Reviewbrah – a businessman in sheep’s clothing?
Reviewbrah / The Report Of The Week is a unique man in a suit who reviews fast food, he began his YouTube career when he was just around 13 or 14 years old. He used to upload one video per week, reviewing things like frozen pizza, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonald’s, etc., all from his parents’ home just outside New York city. His popularity grew over time, largely due to his old-fashioned, articulate way of speaking, his signature appearance — always dressed in a suit — and his clever sense of humor.
He eventually moved to Florida and continued making tons of food reviews, often filmed in his car in parking lots outside fast food chains. Today, many years later, he has nearly 3 million subscribers. His videos are still very popular, often getting anywhere from 100,000 to over a million views each. However, now approaching 30, he records all of his videos from home and no longer films outside — the days of car reviews in parking lots are long gone.
The food he now gets delivered to his home via delivery services is, in all likelihood, not comparable to freshly served food at a restaurant or eaten on the spot. This is probably a big reason behind his constant disappointment with the quality of the food these days — every title now seems to say “the worst thing I’ve eaten,” or something similar. In other words, his reviews have become quite unfair. How DoorDash or other delivery services handle the food matters a lot here, yet this is something only a few people acknowledge. Most of his audience takes Reviewbrah’s opinions as gospel.
His true passion in life is shortwave radio. He even pays a hefty price to broadcast his own radio programs, which mainly feature music and news reading. Occasionally, he also records more personal podcast episodes where he reads listener letters and talks about a wide range of topics. These episodes often revolve around shortwave radio, men’s fashion (especially suits), fast food, existential thoughts, weather, and sometimes even the paranormal. However, these podcasts have become increasingly rare and seem to no longer be a priority for him. He has even admitted that they now feel more like a chore or obligation, unlike his deep love for shortwave radio.
One issue is that he proudly claims on his YouTube channel that he doesn’t do sponsorships there... but then constantly advertises on his podcast, where people can pay him to read their jingles. So, it's a bit contradictory. He also has a Patreon page where paying members can support his business and listen to his shortwave broadcasts whenever they like. But one could ask — for fans who enjoy Reviewbrah the person, is it really that rewarding to listen to him just read news and play music? Probably not. Most likely, his fans just want to support him in general. But then again — why does he need that kind of support when he's already well-known, established, and clearly earning good money from his YouTube channel?
He also runs a merch store where he sells T-shirts, sweaters, mugs, posters, etc. — all featuring his own face. And if that’s not a clear sign of narcissism, I don’t know what is. I get the idea of offering merch, but maybe not with giant images of your own face and name screaming across the chest. In addition, he has an Amazon page where he earns a commission from products sold through his “store.” Besides income from Patreon, merch, Amazon, and podcast ads, he also offers a paid membership option on YouTube. So, not only are viewers expected to support him by watching his content, but also by paying again — to support someone who lives in a beautiful, safe Florida neighborhood and can easily afford to fund his expensive radio shows.
I do understand wanting to make money from your work — his YouTube channel is, after all, the only job he have, and it's a fragile kind of career. So that part I get. What I don’t appreciate is how he often portrays himself as someone struggling financially. In his podcast, he’s repeatedly said things like “need your help to survive” or “to keep the lights on,” which makes it sound like he’s living in tragic misery. He’s not.
Of course, I can’t predict the future, but right now, it’s obvious that he’s doing very well financially. He can afford to live where he lives, most likely alone — meaning no, he no longer lives with his parents like many people assume. There’s a lack of transparency from Reviewbrah, and his fans seem blindly loyal and overly submissive. It’s okay to admire someone while still having reasonable expectations.
I completely understand that he doesn’t want to collaborate with other YouTubers, and I get that he values his privacy and avoids overly personal videos. But how sustainable is it to keep pretending to be in need, all while living better than most people and having no issues to produce several expensive short wave episodes each week year after year? Another proof of his wealth is his constant flexing with the WoodWick candles in the background of his videos, do you know how expensive only one candle is? He said he have a full cupboard with them. And that's just one of many examples of how wealthy he actually is.
Additionally, one sad fact that many of his fans tend to ignore, and which is worth mentioning, is that he is most likely dealing with a fairly serious eating disorder. You can clearly notice this if you look back a few years at his old videos; he doesn’t look anywhere near as the way he does today. No, it’s not just “baby fat”—he simply isn’t eating at all. I wonder if he has anyone around him who can help him get proper medical attention and treatment. Anyone who isn’t blinded by naivety can clearly see that he doesn’t look healthy.
And yet, he constantly receives the same ridiculous question: “How can you eat so much junk food and not be fat?” Well—what do you think? He only takes two bites and eats nothing else for the rest of the day. That’s why. You don’t gain weight from that.
Furthermore, I find it hard to understand how people can seriously take Reviewbrah’s food reviews as legitimate in general, especially when he recently said in his latest podcast that “everything is garbage, I throw everything away after a few bites, everything ends up in the trash after I’ve eaten a few bites. You wouldn’t believe how sick I’ve become over the years, but I do it just for the money,” and yet people watch this and find it so entertaining. Why not watch someone who actually LIKES the food instead? Or even better, why not do reviews where you know the food genuinely meets certain standards and actually see it on location? If the food is bad, then complain directly to the staff - if they don’t improve it: You can truly criticize in that case. But sitting there at home, ordering through DoorDash or whatever it’s called, and then saying that everything just goes straight in the trash, seems to me to be purely done for money—and that’s what Reviewbrah is all about: money.
If you focus on that, you’ll realize that’s truly the case. He wants to maintain his “holier-than-thou” image of himself and everything he does. For example, he asks his podcast listeners to send in fan art of himself—that is, pictures they’re not allowed to make with AI, but must do by hand or computer, and they must be fan pictures of Reviewbrah that he then uses as podcast images on YouTube. Why does he upload his podcast episodes to YouTube if he posts them on multiple podcast platforms? Well—it's to make even more money.
It's hard to predict what the future holds for Reviewbrah, but I believe that his fans might actually contribute to his downfall by never setting any boundaries or demanding more from him. For instance, they could tell him, “We won’t watch your videos if you genuinely hate what you’re doing”, or encourage him to eat on-site instead of just ordering takeout, or ask the right questions that might help him address his issues. Without these boundaries or honest words, it’s difficult for him to grow or change, but that´s maybe what people prefer?
What do you think about Reviewbrah? Share your thoughts below
Comments
Post a Comment