I seem to be extra busy in the summer, and while I appreciate having a lot to do, I wish I had more time to waste. I guess that's what winter in Minnesota is for.
If I had more time to waste, I'd watch a lot more videos from Adam the Woo. He's a character who has turned a hobby into a 24/7 lifestyle, as best I can tell.
I don't know his history very well, but I've watched an assortment of his videos, and learned a thing or two. He's a dude who is about 40 years old, worked in the prestigious world of retail for many years and began creating YouTube videos of his visits to abandoned places, I think. He likes to visit abandoned amusement parks, movie sets and anything else that strikes his fancy. He's not the only one doing this and filming it for the Internet, but he's the first one I stumbled upon some time ago.
As the popularity of his videos grew, he started a second YouTube channel, which he calls The Daily Woo. On that channel he produces daily videos of his exploits, more or less. I don't follow it religiously, but it's what the kids call a "vlog."
What was once a hobby that he devoted his free time to has now become a lifestyle. Not long ago he unloaded his personal belongings and hit the road to dedicate his time, day and night, to traveling the countryside in an old, unglamorous van.
My assumption was that the dude comes from a wealthy family and he never had to work for a living, he simply could afford to travel whenever he wanted and slap together videos of his exploits. But as I learned recently, that's not the case. As I noted, he was a retail lackey for most of his adult life, although he was a drummer in a band of minor notoriety at one point, allegedly. (UPDATE: The latest evidence I have seen suggests he was a bass player.)
As his popularity has grown he has been able to earn a few pennies off of the thousands and thousands of views his videos generate. He also has T-shirts available for purchase via the Internet, and does accept donations to help sustain his work. Although it might seem he's getting rich off of Internet notoriety, that doesn't appear to be the case. He has fuel and lodging expenses during his travels, and there's little indication his accommodations are Kardashian-like. From the sounds of it, the support he receives from his viewers has afforded him the luxury of dedicating his life to traveling the countryside and chronicling his adventures in that tired van.
He doesn't beg for support, and he doesn't beg people to promote his content. He seems to like the idea that his popularity is organic. As best I can tell, he's not doing it for 15 minutes of Internet fame. But he does communicate and connect with his viewers via various social media platforms.
His style is not for everyone. At times he's a cornball. His style reminds me a bit of MTV-era Pauly Shore, with a dose of Adam Sandler thrown in. Although his videos are creative and well produced, his on-camera persona hasn't advanced with his production skills. I think his Wayne and Garth view of the world is endearing to some, nauseating to others.
Regardless, his adventures are a lot of fun to follow, when I can make the time to do so. He was based in California, and now that he sold off most of the things that kept him tethered to SoCal, he's on the road. Naturally it didn't take him long to find his way to Las Vegas as he headed east. It's not the first time he's been to The Meadows, but when I saw he spent time in Sin City recently, I had to check out his videos of his visit, particularly since he stopped at Seven Magic Mountains. I'm looking forward to seeing it this fall.
He also visited the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings. I've read about it, but have yet to visit it.
The video of his visit to Seven Magic Mountains wasn't as informative as I'd have preferred, but it was fun nonetheless. He did provide some good information and footage from his stop in Goodsprings, so props to Adam for that. And he shoots cool drone footage of places he visits. I know, he ain't the first, but it's a nice addition to his videos that he doesn't overuse.
But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.
Join him... shall you?
Here is his second day's video chronicling his recent layover in Lost Wages:
