WEBVTT - The Making Of Michael Finch 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:06.600 Episode one, The Making of Michael Finch. It didn't take 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.440 long for Michael Finch to make it big on YouTube. 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:13.320 The eighteen year old instantly captivated audiences with his larger 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:15.840 than life persona and unfiltered opinions. 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:21.440 I literally had no idea how offended people can get 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:25.319 by me saying cue, or just anyone saying cue, Like, 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:27.360 if that means that I ain't ship, then you can 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:28.280 eat my ass. 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.600 Michael star began burning bright when he joined forces with 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:36.400 Australia's Girl Shani Grimmond. The unlikely duo were an Internet sensation. 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.639 Yeah it was your head. I will look at you. 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.040 You look like someone from fucking Whovil Cindi leu is 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:43.400 that you? 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:46.560 Their catchphrases became a part of the zeitgeist. 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:51.120 Fucking serious, get in there, Bindi king king. That's a 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:51.680 problem that. 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:56.600 YouTube was in its heyday and Michael and his influencer 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.480 girl gang were the biggest stars in Australia. A fucking 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:01.240 fat mouth and. 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:03.400 Chi gives to me. 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:04.759 Behind the scenes, no one sees it. 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.800 But what happens when those friendships break down and you 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:11.959 start losing your relevance. In this series, we explore Michael 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:16.080 Finch's meteoric rise to internet fame and his impressive transformation 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:20.360 from makeup guru to TikTok chev. We are journalist Sophie 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:26.240 Kate and Amy Torbert, and this is outspoken. Plus, I'm 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:28.720 so excited for this deep dive because Michael Finch has 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:30.920 got to be one of my favorite influences. He has 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:32.199 been for such a long time. 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:32.720 Yeah. 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:35.720 For me, it was really Shiny Grimmond and Michael Finch 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.760 that got me into YouTube and engaged in the world 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:41.200 of influencers. And I think that's a similar case for 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:43.600 a lot of our listeners. I remember there's was always 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.399 such excitement when his vlogs came out. There were ones 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.280 you instantly had to consume. Yeah, I think they were 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:52.080 really a part of the golden days of YouTube. And 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:54.160 it is crazy to look back at the wild ride 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.240 that has been Michael Finch's influencing career for almost a 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.960 decade now. I can't believe he's turning twenty seven. This, 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.320 Oh my, that makes me feel so old, I know. 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:05.560 Will He first launched his YouTube channel back in twenty fourteen, 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:09.280 sharing makeup tutorials and product reviews, and I went back 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:11.240 and had to look and He's deleted a lot of 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.120 his old content, so the earliest videos I could find 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.040 were him with his iconic pout and bleach blonde hair 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.359 back in twenty sixteen. I don't really blame him for 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.200 deleting these videos. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.160 be to have your high school self on YouTube, particularly 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.079 because at the time there were so many trending videos 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:31.520 around makeup, And it's wild to think about how our 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:34.560 makeup has evolved. I mean, because I was having so 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:36.960 much fun looking at these videos too, and I forgot 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:40.400 how big of a thing under ie baking was. Yes, 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:44.280 and also highlighter, because I didn't even wear highlighter anymore, 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.720 but I remember champagne pop was literally the most popular 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:50.440 makeup item. Yeah, it made me realize how old some 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.600 of my makeup is that I still have, because I've 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.280 got some of those iconic palettes that they would always use, 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:57.919 and I'm like, geez, this is probably so out of date. 0:02:58.040 --> 0:02:59.560 I should not be using this. I think you need 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:03.280 to throw that. Okays that since twenty fourteen, Yeah, well, 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:06.600 I do think you forget how revolutionary Michael Finch was 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:09.400 on YouTube because you think about it. Yes, they had 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.320 Jeffrey Star in the US, but in Australia we didn't 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:16.160 have any males on YouTube doing makeup tutorials. And you've 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.840 got Michael Finch, this teenager from a rural town in Victoria, 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.560 sharing these amazing makeup tutorials and becoming a household name. 