May not even be crazy stuff, but just doing stuff of note. And man, that is exhausting. And again, the, the big thing is I'm not interesting enough to, to do that. You know, Like, I eat the same breakfast every morning and then I go do the same thing and I sit down here and I edit my video. Because that's what, that's what I love doing. I love, I love creating like a production.
Interviewer
Yeah. So that brings me to a thing that I'm interested in. What is in your mind? What is the ugliest, kind of maybe like most invisible part of the process. Like the thing that never makes it into the. Like it would make it into a behind the scenes video. Like just a guy staring at a wall. Like what, what is.
Phil (Podcast Host)
A lot of.
Scott the Woz
It kind of comes down to like the cleanup afterwards. Not saying like, it's like, oh, there's like shit all over the walls or anything, but more so like with what I do. Like there's a lot, I film a lot of, lot of shots and stuff and there's a lot of scenes where it's just like I bring up a certain game and maybe I have to play a game and show it on, on camera and stuff. Every element has kind of its, its really annoying elements. Like writing takes a while. I want what I make to say something, even if it's nothing like that prophetic or whatever. Like I just, I, I want what I'm making to like, it's just like, you hear my opinion and it's also the fact, but it's also entertaining and there's some jokes in there. But so like from that perspective, like, it's long, it takes me longer to write things, but it's because like I have like a higher degree of like, this is where things need to be quality wise.
Interviewer
Okay, but when you sit down to
Phil (Podcast Host)
like write a script, what do you
Interviewer
need to be true before the writing of that script works?
Scott the Woz
The last video I put out on the Scott the Wise channel up to this point was like a, was a Christmas special from last year because I'm working on like a bunch of bigger videos right now, so it's been a while. But the Christmas special I put out last year, the whole concept of that was like I had like 10 switch twos or, or something around there. And we worked with like a local organization to kind of hook Us up with like some kids who had families where they were like, hey, like, yeah, like they could, you know, you know, they'd be open to us donating them game consoles. And you know, there were kids where it's just like the, the parents were like, yeah, like it was just like they would love to be on a YouTube video or something. So that was kind of the crux of that. And I kind of tried to create something around that video. And that video was definitely much more of like a, a comedic kind of skit based video. And from that perspective I'm trying to think like, okay, like I know like bit by bit in my head where things need to be like, it's gonna start here and then it's gonna go here. But there's also an element where it's like you want to keep it tight. And that's something that I feel like I've had a problem with before where it's like I'd rather just throw a bunch of at the wall and be like, oh, joke, joke, joke, joke, joke. And it all kind of works, you know. But at this point I'm kind of like, no, like every line or every other line at least needs to lead to the next in some way and it needs to bring you to the next scene. There needs to be a purpose for everything. It's kind of like, I think like the south park writers said the same
Interviewer
thing of like first thing that popped in my head.
Scott the Woz
Yeah, yeah, they're, they're masterful writers when it comes to this, this format where they've done like lectures where they're like, you can't have your bullet points be. And then this happens and then this happens and then this happens. It needs to be this happens, therefore, or, but this happens because you can't just have like, alright, like you know, joke, joke, joke, joke, joke. And you know, it all ends.
Scriptwriting Expert or Guest
We found out this really simple rule that maybe you guys have all heard before, but it took us a long time to learn it. But we can take these beats which are basically the beats of your outline. And if the words and then belong between those beats, you're basically, you got something pretty boring. What should happen between every beat that you've written down is either the word therefore or but. Right. So what I'm saying is that you come up with an idea and it's like, okay, this happens, right? And then this happens. No, no, no. It should be this happens and therefore this happens, but this happens, therefore this happens. And that as soon as we are able to and Literally, sometimes we'll, we'll write it out to make sure we're doing it. We'll have our beats and we'll say, okay, this happened, but then this happens. And that affects this. And that does to that. And that's why you get a show that feels like, okay, this to that, to this to that. But this, here's the complication to that. And there's so many scripts we read from new writers and things that we see that.
