The Grey NATO – 144 – A Rolex For 1 Million Subscribers With Jakub From The Straight Pipes
Published on Thu, 06 May 2021 06:00:31 -0400
Synopsis
This episode of The Grey Nado podcast features a discussion with Jacob Roble, one half of the popular YouTube automotive channel The Straight Pipes. They discuss Jacob's path to becoming a full-time YouTube creator, the origin of The Straight Pipes channel, his interest in watches including his Rolex GMT-Master II, and advice for aspiring YouTubers. The hosts also share some final notes and product recommendations.
Links
Transcript
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| Jason Heaton | Hello and welcome to another episode of The Grey Nado, a loose discussion of travel, diving, driving, gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 144 and we thank you for listening. James, uh, we seem to be have a weird pattern going here where we're sort of doing rehearsal episodes and then recording the real thing finally, huh? |
| James | Yeah, we recorded this. So this episode, the fun one, it has a big chat in the middle with this awesome, one half of this awesome YouTube duo called The Straight Pipes. So when we do that, I recorded that chat even a couple of weeks ago. And then you and I today are recording the first half, the kind of chit chat and watch, risk check, and then the final notes. And we recorded it and I went to edit it. And for those of you listening, you know, Jason's file has a wave form. So the, the little thing that shows you the activity within the, within the kind of scope of the, the audio of the file, but there's, there's no sound there. So I don't know. I genuinely couldn't tell you, tell you what happened. Some sort of crushed weird glitch. I mean, it's the like, like to, to what, to your point in, in about the previous episode, at least we only did, you know, 30, 35 minutes for this one. You know, the, the one that I ruined, Two weeks ago was, you know, we had to do another hour plus, and I had also done several hours of editing to that file, so it could be worse. Yeah, we are professionals, just to remind people. Professionals that like to complain about all their mistakes. Yes, this is true. Getting back to, you know, usual programming, how's the weather out your way? |
| Jason Heaton | Well, it's a breezy with a chance of, uh, I don't know. No, it's, uh, it's nice. It's spring weather. We're back to cool. We had some, some warmth over the weekend and I got out for a nice bike ride with Kashani and whatnot, but now we're, we're back to kind of more April temps, which is, which is okay. It's fine. |
| James | Yeah. I like spring. Yeah. I've got to kind of the same thing here. We're seeing more of that, like true April, may it's a little cooler, like, like you guys, we had it a bit warmer. So, uh, kind of rain on and off today. And then as luck would have it, when we started the the recording an hour and a half ago or two hours ago or whatever, there was a large crane truck, of course, showed up five minutes after I clicked record. And then they brought a big wood chipper and chewed up a piece of a tree while we were recording. So now you guys don't have to deal with that either. So maybe that's the silver lining to this rerecord. To kick off the show, I want to get into an update about depth charge, but we have some kind of show news. that we'd like to get out of the way, and then let's hear about how things are going with DepCharge. So the show news is a fun one. We've had this ongoing kind of ad deal with Hodinkee for the last couple of years. And we've kind of decided that we didn't really love selling ads in that metric. And those who listen to the ads on the show, we didn't even have that many shows that had ads. So that deal has expired. And it means that moving forward, you won't see the show notes post on Hodinkee anymore. You're going to have to go to thegranado.com and click on the episode and then click show more to see all the notes and the links and everything that are there. So that's only going to be the big noticeable changes. Those of you who've been kind of tracking the show based on the post on Hodinkee, that's not going to be there anymore. But the other side of this where there's kind of an upside is that the show schedule doesn't have to align with any greater uh, sort of scheduling concerns. Uh, so Heaton and I are pretty, pretty happy to announce that we're going to go back to doing a weekly episode. Uh, so we've been on two weeks for some time and that's how we'd started the show. And then in the early days of the pandemic, we went to weekly and, and, and loved it. Right, Jason? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. And I think other people did too. I think we got a good response to that. |
| James | And, and then it just became kind of a conflict with other things in the general schedule. So we went back down to two a month plus a Q and a, Now, we're going to go to four. Maybe that includes the Q&A. Maybe it doesn't. It's a surprise. You know how I like to do the Q&A, keep everyone guessing and wondering why I haven't done one in a while. We have a lot of questions we just have to get to. It's just been a busy season with Watches and Wonders and the rest of it, which I've talked about on a previous episode. But we're going to get that going. We're going to get a website going that'll help with the show notes. It might be a sub stack. It might be something else. In the meantime, the show's not going anywhere. You're going to get more episodes. The show will remain free, of course. If you need information, notes, that sort of thing, thegraynado.com. And if you want to get in touch with Jason and I, thegraynadoatgmail.com. So none of that has changed, but I think starting in June, we're going to go to weekly episodes. I'm really excited about it, and it means that we're going to be able to do a few other kind of exciting things that should kick off June or sometime this summer. So just stay tuned if it's in your wheelhouse. Otherwise, the feed's not going to change. No change to run of show. It's still just Jason and I. And, uh, and yeah, thanks very much for listening through, uh, some not necessarily super interesting news, but, uh, I'm excited to go back to weekly episodes. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. I think, uh, also, you know, as, as today's episode is kind of a little preview of what's to come, um, going to weekly, not only makes the episodes a little more timely in terms of what we're doing ourselves, but it also allows us to introduce some different voices with, with more of these chats. I think weaving those in, um, you know, when we have weekly episodes that they just kind of, create a little bit of variety. We get to introduce some new voices to the show and, uh, uh, I'm, I'm excited. I think it'll be great. And it's a, it's kind of a good, good time to do it. Kicking off the summer, kind of ramping up activity. |
| James | Hopefully all of you have, um, you know, summer drives ahead and some time outside and maybe even cutting the lawn, all of that stuff. I think an extra show here, there, and we'll try and keep them nice and long. Nobody's been complaining about the hour 20 plus sort of shows. So I think we'll kind of keep them going. If you hit something you don't like, Uh, fast forward, I guess. Uh, so let's, uh, let's talk, uh, depth charge. What's, uh, what's the scene. Uh, the last episode was hugely popular. It seems like everybody's really stepped up and, and, and been super keyed in on, on getting a copy. Uh, how's that been going? Kind of a new job for you. Oh, it's amazing. Shipping and fulfilling Jason's a special action. |
| Jason Heaton | Seriously. Yeah. I mean, as if, as if writing a book wasn't, uh, it wasn't its own challenge. Now I'm, I run a little shipping department here. Uh, it's, it's fun, you know, I mean, I think it's, you get into a rhythm in terms of kind of the mechanics of, of signing and packaging and then shipping the books off, uh, which, which is its own reward. But, uh, I'm just so pleased with the response and I just thank everybody out there for the interest and the encouraging notes that I've gotten and the feedback on the book. And of course, all the orders, I think it's just been, um, beyond my wildest imagination, the kind of response I've gotten. And, uh, you know, our episode two weeks ago was just, was so fun to do and a great way to sort of kick off the launch of the book. And then, um, last week I did the worn and wound podcast and the OT podcast. And, uh, and then Mike Pearson and I did a little launch event last Thursday that was well attended. And so it's, it's been a whirlwind. I mean, it's been, it's been a different sort of a different, uh, mode of operation here for me, you know, compared to, I don't know, the past, you know, 50 years of my life. I mean, it's just been, it's been, it's been kind of crazy, a bit of a whirlwind, but I'm having fun and, uh, it's been great. That's awesome. Yeah. Um, and, and the book is out there on, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, Apple books. So however you want to read your book, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna shill for it too hard here. We did enough of that a couple of weeks ago, but I think, uh, you know, if people are still out looking for it, it's, uh, it's out there. |
| James | You just, uh, download the format you like. Yeah. And a friendly reminder to everyone who bought one that allows you to review it somewhere. And reviews are absolutely make or break when it comes to putting these books higher on lists of newly discovered stuff. So if you have a moment, if you want to feel like you'd like to pay it forward, you're enjoying the book and the rest of it, throw it out there with a review, let other people know about it. That'll make a big difference. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I agree. And I've gotten a few nice reviews on Amazon and I want people to be honest, certainly, but any reviews help. I think it just heightens the visibility of the book. Appreciate anybody that makes the effort to go ahead and do that. Yeah, absolutely. And you're about halfway through the book now, right? I think you said you're plowing through it. |
| James | I'm a little embarrassed whenever this comes up, but I'm a slow reader when it comes to books. I can buzz through nonfiction pretty quickly. But as soon as you're talking about characters and people's names and what their face looks like, I slow down for some reason. I'm just out of practice, I guess. Yeah. So I'm taking my time with it. I'm enjoying every page every now and then I get to stop and Google something so I can better understand the background that's kind of being painted through some of this and through the World War II stuff as well. Yeah. Yeah. The easy one is I'm just absolutely loving it. I'm looking forward to having some time to myself this weekend so I can kind of finish it off. And so far it's been great. And I've enjoyed every page. So well done on on that front. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, thanks. You know, when you when you actually say that you're a slow reader, my initial reaction is jealousy because I would love to be a slow reader and I bet a lot of people would too. Books last me a while. Yeah. I mean, I would love that. I would love to be able to savor a book. I kind of blow through them pretty fast. |