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:26.120 And it wasn't just his makeup that was a winner 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:29.160 for people, it was his personality because he really did 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.639 speak to an audience of young women and men who 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:35.080 were perhaps struggling at school because he did talk about 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:38.040 being bullied. And I know a lot of people have 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:41.280 contacted him since he became famous, saying that he helped 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:44.839 them so much through bullying and also depression and anxiety. Yeah, 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.000 it's easy to see how he cultivated such a dedicated 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.960 following because he was not only loud and hilarious, but 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:54.160 as you said, vulnerable and really real at the same time. 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.320 I think, like most people, I came across Michael Finch 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.840 through Sharny Grimman's channel, and Shaney was the Aussie it 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.080 girl on YouTube at the time, and they were such 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:06.400 an unbeatable duo together. Yeah, I mean, I would compare 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:09.120 her popularity to that of Anna Paul at the moment, 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:11.280 because I think a lot of people forget just how 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.880 big Shanny was because she has sort of trailed into 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:16.640 obscurity at the moment. I mean, she does still put 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:19.520 out TikTok videos, but she was the it girl. She 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:23.239 was the person that everyone watched. Like when her videos dropped, 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:25.120 you'd be racing to go and watch them. Yeah, And 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:28.280 like most YouTubers, Michael and Shannie met online, so they 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.159 actually used to watch each other's YouTube videos and started 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:34.400 messaging each other. So at the time, Michael was living 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.080 in regional Victoria and Shanni was visiting Melbourne one weekend, 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:40.240 so they met up and Michael did her makeup and 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:42.480 then they went clubbing, and I think the rest is history. 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.479 Really a bit of a fun fact there whilst I 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.839 was trolling through old videos, apparently that's when he also 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.599 met Lily Brown. So Lily Brown was a friend that 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:53.479 happened to be in Melbourne. It's a bit odd because 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:56.720 Lily Brown also lives in Brisbane, so I wonder if 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:59.640 it was a bit orchestrated by her, because she really 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.080 did be a permanent fixture on Michael Finch's Instagram stories. 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:05.239 I don't think he was that big when he met Shanny, 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.680 like Shanny was the one I think she. I think 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:09.680 Lily was more hanging around with Shanny. Well that's what 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:11.400 I mean. I mean, it's Luke critive to be hanging 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:13.880 around any of them when you don't have a following yourself. 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:16.320 Talking about looking at old videos, I saw the first 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:18.919 video on Michael's channel that Sharanny was in and it 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:21.640 was actually the second time they had met, and they 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:23.960 were filming at her house in Brisbane because he'd come 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.599 and stayed over for a sleepover at her house. And 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.040 it was so funny because they did not seem like 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:30.720 it was the second time they'd met. They were like 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.560 razzing each other up, being so rude to each other, 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.920 and they had such good chemistry and banter on camera. Oh, 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.720 Michael Finch literally burped in her face and they said, Oh, 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:41.760 all you do is fart around me, Shanny. That was 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.919 so funny because Sharanny was answering a question about what 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:48.000 her biggest pet peeves were and she goes people burping 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:50.240 in my face and Michael had just done it to her. 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.120 I feel like Michael's content started changing though when he 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:55.359 met Shanny, because he used to do all of the 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.599 makeup tutorials. But when he finally was hanging out with Sharny, 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:00.640 that's when he started vlogging, and I feel like more 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:04.000 of his personality came out and more people started loving him. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:04.360 Yeah. 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.839 I feel like that was sort of the evolution of 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.080 YouTube though, because in the early days of YouTube, so 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:14.080 many people gained traction by copying other people's videos, whether 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.880 it was twenty four hour challenge videos or trending makeup topics. 