Gabriel Haines on How He Came to Make His Hilarious, Yelling Crypto Videos - Ep. 425

Transcript

Hey everyone, just a quick note before we begin. Unchained is doing its annual survey. Head to surveymonkey.com/r/unchained2022 to tell us how you think we're doing and how we could improve, whether it be on the podcast, in the newsletter, or in our premium offering. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Again, the link is surveymonkey.com/r/chained 2022. And you can also check the show notes for the link. [music] Hi everyone, welcome to Unchained, your no hype resource for all things crypto.

I'm your host Laura Shinn, [music] author of the Cryptopians. I started covering crypto 7 years ago and as a senior editor at Forbes [music] was the first Mitri Media Reporter to cover cryptocurrency full-time. This is the November 25th, [music] 2022 episode of Unchained. With the Crypto.com app, you can buy, earn, and spend crypto in one place. Download and get $25 with the code Laura link [music] in the description. Defy Saver is an all-in-one management app with unique automation options for top lending protocols such as a maker liquidity and compound. Check them out on Ethereum mainet arbitum and optimism. [music] In this Thanksgiving edition of Unchanged or Black Friday edition, our guest is Gabriel Haynes, a crypto

content creator or as he likes to call himself a cryptogenius. Welcome, Gabriel. [snorts] Thank you for having me. Thank you for the title. Much appreciated. Welld deserved, if I might say. [gasps] So, you're famous for your videos in which you make funny commentary or say outrageous things about crypto in a distinctive, mostly yelly voice. Can you yell something in that voice for people listening who can't see you and may not recognize your normal voice? Good morning.

I hope you didn't sell your shitcoins today. [laughter] [gasps] Awesome. So, people love your goofy videos and I was curious, how did you get started doing them? Yeah. Um, it was a bit of a it was a very organic process. I would say I started out my crypto journey very early on. I started making content about crypto, mostly tutorials, explanations about different DeFi applications. Actually, I'm wearing the sweatshirt. You can see it says Year 2. Uh, which is just commemorating the early people who worked on Year. Um, and my name appears on this sweatshirt. So, I was very involved very early on in like 2020, uh,

2021 in DeFi, making tutorials, explanations, and doing a lot of interviews. But, uh, actually then my daughter was born and I didn't have a lot of time to do any long form content. I don't have a time to sit down for an hour and have a conversation. So, it had to be a lot more condensed, a lot more short form. And I don't know if you have kids, but when you have kids, you don't sleep a lot. And that contributes to a sort of psychosis, [laughter] maybe frustration.

So, um, I started to maybe vent a little bit, express myself loudly on crypto Twitter and it kind of resonated with people and people really like liked it. So, I kept on doing it and yeah, it's really just that's how we that's how we got here. Wait. And so, I'm so are you saying your first videos were about your lack of sleep or were they about crypto? Oh, no. They were I was just the tone was uh because of the lack of sleep. I was yelling because I was not sleeping.

I was frustrated. I need to you know get that out there. But it was about crypto. It was always about crypto um through the entire time. Just the style, the tenor came from that particular emotional state that I was in and maybe continue to be. And Got it. And when was that? Exactly a year ago. Oh wow. Okay. Okay. And so you said that you started by just making content about DeFi and stuff like that. What did you do before? I was um I I was just making content even before that. Uh before crypto, before I got into crypto, I was doing a humumus review. Um, so if you right now, anyone

who's listening, type in chickpea challenge in Google and you will find a hummus eating competition hosted by my wife in which I'm competing to eat as much humus as possible. Now, I was living in Israel and I would go around to different humus places and review them. Like in United States, you have kind of like pizza places. It's like a cultural fast food type. In Israel, in the Middle East, you have humus. It's like fast food, uh, you know, very quick. You see, you get it, you go. But I love humus and I just and I and there's not a lot of review. There's not a lot of like, uh, breakdown of the whole environment. So, I would go to all these different places and, you know, just talk about them. That was my very

early days in uh, content creation, which I've been doing now for about four years or so. Wow. I love it. I will have to check these out. I had a famous road trip. It wasn't a road trip. It was a like a backpacking trip in Europe with friends where somehow chickpeas favored or appeared uh they were they were a theme of the trip, let's say. [laughter] Anyway, so for your current videos, how do you come up with the ideas for them? Because they're kind of I mean they're they're really funny. They're generally about crypto news, but sometimes they're also about other things. So I was curious, how do you decide what you're going to make a video about?