| James | I think it's like I'm now, you know, well into my third decade here. So it's gotta be 15 plus years of using Feedly or before Feedly it was Google Reader, if anyone remembers Google Reader, but like I'm an RSS junkie, so I don't read anything. Yeah. In the purest sense. Yeah. I scan. Yeah. So, you know, my, my current RSS feed is about three or 400 posts a day that I scan to try and just try and see. And then the stuff I really like, I put it into pocket and I read it usually on the weekend or that evening. Sure. And, and, but very seldomly do I, I really sit down and pour over an article, you know, those rock and ice archive pulls, I'll spend a lot of time reading those. I like all the detail in the background, but those are, nonfiction. So it's a little bit easier to move quickly. Yeah. Um, and, and I want, I want to enjoy this. I want to make sure I give the book the right, the right attention. So yeah, I'm moving away kind of slowly through it, but, uh, I like it and I'm impressed by all the folks that kind of get it. And you see the Instagram posts three, four, five hours later and they're, they're through it. That's how a couple of my siblings read books and, uh, you can get through a pile awfully quickly. That's for sure. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. So enough about me. What, uh, what's happening on your side of the border, so to speak. |
| James | Yeah, not a ton here. I mean, we're still on a pretty strong lockdown sort of scenario. So keeping to myself, you know, family, that sort of thing. Like I said on a previous episode, I put some lights on the Jeep. I also installed these kind of bags that attach to the inside of the Jeep on the roll bar for storage. So let's consider these bags. And if it's important to you, send me an email and I'll just give you the links. But I'm not sold on any of this product yet. I want to try it all. over the course of the summer. The bags are a very neat design and not super expensive and the rest of it, which is great. And the lights, from what I can tell, are great. I just need a chance to actually take them out to an actual rural setting and use them while driving. Yeah. Right now, I can kind of click them on for a second, but they're bright at an almost anti-social way. You know, if there's anyone else in your zip code. Um, so yeah, that's, uh, that's where I am with the Jeep. Um, other than that, uh, yeah, not, not a ton going on. Yeah. Well, uh, just kind of staying in the mix. It's been a busy season, you know, with, uh, closing out the magazine for Hodinke, the next one will come out pretty soon. And then certainly lots of stories and that sort of thing. So just trying to keep in the flow and not lose too much pace. But if I'm honest, if I'm really honest, I just, I cannot wait for some time off. I'm feeling, feeling, I'm definitely fighting some burnout usually by Thursday or Friday. I'm a, I'm a much less, uh, um, amenable James. Uh, but, uh, I'm doing my best with it. So I am looking forward to some time off over the summer and, and that kind of thing. Cause that's where I'm, I'm drawing most of my, my power these days. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, we've got this, uh, this cool chat you've got with Jacob coming up here. I, I would say we, uh, we kind of moved towards that. Maybe we jump into a quick risk check before we do that. |
| James | Yeah, I do. I do want to throw one one small warning just because, you know, I recently got an email from a listener who said, not only do I speak too much throughout the shows, but also the car stuff isn't that interesting. If that's of your opinion, this isn't going to be the episode for you. You're you're fine. You're fine to feel that way. That's fine. Of course, my my deepest apologies when it comes to my verbose nature and my love of cars. But Uh, this episode is a lot of James and a lot of cars. So Jason, a fair warning before we get into, uh, into a wrist track, Jason, what, what do you have, uh, what do you have on wrist? |
| Jason Heaton | Uh, so I, I dusted off the, uh, my Seiko so-called Sepharni. This is the SNJ 029, um, that I got about a year ago. And, you know, there was a bit of a, a kind of a initial flurry when I first got this watch where I wore it quite a bit, and then I put it away and I didn't wear it for gosh, six, seven months at all. Um, And I picked it up a couple of days ago. Uh, I was chatting with a friend of mine who had one and he, I saw it on his wrist and I was like, Oh, okay. Yeah. I remember that watch. It looks really cool from afar on somebody's wrist and I should pull mine out. So I did. And you know, this is one case where choosing the right strap really makes all the difference with a watch. And I had it on a leather bun strap, which looked fine, but you know, weather's warming up. It's kind of time to move to other strap options. And I put it on this black, triple aught design, really snazzy. It's like that super NATO. Super NATO. Yeah. With the machined titanium hardware. I mean, this, this is a pretty swanky strap. Um, probably actually probably worth more than the watch or cost more than the watch at least. Um, but, uh, it's, uh, it looks the business. I mean, it looks really cool. I don't know if there's something, the watch itself is such a tactical watch. And I think when you put it on a bond or even on the original tan rubber, it has more of a kind of a playful look. Uh, or something more stylish. This, this like immediately kind of, I don't know, makes it look a little more hardcore and, and kind of beefs it up a little bit. And I think Arnold Speck. Yeah. Arnold Speck. Exactly. Um, so I'm liking it again. I mean, it's, it's, it's such a, it's such a fun watch and I wore it. I was kind of fiddling with the Land Rover, uh, yesterday changing the oil and doing some other stuff. And, um, you know, normally I'd take my watch off to do that, but I didn't even give this a second thought. You know, it's got, it's got a shroud. It's, It's battery powered, you know, solar. So not much, not much can go wrong with it. And just bashed it around unintentionally and it's holding its own. So I'll keep it on for a few days. See how it goes. |
| James | Yeah. That's a great watch. And the thing, the funny thing is, is that's one of those, it's a big watch, but it doesn't necessarily wear big in every dimension because of the short lugs. Right. Right. So there's, if you don't match it up with the right strap, it's not going to sit flat on your wrist. So I can see why that's one where you'd want to, kind of fiddle around. I actually have had kind of a similar thing with that Synchron Military, where it's like, it doesn't work on a rubber NATO simply because of where the lug holes are in relation to the maximum depth of the case. Yeah. But then if you put it on a two-piece rubber, it's incredible. It sits like it sucks right into your wrist and works really well. So it's just, you just have to kind of, sometimes watches kind of demand a certain strap. And certainly for the summer when you want it to You want one that you can have it to be loose enough to be comfortable, but not so much that it's flopping around, especially with a big sports watch on a NATO. You don't want it to have any real movement. It kind of defeats the purpose, but that's a killer. I like that watch a lot, and I'm glad you're getting some use out of it, like a perfect summer beater. |
| Jason Heaton | I think that's a great call. Speaking of kind of khaki-toned watches, you're wearing a pretty special one today. |
| James | I am, yeah. I'm maybe two or three days over The duration that I told them I would keep this watch, but it's the really excellent Bremont S302 GMT. So it's the smaller Supermarine size, so the S300 size, but with GMT movement. So it's a 24-hour independent hand GMT. It's an ETA base. Being a Bremont, it's an ETA base. And I really love it. I absolutely adore it. It's a little bit... You always pay a bit of a premium for a Bremont. And I know that that upsets some commenters who haven't really experienced the brand or, or, or, you know, or only kind of obsessed with the idea of competition. And I think competition and knowing what's available at a price point is important, but also there's a part where you just buy the thing that you like. Yeah. And this is, I would pay the extra for this watch. I would love to own one of these. I might have to sell something else to make room for another black dial dive watch in the case. But I absolutely love it. And the key for me is that they, you know, GMTs come in a lot of different versions. And I brought this up in my writeup, which I'll put in the show notes, et cetera, et cetera. But GMTs come in a lot of different versions, and some of them are simply better than others, loosely depending on what you're using them for. Like, obviously, if you're going to be traveling a lot, a local hand GMT, like my Explorer 2, like a GMT Master, like a Black Bay GMT, like the new Mido Oceanstar GMT, These ones offer amazing ability to really easily move from one time zone to another. |
| (Commentary) | Yeah. |
| James | But that, you know, I, that's the kind of watch I would have preferred in a mode of my life where I was traveling six to seven months of the year, which I don't do anymore. And, and I think in for many people where they travel part of the year, but mostly they stay in one time zone, the sweet spot for a, a GMT sports watch is where it's a, uh, I would call it like a dive GMT, not a GMT diver. Right, right. And yeah, so with a dive GMT and in my mind anyways, I'm not, I'm not the, I'm not the king of, of what these are called or anything, but in my mind, you know, dive GMT special because it's a dive watch with a dive bezel and they kind of add in a GMT function with its own 24 hour ring and you don't lose any dive watch features. You just add a second time zone. Yeah. And in my mind, that's the most elegant and sporty kind of solution. Um, I, I would really love for the Braymont to have a, um, a local jumping hour movement if that was available. but it's not commonly to the market, certainly not in the third party realm currently. So within the guise of this, I think it's a great dive watch that also does a second time zone, but I really love the way it looks. I love the way it wears. It feels beautifully made. Obviously great finishing. The hardened steel is a huge benefit of these watches. They just wear and take abuse really, really well. And as much as I love the 43 millimeter S500, I just find it a little bit big for an everyday watch, especially when it comes to cuffs and pockets and stuff like that. And this, uh, this, you know, 40 millimeter, uh, format, I think fixes all of that. I, I, uh, I sleep with it on. It's super comfortable. I think it looks great. The loom is way better than I was expecting. I was really blown away. I thought I would like the watch and I kind of, I kind of really like it. Like I would love to have one. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it certainly is the, To me, in my mind, the darling of Braymont's recent releases, even over the past couple of years, I think, you know, there's always a watch that when you go to a website, you just want to sit and stare at and go to time and again. And that's, that that's the one for me. And I think you're, you're absolutely right. It's it's such high functionality. I think I like your distinction of a dive GMT versus a GMT diver. I think that latter term might refer to just GMT watch that has high water resistance, because it kind of loses the dive functionality. |
| James | I had mentioned the BB GMT and the GMT Master, and those are wonderful watches for travel, but the bezel is 24 or 48 clicks to align for a second set of hour markers, and it doesn't offer the same functionality. If you want to time some pasta on the stove or some chicken nuggets for your kids or a dive, Yeah. Or, or, or a weight during anything like all the great uses. I use dive watch whenever I have a dive bezel on, I'm constantly using it. There's, there's lots of fun ways and useful little add-ons to, to tracking the elapsed time. Yeah. And, and you lose that when you have the 24 hour bezel. So I think in some way, the, the, the huge popularity of the Rolex format has meant that a lot of watches ended up with a 24 hour bezel when what they needed was a dive bezel and a 24 hour chapter ring. Yeah. I don't think it's super crucial to have three time zones unless you're a traveling pilot. Right. You know, this is again, that it's, it's like another little slice within the GMT world where the GMT master, what that bezel allows you to do is set the 24 hour, the, the GMT hand to UTC, leave the main time zone to your local time. And then you spin the bezel to do UTC offset, which helps pilots they're told in many ways what the UTC offset of any code is. So they can, and it's very simple to spin that. But in day to day, that's not something any of us need. |