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.279 So yeah, it's really interesting to look at his growth 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.279 in that respect. I also find it fascinating because clearly 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:27.240 a lot of YouTubers make a bigger following by teaming 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.680 up with other YouTubers. We've seen it with Saffron Barker 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.960 and Anastasia kings North they met online as well. It's 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:35.520 clearly a lucrative thing. It's like they kind of created 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.480 their own Australian high powers in the US when they've 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.280 got all the creators that come together. Yeah, and we've 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.640 got to remember this was a time when a beauty 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:47.240 influencer could really make or break a makeup brand. Yes, 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.520 we've got TikTok now and products can go off, but 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:52.960 the influencer space wasn't as saturated. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:53.320 Yeah. 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.720 It was also at a time though, when gifting and 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.920 collaborations weren't publicized as being so I was very much 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:01.520 in the infantry. 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:01.800 Yeah. 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:03.760 It was the wild West then, so a lot of 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:07.080 influencers could just cleverly integrate. Oh this is my new 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.960 favorite foundation. Oh this is my new favorite makeup palette. 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:12.120 And they'd just been gifted it by brands. But they 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:14.160 were also making a lot of money off some of 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:17.960 these deals. And the biggest brands at the time were Anastasia, 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.240 Beverly Hills. I mean, I haven't really heard of them 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.560 for a while. I don't buy any of their products anymore. 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.119 We had the tart shaped tape, which Michael Finch seemed 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.360 to swear by. Oh. They were always going on about 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.920 Morphy as well, and I did see a loog. Shanni 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.440 mentioned the Becker highlighter. Yeah, it was a Conic highlighter. 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:37.360 I loved it. I also couldn't get past Shanny's really 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:40.360 thick eyebrows. They were quite iconic at the time. I 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.880 remember Michael Finch always used to say they looked like slugs. 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.040 It was quite mean. It's interesting because I was listening 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.600 to this interview with Britney Saunders, and she was saying 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.600 that when she first got on YouTube, she started posting 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:54.480 about makeup, but she wasn't even interested in it. Because 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:57.680 everyone else was sharing about it. It was really the 0:07:57.680 --> 0:07:59.720 only way to get big on YouTube and then from 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.000 their if you've got a following for being good at makeup, 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.120 you could then start doing vlogs. That's so true, and 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.840 I think that's why Michael has done so well because 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.280 he was actually working as a makeup artist. He was 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.480 doing people's makeup. He was actually was talented. Just yeah 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.240 in it now. In addition to making beauty products sell out, 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.320 Michael and Shannie also had the ability to make catch 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.680 phrases and words go off. They even had their own 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:25.240 language at one point, and their catchphrases was so iconic 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:29.160 that Michael and Shanni launched a collaboration with Beginning boutique. 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.400 Do you guys remember these clothes? Yes? I do. I 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:33.520 actually think I've one of you. Bought me the hat 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:34.679 that has thank you on it? 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:34.920 Oh? 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.480 Really, I bought the socks I reckon that. I feel 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:40.520 like Michael Finch might have packed them himself though, Okay, Oh, 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:42.720 I think Beginning boutique's quite big. I don't know if 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.240 Amy you're thinking of. They had their own brand, so 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.679 Shanny did have SG the label for a while. I 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.520 think they were watches, and then they launched their own 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:53.320 brand and started selling their catch phrases on that as well. 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:57.040 These clothes were hideous because you hear about brand collaborations 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.520 now with influencers, and the influencers will pick, you know, 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:02.880 design outfits and stuff. But these were literally just merch 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.760 So some of the tops had sea or thank you 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.400 on there or not a problem like I just I 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:11.440 mean very much relating to a teenage audience. It's pretty 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:14.880 clever though. I'm sure this stuff just sold out instantly. Oh, 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:17.840 I mean their catch phrases were everywhere. This wasn't just 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.520 a small corner of the Internet that was saying them. 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:22.560 Let's throw it to some of these iconic phrases because 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:23.920 I think people enjoy hearing them. 