A lot of it is just uh reaction videos. I'm scrolling on crypto Twitter often and I see something that just begs begs for a video to be made about it. And yeah, most of my videos I do in one take. I don't write anything down. I just kind of like just start talking. Maybe I have one or two words that I want to get in in that in a rant. But yeah, it's it's it's it's all about reaction. I I I think that my best stuff will come from, you know, seeing something outrageous going on and being even more outrageous, you know, in the in the way that I do.

What would you say are your most popular videos so far? Well, I mean, last week or uh yeah, I think last week, maybe a week and a half ago, but the whole FTX drama was coming out and I actually had one video that was extremely popular, a million views on Twitter. Actually, that's the first time I've ever had anything any video of mine get a million views was I was talking about uh the orgies. the or I don't know if there was orgies but maybe there I don't know but just kind of like talking about that and yeah I think that a lot of people are not willing to talk in that way and not willing to address

these topics but I I think it's very fun and I do it in a funny way and kind of a light-hearted way that also like kind of gives gives a point of truth but also is entertaining and that was the one where you are shirtless And if I recall correctly, you're wearing jeans and there's snow on the ground and you have like an axe and you are yelling about about this. Is that the one? [clears throat] Yeah, almost. I'm actually wearing Cool Cat's pants which I'm wearing right now as well.

Yeah, I was wearing like sweatpants and not an axe. It's machete, please. I take my work very seriously, so we need to get these things uh correct. But yeah. Yeah, basically what you're [laughter] describing. I actually, as a journalist, I appreciate the fact check. Um, I'd love to play a little CLIP OF THAT. CAROLINE AND SPF HAVING SEX ON THOSE GODDAMN [screaming] BEAN BAGS. PICTURE THAT IN YOUR MIND. THAT IS DISGUSTING. [screaming] SO, you said you only do one take. So, do you set everything up yourself or do you have somebody videotaping you or like what equipment do you use? And how professional of an operation is this?

Um I would say it's quite not professional. My wife uh will of will sometimes uh film me but most of the time I just put my phone even on the floor just wherever it can be propped up. Actually the most recent piece of equipment that I purchased was a tripod for my phone and that's it. I mean you don't you don't need anything. I think that a lot of the reason also that the reason I do it this way is because I recognize that I'm not a good editor and I don't like spending a lot of time editing. So if I'm able to present something that is just a scene and my voice and given an idea, that's the

easiest way for me to convey my message with not a lot of production, not a lot of help. Uh but just put up the phone, press record, say whatever it is, and post. No. no need to to work to go crazy with any sort of edits or filters or whatever. [snorts] And I did see that you recently sold some of your videos as NFTTS. Before that, had you ever made money from these videos or was it always just for fun? Uh yeah, I mean before before selling, no, I mean when you get started in content, I mean uh you know better than I do. You've been doing this way longer than I have. When you get started, you you're not making any money. I mean, you're not nobody cares about you. Like, you're just out there

yelling into a camera on your own, but yeah, I mean, you can like just you can go back, anyone can go back and look at my oldest videos on YouTube or Twitter or whatever. There's like five views on them. So, yeah, of course, at that time, I was not selling anything. And yeah, NFTs have been a very interesting route. Usually, what happens is that people will actually ask for me to mint an NFT. I won't just go ahead and just take every video and mint it. I just I want I I'd like someone who wants like I'm not forcing it on anyone. If someone wants to collect it and wants to support me, that's awesome and I'm happy. But most of the videos are just for fun. Like I'm just enjoy. Like I personally will go back and watch my videos and laugh. Like

that sounds weird and narcissistic, but I think it's funny. [laughter] [gasps] I love it. I love it. I think if you find something funny then like for other people like it is sort of just gravy. Um all right so in a moment we're going to talk a little bit more about the NFTts and um kind of some other aspects of the videos which are super fun. Um but first a quick word from the sponsors who make the show possible. [music] Defy Saver is an all-in-one management app for the top lending protocols on Ethereum including a maker [music] liquidity and compound.