| (Commentary) | Right. |
| James | Whereas I find an elapsed time bezel very handy. |
| (Commentary) | Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Oftentimes if you aren't traveling a lot, like you said, or, or, you know, every once in a while, then that, that 24 hour bezel, I mean, it doesn't move. You never use it. You know, it's set to a second time zone. |
| James | It just sits there. Yeah. Yeah. And, and I like, I like a 24 hour scale. The Explorer 2 has a lovely one, but it only does the two time zones. And I think that's kind of... Admittedly, it is that thing where you're making tiny slices to kind of pick the thing that you like, but that's what it is in watches when anyone buys a watch. And in my world, as much as I enjoy a travel watch, I have a great travel watch. And I love the idea of a dive GMT where you're not sacrificing any of its ability to be a great watch day to day or on a vacation. when you want to go diving or swim in the pool or whatever you do, just treat it like a dive watch. And then it just adds a time zone and it does so with this big orange hand. I think the coloring is really nice. The bezel's excellent. I like the matte ceramic that they're working with now so you don't end up with a super shiny watch, which I've come to not really appreciate, especially shiny watches, especially when it comes to the bezel. I like the kind of more low profile of this one. I'm really impressed with this watch. I think they did a lovely job. Uh, it's a little over $4,000. Um, which if you're, if you're buying your GMT based on competition, isn't going to be the method you'd go. But my counter to that is this is the one that I would want and I would just save up for it. And that's probably what I'll do. Um, uh, it may, it may replace my solo. We'll see. It's always nice to have a Braymont. I probably don't need a multiple. Uh, I don't need multiple of any watch these days. Yeah. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | I mean, I think, you know, There will be always be those that quibble with any brand and then Bramont has been no stranger to that. But I think what they do well is very exemplified in this watch. It's obviously high, high build quality, which I've, has never been in doubt. They make incredibly, incredibly rugged, well-finished functional watches, but then they have this knack for design that I just, I can't get, I can't get over. I mean, every time I look at any Bramont going back to their earliest days, I'm like, how do you guys have so many hits? I mean, there are very few, if any, kind of ugly ducklings in their lineup. You know, you might think, okay, the Erico watches are kind of simple or they're kind of whatever, or the, maybe I don't like, you know, whatever, but it, none of them are bad looking. All of them are very functional. Um, and, and this is, this is moving closely, close to the top of the heap. I think it's a, it's a cool watch. |
| James | So yeah, I've been super impressed with it. My review, like I said, is on Hodinkee now. You can check it out there. If you have any questions more specific to me in this watch, uh, feel free to write thegranadoatgmail.com. Other than that, I think it's time to get to this big chat. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, let's go for it. I think it'll be a good one. Hope everyone enjoys it. |
| James | Today on the show, we have a special, uh, even local guests. He's one half of the dynamic duo that creates one of my favorite YouTube channels, the straight pipes. And along with his excellent co-host Yuri, they review new and special cars for an audience of more than 1.2 million subscribers. He's got a thing for orange cars. He spells his name with a K. has recently started down the path of watch enthusiasm, and I'm super pumped to have him on the show. It's Jacob Roble. |
| Jacob Roble | Thanks for having me. And I guess I can quickly explain why I'm the only one here today. Yuri's not really into watches. |
| James | Yeah, that's fair. I mean, yeah, that the sweet thing about TGN, we don't do a ton of these chats. It's something that I'm trying to ramp up. But obviously, everyone's busy. And I kind of only want to talk to very busy people because I find that what they do is the most interesting. And I know that you're very busy. We've chatted about this a bunch. I've actually kind of This is on me, of course, punted this chat downfield several times with the hopes of getting it to the other side of the watches of wonder. And of course, we did that, but also so did all the other work that I was punting along with it. So I am glad we were able to make this. Please let Yuri know if he doesn't listen to this, that I'm a massive fan. And if he ever wants to come on to talk everything except cars, the offer stands. Let's have you both on. I'd love to do it someday in the future where we could be in the same room. Obviously, despite the fact that we live in the same city, we're not in the same place. Thankfully, working with a professional YouTube creator means I can get good audio quality from your end and from my end. So that's great. How are things going these days with the channel? |
| Jacob Roble | Good. Very busy as usual. As you said, Yuri and I are extreme workaholics. We're motivated by the content and then the, I guess, everything that you get out of the content. Uh, I personally don't really like the fame. If I could have everything else except the fame, I would love that even more because as great as it is to be recognized all the time, it's not something that I ever wanted and it's not something that I ever expected. So, uh, like I get recognized daily almost at this point, which is pretty crazy. I never thought I'd be that person and you say unsurprising, but I'm like, I can't believe that. |
| James | But I think there's, there's different ways that YouTube channels kind of hit a zone. And your guys is so, it's so personality driven. It's what I love about it. Um, and, and, and I think that that's like, people would know your face, even if they couldn't remember your name or, or, and I'm sure you're at the point now where of course everybody knows, cause you guys start, I'm Yuri, I'm Jacob, let's go for a drive. So the names are out there, but I do feel like you operate in a space where you could just be trying to fill up your car with gas. And because it is a presumably either a loaner or uh, in a more fame spec, bright orange Raptor people, people are going to say stuff. And I get that. And I'm sure that people are kind and polite. It is still Canada where you have most of these interactions. |
| Jacob Roble | Everyone's super nice. Um, everyone's really, really nice in person. We do get some odd, uh, not so nice comments, but that's the internet, right? Mm hmm. It is. But in person, all the subscribers, everyone has been the nicest. Everything going on right now, COVID and whatever. Everyone's kind of keeping their distance, whatever. Asking for photos. We're like, yeah, sure. You know, be respectful. Stay far away. And everyone's like, yeah, totally get it. Like all good. |
| James | Absolutely. Well, that's great. I think my guess is and it's not a guess because I have literally had people send like listeners of the Grenado send me links to your videos and say like, do you know these guys? They're in your city. They like your cut. They're the roughly the same age. They seem to like similar things. This one of the two guys has a Rolex. Uh, and I was like, yeah, I do. Like I'm a huge fan. I've been following for a while. I'm a big, I'm on your Patrion. I think you guys do really great stuff. And I, and more specifically, it's not that everyone else isn't also doing great stuff. There's a lot of great YouTube channels for cars, but you guys just do your own thing. So it's very detailed. It's very consumer based. So I think you guys make videos almost regardless of the car, maybe not with something like an Aventador SVJ, but anything kind of less than that, you do assume that somebody watching is a buyer, which I find to be so respectful of your audience. And it's something that has always stood out for me. So in your mind, what is your several years into it now? So it's not really a pitch, but if you were to write the elevator pitch for the straight pipes now, how would you explain this in a few seconds? To someone who'd never seen the show. |
| Jacob Roble | Thank you for joining the Patreon. But of course, second of all, I think what I would just say is the way that we've started it from the beginning is just we always wanted to be two guys that you always wanted to just have a beer with. We're just two buddies going for a drive. And like there's there's no it's like, oh, I'm better than you or I'm better than this car or I'm so rich that my opinion is more important than yours. It's always just like it's two normal guys in every car. none of our reactions are faked. Everything is like right off the cuff. There's, there's no scripts. There's literally two of us creating this whole channel. Um, the production is us. The editing is us, everything, the bookings, all that stuff is us. So I feel like that just flows through the entire YouTube channel because there's only so many things you can do with like a whole production and like everything gets kind of carried away here and there. So when you have full control of everything, you have, the ability to make it look like what you want it to look like. And we just want it to be like the most authentic, genuine thing that is just two people going for a drive and having fun in a car that some people may not ever get to experience. |
| James | I think that's great. And like I said, I find the channel really appealing. I also, there's, there's a lot of it that I like just because it is Canadian made content. Where did your love of cars kind of start? Was there a magazine or a, uh, uh, an elder Statesman or States woman in your life that kind of brought cars to you. Was it hot wheels? |
| Jacob Roble | How did you get there? I'd say it was just literally helping my dad, uh, fix the cars that we had and like, that's it. And at first I didn't really like cars because it was just like, it was, they were always being fixed. They weren't being modified. They weren't, nothing was getting a loud exhaust. If it had a lot loud exhaust, it was getting a quiet one because my dad hated it. So, It's just, yeah, yeah. And then like, you know, doing break jobs and like doing timing belts and like that kind of stuff. So it started off with that kind of stuff. And basically I was always the person holding the flashlight for my dad. Um, and then it turned into like me doing the break jobs and all that kind of stuff. But I didn't enjoy it at first, but then I kind of, it's, I think I really started to enjoy it when I kind of discovered that it was a community and like people were really into cars. And then in high school, uh, that's where I met Yuri. And then we had a couple of car friends and stuff like that in high school. And we were each other's like car buddies and like, we would do car things with each other. So outside of like the regular, you know, high school or whatever, snowboarding, drinking stuff, you'd, you'd, uh, you'd do like car stuff with like car friends and like, Oh, this guy modifies this, this guy does this. I'm like, I didn't know that was a thing. And then you just kind of keep learning from there. |
