Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - Ep. 41 Kingsley- Ear Biscuits

Episode Date: July 18, 2014

Popular rant-vlogger, Kingsley, sits down with Rhett & Link this week to talk about his experience as one of the only openly gay black men at the top of the YouTube charts, how he got his first big break thanks to popular TV show "Tosh.0," why he chooses to use profanity in his videos but not in front of his parents, and if he really is "quitting YouTube" at the close of 2014. *NOTE: This conversation contains adult themes and language. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Mythical. Welcome to Ear Biscuits. I'm Link. And I'm Rhett. It's time for another conversation with somebody interesting from the internet. And this week that person is 23-year-old King Russell. And that's not a king who is Russell. That's his first name. That's his actual name. But you know him on YouTube and elsewhere as Kingsley. He's amassed over 2.8 million subscribers on YouTube

just under four years, and he's most popular for these vlogs that he does, a vlog series called Overexposed. Basically, he rants about things, various pop culture things, and also stuff that he experiences in his daily life. And it's very funny. I mean, he's a legitimately funny dude.

When I'm watching his videos, I'm just waiting for the next thing he's gonna say that's funny. And every other thing he says is funny and very much Kingsley. I love how this space allows comedians to develop in all different types of ways, and he certainly developed his own comedic voice. He's got a tone. Yeah, and it's very good. You know, I think on this Ear Biscuit, we got more of the pensive side of King.

We got the introspective. He did not rant. I will say that he did not rant at all, but that's not really what Ear Biscuits is about. It's not about your rants. It's kind of just about you talking about yourself. And getting more of the real side of him. So I appreciated that.

But just so you can get a taste of what the internet has come to know and love about Kingsley, here's an example of a rant. In June 2010, he released, Things I Hate About Driving. You know when you get off a street and you're going into the highway and this lane's going to end that you just got off on. They will literally go all the way to the end and they want to

sit up here and try to get impatient when they want to wait to the last minute to try to get over into everybody's lane. You had a straight mile to get your a** over into the main lane. Okay, that one's got over 3 million views to date. Here's another rant where he's talking about Rebecca Black.

March 2011 has just under 9 million views. It is the most annoying song slash video I've heard slash seen in my 20 years of existing on this planet. It starts out and there's like this calendar and it keeps flipping through the days of the week while a cartoon version of her annoying face is sitting up there singing. Her little harmony is like, Woohoo, I have a test on Monday, Tuesday, got this recycled, blah, blah, blah. And then Friday gets here and this s*** wrote all over the page. Finally, hooray, yippee.

She's like, I gotta get up, gotta get fresh, gotta go downstairs, get a bowl, have my cereal. Now Kingsley's one of the only openly gay black male online personalities that's near the top of the charts on YouTube. And he's been at it for a number of years. The momentum is still growing. He's actually just started his own podcast called Kingsley Overexposed. And we're happy to have him on our podcast, which was almost called Underexposed. Last minute change became Ear Biscuits. So that would have worked out really well on this week.

So we talked to King about how he received his first break courtesy of Tosh, Tosh.0. His last name is not.0, just like King is not an actual King right even though Maybe they both should look into those things right We talked to King about how even though he uses a lot of profanity in his vlogs He never cusses in front of his parents, and we also explored the question surrounding Is he actually quitting YouTube at the end of 2014 a lot? It's been a topic of discussion amongst his fans viewers and himself we get at the end of 2014? A lot, it's been a topic of discussion

amongst his fans, viewers, and himself. We get to the bottom of that, much more in this Ear Biscuit, let's do it. In a recent vlog, you said that you went to the Billboard Music Awards. I did. And you walked the red carpet, and you said that once they started snapping pictures of you you kind of were like what was going through

your mind you tell us again i don't know i was just looking like first there's like there's a process they have us all line up and then we just go to the carpet one by one and then they called my name and i just like went in front of the little poster thing or backdrop or whatever it's called and then the photographers just start screaming. They just start screaming your name. Look over here, look over here, do this, do that. And I'd never done a red carpet before. So I was just sitting up there like, what the hell is going on? Like, what am I supposed to do? I didn't know where to put my hands. I didn't know who to smile at. And then like, I just don't know how to pose. It was completely out of my element. And I was just like wanting it to be over. You know, when you like smile for a really long time and you kind of start like.

