Wikitubia:Interviews/Pervert Pete

This interview was conducted via email on December 31, 2016 by Aidan Dunphy.

Gary Gabagool is a YouTuber with over 94,000 subscribers as of January 2, 2017.

Q1: How and when did you discover YouTube?


 * I think in 2008 I first became aware of YouTube. My younger brother showed me, it's a place on the interwebs where we can watch clips of movies & music videos. It looked cool but I didn't see anything that got me hooked. I don't think I went back to YouTube for like 4 years after that lol.

Q2: Can you remember what the first YouTube video that you ever watch was?


 * It was in 2008 & if I remember correctly, it was a Freddy Krueger murder scene montage. I was doing Freddy's voice and saying the funny lines he would say & making people die laughing when I ran out of lines to say. That's when my brother told me we can maybe find some Freddy lines on this video website called YouTube.

Q3: Can you remember what the first video game that you ever played was?


 * This is a tough one. I think I remember it was the arcades version of Punch Out. Me and my friend used to skateboard to this laundromat that had one arcade machine in it, which was Punch Out. I remember playing it and saying, "wow, this looks SO REAL!" It was the Punch Out that you played as the green mesh guy. I sucked at it too. The first console game I played I'm pretty sure it was Space Invaders. I wasn't too impressed with it, mostly because I sucked at it. I hated when you would get to the last line of aliens, It was the first time I raged over anything I think.

Q4: Who was the first YouTuber that you were a fan of?


 * MrTechnicalDifficult. Way back in December of 2012, I was looking through YouTube, not finding anything that looked interesting when I somehow came across one of Mr.TechnicalDifficults Omegle videos & I was instantly dying laughing. I then went on a 13 hour binge of all his Omegle videos & to take a break, I would watch his Chatroulette videos.

'''Q5: Who influenced you to make YouTube videos? '''


 * MrTechnicalDifficult (a.k.a. MTD, Kyle). Not only was he funny, but I found it to be amazing that he could get these random people to interact with him without him doing much of anything & simply being himself. The day after I binge watched Kyle's Omegle videos I thought, "Kyle is so unbelievably funny talking to people as himself, what would it be like if a fake character was talking to random people?"

Q6: What do you think about the new YouTube Advertiser-Friendly content guidelines?


 * I think they are doing exactly what a conglomerate would do & should do. They are in the business of making money so I don't think anyone can be angry at YouTube for going in this direction.

Q7: How did you come up with your former YouTube channel name aLiLCrankCrank, and your current 2nd YouTube channel name Sookie Nation?


 * Since I was a little kid, I would say random, original lines and when we would be going to a party or hang out with girls, I would say, "Awwwww yea, we gonna get a lil somethin somethin, a little CRANK CRANK!" It just meant like we gonna have fun in one way or another :) ....So I wanted to make Omegle videos but I didn't have a YouTube channel. I couldn't think of a channel name so since I was impatient, I named it aLiLCrankCrank as in, 'A Little Crank Crank' which was my main catch phrase, to people that knew me.

Q8: Currently who is your favourite YouTuber or YouTubers?


 * My favorites change every so often but currently my favorite YouTubers would have to be: Mike Korzemba, IamCyr, Cinemassacre, iDubbbz, TVFilthyFrank, Ralphthemoviemaker, h3h3Productions & Milo Yiannopoulos.

Q9: Do you have a favourite and least favourite video that you have uploaded?


 * That's a tough one because I don't like anything I'm in but if I have to pick a favorite, it would have to be the Slenderman video I did with Makemebad35. His version is still on YouTube but mine of course, is gone. It's my favorite because it was everything improv comedy is about. He didn't say a word since he was Slenderman. I had to react off of Damians actions. We both made each other laugh like crazy, it was the best time I ever had making a video.


 * My least favorite would easily be the Explanation video where I had to explain why I had to immediately delete every single Pervert Pete video & why I could no longer play the character. It was an emotional time for my family & for the entire fan base. The support from fans, friends, collaborators & from YouTubers I never interacted with before was unbelievably amazing & shows how caring people really can be.

Q10: What is your favourite part about having a YouTube channel?


 * Theres a lot of things I love about having a YouTube channel but my absolute favorite part has to be, interacting with fans during my live shows. It's so much fun hanging out & interacting with peeps that have the same sense of humor as me. I could go hours & hours on there just answering questions & talking with everyone.

Q11: Do you play games in your free time that you don't record and upload if so what games?


 * I used to a lot but for the past 6 months or so, I haven't. But when I did, I used to play this simulation game called Game Biz 3, GTA 5 online would waste a lot of my time but it's so addicting shooting up people and getting chased by cops.

Q12: How do you come up with the the character Pervert Pete?


 * Back in 2006 I found this simulation game called Game Biz 3. It's a simulation game where you start your own gaming company in 1980 and build your company up by creating games & eventually consoles. One night when my brother was over, I showed it to him. We spent the next 14 hours playing it, we couldn't stop. While coming up with absurd games to make, we made this one called 'Pervert Pete'. That's where I came up with how Pete would sound 'in the game' & how he was 'just trying to make friends' but as a Pervert, that proved difficult.....I didn't think about the character again until Jan. 2013. After watching a ton of MrTechnicalDifficults Omegle YouTube videos, I thought it would be awesome to do what he does, except as a fake character. That's when I remembered the fake character me & my brother came up with 7 years prior.

Q13: How did you become friends with NukeNorway and Mario T.V.?


 * Around the end of 2013 while researching Omegle videos on YouTube, I came across Creepy The Clown who at the time had about 1,000 subscribers, which at the time was a lot less than me. I thought he was insanely funny & I left a comment saying so & I messaged Mario saying we should collab sometime. We been good friends ever since. As for Nuke, Mario became friends with him & during one of our Skype calls, Mario brought in Nuke & Nuke & I have been friends ever since.