They have dedicated protocol dashboards with options for quick leverage adjustment [music] and self-liquidation as well as automated liquidation protection options with stop-loss, trailing [music] stop, and automated unwinding options. They also have loan shifting tools for collateral and debt swaps and instantly [music] moving positions between different protocols. You can try DeFi Saver today on Ethereum, Arbitum, and Optimism. Back to my conversation with Gabriel. So are you I know you know you started as like a crypto or not I wouldn't say started but you um obviously have been doing crypto content creation and I was curious with your experience with the NFT sales like do you feel that this is kind of a good solution for creators

like you? I think it's a tool in the toolkit for sure an NFT on its own is nothing. It's just it's nothing. I mean you you have to incorporate it under some brand. You have to yeah you have to use it a as part of you know your your creator toolbox. Being a crypto being someone who is in crypto and talks about crypto it's a very obvious fit for me to have NFTs right video NFTs and as crypto grows and as you know the market the market cap continues to grow number go up then I think more and more people will be able to utilize this right now it's mostly a very it's a very niche

thing you know focused mostly on crypto creators you don't see a lot of people who are outside of crypto making NFTts for obvious reasons it's very difficult but yeah I think it's super important and the NFTts have been way more profitable than YouTube uh payments or even Twitter has like super followers those have been minuscule minuscule I mean it's maybe a hundred times more in in in NFTTS so yes absolutely not that the numbers of NF like not that the number of NFT sales is people level but it's you know it's something and that it feels good. Yeah, I'm liking it. I'm I'm enjoying I like the NFTts.

So, you were saying that you go back and watch your own videos and they make you laugh and you know, for anybody who's followed you, they have seen that some people have made comments about you or your body, the fact that you do yoga, you then will kind of clap back at them through videos. And I was curious like how you felt about all that and if you were surprised by it or if you were hurt, if you thought it was just all in good fun or what to be I also want to say specifically that was Bit Boy who said that I'm he was like are you I did some sort of yoga pose in one of my videos and he's like crow pose.

I'm a former yoga instructor. So nice job on the crow pose. [laughter] Thank you. I appreciate and he his reply was so weird. It was like yoga's for girls or something. I'm like, "Okay." Oh, please, please. There's so many guys that do yoga. I know tons of guys who do yoga. Well, yeah. And I was like, and then the next video was like, Bit Boy, can you even touch your toes? I don't think so. Right. Like, so, you know, a lot of people feel like, you know, they have an outlet to say I have uh, you know, I have a big belly, man, boobies, whatever it is. And listen, I am I am overweight.

I mean, I have a I have a belly. What am I going to do about it? Um, but I don't think there's any reason to be ashamed of it. I mean, you know, if you go on TikTok right now or Twitter, whatever, you'll see a hundred guys with their shirts off. Most of them, 99% of them have these abs like they're like Thor or something. But, you know, that's just not realistic. It's not like a real that's not a real person. You know, like there's very very few people that actually have that type of body. But we see it on, you know, Tik Tok as if it's every single person. So, I think it's kind of interesting. It's kind of funny like to put a guy who's like not in the best shape, not doesn't have like

six-pack abs or whatever, shirtless. Like, why not? I mean, it's just it's all part of the fun. [gasps] I would agree. I would agree. So, your wife, Lee Eller, has gotten in on this, and she's been posting funny videos of her own, and I was curious how that all got started. Yeah, Lee has been um she is an artist. She's a musician, an actress before we even met. And she's been making she made songs for many, many years [clears throat] ago, music videos. So, she knows about making content. So, it's not something that is foreign to her.