It kind of gives out a little bit. Yeah. And you start like twitching. That was happening to me. Your cheeks were twitching? Yeah. Have you Googled Kingsley Billboard Music Awards? I have not.

Because we did. Oh. Do I look the same in every single picture? No, no. The picture is great. Well, there's a number of pictures. And we learned this a couple years ago. I learned that after you go to an event like that

and they take your picture on the red carpet, the next week, all these pictures just pop up in all these different photo sites, right? Right. Your picture. Well, you have a number of pictures. But the full body one. Oh, my God.

I'll show it to you right now. What is that? Okay. There's a lot of your face, but then the full body one kind of like... Oh, my God. I look so angry. Oh, my God. There's lots of great pictures.

This one, though, when I heard your story in your vlog and then I saw this picture, I was this is this is incredible describe yourself basically i'm looking at i look bewildered or like that's a good word pissed off at something it's kind of like looking at the camera deer and headlights yes it's great and your hand and there's a wider shot of it and your arms are just both like oh my gosh at your sides i know it's great. And there's a wider shot of it, and your arms are just both like loop at your sides. I know, it's so great. I hate it.

I hate it. The last time, I don't know what event it was, but we walk the red carpet, and we always walk it together, right? So you feel a little bit more comfortable when you've got somebody to pose with. Right.

But I just remember... But you feel a little funny when they're like, okay, what's your name? Link, you first. It's like, no, no, no. He's coming with me. We do it together.

But do you remember the last time we did this? You're too afraid to go by yourself. This guy said, we were doing our pose. I mean, we got just a couple of poses, right?

Yeah. And basically one face. Because I'm like, I want this picture to be consistent throughout the internet. The guy said, do something different.

One of the photographers actually said that. He's like, can you do something different? I was like, nope. Because he wanted that one picture that Kingsley could pull up on his podcast when we come on there. Yeah, that you can be embarrassed about. And he could make fun of us.

No. But I mean, in fairness, you were making fun of yourself we just googled it to see if you if it was real and we found out yeah hey it's real i mean your vlogs are inspired by your your your experiences in your your life you're not making this stuff up exactly and you know we just had to make sure that and in case, it was totally true. Totally true. You didn't know what to do. My arms were just like dead weight. It was horrible.

Well, let's go back. Where are you from? I'm from, well, I was born in Arkansas. Born in Arkansas. I moved to Missouri when I was six. And then I was there ever since until about two and a half years ago when I moved to LA. Okay, so your earliest memories are Arkansas memories. Yes. What are those like?

Oh my goodness. Those are very, they're like, they're not really there, but they're there. It's funny because I was looking at where I grew up on Google Earth like two weeks ago. Google Arkansas. Yeah, and it was just like dirt. Like an inch of residential space. But it was, I don't know. Google Arkansas. two gas stations, a post office, and then like houses and like a railroad track went through the town and everyone had to work

in like the nearest city, which was like 12 miles away. So nobody worked in this little town? No, unless you're at the gas station or post office. What was the name of the town? A teacher. Altimer, Arkansas.

It's like outside of Pine Bluff and Little Rock. That's like the incorrect way to say Altimer. I know. It's weird. That's your town? I know. the incorrect way to say Alzheimer's. I know, it's weird. That's your town? I know.

Sometimes I want to say Alzheimer's, but I can't. But yeah. If you don't know how to pronounce a really horrible disease, that's where I live. I mean, that's incentive to move right there. I miss it, though. Well, you're looking at it on Google Earth. Have you been back? I haven't been back since

the last time I went was before I moved here I went to see my sister oh so you still got family in this small town yes I do well my sister's in the city

that's like 12 miles outside of it but I have aunts and my grandma was in the small town but she moved like a few months ago okay

yeah it's very like becoming like dilapidated it's like a ghost town yeah it's actually kind of scary like becoming like dilapidated. Like a ghost town. Yeah, it's actually kind of scary. What do you call your grandma and what does she think

of your videos? I call her granny, actually. Because I have her and then I have another grandma on my mom's partner's side and I call her grandma. And then I call my grandma

my mom's grandma granny. And she hasn't seen my videos. Granny hasn't? No. I don't think so. I hope not. Really? So what's the conversation like when you talk to Granny?

