Winter, vodka, balalaika: how an immigrant became a Youtube star, making fun of stereotypes about Russia

A few years ago, the army of endless bloggers on YouTube and Facebook was replenished with a very interesting character - Crazy Russian Dad, writes Lelya Weiner in article for the website “Our Texas”. A middle-aged Russian immigrant makes ironic videos about life in America, adaptation in a new country, complains about children — typical American schoolchildren, recalls “as it was in the USSR”, compares life in the States with life in the USSR, teaches cooking okroshka and making fun Russian stereotypes. New videos appear almost every day on his page on facebook and on Youtube. They are already being watched by 70 of thousands of “fans” from around the world.

Photos from the Crazy Russian Dad Facebook page

His real name "Russian Dad" does not want to disclose. But ultimately, the Internet life is completely separate, and there is nothing to interfere with the real life. And in real life, he is an ordinary immigrant who came from St. Petersburg to Boston in 1989, an employee of a software company and a family man with two teenage sons who occasionally appear in his funny commercials.

HOW I BECAME A VIDEOBLOGER

He admitted that he became a video blogger by pure chance two and a half years ago. “Then I argued with my son about the cartoon.”Kung Fu Panda 2 ″ - because of some nonsense, something like which of the main character’s parents survived, mom or dad. The loser had to pay the winner a ton of money - $250. Moreover, he had to earn this amount, and not take it from the piggy bank or from his salary. I lost. My son jokingly told me: “You laugh at me when I watch all sorts of YouTubers and say that they are all idiots. Why don't you try to become a blogger yourself? YouTube? You have a sense of humor in order - write something funny on the camera and put it in YouTube". I decided to try it, since I wanted to make a movie since childhood, I just didn’t know how to start. Came up with the name of the channel Crazy russian dad and character - a kind of Russian immigrant who didn’t arrive yesterday, but has already lived in America and understands what’s what and who teaches children to be smart. I thought: what can I talk about on camera? There is nothing unusual about me - I can’t sing, dance, play the guitar, or shoot a bow. I am a simple immigrant living in this country, I need to talk about myself and what is around me.”

“At first it seemed to me that I would properly talk about how to raise children and how to do homework. After about 3 and a half times I realized that there was nothing more to say. But on the other hand, I saw that people were attracted to my channel, and I thought: “What if I tell something “for life” or some incident from my Soviet past?” It turned out to be a good idea."

ABOUT APPLICANTS

While “working on the image,” there were some stereotypes: the rollicking “Kalinka-Malinka” in the intro for each video, earflaps, T-shirts with Soviet symbols. “Daddy” himself comments on this: “If you ask the average American to say what they know about Russia, he will answer something like “winter, vodka, balalaika.” And there’s nothing you can do about it; there’s no escaping stereotypes.” Part of his image is the Russian accent, without which Crazy russian dad and not funny, and indeed impossible. "

Photos from the Crazy Russian Dad Facebook page

His first subscribers were, of course, family, friends and friends of friends. Then came people from other states. Now two thirds of the "fans" of the channel Crazy russian dad - immigrants from Russia and the CIS who live in America and other countries, and one third are people who are interested in immigrant and Russian culture.

“With the creation of the channel, I began to live happier. I can communicate with people with whom I would never meet. I can be more myself, let's say Crazy russian dad I can say what I, normal, can not say. Soon I began to receive letters. As a rule, they write pleasant words: “Well done, thanks for what you are doing”, “It's great that there is such a channel, you don't use bad language, so we can show your videos to your children”. The parents of adolescents write who, after seeing my videos, began to treat children and their problems, it seems like, in a different way, more positively.

Immigrants from other countries write that they “grew up on the same values” - in Guatemala, Poland, and so on, that is, they find something very familiar to them. Apparently, the immigrant topic touches everyone. Some write whole "treatises" about their lives., share secret things. I respect this.

Write those who have adopted or adopted from Russia: “I don't know who I am, who my real parents are, but I am also from there, from Russia. I heard your accent, and this is exactly what I missed so much. ” For me it was a real revelation.

Sometimes offer new topics. It turned out that people like it when I compare some Russian things with American ones. There are those who write: “Well, what do you make of yourself an idiot? They will still think that all Russians are complete doodles. ” But I do not think so, and, moreover, I try not to laugh at anyone except myself, however, such people are, but their minority».

They began to recognize him on the street - in places where there is a “concentration of the Russian population”: “As a rule they say: “Well, you can’t be that guy from YouTube. He seems to be taller and more handsome. Is it really you? Can't be! And my friends are all watching you."

Photos from the Crazy Russian Dad Facebook page

MIDDLE AGE CRISIS

To the question “Has the project become commercial in these 2,5 years?”, “Russian Dad” answered: “It’s better to just make videos than to make money. Of course, it would be cool to become famous and rich, but for me the channel is first and foremost a hobby. I believe that in this way I am going through a “midlife crisis”, with the difference that I didn’t buy myself a cool car and didn’t have a mistress, but made a channel and film myself. Now it’s a shame to quit, so I continue. The commercial side of the channel is growing, but very quietly. I have one official sponsor - a kefir manufacturing company Lifeway, they had my fans in the company. But, in principle, I do not need anything: everything that I do, I do for myself and for free. ”

Photos from the Crazy Russian Dad Facebook page

A LITTLE STATISTICS

“I already made more 800 videos. It can be said that I made very small 800 films. If something comes to my mind on the way to work, I write it down. Over the 2,5 of the channel's existence, what changed was that I began to understand what the audience liked and did not like. And also the more time, effort, health and energy I spend on the video, the less it will look, unfortunately. On the other hand, you blurt out on the screen something like “Eat sauerkraut” or about a Russian accent, and suddenly several thousand views are typed. It seems to me that all blogger videos are a lottery, and why the popularity of this or that video depends is unknown. ”

He considers some of the most successful videos to be “What if your parents are Russian immigrants” and the absolutely hilarious “50 Shades of Russian” (“50 Shades of Russian"). They are along with “Speaking with an accent is normal”, “How I left the USSR”, “What is better not to ask Russians”, “Table etiquette in Russian and American”, “How to pronounce the letter Y” and others – are the most popular on the channel.

“A few of my videos collected“ overwhelming ”ratings, and for the rest - standard statistics: I have 70 thousands of subscribers to Facebook, they share a clip with 2% of friends, of whom half of the video like it. Such mathematics is typical for all bloggers.

Photos from the Crazy Russian Dad Facebook page

As a rule, I edit my videos myself. Sometimes I show videos to my wife - if I said something about my mother-in-law. I always have 20-30 videos “in reserve” that I didn’t finish on time because something else, more important, happened. I like making funny commercials. But, oddly enough, people don’t really look at them.”

It is strange that they have not yet offered to act in the cinema “Russian Papa”, but from time to time there are offers to perform at the local club in the genre “Standup comedy“: “Probably, this is still not my thing, I don’t see myself as some famous comedian, like Jerry Seinfeld. I'm interested in continuing to develop what I do and see what comes of it. But I would love to act in a movie, although I don’t know if it will work out, because I only play one role - myself.”

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