| James | I get that. I, I didn't, you know, I didn't grow up in a home where we did a lot of our own service on cars. It was, it was a lot of, you know, cars that were kind of at their last, the last owner with my family, right? Yeah. Do these days, do you, do you still enjoy wrenching on your own cars? |
| Jacob Roble | Uh, I would say it was just way too busy. It's I'm too busy, but I would say that I would enjoy it if I had time. Um, so I just, I literally don't have time. I used to enjoy oil changes. I have all the equipment in my garage to do everything. Like I used to do my wife's breaks and stuff. Now it's like, okay, just get the car to the shop, get it fixed. Why? So I can edit like it's, it's gotten to that point. |
| James | I had a few minutes this afternoon and I've spent a month trying to pick a new front lighting array for the Jeep. All of it is actually just directly behind my laptop now because I stripped both bolts on on the cross threaded both bolts for the mounts. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah, well, see, that's the thing with working on your car is like an easy job. You're like, OK, this is going to take me an hour. all It all it takes is one bolt to just ruin your day like working on a car. |
| James | Yeah. So I don't know. I don't know if we'll be talking about these headlights anymore or these driving lights anymore on TGN. I may throw them all in the trash and just assume that I have enough light on the Jeep as it is. Yeah. But I would add a quick thank you because I took my my my two young kids out to the the off road track that you recommended and we had a blast. |
| Jacob Roble | Awesome. No, it's good to hear. It's it's it's fun to do that kind of stuff. Like I think getting your kids and stuff into car stuff is good. And like, obviously you don't force them into it, but it's, you just let them experience it. And then if they like certain things, exactly. If they like certain parts of it and continue on. |
| James | Yeah. I hope so. They, they get a kick out of it. You know, the, uh, I have a, uh, mid JK Wrangler, you know, they, they, it's a toy to them. The roof comes off of it and everything is kind of, they can't break anything in it, no matter how, how badly they behave. So half the time when I'm cleaning it, I kind of close them in it and just roll the windows down. |
| Jacob Roble | Right. And that's the thing. It's like it might not be the car that they enjoy. It's the time with you and the experience of what you're doing when you have the car. So that's the cool stuff about cars is like it's not just the car. It's what you get to do with people with the car. So like like a track day, it's like, OK, going to the track is fun. But then talking to your buddies after you finished lapping is like, oh, man, this lap sucks. Like, yeah, so did mine. do this on corner two, do this on corner six. And you're like, oh, wow, that helps so much. It's that kind of stuff. And then, you know, go for a drink after. |
| James | It's cool, man. I can't tell you how much, especially since moving from because I used to live in B.C. where the speeding limits are even lower than Ontario, but they're not enforced in the same way. I didn't think that was possible. Well, I think I could have it wrong because I don't check because the Jeep doesn't go 50 kilometers an hour over any speed limit. But I think it's still 50 over here is where you get into, like, serious trouble. It's 30. Oh, wow. In B.C. So that was always a fun place to, you know, review supercars and that sort of stuff. But at least the roads are good. You've got to go a lot farther in Toronto to find more. And that would lead me kind of my next question is, you know, do you have any any sort of advice for Toronto car enthusiasts? Is there a hub that people should be focusing on or is it all spread out? So like everything else in the city? |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah, I think it's a really tough question to answer right now, considering COVID. |
| James | Well, oh yeah, that, no, that's true. I would say let's assume, let's assume we're living in kind of a post-vaccine scenario where people are moving a little bit. It was still mass and the rest of it, but like car shows come back and that sort of thing. |
| Jacob Roble | Car shows. So like cars and coffee was good. I think it was engineered automotive that hosted some pretty nice events. I think it was out in Vaughan. I went to a couple of those and then Uh, unfortunately now in the last couple of years, this thing called takeovers has kind of taken over. Yeah, it's, it's kind of ridiculous. Uh, it kind of puts a really bad light on automotive enthusiasts because not everybody's like that, but everyone's doing things for cloud and Instagram and Tik TOK and whatever. So, uh, I don't want to dwell on that, but, um, I think parking lot meets are good. Going to Tim Hortons, just talking to your buddies, that kind of stuff. Like it doesn't get any cheaper than that. Like it's cars and coffee like that. That's it. Cars and coffee. And then, Outside of that, I think going to the track, whether you're doing drag racing or circuit racing. So Toronto Motorsports Park is very affordable. It's like $100, $150 for the full circuit, depending on the day. And then I think it's even upward of $200 if you want to do a whole day. But if you want to do a drag race, I think it's like $20 or something like that. It's like a test and tune Friday night. You can take your minivan. You can take whatever you want. You don't necessarily have to have a race car, but it's just it's fun to be able to legally push your car against your buddies. And you can just, you know, just line up your buddy and there you go, drag race. And it's all legal and it's cost you 20 bucks. |
| James | Yeah. I mean, that sounds good. That's good advice. I like that. And that is, so that's, that's in Cayuga, which is about what an hour and 20 minutes outside of central Toronto. |
| Jacob Roble | And then, sorry, the other thing that I wanted to add is that everybody there is typically there for a good time as well. And they're all of the same mindset for the most part. There's always like, you know, bad apples, like, Oh, my car's faster than yours, whatever. But like, It's going to happen, but for the most part, everyone's like, oh, you know, like, do you need any help? Like, what did you do to your car? It's just that kind of stuff. |
| James | That's a Toronto Motorsports Park, which is not in Toronto, but is in Toronto. That's right. Yeah. It is a bit of a stretch. So I grew up in Caledonia, which you pass in some metric to get to Cayuga. So I know that spot pretty well. That's fun. I've never been out there, but if I ever had a car worth doing anything on a track, I would be headed in that direction. Well, I need another parking spot. That's my current issue. |
| Jacob Roble | Well, yeah. I don't even want to get into that either because I already, I just expanded my storage unit because I also don't have room. Um, I'm looking for a new house, but unfortunately with all the prices now, everything's like $2 million. It's insane. |
| James | It's insane. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. But, um, yeah. |
| James | So you added another orange car recently. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah, exactly. Which is why I need to expand this parking situation, which I didn't foresee. |
| James | Yeah. So for any, for anyone who, who hasn't been following their channel, on YouTube. That's the straight pipes for anyone who's not up to speed at this point. You have a Raptor, which of course is part of the kind of iconography of the straight pipes, as is Yuri's beautiful yellow Prowler. But then you guys, six, seven, eight months ago for the Honda And then the Fox body. Yep. So you guys did it. What was the, was there a price? Was that a $5,000? |
| Jacob Roble | That was a $5,000 Canadian. Let's, let's make that clear. |
| James | Yeah. To be true. |
| Jacob Roble | To be true. Yeah. Yeah. 3,800 bucks. Yeah. 3,800 bucks. Yeah. So I bought a Fox body and then Yuri got his Civic and paint job. Yeah, exactly. The paint jobs on both were hilarious, but I think, I think Yuri's was fantastic on the inside and everything too. |
| James | So, yeah. And then you guys have recently started kind of a series with a $10,000 challenge in which you ended up with a car that I've read a lot about. I spent a lot of time trying to decide because I wanted something possibly in that ilk when I ended up buying the Jeep instead. And then Yuri got a hilarious car in the 500 Abarth. Yeah. I like the Fiesta ST a lot. And I actually had no clue they came in that color. They can't have made that many. |
| Jacob Roble | I don't know how many, but I just know it was the only other car other than the Raptor that came in molten orange. So I was like, I kind of had to. And then the thing is, so I recently painted the Fox body and I could have painted it. Yeah. So I could have painted it any color. And I was like, well, I have like an unlimited palette. I'm like, I don't know what to do. And then I think, I think it was Yuri or maybe it was my mechanic, Ben. It's like, why don't you just color it orange? Like your Raptor. I'm like, huh, that's a good idea. Because I'm like, I like the color. I don't love the color, but I like the color. |
| (Commentary) | Yeah. |
| Jacob Roble | And because when I was shopping for my Raptor originally, it had to be either orange or blue and that's it. I wasn't taking anything else. Fair. Because I really like that blue. But if you got the blue, you couldn't get the orange interior. So I wanted the orange interior. So orange on orange. |
| James | Done. And now you have an orange Raptor, an orange Fiesta ST and an orange Fox body Mustang. So that's a lot of Ford. Yep. Accidentally. I feel like I know this answer because I've seen so many of your videos. Are you like a dyed in the wool, uh, you know, punch a Chevy guy in the face sort of Ford fan, or this is just how it played out. This is just how it played out. I've only owned some enemies in Australia. Yeah. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. I've owned two other Fords. Okay. I've owned a Ford Escort, which was my first car ever, which was a hand-me-down from my grandma. And then when I decided that that was way too slow for me with 88 horsepower, I got a Fox body actually. So it was a 93, it was burgundy. I hated the fact that it was burgundy. I wanted a red one, but it was like, it was the right price. Um, so that was my second car. So I've had two Fords and then these Fords that I have. And then in between there, it was like an IS 350, which I modified quite a bit. And then I also had an ISF because I had the unfortunate, um, pleasure of driving someone's ISF when I owned an IS 350 and I'm like, Well, there goes this is 350. So I had to save up, uh, cause I was still working my office job at the time. And it was a lot of money. It was the most I've ever spent on a car. It was around $30,000. Um, I've always bought used cars and I was like, you know what? Like this, this is it. Like I love this. And at the time I didn't think I was going to be doing this where I can have the opportunity to drive anything I want basically at any moment. So, What happens in Canada is that every week we get a new car, but I have to leave my personal car behind in a parking lot and then pick it up in a week. So when I had my ISF as my leave behind, as it's called, I was always nervous about it because it was the most I've ever spent. Like I treated that car like my baby. So $30,000 sitting in a parking lot, I was always worried about door dings, scratches, smashed windows, whatever it is. So I was like, you know what, I got to get rid of this. And I don't know what the financial situation is going to be like because the you know, I just quit my job and I'm going on to YouTube as a, as a career. It's like, what am I doing? So I'm like, you know what, I got to sell this $30,000 car. I'm going to buy a $5,000 car and then just see what happens with YouTube. So at least I have $25,000 in the bank and luckily everything worked out and I was able to enjoy that GS for about a year. And then I got my Raptor. |