Guest or Co-host
I see movies. Yeah, you see movies that you're watching. It's like, this happened and then this happens. And then this happens. That's when you're in a movie just going, what the am I watching this movie for? Just like, this happened. And then this happened and this happened. That's not a movie, you know, that's not a story. Like Trey said. It's those, those two. But because therefore, that gives you the causation between each beat and that makes that.
Interviewer
That's a story.
Scott the Woz
With that latest video, like, I think I finally, like, figured that out at least. Like, I've thought I've, I've known about that, that writing structure. But with that, that latest video, like, I feel like that one was like, okay, like, this is tight everything. Like, nothing is here for BS reasons. It all makes sense. There was like a, there was a lyrical song in that video, but like, it was like a minute long and it explained like, like it, it needed to be there story wise or something. So it's like, you know, it's not just like, oh, here's a song for the sake of a song or something. Like, it's just like, all right, this needs to be here for story purposes. Before. Like, I've done songs before, but they were kind of like, like, oh, this is here because it's cool. Rather than like, oh, this actually adds to the video or adds to the story and all that. I know it's a little stupid to be like, I make videos about video games and I care about the story or something, but I think it's just very exciting as a somebody who writes all the time to kind of just see like everything come together more, especially as I grow and as the YouTube channel ages and to just feel like, oh, what I did here was actually like, like, really good. At least I feel like I'm like, that feels. That feels incredible. That feels awesome. But in terms of writing, like, yeah, it could just like, I don't even know where I started with that video. Like in like any video for that matter. Like, it's kind of just like, hey, I need to write something right now. And sometimes sitting down it's just, it's not happening. And that sucks. That sucks that whole day. Like you can only get like a paragraph or something down. That's the worst feeling in the world. But then sometimes you're on fire. And then sometimes when you're on fire, you don't realize what you're writing is pure trash.
Interviewer
That connects to a lot of like authors that I've heard talk on it or write about it, that they're kind of finding where it's gonna go in the process rather than having even like an outline where then they're like coloring in the lines. And so that's, that's really interesting. And then it makes me wonder with your content specifically. It sounds like you're really thoughtful around the content. Very specific about control and controlling the things that you can control. But where is your mind? When there are recurring gags like Madden 08 Dick Vital on the desk, like becoming Scott the Woz lore and mythology, that it doesn't feel like you designed them to become that. Right. It's like the audience is this just other thing that's attached to it. And do you ever, I don't know. I mean, I don't know what the question is there sometimes. Do you feel like the tails wagging the dog? Is it, is it just part of the natural process? What do you think?
Scott the Woz
I do like to make sure what I'm making is accessible to a general audience, but to long term fans or viewers. And if you understand a reference, then it's there. And even then, sometimes I feel like I've kind of like delved a little too deep into like, like, oh, when you see people talk about like, oh yeah, Scott the wise lore or something. And sometimes I'm like, okay, well how about, you know, maybe this is a video for them or something. And sometimes it goes a little too deep into that, sometimes it doesn't. All of that. It's definitely become more difficult over, over the years because I've done this for about like 10 years now. So there's all kinds of things where it's like, I don't know, I've, I've definitely said things that contradicted what I like what I've said or like, you know, screwed up continuity of a video game review show, whatever, you know, like there's all kinds of stuff. Stuff. But I do what I do because I think it's fun and I think it's, I think it's fun to be a little stupid sometimes. Like, I think a lot of people over the past, like 10 years have been so deathly afraid of being a little cringy. And like, it's just like, oh, I don't wanna. I don't wanna do this or do that because it might be cringe or something. And like, I'm never trying to be cringe or anything. But, you know, like, some people say it's just like, I hate when Scott that breaks into song or something. And I'm like, I think it's fun. Like, I'm not a singer. I think it's fun though. You know, there's all kinds.
Interviewer
You gotta make it for you. You gotta make it for you.
Phil (Podcast Host)
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Interviewer
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Scott the Woz
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Scott the Woz
So at the end of the day, I think the mindset that I like to have is, if I was a viewer right now, what would I like to see? See not. What are all these viewers saying they want to see?
Interviewer
Sure.