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.600 Again, Get in there, Bindy, way back on the butler. 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:32.000 You know what I'm saying, Ell you fucking serious, that's 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:37.760 a problem that like, I kind of fucker dark BINDI. 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:40.880 Listening to all those grabs, it just reminded me of 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.400 an iconic YouTube video that came out someone made. It 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.280 was like a mock version of an Alexa bring Brought 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:49.480 Home to a family, except it had the voice of 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.440 Michael Finch and of his friend Chris Fox, and it 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:55.880 was their iconic catchphrases like it was just this Alexa 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.760 just yelling at the household. It was friggin' hilarious. 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:02.040 Can you hear me? Nope, it only hears you when 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:12.880 you use the week word. We chose Alexa. 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:15.520 We want to Alexa, what time is it? 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:16.679 I think you need to relax. 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:18.679 What time is it? 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:20.839 Sit down, take a step back, take three steps to 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:22.880 the left, four steps to the right. Get fucked. 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:27.280 And that's the thing. Though not everyone got on board 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.640 with these catch phrases, particularly the language that they developed, 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:33.520 which really seemed to get on people's nerves during one 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:35.880 of their trips to the US. So basically I think 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:39.120 it was Rannie Sky, Wheatley, Shannye, Michael Finch, a couple 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:41.120 of mothers, Lily Brown, they were all on this trip 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:44.280 and they kept speaking in that voice and Candlestick and 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.760 everything the whole time. Oh, the Kendle thing was so confusing. 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:51.600 I actually watched their recent shot at video. Lily and 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:53.520 Michaels and I didn't even know what they were talking 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:55.559 about half the time because they kept saying Kendall Jenna 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:57.280 all the time. Yeah, I think they took it a 0:10:57.360 --> 0:10:59.960 bit farther, But how hilarious for them knowing that they're 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.640 were all of these kids in school yards just copying 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:06.320 everything they said. Michael definitely didn't understand the hate that 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:09.000 was being thrown towards his catch phrases. Here's what he said. 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:15.160 I literally had no idea how offended people can get 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.040 by me saying cue or just anyone saying cute. Like 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:23.360 it's just one of those fucking stupid things that me 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.480 and Shiny kind of just made up. And you know, 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:28.040 it's just said a lot now. 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:29.319 I'll just drop my brash. 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.400 It's just said by a lot of people now, and 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.520 you know, just different scenarios like one time when me 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.600 and Shiny were in Bali and I was really drunk 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:39.160 and we're going back to the hotel and I was 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:43.280 walking past every single door going The amount of people 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:44.560 that have done that and sent it to me on 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:48.760 Twitter is amazing. When you guys like copy scenarios like that, 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.840 it fucking kills us, like we die, We love it 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:54.040 so much, and just like when you get your parents 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:57.360 to say, like, BINDI come in now, hilarious, fucking hilarious. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.400 You guys are great, but yeah, so many people get 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:03.120 so offended. Like I did not know it was such 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.520 an offensive thing. I said something on Twitter this morning, 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:07.760 and it's literally a status that someone's made saying can 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:11.520 people stop thank you or thank you? Michael Finch ain't shit? Well, 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:13.360 I mean, obviously, if it's getting to the point where 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:15.200 you need to make a status, it must be a 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:17.840 lot of people and getting really annoying. So if that 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:20.319 means that I ain't shit, then you can eat my ass. 