It's just at this point, because she's kind of older. So it's just like, how are you doing? I miss you. Come visit. She doesn't ask what you do or anything? No. Sometimes she doesn't even, it's kind of sad. Like she doesn't realize that I'm not at home when I talk to her on the phone.

Like I don't think she realizes I'm in California. Okay. Yeah. I got it. It's one of those situations. Same thing for your grandma? She doesn't know what you do? She's still kicking.

She's like an active ass grandma. She does like running and she's still in choir, and she power walks every day. She cooks. She's like a superwoman. Does she watch your videos? No, but she knows about them. I don't like when my family watches. But she knows what you do.

She understands why you're out here. Why don't you like when your family— Tell me more about that. Well, it's just mainly the profanity because when I'm around my family, I'm just a completely different person and just out of respect for like adults. I just don't use profanity.

And one of the things when my mom first realized what I was doing, one of my aunts, I think, had stumbled upon me. I think after the whole Tosh.0 thing that I was on. And my mom called me. And briefly, what was the Tosh.0 thing? I did this video about a list of pet peeves that I had. And I was literally just sitting in my dorm room just talking about how I hated skinny jeans and couples that sit on the same size as a booth.

It's literally just a list of stupid things. But you were in Kingsley. It's Kingsley bitch bitch mode it was like spring break and i still had to work and like nobody was on campus and i was just bored out of my mind but but your language was much more colorful than what you would use with your yeah way more colorful i never used profanity i said one time in front of my mom when i was in the car I was like, it's hot as shit. I didn't. It just rolled out and I gripped the side of the passenger door

and I looked at her with my eyes so wide and I was like, I'm so sorry. That's not how I grew up. I don't know how I became this way. Did she smack you or something? No. She just started laughing. She was like, it's okay. That was literally the first and only time I've ever used, I don't curse in front of my parents.

Like, really? It's not how I grew up. I never. But when you first started, like that first rant video that got really popular that had the colorful language, was that, were you, did you have that language in your normal life

or was it like, I'm going into a character here that i know will be funny it was like my first rant that i uploaded was authentic like i was genuinely like perturbed about it was about like this experience i had at um a parking lot of an applebee's with the jonas brothers who had a concert that summer and like all their fans like completely took over the parking lot like beyond the arena and it was just a mess and I was trying to get food and they were everywhere with their posters and like playing music and just you know how girls are when there's like a guy band and we're just completely over the top. Rabid. Yeah and I went home and I had been watching YouTube that summer. I think I started watching Shane Dawson was the first person I started watching. And through him, I just found other people and I just saw them talking and I was like, oh my God, I want to make a video about this. And so I did it. And people responded to it. And then that's like when I kind of molded the character, like this outlandish, profane, careless being.

But that first video was just going on anger and adrenaline and frustration. Yeah. And so this language that you were never allowed to say was coming out. And it felt good. It felt good. Yes. So tell me more about your parents back then and kind of growing up. Well, I mean, does that mean that they were really strict or really heavy handed?

They weren't strict. Like, okay, my parents are lesbians. It's my mom and her partner. And I just never, like, I guess it's strict. Like I couldn't watch TV a lot. Like, I watched two hours of TV a day. That was my limit. And I had, like, an hour and a half limit for the internet.

And all the movie channels were blocked. Anything above, like, PG-13 was blocked. Like, I was very, I guess, sheltered in a way. Was it like a religious home, too? No. It was just, they wanted me to be a kid, I guess. I in a way. Was it like a religious home too? No, it was just they wanted me to be a kid I guess. I have no idea

what their intentions were but I just I didn't have a lot of exposure to profane or crazy things. Well, and let's back up a second because you say your parents are lesbians. I assume a man was involved at some point in the process. Very early on in the process.