| James | And I think that's good. But I also think it speaks to something that is a question that we get a lot when we talk with creators, which is how did you, how did you navigate the office job reality to a full-time creator of your own stuff? You know, I did it in one methodology, which was like, take three years to very slowly chip away at one side while investing in the other until the day job is worthless and you leave it in spite. But I've known people who just said like one day, like, I'm done. I hate this. And I like this idea. And I couldn't be wired that way. I had a family and the rest of it to think of. How did you, how did you kind of approach the idea of leaving a sort of conventional job existence and to do this? |
| Jacob Roble | It was, it was hard. It was a salary job. Like I had benefits, I had a pension, I had everything. It's like, well, Yeah, exactly. Like what more do you want at that point? Uh, I had a house, like I was able to buy this house, um, from my office job. And then, um, my wife is also, uh, working full time as well with like a very good job. So I was like, you know what, I'm just going to start this YouTube channel and see what happens. So at first I started just recording car exhaust sounds. Cause I thought that there was a market for this because everyone's, uh, videos were terrible on YouTube. It was just like wind noise. There's foam that night, people laughing in the background. Like I want to know what this exhaust sounds before I buy it. That was it. Yeah. So I did that on the side and then people started to notice it. And then some videos went viral here and there. I started to get people from the car community, reach out on like Instagram and stuff like that and be like, Hey, how much does it cost to get my car filmed? I'm like, wait, I can make money from this. So I say it literally just started like that. And then I started to approach dealers. I'm like, Hey, can I get a car to do a video on like a, just an exhaust video? And they're like, yeah, sure. Here and there. So I get a couple of cars again, couple of videos went viral and I was like, okay, well this is pretty fun. And it would take up all my time. That was the problem. So I'd, I'd work, you know, nine to five essentially. And then I'd come home and then work until sunset. And then I'd edit. So my wife is like, you're working all the time. So once we started doing the press car stuff, which came, uh, I guess a couple of years after the exhaust video stuff, when Yuri came along, um, cause he was working in the film industry. So, we were like, okay, well, how do we get these brand new cars that everyone's getting for a week and then, you know, give them back. So we kind of figured that out by accident and talk to people and ask questions and just got random emails like, you know, like media at lamborghini.com. And obviously no one would reply, but like Hyundai would reply because we were just starting out. Uh, so stuff like that. And then we just kind of figured it all out, but it was, it was tough because We started to get invited to events. So when a car launched pre-COVID, manufacturers would fly you out anywhere around the world and then you'd get, you know, put up in a hotel and then the next day you're driving that car and you have to assess that car and then make a video or an article or whatever it is. So we got invited to enough of those that I started to run out of my vacation time at And so I told my boss about all this at the time. I'm like, listen, I'm going to take all my vacation time sporadically, and it's not going to be like a week at a time. It'll be like two or three days at a time. And so I got to a point where I ran out of vacation and I was like, OK, that's it. I'm at a crossroads where I either don't go to this event or I just quit my job, basically. So I basically it was it was the Mercedes AMG performance tour in Vancouver on Vancouver Island. So we got invited to that. I'm like, they're going to let me drive an AMG GTR on a racetrack. I'm like, I'm done. I quit. That's it. I'm done. This is it. And so that was, that was literally it. But at the time we weren't really making any money. Like I still remember Yuri and I arguing over like how much we should spend on a laptop because like we only made enough to buy one laptop. And that was the point that we quit. Like that's how much money we had. We didn't have any money. So it was just like, okay, let's try this for a year and see what happens. And thankfully it all worked out. |
| James | Yeah. I think it's going swimmingly. Uh, but, but I also know, I know some of these scenarios that you're, you're talking about where you're, you're trying to do the math or I did a lot of the, uh, I worked in the cable industry. I worked for Shaw Cable in Vancouver for years and years and years. And then I remember towards the end, I would have to explain like, I would leave on my lunch and come back with a tuxedo because I was going to the French open that, that, that evening. Right. And my boss would be like, did you go shoe shopping while you were out? And I was like, well, I needed, um, I needed a black tie shoes. And they're like, well, what are you doing? And I was like, uh, nothing. Not so much. That's hilarious. Yeah. And then I had a boss later on that, that kind of was kind of into watches and cars. So kind of came across, And they're like, is this the same? Is this you? The same James? I was like, yeah, yeah, that's me. This is what I also do. Uh, because I like that a lot more than telling people how to use their remote control. Uh, right. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. That was also like the thing. And so like my boss ended up subscribing to the channel cause he's like, okay, like what are you doing and stuff? And he, he liked what I was doing. And then my other boss above him was like, Oh, I really like what you're doing. I'm like, I'm actually having a really good time. there and I'm having an okay time here because I'm sitting in an office. And like, you know, we tried to make things work the office, but I was like, I cannot sit in an office for the rest of my life. Like I just, I can't, there was, there's a ceiling of what I could do at the level that I was at. And then anything above that, I would have to be basically become an engineer or go into consulting and then again, work insane hours. So, and then still doing all I would do was make enough money to then feed my car addiction. So then I still wouldn't solve the problem. So by doing this, I've solved all my problems. |
| James | Yeah. It was an easier decision for me because there was no financial future working for the, for that cable company. And that would have, that would have led me to riches. Yes. Whereas at least if in this world, it's a meritocracy. If I would like to be wealthy, I just have to work hard enough and smart enough to do it. Exactly. And that's not, that's not the existence that most people have in the corporate world, which is like, unless you're prepared to be a manager and, um, at least in my case, that was never going to happen. I can manage myself just barely, just kind of keep things in line. |
| Jacob Roble | No, I, I a hundred percent feel you on that. Like it's like I was never organized and like, I'm still a little bit disorganized, but I'm, I've, I've had to pick up my organization in order to make everything else that I want happen. So it's like, everything's just kind of, relative to what you're doing. So if I want something to happen, like if I want A to happen, then I need to do B and C to make that happen. |
| James | Yeah. And it's on, I like that it's on you or me or whoever. Exactly. Yeah. Self-directed. And if you want to have a day off, if you're having that sort of a day, you just kind of like, you understand what the math of taking that day off is. |
| Jacob Roble | Yes. Yes. And it's so weird because like, I don't have vacation time. I don't have sick days. Like that's a thing of the past. |
| James | Yeah. No, I feel you entirely. It's interesting because I can see I can see the Rolex on the wrist, which I want a story that I want to get into because I thought this was a very sweet story, a beautiful 16 710 and from a shared friend of ours helped you get it. So we'll get to that in a moment. But I do want you mentioned, you know, getting the offer to go to Vancouver Island and drive a GTR on a track. Are there even now after having driven a thousand cars, maybe more, probably more at some level? Are there still a few that stand out as like A plus days. |
| Jacob Roble | Oh yeah. So yesterday, uh, we were at, uh, Toronto motorsports park in Cayuga. We had the, uh, BMW M three manual and the Lexus RCF track edition. We drifted the hell out of those things at the track. We, we drag raced them. We launched them. We had a, um, we, uh, got a drone guy to come out that does a FPV. And he did a fantastic job filming all this stuff. So the content that we got and the fun that Yuri and I had just being unleashed and able to do everything. Cause like we always have this ability to, to drive and be able to like drift and stuff like that, which you can't really do on public roads. Well, you, you shouldn't do on public roads. Um, so being able to do it on the track, like unsupervised, like, no, you can't do that. You're going to wreck these tires. Like, yes, we're, we're still going to, you know, we, we do understand that there's a booking after us that someone's going to need to get these tires. So we can only have so much fun and that's where it kind of sucks compared to like the UK. And so if you're, if you're Chris Harris, you, you feel like at least, I don't know if this is true, but the, the feeling that we get is that he gets unlimited sets of tires. I get that. I get that impression for sure. Exactly. And I don't know if that's true. Maybe it's not, maybe it's just bad judgment, but it just seems that that's what happens. So, Yuri and I were like, listen, we have one set of tires and we still need to leave this set of tires for the next person, but let's have the most fun possible. And my God, we were doing, I don't want to say tandem drifting because it was a little bit scaled back of that because obviously we've got to be safe about everything, but we had so much fun. It was crazy. That's great. |
| James | Also, I do find that the little bit of the, the sort of track day slidey driving, the tires last way longer than you expect the first four or five times you do it. Yes. Other than that, I would say most of the best driving ever had was like, I would pick up a Turo in Santa Monica and just drive to Angeles Crest. That's as good as I've ever had, because at that point, Angeles Crest, the road is so good that the car almost doesn't matter. Yeah. |
| Jacob Roble | So I've got a funny story about that. So, uh, that was again, one of almost the last events that we went to, uh, Shelby GT 500. We drove, uh, from Santa Monica to the canyons. By the time we got to the canyons and again, we're not ripping it. We're just trying to get to the canyons. We had half a tank or less. We get there with half a tank. We're like, well, we haven't even filmed anything yet. Like this thing's just going through gas. So it's so bad on gas and compounded by the fact that it has the smallest gas tank. That's the problem. If it had a bigger tank, who cares how much gas it takes? But the fact that it drinks so much and the gas tank so small, we had to before we even started filming, had to go to the other side of the mountain, find a gas station, fill up and then start filming. For sure. |
| James | That was that was ridiculous. I had some incredible days on Angeles Crest in 720s. Oh, my God. |
| Jacob Roble | I feel like I'd kill myself in that. |