Q14: Who was the first YouTuber that you became friends with?


 * It would have to be CurtisTheSpazGamer. Back when I had a few hundred Subscribers, I found Curtis' videos. I thought he was really funny & genuine & I had asked him for some pointers relating to YouTube. He didn't hesitate to help me out & ever since then, we been friends. He's one of the most genuine YouTubers I've ever come across & he's a really good friend.

Q15: Do you find it hard to balance being a Husband, a soon to be Dad and making YouTube videos?


 * Absolutely! Back when I was doing Pervert Pete, it was easy. I would just record when my daughter would go away every other weekend. But now it's difficult. When my daughter is away, I don't have the motivation anymore like I used to. Since I had to kill off the character I built over the last 3 years, its just not the same anymore. I don't enjoy making videos like I used to.

Q16: Do you make a living from YouTube or do you have another job?


 * For a long time, YouTube was a serious part of my income. But since I've had to kill off the character, my channel doesn't make any money so I do focus a lot of my time in other areas to make money. I'm like a small time Billy Mays :)

Q17: You currently have over 94,000 subscribers, did you ever think you would have that many subscribers?


 * When I first started, I had no clue where I was going with it & I certainly didn't think there would be a lot of people who thought what I was doing would be funny, but I was quite wrong. Then there was also the whole issue of getting the videos out there. Theres a ton of YouTubers out there that do great work, but just can't get their videos seen. I got lucky in a lot of ways. I didn't think my videos would get out there but I got lucky with some searches & suggested videos on PewDiePie's channel before the YouTube algorithm changed. Overall, I never thought I'd have that many subscribers, mostly because of how hard it is to get videos out there to the masses. I've proven theres an audience but to actually get the videos in front of them? Never in a million years did I think it was possible.

Q18: You currently have uploaded 30 videos on your main channel and 60 videos on your 2nd channel, did you ever think you would uploaded that many videos?


 * I did have 363 Pervert Pete videos before I had to delete all of them. I never thought I'd make that many. I thought I would get bored way before then. I figured I had maybe 20 videos in me and leter in life I'd look at it as a thing I did a long time ago.

Q19: Currently your most viewed video has over 48,000 views, did you ever think one of your videos would have that many views?


 * That's one of my Gary Gabagool videos that got 48K views on it & I certainly didn't think it would get that many. I figured by killing Pete off, my channel would be completely dead because every single subscriber was there because of Pervert Pete. The fans surprised me with all the support they've given me. Even before I killed the character off, I had a Pervert Pete video with 768,000 views & I really didn't put any stock in that number because it was a suggested video on one of PewDiePie's videos. That number really didn't mean much because it obviously just had a decent enough thumbnail to click on. It did bring new fans to my channel, which I'm happy about but the number of views it self didn't really mean much to me.

Q20: What is your lifetime subscriber and video view goal?


 * Back when I started, I had none. Now with everything that has happened to my channel, I don't necessarily have a goal but I want to get in front of as many people as possible. With how tough it is now on YouTube to get your videos in front of people & with how many big YouTubers are scamming & lying to their audience, I want to get to those numbers that those YouTubers have, except doing it a different way: Without scamming & lying, without clickbaiting, without making videos just to get views. I want to do it with being genuine, just making videos I enjoy making that my fan base enjoys. I figure if theres already a few people with the same sense of humor as me who enjoy my videos, there has to be a lot more out there & I want to get the videos out there to them.

Q21: What was your lifetime subscriber goal when you first started uploading YouTube videos?


 * I had no goal. My only goal was to get it out to some people, maybe a few hundred, just to see what they thought about the videos, to see if there was other people out there besides my friends who shared the same sense of humor.

Q22: How long do you think YouTube will last?


 * Maybe another 10 or 15 years when another video sharing website comes a long that focuses on what the creators want instead of what the advertisers want. Advertisers will always go to where the viewers are at. YouTube seems to be more interested in the 'family friendly' ad revenue, obviously because it makes them the most money. But there will come an end for YouTube & another site will take what the creators want and do best & turn it into a money making venture that the creators want. Just like AOL, MySpace, Friendster, Vine & all the other dominate websites that nobody thought could be beaten. Vid.me is a potential site that could topple YouTube one day.

Q23: How long do you think you will be uploading YouTube video?


 * I don't know. As long as YouTube is a viable place to get content out to people, I will upload there.

Q24: Are you planning on going to any YouTube conventions?


 * That was a goal of mine. As of right now, it isn't. I'm just focused on trying to figure out where I'm trying to go as a content creator.

Q25: What advice would you give to someone who is trying to make videos on YouTube?


 * Do what you love to do. Do what makes you happy. Doing what's trending or stuff you don't really care about just to get views isn't gonna make you happy and your audience will see how disingenuous you are. You might get views and subs but it won't be a strong fan base that will stick with you no matter what, and those are the people you want to make videos for. While doing that, learn as much as you can about EVERYTHING there is a lot to know about being a content creator. Research EVERYTHING. Learn to be the best you can be at EVERYTHING. Nobody can take knowledge away from you. Learn to be the best editor, producer, director, actor. Learn everything you can about SEO, promoting & branding. The easy part is doing what you love, the hard part is getting it out to the masses.

Q26: What is the future for you and your channel?


 * I really don't know. I want to get back to doing what my audience loved. I want to get back to doing what grew my channel. I want to get back to doing what I did best. I want to do all that, just not as the 'character' I played. Once I figure out how to do that, there is no stopping me & the sky is the limit.

Q27: Have you ever done a interview like this before?


 * Not like this but I did a podcast interview a few years ago for AfterHourComedy but I did the interview as Pervert Pete so I guess this is really my first official interview :)