So how did that happen? I still to this day don't really know the full story, but I know that my dad left my mom when she was pregnant with me. And so with her, it was like a situation of just being in Arkansas, and it was very close-minded down there. She wanted kids. My sister's older than me, so she'd had my sister already and like she was just doing what she needed to do to like survive I guess um not be judged she was just doing the

whole southern with a man having kids thing and then I think that she met her partner when I was, I want to say three-ish. And they've been together ever since. And we moved, like I said, when I was six, we all moved to St. Louis. And that was just life as I knew it. But you didn't, I think in one of your videos, you mentioned that your parents, your mom and her partner were together, but you just thought they were friends. There was like this, there was a point, right? Where your mom wasn't out to you.

Right. When I was younger. She told me when I was very young, but I didn't care. Like she literally one day came in my room and sat on the floor and she's like, we are what society would call lesbians. I don't know what the hell she was talking about. I was just like, okay. But like it was a situation where you have someone dating someone,

a woman dating a man, and if she has a kid, she'll be like, this is Uncle Steve. It's really not Uncle Steve. I think, from what I remember, she told me that that was my aunt. And so I thought they were just living together. But again, I was so young, I didn't care. I didn't really know what was going on. Right.

But more in a protective way of, I don't want to tell Kingsley that I'm dating this person that could be another mom to me or whatever, and then we break up. And then, you know, I guess I take it that that's what you mean. There was like a protection on that level. Yeah, I think that. It wasn't really, I didn't want to protect him from understanding that I'm dating a woman.

Right, right, right. And I think it was a situation where she wanted me to know when she felt I was ready to where maybe like I didn't get made fun of or something. I don't know what she was thinking, but either way, I didn't care. So what was that part of the move to St. Louis? Was that one of the things that motivated it? Was being a small town in Arkansas as a lesbian couple? from where we were to Missouri. And it was just great.

It was like I felt like a chance for them to start fresh and then me and my sister to start fresh because we moved right before I started kindergarten or anything. So it was just a completely new start. And it was awesome. Was it like a mind-blowing announcement when she went from being, what's her name and what do you call her? Like you call her mom too? Oh, no, I don't. I call her by her first you call her? Like, you call her mom too, or?

Oh, no, I don't. I call her by her first name. Okay. Yeah, I call my mom, mom. But I still, like, consider her my mom. I just don't call her mom. Yeah. But was it like a mind-blowing announcement?

Oh, now my mom's friend is now my mom's spouse or partner. No. I really, when she told me, I didn't comprehend anything. I't think yeah i don't think until i got like middle school high school i started to realize like what a lesbian was okay and like what my parents were and um how did that relate to you understanding of yourself as being gay did you your mom was always out to you were you always out to yourself too no me like being gay was so weird like I feel like I knew I obviously knew but I never mentioned it to anyone I didn't even mention it to my parents um the first time we even remotely talked about a guy I was working at Friday's and it was my senior year of high school

and this kid from Detroit was like there with like five of his friends and he gave me his phone number. And I was working at the host stand and he was just flirting and I just felt like really, really like, I don't know how I felt. I was just feeling some type of way that I've never felt before in my life. Like good. Yeah. Okay.

And my mom picked me up and I just told her about it. I'm like, oh my God, this guy came in and he was really cute and blah, blah, blah. Like that was that. Like I never thought twice about it. I'm like, oh my God, this guy came in and he was really cute and blah, blah, blah. Like that was that. Like I never thought twice about it. It wasn't a big deal. And then until I was in college, which was like maybe like a year after this, she called me up and she literally just said to me,

say it. I'm like, say what? She's like, that you're gay. And I started laughing for like five minutes and I eventually said it. And like, that was that. So they knew. I just, there's never a situation And I started laughing for like five minutes. And I eventually said it. And that was that. So they knew.

I just, it was never a situation where I felt the need to like announce it. And when did you know? I feel like I knew in like eighth or ninth grade. I feel like that's when I, I'm trying to remember who it was. But I remember like having my first crush on a guy in middle school. So I want to say like eighth grade. Yeah. Okay. And that was in St. Louis.