Scott the Woz
Because a lot of people, a lot, a lot of people watching, they don't actually, they don't 100 understand, like, if, if, if they're not vibing with a video you produce, sometimes they don't really unders. They don't really know how to describe that to you. And instead they're kind of like grasping at straws to be like, I didn't like this video. And here's why. There's, there's like, you know, you have like, the Angry Video Game nerd. A lot of people say about, like, recent videos, like, well, he's not angry enough. And I'm so. And I'm kind of like, when I watch, like, a recent video, I'm like, he's playing up the anger like crazy in this one. He's screaming more than he ever did. So it's just like, I think there's, like, people that, you know, they try to grasp at straws for, like, what don't I like about this new video? And I think it can kind of misdirect you sometimes.
Interviewer
Sure. And the show, like, on its surface. Right. It is about Video games. My question with that is, what do you think that the show is actually about? Is there a thing that's underneath all of it that you've never maybe quite said out loud?
Scott the Woz
The show is often kind of just about the character of Scott, who is obsessed with video games and all that. And that's not untrue, based on my actual self. But there's been plenty of, like, episodes of Scott the Woz that aren't about video games. There was like one about Tinder. There was one about a speed dating. There's one about like a court case. All this where like, video games aren't like, there. It's kind of like a little special little thing where it's like, here's a Scott the Wise episode that's not about video games at all. And I've often seen people say, like, they're like, oh, I really like that. I. I love those episodes. And that makes me feel very good as like a writer and as somebody who would like to do like more like a comedy focused, like, thing. I think the show is very capable of being kind of whatever I want to meld it into.
Interviewer
Scott, I want to thank you so much for being, for being open and talking about so much of your process and just your life, because I know that it's not one of the main things you do. So what I want to do to close it out is to then flip it back to kind of how we started.
Scott the Woz
All right, hit me with it. What do we got?
Interviewer
Nintendo, PlayStation or Xbox? Gun to your head?
Scott the Woz
I mean, that's, that's completely opinionated. But I've always been a grimy little Nintendo boy.
Interviewer
The most underrated console.
Scott the Woz
I like the psp, but that sold a lot.
Interviewer
What did you like on the psp? Because for my experience, it was like you could mess with the. The back and it's gonna affect the game. And I was like, that's so cool. And then I think I played it for maybe four hours and then it was in a shelf or like in a cover.
Scott the Woz
You know, that's the thing that I've seen with Everybody with the PSP. But the fact that you had like, yeah, like 3D grand theft autos on that thing and they were like pretty full featured. You had like all these like home console looking games and then you had the movies, the UMD movies on psp, that was awesome.
Interviewer
So having that connection, it sounds like, to like the games and the space. Is there a game that has ever made you cry or is there one that closest to it?
Scott the Woz
I think as a kid, I was playing like some WarioWare game and I was pissing me off and I got so frustrated. I think I teared up.
Interviewer
You're like, fuck a storyline. He's like, I just want. I just want to get past this level. Is there a game that you've replayed the most times?
Scott the Woz
Yeah, in terms of replaying, it's tricky. I mean, again, I'm a little Nintendo Goblin, so Mario Galaxy is like my favorite game of all time. There's probably maybe like six. Six times I've played through that one.
Interviewer
Is there a game that you think is a masterpiece that you've played in
Phil (Podcast Host)
the last two years?
Scott the Woz
Expedition 33 is another one of those that I was talking about of like, oh, it's in that giant sea of games that I'm trying out. It's pretty cool. The combat's fun as hell. And like, it has such a very unique aesthetic and feel to it. I definitely understand kind of the hype behind it.
Interviewer
What is a game that everyone should play before they die?
Scott the Woz
If I had to pick one, I mean, what would your answer be to that?
Interviewer
Well, it's. It's hard to recommend it now because there's the remake that though it spans across three games, I was a part of the generation where I was like, Final Fantasy VII was one of the, like, hit me at one of my emotionally vulnerable, like, formative moments right when I was growing up. So for me, I'm like, that game was phenomenal.
Scott the Woz
You have to go back to the 90s, I think, for like, this is a game that everybody needs to play. I probably would say a link to the past on Super Nintendo. Okay. That just seems like the most, like, purely well designed, like, adventure puzzle game that, like, it's just like, you sit there and it's just like this. This is just a great example of excellent game design. And it's from like the early 90s. And it's just like. That just seems like, okay, from this point forward, like, the video games can be much more than just like pixels on a screen kind of thing. That just feels like the most correct answer from in my brain right now.