| James | So much more car than I'm capable of driving at speed. |
| Jacob Roble | Well, that's too much car for the canyons. It's a ridiculous car. Like what they were able to pull out of that. The only other car that I've driven that's comparable to that is the Porsche GT2 RS. That thing was nuts. |
| James | Yeah. I've never driven a modern 911 on a stable surface. Oh my God. Just on snow. |
| Jacob Roble | 911s are cheater mode. They're so easy to drive quickly. back end doesn't step out on you. It steps on you a little bit more than a Cayman, but not to the point that you're scared to drive it or anything like that. Even GT3 RS, GT3, GT2 RS, they're all still very drivable. |
| James | That's killer. Yeah. Let's get into watches. I'm sure people have been waiting. I've already kept you kind of longer than I said we would. Do you want to start with the Rolex? Sure. Is that kind of your foray into watches or has this always been some level of fascination? |
| Jacob Roble | No, there's definitely been some level. I'd say it I've, for as long as I can remember, I've always had a watch, like it might've been a Timex or a Casio or something like that as a kid. But I've always had a watch, like as far as I can remember. I didn't really like, I'd say get into watches where like I wanted kind of like a nice watch up until probably some point in like university. So I think I even have some of these watches that I bought like over time, like they're not nice watches or anything like that, but I thought they looked cool. So I cared more about that. So I have like it's a Casio Edifice. Oh yeah. No, those are sweet. Yeah. So like it was a cheap watch. It's, you know, not the craziest thing, but I thought it looked really cool. And I did like the bigger watch faces just because, I don't know, I guess that was my thing at the time. I mean, that was everyone's thing at the time. Right. For sure. So I got a, I have a citizen eco drive, like a pilot watch. Oh yeah. Those are sweet too. Yeah. So cheap watches. These are probably like, you know, a hundred, 150 bucks, nothing crazy like that. A couple of Casio's. Oh, this is, I guess I showed you this one recently. So there's. |
| James | Oh yeah. There's several nicknames. |
| Jacob Roble | The Ro Broke. Yeah. Yeah. I love all the nicknames. You could, you could say them all if you want. |
| James | The nicknames are not all fair, but Royal Broke is funny. Those are sweet watches. I also like, I don't know, have you dipped into like watch Instagram where guys take them all apart and swap the modules? So you get the black, you can get the all black one, but with the display from the all red one and they swap them around. |
| Jacob Roble | Oh no, that I haven't seen so much. I've just seen the AliExpress style Royal Oak. |
| James | Oh, the big metal Royal Oak. |
| Jacob Roble | Which I kind of like, like I'm debating doing it. |
| James | One of our engineers at Hodinkee did it on his. I think it looks sweet. Yeah. So those are cool. |
| Jacob Roble | I'm still debating doing that kind of stuff. But the watch mod stuff that you kind of you mentioned. So I have the Seiko SKX. |
| James | Yep. On a nice kind of martini. Yeah. Or a golf NATO. |
| Jacob Roble | But I do have a martini as well. And then I've got the dive watch or the dive rubber band for it as well. And then I've got this one. This is probably my funniest watch. It's kind of embarrassing, but I do want to show you just because of how funny it is. I'm |
| James | And then it has a huge it's supposed to look like a tourbillon, but it has a huge open heart at six o'clock. |
| Jacob Roble | Yes. And it does work. It's an automatic movement. I think it's a seagull movement, if I if I remember. Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. So this is my first automatic watch because I'm just like, I don't know what these things are, but I know I like them and I think they're cool because of the mechanical aspect. And it works. I'm like, you know what? I work for a little while. I'm like, OK, I just I can't. It's too big. It's it seems probably like a 46 or something ridiculous. |
| James | But I mean, Panerai was one of the brands that got me into watches. It was the first watch brand I ever wrote about way, way back in 2008. And yeah, so I feel you for sure. And the appeal of a Luminor, even a big Luminor, has not diminished for me. I still think they're too big for my wrist, but they are still on the right wrist. They're so cool. I will forever enjoy a big Luminor or the Radimir, the black seal stuff. That's all really rad. |
| Jacob Roble | And then, uh, so in between my childish Casio stuff and my skateboard, snowboard days, I got a bunch of Nixons, which I actually still kept. So I was really into these. It's like a 70s TV style. Yeah. I forget what this one's called, but I wanted the gold with the white face. And then I also got, I think this one's called the player, which everybody had with the, with the diamond in the middle. |
| (Commentary) | Oh, yeah. |
| James | It's got kind of kind of their take on a Movado. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. Yeah. So if you if I recall, I'm going to open this up because I'm pretty sure if I open this up, it said, yes, it's real. I swear to. Yeah, it says Nixon. I can't show you this, but I'll send you a photo later. It says Nixon. Yes, it's real. The player. So I don't know what kind of diamond that is, but apparently, yes, it's real. Yes, it's real. Well, fair enough. Yeah. So that was my in between. And then We also had an opportunity with Vincero watches a couple years ago. |
| James | I remember when they did a sponsorship. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. So we worked them for a while and we're very grateful for having them. So I still have actually all the Vincero watches that they sent me. And I don't know what your opinion is on them. I don't know what your viewers opinions are. |
| James | I've never seen one in person. I always kind of just saw them as kind of not so much a mall watch, but one of these sort of Instagram brands. Right. But to be clear, if they're getting people into watches, That's a rising tide for me. So good work, Vincero. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. And for sure. The thing is, like a lot of these Vinceros actually have Seiko, uh, like Mecca quartz movements and stuff. So NH movements. Yeah. So they're like, they're legit anyways. Um, we, we got a lot of flack for that, but I don't regret it or anything like that. I still think they're pretty nice looking watches. And they also helped us at a time where we needed, you know, financial backing and stuff like that because, you know, YouTube wasn't paying enough to, to sustain what we were doing. So we're very grateful for Vincero. |
| James | Absolutely. And now, how did you get from, say, Vincero to a Rolex? And then how did you pick one? So how did you pick a Rolex? |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. So funny story. Originally, I did want a Submariner because I wanted to mark one million subscribers with a sub. Kind of made sense to me. But at the same time, I kind of felt like everyone has a sub. And, you know, obviously not everyone, but in the car game, there's a lot of Rolex's for some reason. And like Yuri and I are like, is everybody rich except us? Like we're trying to figure this out. So, so I was like, you know what? Like I see them and I, and I liked them and I'm like, man, like it doesn't mean something. So I was like, okay, everyone's got a sub. I don't really want to sub. And then I saw the Pepsi and I was like, yes, I think that's what I want. I think it looks so cool. And then the fact that it's a GMT, that was actually secondary to the fact that it looked like what it looked like. Um, and the GMT at the time we were traveling so much, I was like, that would actually come in handy. Like I love that. So that's when I was kind of sold on it. And then funny story. So I tried to buy a new one, uh, with the ceramic bezels, the, I forget what they're called now. The six digit. Yeah. So I wanted one of those. So I walk into a Rolex store and I say that I want that watch. And I basically, the lady looks down at my watch. I'm wearing my Seiko at the time. She looks back at me and she's like, oh no, we don't have that. I'm like, okay, well, what does that mean? She's like, we just don't have that watch. Okay. What about a Submariner? Like, can I, can I get one of those? We don't have that watch either. I'm like, okay, rather than you asking me what I want, how about you tell me what I can buy? And then she's like, well, we have these Yacht-Master IIs. I'm like, well, those are a lot more expensive and I don't think anyone really wants those, which is why you're willing to to sell me those. Not that they're, you know, ugly watches. I think they're still pretty cool looking, but they're also like, what, $20,000 plus, right? |
| James | A lot more than a GMT-Master II. |
| Jacob Roble | Exactly. And then she's like, well, here's a book with our watches. I'm like, listen, I know what other watches you have. She's like, we can buy maybe a Explorer at the time. I'm like, okay, Explorer is kind of cool, but I also at the same time don't really want one. There's nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't mean anything to me. So I was like, you know what? I don't think, I'm not getting a new watch. It's just, I'm not getting a new Rolex. So then I talked to my buddy, Zach Spencer from Motormouth, who you know. Yeah. Zach's great. Yeah. So he, uh, led me to an online watch forum. And so I started looking for, uh, basically any generation of Pepsi. And then that's when I found out that there was a 16, 7, 10 and Zach's like, that's the one you should get. I'm like, why? He's like, well, it's got this aluminum bezel and it looks, you know, it's, Yeah. It's classy and it looks a little different than the new one. So I started looking at all the photos and comparing, you know, that one to the new one. I'm like, you know what? I actually do like the 16, 7, 10 even more because I really love this aluminum bezel because the color on it, it's nothing close to the new ceramic bezel because the ceramic one almost looks burgundy for the red. And I liked the way that this shines in the sun. It's crazy in the sun. Yeah. And I feel like you don't get that. |
| James | with the ceramic. This is a fun point, and I was so thrilled when I saw 16710 on your wrist in the video. I'm a huge fan of the 16570, which is the same generation, but of the Explorer II, which uses the same movement, or at least a similar movement as what's in your 16710, depending on its age, either a 3185 or a 3186. But the fact, one, the bezel is aluminum and will scratch and fade. I like that way more than the ceramic. Also the ceramics been through anywhere between like two and four versions. So the colors vary between each version. Wow. I really like the thinner case, the shorter lugs of the five digit stuff versus the more current six digit. And as much as a Jubilee bracelet is very rad on any Rolex, I would sooner go for a 16710 versus a 216710. And more just because they're both conceivably the same size. They don't wear the same. Exactly. Yeah. I think you made an absolutely beautiful choice. And that's a watch that's been on the come up for a long time. When I bought my 16570, I went to price out 16710s. This is five years ago. And I was like, these seem weirdly expensive. And of course, that's laughable now because they've almost doubled, probably maybe more. Right. Depending on what generation or what kind of spec you've got. But now you joke at anyone who said that five years ago, a Rolex seemed like it was too expensive. They're all they've all, you know, doubled or tripled in price. But yeah, I think that's a that's a great choice and a really fun way to do a million, a million listeners, a million subs. |