But yeah, I I've just been making videos and she's always been supportive and she's always happy to tag along and do her own thing and join in on the fun. So, uh, it's been awesome and I like that it gives a different perspective to the videos I make. Like, you can see a guy in the snow with a machete yelling about something, but then you see it from outside the window and my wife is talking about it. It's kind It's very funny. It gives like that alternate view which I think adds another dimension to the the universe uh of Gabe of the Hannes family if you will. But yeah, it's been awesome.

Yeah, between the two of you it gets very meta watching the videos. It's super fun. So, we talked a little bit about how NFTTS could be beneficial for creators, but your actual job is around web 3 media and I was curious to hear a little bit more about that. Like what's your vision there? How do you think web 3 will change media? What does it offer that people can't get on the traditional version of the internet? Yeah, I mean there's a lot of empowerment in being able to be directly supported by your fans. I mean, just even a couple days ago, I made a video about someone posted a Tik Tok video of SBF running down the street in the Bahamas. And I very quickly, you know,

made a kind of a reaction video to that. Someone asked, and I'm this is just a couple days ago. Someone asked, "Can you mint this? Can I collect this?" So, I said, "Sure." I put up 10 NFTts for 0.5 ETH each and it sold out within an hour. Okay. Now, that's a few hundred. It's not I'm not going to be rich from it. But if you are a content creator on in any other industry, you know, outside of crypto, if you're a chef, if you're bl whatever it is, you're not going to be making a few hundred from a video that you just made a couple hours ago. It it will be almost imp unless you have like,

you know, sponsors or whatever, you're not going to get that support natively from any platform. not Tik Tok, not Twitter, not YouTube, nothing. And the ability for fans who support my work to support me directly, it feels really good and it feel it gives me the confidence and the, you know, support to be able to keep on doing this because, you know, a few hundred, it could be today, but it could be, you know, a couple years from now if I keep growing, could be a million dollars for an NFT.

Why not? Um, if someone sees the value. So I really think that the future of web 3 allows it is that connection between the creators and the audience and it's that direct no intermediary connection which is very powerful and which allows the market to actually decide who is bringing value and who is not. Not an algor an algorithm doesn't have to decide just individuals who find value in what is being created.

Awesome. I love it. As a creator myself, I think there's a lot that Web 3 hopefully will bring to creators. Um, so this episode will come out the day after Thanksgiving in the US. I was wondering if there's any cryptoreated holiday message you want to give people. Buy Turkeycoin. No, I don't know. Um, enjoy the time with family. Enjoy the time with friends. You're probably going to be uh not going to be treated very well by the people that you convinced to buy crypto over the past year. But hey, that's okay. It comes with the territory. Just have a nice time, relax, enjoy.

[gasps and laughter] I I totally agree with everything you said. All right, Gabriel. Well, it's been so fun having you on Unchained. Thanks for coming on the show. My [clears throat] pleasure. Thank you for having me, Laura. Oh, yeah. And for those who are watching the video, Gabriel made a special video just for Unchained, which we will feature after the adbreak. For those of you that are listening on the pod, stick around as well since you can at least hear what he's saying in his funny yelly [music] voice. All right. Well, thanks again Gabriel. My pleasure. Join over 10 million people using Crypto.com, [music] the easiest place to buy, earn, and spend over 150 cryptocurrencies. Spend your crypto anywhere using the Crypto.com Visa card.

Get [music] up to 8% cash back instantly, plus 100% rebates for your Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon [music] Prime subscriptions. Download the Crypto.com app now and get $25 with the code Laura, link [music] in the description. Thank you very much for listening to this conversation on the Unchained podcast. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED it as much as you did eating your goddamn turkey. In the coming year, I wish you a 100X SO YOU CAN MAKE BACK ALL THAT MONEY THAT YOU LOST and so YOU CAN REPAY BACK YOUR

FAMILY MEMBERS FOR SELLING THEM SHITCOINS AT THE TOP. [music] YEAH. [music]