Interviewer
Yeah, no. You even mentioning that. I'm like, oh, God, like, once again, it's that thing of like, how old I was. Ocarina of Time comes to mind. Like, that game blew my mind as. As a kid. I remember, like reading a magazine. I was like, they obviously we know that it's not the case, but I remember the first reports around the game were, it's going to be 100 hours.
Scott the Woz
I was like, what?
Interviewer
I was like, it blew my mind. And then the experience was great. But what's the most overrated game of all time?
Scott the Woz
I'll just say, because we are mentioned. Ocarina of Time. I'll say, Ocarina of Time.
Interviewer
This guy comes into my home because
Scott the Woz
it's a bad game. It's just, you know, I think for a 10 out of 10, I think. I think crank it down to a 9.5, buddy.
Interviewer
Are you looking at it, though? Are you looking at it? I like that you're like, hey, cut it down to 0.5 lower. I mean, are you looking at it, though, through a 20, 26 lens? I mean, because I think part of the reason a game like that gets a 10 out of 10 is the time. The. The comparison.
Scott the Woz
Well, even then, like, I'm kind of like a lot of Ocarina of Time. I mean, it's pretty similar to something like a link to the past, but it's just in 3D now. And that's. That's a big deal, you know, but it's also like, you know, it's like, all right, man.
Interviewer
Man.
Scott the Woz
I think. I think. I think games have eclipsed it. There are better games than Ocarina of Time.
Interviewer
What's a game that everyone hates that you genuinely love?
Scott the Woz
Have you ever seen Ride to Hell? Retribution?
Interviewer
No, it's.
Scott the Woz
Oh, God, that game is awful. It's the trashiest pile of garbage was on the Xbox 360 PS3 PC back in 2013. It's awful. It's. It's. It's genuinely God awful. But I beat.
Interviewer
Do you love it?
Scott the Woz
It. It's funny.
Interviewer
Okay.
Scott the Woz
Okay, I think it's funny. But that, that was. That was the first thing that came to my head.
Interviewer
What is the worst console ever made? And you also cannot say Virtual Boy
Scott the Woz
worst console of all time. The Philips CDI is genuinely awful. Yeah, I mean, that's. That's gotta be. That's gotta be the worst. Oh, the Gizmondo. Do you know the Gizmondo sounds like
Interviewer
a thing you just made up right now?
Scott the Woz
It was funded by the Swedish Mafia, so that's cool. The plastic on that system. It's a portable, crappy handheld. Yeah, it's a crappy handle from like 2005. Like, it's bad. So I say Gizmondo, slash Philips CDI.
Interviewer
What's a. What's a game that you know is bad but you cannot stop defending a
Scott the Woz
lot of Metroid games, man. Metroid has some Stinkers that I will defend sometimes a Metroid other m. Sometimes I'll defend that one where I'm like, it's not that bad.
Interviewer
Scott, the last question I am going to ask you. Is there a game franchise that should have stopped after the first one?
Scott the Woz
You have Overwatch, which never should have gotten a sequel to begin with because the sequel just. They reverted it back to Overwatch 1. They. I think recently they were like, oh, Overwatch 2 is changing its name to Overwatch.
Interviewer
Scott, what is, what is the plan? Like, what's. Where. Where do you want to take this in five years? Are you just kind of vibe in and you're having a good time and you're figuring it out, or do you got. Do you have a plan?
Scott the Woz
The plan is to probably bring the, the main. Scott, the W channel back a little more. Like, to like more frequent uploads. That's always my goal. But you know, it's just been difficult over the past like, couple of years. But, you know, just kind of keep what I'm doing. I would like to expand things, try new things. But overall, like, the. The plan is to create like a good, like, like in quotes, business structure. I don't want to grow really in terms of like the amount of employees I have or anything. I'm pretty content with just, just my guys that I got right now, maybe one or two extra people here and there. But you know, for the most part I, It. It's all about just kind of creating a good, A good life for, for me, you know, people around me and, you know, just kind of taking the opportunity because this is genuinely a once in a lifetime opportunity. I want to plant the seeds right now to ensure that the future has a lot of doors open wherever I'd want to go. But I think no matter what, I'm always going to want to do YouTube, because this is kind of. This is kind of like my first love, you know?