| Jacob Roble | And the funny part of it is that so I bought it actually like I guess technically pre-pandemic. Um, I bought it in, I think it was February, just, just before everything got shut down. Uh, so Zach actually met up with the guy because it was in Vancouver. It just happened to be there. I'm like, Hey Zach, uh, would you mind checking this out for me? He's like, sure, I'll take it to my jeweler. I'm like, all right, perfect. He knows what he's doing. He'll be able to check in and let me know. So I sent Zach the money in, in advance. I wired him the money and I was like, oh, Zach, please give me the money back if you don't buy this watch. Um, Full trust, but he checked it all out. He's like, he's like, this is a beautiful watch. I'm like, buy it, send it, give him the money. So then he, you know, after the jewelry went to the bank, gave him the money and got it. So this is February and we didn't have a million subscribers yet. So I bought it and I got it here and I left it in my watch box and I never wore it until a million subscribers. So I got to stare at it every day. And there was times where I just didn't want to edit a video or I just, you know, I just, I wanted to do something else. And I'm like, and I did wear it in the house on occasion as extra motivation to try and get those million subs earlier. But I never, it never left the house before a million subs. |
| James | I love it, man. Hey, I think, I think a lot, a lot of people who've done amazing things with Rolexes put them on before they climbed the mountain. Yeah. So I think this is fine. I get it. I get it for sure. Good. Uh, did, did the, did this one scratch the itch or did it kind of make it worse? |
| Jacob Roble | Uh, I think it scratched the itch for a while, but I feel like I do want another one. |
| James | Is that another Rolex or another watch or both? |
| Jacob Roble | I think, I think another Rolex. Um, I, I'm debating when to get it and why to get it, but, Ideally it would be like a day date, but that's way too expensive. Like a presidential, like the gold, like the whole thing. Right. I just think, I think those are so cool. They are immensely cool. Yeah. They're just like, it's a little ostentatious, but it's also hilarious. Like it's, I'd almost wear it sarcastically, but at the same time I can't cause it's so expensive, but I just think they're so cool. And then what was the, I think, uh, the date just that I sent you the, uh, two tone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I think that realistically may be the next one, but I don't know when. |
| James | Okay. Yeah. I mean, it, sometimes you got to get in line anyways, as you experienced at the, at the boutique. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. But I feel like because those are more expensive and probably slightly less desirable, I guess, but yeah. Yeah. I think, I just think they're cool. |
| James | If you don't intend to, if you don't feel like you need the bracelet, And a lot of people want a Rolex only on the bracelet. So I understand that this is a, you have to make this statement before you get into it, but I mean, just a solid gold, uh, Datejust is a lot of the appeal that you find it a day date or, or with the, with everything. And then you just pick a great leather strap or, or throw it on a NATO. If you want to be kind of, uh, you know, you want to flex a little on, on, on all those millions of subscribers. I don't man, I get it. I get flack for having this one. Oh, yeah. I mean, that's endless. |
| Jacob Roble | I get flack from subscribers for wearing this. And it's like, guys, like I bought this as a milestone. Like I worked what? Eight years for this watch. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Every day. Yeah. No, I still get flack for it. But at this point, I don't care. Like it's just I work for this. I'm happy with it. |
| James | Yeah, absolutely. And are there other things on your radar besides, say, another Rolex? Are there other things that you kind of think like that don't have to, say, cost ten or fifteen thousand dollars that you might because you've got some Casio's in recently. The Casio's, yeah. Which are super fun. I mean, that brand does fun maybe more than anyone else. |
| Jacob Roble | Right. Like other than, I mean, these two, like I really wanted. Hilarious and great watches. |
| James | Yeah. So that's the G8, the 2100, and then that's the, it's not a 5600, the solid gold. Yeah. The plate of gold. Yeah. |
| Jacob Roble | Both are super fun. They also have the rainbow editions of all those. Yeah. I don't think I want to venture into that. I think I got the super hard to get. Yeah, I've heard. Um, I know my buddy Peter McKinnon has one of those and then I know Casey Neistat also has one of those. So they got one so they can match. I'm like, Oh, that's pretty cool. |
| James | Some YouTube, YouTuber, uh, YouTuber flux right there. Yeah. Yeah. |
| (Commentary) | I don't talk to guys are great. |
| Jacob Roble | I don't talk to Casey. I talked to people. |
| James | McKinnon's fantastic. Yeah. He's a great guy. Leading us back to kind of the YouTube side, you mentioned you get some comments about watches or otherwise. Where do you kind of land on the value of commenting? Because I think it's probably a little bit different when it's your channel. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. We used to look at the comments a lot. I'll just, I don't know what Yuri does. I think he reads them still quite a bit, but I've tried to read less of them. People are generally nice. Like I would say 99% are nice, but it's always the 1% that gets you. It's like, they'll just leave something so nasty that you're like, man, is that true? Or is like, is, is one part of that true? Am I actually worthless? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Should I actually go do some? Yeah. So it sucks because like you kind of miss a lot of the positive comments because you're trying to avoid the, the one negative comment that will just like, you know, ruin your day or whatever it is. I still think there's value to reading them, but not as in depth as I used to. And kind of just seeing the overall vibe of the comment section per video. I think that's what it should be. So it's like the, the entire comment session section will let you know if you completely ruined a video, which luckily we never have, but you know, they'll just be able to tell you, it's like, Hey, this one was weird or this one was off. And we're like, I don't know what we did. Like, We weren't angry that day. Like, I don't know what the difference is between this video and that video. Sometimes we film two videos in one day and people be like, Oh, the vibe was off on this one, but it wasn't on this one. I'm like, guys, they were filmed on the same day. |
| James | Yeah. |
| Jacob Roble | It's kind of all over the place. |
| James | I find that it is that thing where, like you said, that's 99% is fine or good or even like pouring on of praise. Yes. But it's that 1% that keeps you up at night. A hundred percent. Yeah. Where like you internalize it and you go like, well, Maybe I, maybe I made mistakes in my life and I shouldn't be writing about watches. Like, like, like it just, it gets right under whatever the, it finds the edge of the imposter syndrome and just kind of digs at it a little bit. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. It's like, Oh, should I get a haircut? Like, should I trim my beard? |
| James | Like, Oh my God. Haircut and beard is a big thing, but I'm not on video weekly. So it's a plus. Few people have seen my hockey hair like you're seeing right now. But yeah, the, the thing for me I found is I have to contextualize it as being like, um, content or comments that are a response or contents that are a reaction. And if I feel it's a reaction, I ignore it. Yeah. That person didn't think about what they're writing. They never considered the fact that a human was going to read it. You know, I've put some stuff on YouTube, very few things on YouTube that got very poor responses and became very personal things to the extent that I had to kind of leave the site for some time. And I think that's fine. I think it's a suggestion that I didn't make something that people really wanted to see, which is also okay. I can deal with that feedback. But other times you get, you do something either good or bad and people, instead of just having a kind of knee jerk reaction, they take time to respond to it. And I think there's value in that even when it doesn't make you feel good. Right. It's weird. It's a hard thing to kind of, Oh, there's no right way to do it. Have so much feedback at times. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. It's, it's so hard. Like I know Matt Farah from the smoke and tire talks about this all the time. It's like, we're not programmed to have this much feedback all the time. It's like, there's so much like people, people come at him hard too. Right. And I mean, people don't really know this, but like people come at us hard, like all the time. Like we, between YouTube comments, Instagram messages, Instagram DMs, Facebook messages, all that kind of stuff. Like the amount of emails, like the amount of ways that people can tell me to screw off, like, There's a lot of ways and people take advantage and they do it. Yeah, they sure do, don't they? Like professionals. They'll find a way to tell you to screw off. Absolutely. |
| James | For sure. Do you think that as an aggregate, that sort of feedback, that loop has made the straight pipes better or has it simply made you guys kind of more armored? |
| Jacob Roble | I think it's given us really thick skin, which you really need to have on YouTube. You can't take anything too personally. And you just kind of have to let things just bounce off you. And I've like, I used to reply to like negative comments. Like I don't really do that unless it's like, I'm having a really bad day, but I really, I really try not to respond to comments that are like negative. I'm like, you know what? It's not worth my time. |
| James | Sometimes you got to feed the alligators. Sometimes. Poke them with a stick every now and then. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. Sometimes we'll give them like a really dumb response, like as a total joke. But yeah. |
| James | Do you have any advice for anyone who in 2021, would like to get into the YouTube game? |
| Jacob Roble | Um, to not try and train myself out of a job, I would say the number one thing would be to try and differentiate yourself from everyone else that's already doing stuff. Um, tick tock seems to be the next thing, but we don't really know if it is actually the next thing. It could just be the next thing for the next age group. Like Vine. It could just go away and all your stuff with it. It could, or it could just appeal to, you know, under 18 year olds and you know, under 18 year olds, uh, you know, aren't necessarily that monetizable or something like that. So who knows? Um, I would say just try and differentiate yourself from everyone else on YouTube, but take, I guess, elements of what you like, but do it as an homage, not a, uh, offshore replica, if I can say something like that. |
| James | Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. And, uh, and then, yeah, as the final one, you know, we often close the show with some final notes and I'm sure we will in an audio segment with Jason and myself after this, But I always like to try and extend the offer. If you have a product, a book, a movie, a song, something that has affected you in a positive way recently, that preferably doesn't cost a ton of money, anything you'd recommend to the audience? |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. I haven't really watched too many movies or anything memorable lately, but the last book that I read that was like, I don't read many books because I don't have time, but I really wanted to read this was the Kimi Raikkonen autobiography. Oh, okay. Incredible. The funniest stories ever. I think Kimmy's the best guy in F1. Exactly. Kimmy's awesome. He's, uh, for those that don't know, he's a formula one driver. Um, he's up there for me with like Daniel Ricardo. I think those guys are awesome. And basically it's a book about his whole life story on how he started. Uh, he didn't start from, you know, from riches and he barely spoke English. He had a manager and stuff like that. And Kimmy in the early days, cause he's been in F1 for a very long time, I'm That is that is I want to get on that level one day. |