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:22.760 I do think it has a lot to do with 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:26.360 this group coming together, because, as we mentioned earlier, this 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:31.079 friendship group was very influential and Shannie and Michael literally 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.160 launched the social media careers of Lily Brown and Rannie 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.760 Bransby and to an extent, Sky Wheatley because I remember 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.240 Sky had been on Big Brother, but she wasn't really 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.360 that popular on YouTube, and both Lily and her were 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.840 just hanging around this group like a bad smell. When 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:47.920 I was doing research for this episode, it was the 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:51.000 first video I'd seen Lily and Michael in together and 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.520 she was just like staring at the vlogging camera, like 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:55.720 trying to be so over the top. And it's pretty 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.040 interesting because they recently came out and said that they 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:00.800 used to take shots of Oxy Shrow to be so 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.040 hyped up here for the videos. Yeah, that makes more 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.400 and more sense, doesn't it. Yeah, do you remember Lily 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:07.959 also used to come up to the camera and just 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:10.880 be like trying to smash the camera lens with her fingernail. Well, 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:13.760 she did catch the attention of a lot of followers 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.079 when she met Michael Finch and Charny for the first 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:19.520 time at that Melbourne meetup, and basically she kept just 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.520 yelling the whole time, and she kept being in the 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:24.360 background of Michael Finch's snapchat. It was just like a 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:26.839 competition who could be more stupid And I think that's 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.160 why the group didn't work. We will go into that 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:31.880 in next week's episode. Yeah, it was really who could 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.720 be the most obnoxious. Yeah, but it was such huge 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:37.800 stakes for them because, for example, look at Lily how 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.000 much her career has exploded from just being friendly with 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.280 them and launching a channel. They must have had so 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:46.240 many people trying to befriend them just to get that 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:50.440 internet fame. Now, one of my all time favorite YouTube 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:54.000 videos has to be a balley trip that Michael and 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:58.480 Channey went on together and it was Michael's first time overseas, 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:02.400 and Shiny revealed that Mychael didn't actually know how to swing. 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:05.760 He didn't really know much because like she kept quizzing 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:08.680 him about Barley belly and he could see the sea 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.160 in the horizon and He's like, can I get Bari 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.680 belly from the sea or it's got salt in it? 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:16.319 Like he was just so confused. Well, we forget how 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:20.240 young he was now. Shani also shared Michael's lack of 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:23.400 understanding when it came to geography. Let's throw to what 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:23.880 he said. 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:26.360 So I was just waiting for our taxi and Michael 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:28.680 literally just asked the best question, you know how He's 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:30.880 like really good with geography and all of that good stuff. 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:32.680 He's like, don't film this, but can I ask your 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:36.320 own question? He said, are we like still in the 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:40.320 world like that little blue ball? Are we like there? 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:45.680 And I'm like, well, yeah, Bally is in earth. 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:49.520 This is gonna be my favorite clip from YouTube. It's ironic, 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.280 it's absolutely hilarious. I do love that he let it 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.640 go to air as well. Now we have been speaking 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.160 a bit about this trip to the US, and I 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.320 do think it's spelt the beginning of the end for 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.760 this group and the popularity that they were experiencing at 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:07.080 the time, because when they were all filming together, it 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.920 felt like they were all trying to compete and outdo 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:12.920 each other and who was the loudest, who was the silliest. 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.680 That's because they were all just on oxy shredded. Maybe 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:18.200 that's way it seems so chaotic. Yeah. The thing is, 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:21.200 even though there was his undercurrent of competition within that 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:24.160 friendship group, it was a really important group of friends 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:26.760 for Michael and he actually made the move across to 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:30.640 Brisbane from Regional Victoria to be closer to his friends. Yeah, 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.200 and this was at a time when his YouTube career 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:36.080 was really booming, and I think that he needed his 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:39.840 friends and that vibrancy to be in the video. I mean, 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:41.960 it would be hard to go back to your hometown 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:45.400 in Regional Victoria and be filming these elaborate videos. I mean, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.280 I know his mum was in some of them, but 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:50.120 it seemed like all his friends were in Brisbane. That's 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.480 the thing. He would often travel to Brisbane to see 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.160 Shani and his other YouTube friends, and it's so funny 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:58.640 because he would film videos where he'd be third wheeling 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:02.680 