Interviewer
Yeah. Well, I love that. Scott, thank you so much for the time, man.
Scott the Woz
Of course. Thank you. It's an honor to be here, man. It's been awesome talking to you. Thank you so much.
Philip DeFranco sits down with Scott Wozniak, widely known as "Scott the Woz," one of the most recognizable voices in gaming culture on YouTube. Together, they explore Scott’s unconventional rise from distributing DVDs of self-made news shows as a child to building a creative empire, dissecting the emotional, psychological, and professional realities of growing up online. The conversation delves into YouTube pressures, creative burnout, parasocial relationships, channel lore, and the creative process—all while Scott candidly discusses the challenges and joys of making YouTube his life’s work.
Quote:
"I would ride a bike up and down my driveway for like hours... just like map out scripts, fake scripts for fake shows and movies... always really loved creating."
— Scott the Woz (06:05)
Quote:
"Sometimes you just gotta go away from the internet and just focus on the games themselves."
— Scott the Woz (05:04)
Quote:
"I kind of saw, even in my personal life, how I would act... I felt more like a character than anything... it's almost a performative thing."
— Scott the Woz (22:21)
Quote:
"Truly, like, I don't know any of these people... I don't know what they're like off camera... So for the most part, I only really talk to my real, in-life friends."
— Scott the Woz (30:04)
Quote:
"Sometimes, I think a lot of people get very passionate about things online and they don't really understand... what they're doing. Sometimes you have to step in and be like, hey, don't do this."
— Scott the Woz (38:01)
Quote:
"If I was a viewer right now, what would I like to see? Not what are all these viewers saying they want to see."
— Scott the Woz (54:34)
Quote:
"I think the show is very capable of being kind of whatever I want to meld it into."
— Scott the Woz (55:44)
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Paraphrase | |-----------|----------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 06:05 | Scott the Woz | "I would ride a bike up and down my driveway... map out scripts for fake shows and movies... I always just really loved creating." | | 03:18 | Scott the Woz | "[I wanted a] fun little escapism... it's just some dumbass talking about video games." | | 21:51 | Scott the Woz | "The YouTube channel was all my life was... I got pretty burnt out... and I was trying to figure out the healthy way moving forward." | | 22:21 | Scott the Woz | "In my personal life... I felt more like a character than anything... it almost feels like a performative thing." | | 24:03 | Scott the Woz | "A lot of pressure overall... it kind of added to me, like, losing myself a bit... not that I lost those [formative years], but I learned a lot..." | | 30:04 | Scott the Woz | "Truly, like, I don't know any of these people... I don't know what they're like off camera... I only really talk to my real, in-life friends." | | 38:01 | Scott the Woz | "Sometimes you have to step in and be like, hey, don't do this... people get very passionate online and don't really understand the real world impact." | | 42:23 | Scott the Woz | "I'm not interesting enough to really do that [vlogging]... I eat the same breakfast every morning and then go do the same thing and edit my video." | | 50:29 | Scott the Woz | "Sometimes I've delved a little too deep into [channel] lore... I do what I do because I think it's fun... it's fun to be a little stupid sometimes." | | 54:34 | Scott the Woz | "If I was a viewer right now, what would I like to see? Not what are all these viewers saying they want to see?" | | 55:44 | Scott the Woz | "I think the show is very capable of being kind of whatever I want to meld it into." | | 62:49 | Scott the Woz | "The plan is to create a good life for me, people around me... I want to plant the seeds now to ensure the future has a lot of doors open..." |
This episode delivers a candid, thoughtful, and at times vulnerable exploration of what it means to grow up and make a career on the internet. Scott the Woz offers unique insights into creator psychology, audience interaction, and the realities behind seemingly carefree content. The discussion stands out for its honesty about burnout, the importance of privacy, and redefining success—not as unchecked growth, but as sustainable, meaningful work with friends and space to be oneself.