Chatting Shit With Gifted Hater
I thought I’d ask ChatGPT to write me an intro for this discussion I had with Gifted Hater, and I think it’s pretty solid:
In the vast realm of skateboarding, where opinions abound, only a select few carve out a livelihood by offering their unique perspective on the sport. Among these individuals, Joa, known in the digital sphere as Gifted Hater, stands out as a true authority. In fact, renowned skateboarder Jerry Hsu once remarked that no one excels at expressing their viewpoints on skateboarding quite like Gifted Hater.
In our exclusive conversation, we delved into Gifted Hater’s remarkable career, his awe-inspiring street part, his affiliation with Sci-Fi Fantasy, and much more. Prepare to immerse yourself in the world of skateboarding as we uncover the fascinating journey of this enigmatic figure.
Enjoy.
How are things, Joa?
Pretty good right now. The last thing I uploaded is doing pretty well. So I was kind of stressed about that because I hadn't posted anything in a while. So that's a relief, I guess.
I was surprised to say that prior to your last video, you hadn't uploaded on YouTube in three months. What was the hiatus for?
I had some stuff kind of happening in my personal life which made me not really want to compound that with the stress of uploading stuff. Like, if I'm fine, then reading comments doesn't bother me too much. But if I'm already stressed about something else, then I really would prefer just to not deal with it.
I also think with YouTube, you're just supposed to upload and upload all the time. I think that taking some time away from it a little bit to reflect on the nature of what you're producing can be helpful to better inform you a little bit and help you change. With a lot of YouTubers, their income is contingent on producing something creative week after week, or sometimes every day. I think that frequency could lead to you kind of hitting your apex and blowing out pretty fast, and then just kind of producing redundant or monotonous types of content.
I spoke to you about two years ago, and you said, “I know I'm not going to get 100,000 views on my videos when I do this kind of thing.” Out of your last 40 videos, only two didn't get 100k, and they had 98k and 99 99k. Are you surprised by the success that you're having now?
*Laughs* Well, the stuff that I was making two years ago was much more low effort, I suppose. I probably felt like my off-the-cuff, no-research style, didn't deserve like 100k. I was also a lot more self-conscious about everything that I was doing. I played everything extremely safe and always understated my expectations.
I don't know what two years from now is going to look like. But I think 100,000 views is probably about as much as my videos should be getting, or as much as I want them to get. Skateboarding is small. The shit-talking shouldn't get more views kind of than the main thing that I'm poking fun at.
What else has changed for you since starting your channel?
I think my mentality about things is a lot more laid back, and I'm more appreciative of the weird shit in skateboarding.
I started my YouTube channel during COVID, and I had a lot of energy that I wanted to release. That probably came out as me being very harsh towards certain skaters. I'm always gonna be a critical person, that's just how I am. But I think that the way my YouTube channel started, I was genuinely kind of angry or upset with the state of things.
I would try to draw these grand narratives about how this or that was toxic to the skateboarding community, like “we need to protect the sanctity of skateboarding from corporate interests” blah, blah, blah. Now, I'm a little bit more along for the ride, you know?
If something is wack, I'm still going to talk about it, but I think that skateboarding will be okay. Not to sound like a fucking old head or something, but I think the act of skateboarding is so special that I think it's always gonna be alright, even if it dips in popularity.
Do you find yourself getting recognized in public now?
It depends on the sort of place that I go to. I think two years ago, when I would go to a skate park, there might be somebody that would be like, “You’re Gifted Hater from YouTube!”
Now, if I go to a skate park, somebody will almost always say something to me. Other than that, it's pretty rare that I'll just be out in public and somebody recognizes me. Though I do live in LA, which has a pretty large concentration of skateboarders.
Like, I was going shopping for socks in Urban Outfitters or some store with my girlfriend and she was upset with me at the time, and then this kid asked to take a selfie with me. So I’m there taking a selfie with a kid while my girlfriend is just not pleased at all. That kind of shit is really funny. She thought it was funny, too. She's like, “Oh my god, this is so fucking stupid.”
Do you think being prominent online helps with relationships? Or hurts them?
To the outside world, I represent a very curated and meticulous kind of representation of something that is half me as a person, and half a character, you know?
I’m being myself and saying my real opinions, but it’s all tied together with editing and jokes and all that shit. All those people watching me, they don't know all the mistakes that I've made in my life. If I’m close or intimate with someone, they know so much more about me, and they have so much more of the full picture of who I am that I don't think being like a celebrity or something really helps that much in your personal life unless the person that you're with is into you for clout.
What were you doing before you were a content creator?
I hate that term. I guess it’s a pet peeve of mine when people call themselves “creatives”. The type of person that calls themself a “creative” is usually kind of a wretched individual, in my experience, and content creators are sort of adjacent to that.
I don't think there's really any great term to describe what I do. Like, content creator is accurate, but when I was trying to get an apartment and I would have to explain to the landlord what I did for a living, I would tell them that I'm basically like a sports analyst for skateboarding and that I make videos that are half analysis and half comedy. It’s not a brief description though.
Okay. Well, prior to becoming a sports analyst/comedian within the skateboarding world, what were you doing?
*Laughs* My first job was at a kids’ museum, basically just standing around. I also worked at the cash register, I did that for a bit. And then I quit. I was not a good employee really, ever. I wouldn't even be a good employee in my own business, really. After that, I worked at a skate shop for maybe two and a half years, then COVID happened and I started making TikToks. The rest is kind of, whatever the fuck happened.
I imagine the pay isn’t as good at a skate shop compared to being a YouTuber.