with Jonathan and shann and this took me back. I 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:05.760 love that time of YouTube. I love like Jonathan was 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:09.480 the ideal boyfriend. I actually recently watched a vlog where 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.440 Michael was visiting and they went for a high this 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.960 mountain together and Jonathan had been relegated to the backseat 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:17.920 and he could tell you wasn't happy about it, and 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.640 it was just so funny. How tall is Jonathan because 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.560 he and Shannie looked the same high but now he's 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:25.440 pretty tall. Yeah, because I'm going to say, now he's 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.080 with Madison Woolley, who looks quite sure. I'm like, is 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:31.400 Jonathan tull? Guy? What I recall seeing Michael and Shane's 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:33.960 trip to Barley, and then I remember Shanne and Jonathan 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:35.920 went to Barley and it was so evident she had 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.720 such a better time with Michael. Yeah, who wouldn't. He's hilarious, 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:41.880 I know, and I think not that long after that's 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.400 when Shannee and Jonathan called a quit well for the 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:46.760 first time. That we will actually be looking into that 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:50.680 in another subscriber episode. Now. It was the first time 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:53.360 that Michael lived out of home, and he decided that 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:55.920 he wanted to live by himself because he said he 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.640 liked his own personal space and he didn't want anyone 0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:01.720 at home whilst he was filming during the day and 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.160 amy these moving vlogs. They were iconic, they really were. 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:07.840 I think they're one of my all time favorite YouTube 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.120 videos because they were just so much fun because Michael 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.560 moved over with his mum and his dad came to help. 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.000 And I think anytime you watch all those, you know 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.040 that they're shopping at Kmart getting all the furniture, and 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:21.840 he was just so boogie. But you feel really nostalgic, 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:23.920 I suppose, thinking back when you moved out of home. 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:26.760 I do love how clueless he was because we'll go 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.480 into it more next week. But he has really become 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.840 this chef on TikTok, whereas when he moved out of 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.520 his home, he didn't know anything about cookie. You remember, 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.280 he was just making all these big like jugs of 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:41.840 juice of fresh like green juice, so cute, and his 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.840 apartment had very twenty seventeen vibes, so he had a 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.760 really large black leather reclined couch. He also had those 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:52.760 huge display jars, very similar to what Chloe Kardashian had, 0:17:52.800 --> 0:17:55.000 and they were filled with cookies and lollies and chocolate, 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:56.840 and I remember he was saying in the vlog to 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.640 his mum stop eating all of them. But he also 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:01.200 said that he didn't want have any junk food in 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:03.840 the house apart from the jars. I do remember his 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.560 iconic Christmas tree, like I recall, he put it up 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:09.280 really really early and it was like the most bougie 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.400 I think it was. It was black silver Christmas tree 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:15.200 was amazing well, as all YouTubers do. He also had 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:19.040 a designated YouTube room, which of course had two very 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.560 large Ikea draws. To remember those drawers, every YouTuber had them, 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.000 and they had all of their makeup perfectly sectioned off 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:28.960 in their ogi's will. Also remember that in the background 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.720 he had a very large portrait of himself holding Shani 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:35.800 Grimman's dog Bindi. He was obsessed with Bindy. He actually 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:39.760 moved across the road from Shanny so he could get 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:41.960 to Bindy and take Bindy for walks and visit Bindi. 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:43.800 I didn't know that they lived so close. I realized 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:45.679 that either do you think he was obsessed with the 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:47.919 dog or it just became a thing because it was 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:50.320 his catchphrase. No, I think he was. I think he 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:52.800 loved the dogs animals. I mean, he's got a couple 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.719 of dogs himself. Now, shortly after the move, fans started 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.399 trying to guess where he lived, and he addressed this 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.760 on YouTube, saying he was aware of numerous Facebook threads 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:05.359 where people were trying to guess his address. He then 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:08.000 warned his followers if anyone rocked up to his house, 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:10.239