| James | And so, yeah, that's the unknown Kimi Raikkonen. It's on the show notes. So click it if you want to check it out. That sounds like a lot of fun and and a super fun backstory. He he is such a distinctive figure in the history of Formula One. He has such a specific attitude to the sport and to its media coverage, which I've always appreciated. He is absolutely a special guy. And to be honest, like most Formula One drivers end up being interesting people simply because they're thrust into a world where they have 19 peers, and that's it. And they do operate with a certain level of impunity, whether it be throwing a phone off the back of your boat or otherwise. So there's some great stories there for sure. Look, Jacob, I couldn't be more thrilled to have had you on the show. Thank you so much for going well over time at this point. We talked for an hour and a half here. But yeah, no, we really appreciate this. And obviously, check out The Straight Pipes on Instagram and Yuri Tereshin on Instagram. It's two accounts. You should follow both if you're going to follow one. Absolutely. And then the channel is The Straight Pipes on YouTube. It'll be in the show notes, but easy enough to remember. And I highly recommend everybody subscribe. They do great work. |
| Jacob Roble | Yeah. Thank you so much. It was fun to be on here and talk watches and stuff that isn't just cars, even though it ended up being a lot of cars. |
| James | We did do a lot of cars. I can't help it. It's my first love. Watch this came a little later. That's cool. I appreciate that. I like it. Yeah, it was a treat. And hopefully you find that future Rolex when you do the two or the five or the 10 million. I'm sure you guys are on the track for all those numbers over the next little while. So thanks a bunch. Yeah, thank you. OK, and we're back. It's Jason and I, as always. A huge thank you to Jacob for sitting down and chatting all things YouTube and cars and creating and the rest of it. I found that fascinating. I really like being able to do these chats with creators. And I think that's kind of the mode that I think we're going to follow as we extend into more shows is having, you know, chats with people who are out there kind of doing things at their own level. And I've been obsessed with YouTube for a long time. It's a, you know, kind of mainstay of my daily media. And, and I do have, you know, aspirations of one day doing some TGN stuff in the video realm. Uh, so it's, it's really interesting to learn from somebody who, you know, along, along with his co-creator, Yuri, you know, has built up an audience, of well over a million subscribers on a platform that, that I don't think it's that easy to get huge on YouTube anymore. You don't, it takes years and years to get there. |
| Jason Heaton | Oh, sure. Yeah. And I, I agree. I think, um, as I mentioned at the top, you know, going to weekly will allow us to, to bring in this diversity of voices from different areas. You know, we've, we've had adventures like NIMS and Lauren Ballesta and Fabian Cousteau on, but I think, um, you know, as evidenced with our Kyle Snarr interview, those can prove to be popular as well. These people that are kind of making something, and creating businesses and unique outlets for their talents are equally fascinating. And I think, you know, we can just do more of those and I think we should. |
| James | Yeah. Hopefully we can, we can dig up a couple more in the, in the short term. I've got a couple names on my list that I think would be super fun to have on. And they kind of, they're on both sides of the, of the sort of world that we just described, these sort of figureheads of sport and diving and, and, and photography in that. And then, and then folks that are more on the creator side, uh, kind of making their way through, uh, the, kind of the new digital realm. So a couple of good Canadian boys, they're happy to have Jacob on the show. All right. What do you feel? Uh, some final notes. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I'll start. I've got a, a good one and actually came from you. And this was a couple of weeks ago when I was getting ready to embark on that Instagram live with Mike Pearson. And I've done a couple of other kinds of video things lately and, Um, you suggested that maybe I check out this, uh, this ring light, um, used for, uh, video calls, using your phone, um, to kind of enhance the lighting and, uh, it's, it's awkwardly named. This thing is, is the UB size 10 inch ring light with tripod. Um, and, and it has a clamp in the middle. It's, it sits on a very flimsy, lightweight plastic tripod, but all it's holding up is really your, my iPhone. Um, and it has a clamp that holds the phone in the middle of this ring light. Um, and then you can turn it on and adjust the brightness and adjust the warmth of the light. And when you're using your phone for a camera, uh, whether you're, you know, taking selfies like I do often, um, or, uh, or on a video call, it, it just provides the right amount of light to your face and super easy to use. It was $35. Um, so this was a really good recommendation. |
| James | Yeah. Well, I I'm, I'm deep in the tech tips world. I usually have a finger on, on just about any solution these days. Um, But yeah. And the other thing I would say is, uh, if you get onto Amazon or eBay or whatever, and you start to kind of dig around for one of these, don't, don't skip on enjoying the whole title. It's one of the sweet spots of buying, uh, you know, like weird Chinese gear on any of these sites is some of the titles are great. This is a pretty middle ground one. Some of them are really good, but the full title for this is UB size. It's all one word, 10 inch selfie ring light with 50 inch extendable tripod stand and flexible phone holder for live stream makeup, YouTube video. It's a pretty good title. They get a lot more wild than that, but that's a pretty good title. Donut Media, who I've rambled on about before, they've been doing a series recently where they buy the highest rated weird car gadgets on Alibaba and Amazon, and some of the titles there are five sentences. It's fantastic, super funny stuff. I'll throw that in the show notes, but I'm glad it worked out. When you mentioned that you were doing the Instagram Live stuff, You know, I've done some of the home video stuff for hoding key and the lighting is such a pain because you get it right and you in my case, you get it where you're happy with it because you're sitting next to a window and then the clouds move or or you practice the lighting at ten and you're not doing the recording till three. It's not the same. This gives you some some control, I think, and I think that's pretty handy and it's and like you said, it's thirty six bucks like I don't know how they make money. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, and you know, in this day and age, when so many people are working remotely doing endless zoom calls and video conferences and things, uh, it's, uh, or, you know, you're, you're doing your makeup or, or doing, uh, taking selfies, um, as we do, uh, it's, it's super handy and, and it's been, it's been great. I mean, even just a couple of times I've used it, so well worth $35. Yeah. Yeah. How about you? What did you go for? |
| James | Yeah, I've got a fun one. It's a Netflix series that I've been kind of watching in the evening while I'm editing photos, like doing something where I don't have to, um, actively deal with words so I can, I can listen to audio. And, uh, and so I've had this kind of on, on another monitor while I work and it's, uh, it's called spy craft and it's like an eight or nine part, uh, series, uh, that Netflix has started running that has, um, essentially like a really down the middle documentary talking head format about the world of declassified spy gadgetry and tricks and tradecraft. Yeah. And I just I just love it. You know, they've got episodes on poison and on clandestine collection, communication, special ops, code breaking, recruiting. And they cover all of this. The experts are amazing. And it really has the general polish of like a standard good documentary show on discovery, you know, and this feels like the kind of thing that I would have caught on a Saturday afternoon on cable 10 years ago and then always wished I had, I had taped it or, or whatever. But now it's on Netflix. It's, it's really, really watchable. Like I said, the talking heads, the people they have on here are like heads of intelligence from various other countries and, and, and other entities and they know what they're talking about. And, and the the production quality is really good. And I learned something in every episode, all of it's pretty wild stuff. It's that thing where sometimes we've all convinced ourselves that a lot of what's in a James Bond or a Mission Impossible is kind of unbelievable because the physicality of what they do is unbelievable. But the function, the tools, the tricks, way wilder than what's in most movies. I mean, they're not printing weird masks in a suitcase like they do in a Mission Impossible, but that mask thing isn't fake. There are these quick masks that can be used. They don't hold up to the same level of scrutiny as an Ethan Hunt mask, which, you know, you end up really looking like a person, but there's some really, really fascinating stuff in here. I highly recommend it. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Gushani and I have watched, I think we got about halfway through that series and this reminds me to kind of revisit and watch the rest of them because it's, yeah, it's a great show. Super watchable. I like your analogy or your, I guess comparison to kind of an older cable TV show because it's, and the episodes are fairly short. It's super easy to watch. |
| James | 30, 35 minutes. Yeah. Yeah. No, really digestible. And it's a nice thing. Cause it's, it's like, I don't have to, I don't have to listen to a story or follow a character's development or anything. It's that nice kind of like, like what I like for YouTube, a car, you know, a movie or a film about somebody putting a supercharger on their engine. I can kind of step in and step out of that mentally. I'm not, I don't have to be a spy or install a supercharger. So. It's not exactly academic research. It's more just entertainment, but I love this kind of stuff. You know that you find the same sorts of stuff for great airplanes, these documentaries that are made for cable. And if we're starting to see more of this for Netflix, I'm absolutely on board. Yeah. Well, there we go. Wrapped another one. Yeah, I think that's a show. Maybe the recording worked. If you're listening to this, it worked. |
| Jason Heaton | Oh man, we will find out. As always, thanks so much for listening. Hit the show notes in your app for more details. You can follow us on Instagram at Jason Heaton and at J.E. Stacey, and be sure to follow the show at The Graynado. If you have any questions for us, please write thegraynado at gmail.com and keep sending those voice memos. We will get around to a Q&A episode very soon. I promise. Please subscribe and review wherever you find your podcasts. Music Throughout is Siesta by JazzArr via the free music archive. |
| James | And we leave you with this quote from the American author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston who said, there are years that ask questions and there are years that answer. |