I mean, we're kind of outside of the golden age of YouTube skateboarding. Back in the day, you could do pretty well with vlogs and consistent videos. Garrett Ginner, for example, has a fucking house in LA. John Hill is breaded the fuck out. That doesn't happen anymore. You have to have an alternative strategy outside of YouTube. I have that, luckily, so I don’t have to freak out every time I get copyrighted.
I was just thinking, when you took that YouTube hiatus, and people were fiending for your content, some of them would have turned to your Patreon. So it's almost like, not posting to YouTube actually benefits you.
Yeah, I mean, I saw that. My numbers went up when I wasn't uploading on YouTube, so that’s definitely true. But that’s not something that I want to happen. I want a 50/50 split between YouTube and Patreon, that's how I want it to be. One upload on YouTube, one on Patreon. I think my numbers will go down as I get back to that.
But as I said, I was going through some things there for a couple of months, and it’s a lot easier to post to a private community than the public. If some random old guy stumbles across my videos and leaves a two-paragraph comment on how I’m wrong, I might be reading that, wondering “What am I doing with my life?”
When I post privately, the people who watch the videos actually want to be there and enjoy the stuff that I'm doing. Though, I don’t know, maybe I slipped into a little reclusive, happy echo chamber there for a second.
You also dropped your street part a few months ago, how was the response?
It was probably an important thing for me to do. There are certain things that you don't really understand unless you actually go out and do them. I think skating street gives you an insight and a deeper appreciation of the skill level involved with filming a part. What people think about how good my part is, or how good I am, isn't as relevant.
I’m glad people enjoyed it, and I’m trying to film something again, but I mostly think that if you're gonna talk shit about what other people are doing, you should throw your hat in the ring as well.
Like, I'm contributing in the same way that other people are contributing, and everyone is entitled to talk about the creative thing that I made in the same way that I would talk about the creative thing that everybody else made. I'm putting my balls on the chopping block as well.
And you mentioned you're working on something now. Is that for Sci-Fi Fantasy?
Yeah, that's the plan. Yeah. My first part was my little YouTuber part. With Sci-Fi, we’re working on something more fullish length. I don't know, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. And with that coming out, I'm not going to be cool if I only have three clips in it. So I need to knuckle down a little bit and get some of that shit popping. I've got some stuff in the bank and got plans to get more
“At the end of the day, I actually like all of this stuff, so I’m feeling pretty optimistic. I hate to say it, but I’m not that pissed right now. I’m not that pissed.”
How did the Sci-Fi thing come about?
I think I tagged Jerry in some clips, and he reposted me. I guess he liked it. Then he sent me two hats that ended up not fitting my head. Sci-Fi hats don't fit my head. I don't know. Like Ryan Lay looks normal in them, Jerry looks normal in them, and I look a fucking idiot whenever I try to put one on.
I think after that, he found out about the YouTube stuff. I was kind of concerned that he might not want to send me stuff after seeing my videos, but I guess he was cool with it, so that was lucky. Then I met Jerry in person, and the boxes he would send me went from two boards to like five boards. Getting two boards is kind of a flowy type situation, but if you have five boards in the box, you’re in.
Now I know Jerry decently well and we're all going to Canada next month.
Yeah Jerry basically told me the same story. He said he liked your YouTube videos though, he said basically that you’re the best at what you do. Is that weird to hear coming from Jerry Hsu, or is he just Jerry now?
He’s still Jerry Hsu, so it’s nice to hear. But it’s also funny, him saying that I’m the best at what I do. It's kinda like saying, “he's the best person at juggling bowling pins on a unicycle.”
What has been a career highlight for you?
I don't really know how to answer that. It’s really fun to hang out with the Sci-Fi team. Like, we went to Arizona for Ryan's event. Realistically, YouTube has put me in that position. I wouldn't be doing that kind of shit if it wasn't for YouTube. It wasn’t my goal when I started, but it's really cool to go and do that kind of thing and try to film and get shit done in a classic skateboarding type of way.
What about a career low point?
Oh, anytime I open Twitter and look at what people are saying about me on there.
I wouldn't deal with Twitter if I were you.
It's stupid because I'll be reading tweets like, “Why does this guy care about what I think?”
I used to have a Twitter account and I deleted it. And I was like, there should be a safe anti-Gifted Hater space where I don’t exist. Like, I don't need to be on Twitter, you know, fighting with people who don't like me. They are allowed to have their own community like that.
What excites you about the current state of skateboarding? And is there anything that is pissing you off?
Right now, it feels like business as usual. We're halfway through the year now, so I'm just kind of stoked to see the next parts that drop. When it comes down to it, this whole thing is about product and it's about parts. The year has been pretty enjoyable for me in terms of the parts that have come out.
I don't have any, like, you know, sweeping or grand kind of predictions about what's going to happen in skating right now. At the end of the day, I actually like all of this stuff, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic.
I hate to say it, but I'm not that pissed right now. I'm not that pissed.
Any final remarks? Wanna take shots at anyone?
The problem is, when I talk shit on somebody for a long time, then a lot of people just echo what I say. Like, Elijah Berle was a guy that I made fun of a lot, and now I kind of like Berle.
I’m tired of the shit talking towards him. He shows up at every event and goes hard. He just doesn't give a fuck and keeps skating. I’m like, damn, this guy just keeps fucking plugging away. And I'm pretty sure he's going to drop a banger part this year. He’s been absent for like, two years or something in the footage department, but he’s always skating and he’s not the kind of guy that gets hurt. So basically, if you ask me what I’m looking forward to this year, I’m chomping at the bit for this Berle part.
It's time to witness Berle put down some fucking hammers. Word on the street is that he’s done some pretty fucked up shit, and I could see him maybe getting SOTY this year.
Well said. Thanks for chatting Joa.