So you moved to St. Louis right before starting school basically. And what was that like? New kid? At first, like I don't remember it like distinctly, but I know I was excited. Like I wasn't sad or anything. I was always like adventurous. I remember just being on planes. Like I loved flying. I loved traveling. And it was't sad or anything. I was always like adventurous. I remember just being on planes. Like I loved flying. I loved traveling. And it was only six hours away. So like when we

first moved, we visited a lot. But I just, I don't know, I wasn't a shy kid. Like I was just ready for the world. And I went to school. I always loved school. And I just thought St. Louis was like a cool place. I immediately got involved in a bunch of stuff and it was a pretty good experience and what were you what were you into at that time were you like uh I know you I know from your vlogs and um that you were a smart kid that immediately immediately they recognized okay this this kid is gifted. Put him in some advanced classes and that kind of thing. I started out and my first passion, I guess, was choir. I sang in church when I was like four or five. And then when I started school in St. Louis,

I joined choir in first grade. I got into orchestra. I played the violin. Really? Yes, I did. So you were a nerd. I was. I was I played the violin. Really? Yes, I did. So you were a nerd. I was. I was a little gay nerd.

And then I played the saxophone in band once I got to fifth grade. But I only did that for like two years. So yeah. And then I was involved in theater and Scholar Bowl, Spelling Bee. I was very immersed in school because I didn't get to do much outside of school. Not that I need to as a child, but like, I just liked doing things. I liked staying after school. I liked meeting different people in different activities and just like being involved and knowing the teachers. Like from a very young age, I just liked networking. But if you weren't out to your mom

until college I guess you weren't out to your friends either so that was kind of like it was I didn't say it but they knew like even with some of my friends in high school like I would talk about guys I just was never one of those people that was like

I'm gay and I didn't like I wasn't part of like the Gay Straight Alliance. I didn't do anything proactive, I guess, that I could have to be more part of the community. I just was. It wasn't part of your public identity at the time. Yeah. I wasn't, I don't know if I wasn't comfortable with it, but I just, the way that school was, I just never felt the need to make it a big deal. But you made a big deal out of Britney Spears. Yes.

Instead. I think that was the dead giveaway. Right. So tell me about that, the Britney obsession. You know, it's actually my mom's fault. I was in my room one night. I'd been doing homework, and I just heard this like, I heard like, And I was like, what are you watching like what are you

listening to and I like peeked my head around the corner and she was watching like music videos and Toxic was on and I was just fascinated and I was like oh my god oh my god and then back then like there was no like Vivo or anything and so I would literally like watch the TV channel that MTV

had that showed like music videos 24 hours trying to catch that video. Like any chance that I got. And I finally saw it and I was just, ever since then, I was just fascinated. And what specifically? I mean, obviously there are other female pop stars. What is it about Britney? Well, initially it was just that specific song and that video and how she looked and i ended up going back and listening to like her old stuff because as like

a black person like britney wasn't like i knew who she was but in my house she wasn't like a fixture which obviously she was like to the world at that time and i just i don't know i just fell in love with her music and then i would see her perform and then the whole crap happened where she like lost her mind and that just made me like her yes and her hair and that just made me like her even more because i felt like she was someone relatable who like got super famous and couldn't handle the pressure and just cracked and then you did a presentation on her at some point? I did. I did a presentation in this like graphics media class or something. We had to do a PowerPoint on like a person that was important to our lives. Like a celebrity, not like anyone.

And so I picked her. And that was a disaster. Okay. Tell us about that. There was just, I was in the class. I was, there was me. I think there was like, actually I don't think there were any girls in that class except for the teacher. And I don't know, like all the guys picked like athletes or like rappers or I don't even know.

And then it was my turn. And what's the demographic breakdown of your school and of this class? I mean, is this a public school? Yeah, it's a public school. I'd say mostly white and black students. There weren't a lot of like, there wasn't much besides that where I'm from. Right. So, and it was just like all guys in the class.

And I went up to give mine and like, they just started saying like just rude things. And like, they just didn't care. Like the teacher was in the room and they just didn't care and she would tell them to stop and they just kept going and then like they'd try to whisper it and like I just heard everything. And like I made it through my presentation. And what are they saying?

They were calling me like a fag and like laughing and saying that I was gay for like picking her and just ignorant things. But I dealt with it in that class before, just being who I was, I guess. And that day just kind of, like, broke me, and I, like, ended up in the hallway, and I was just crying, and the teacher was, like, yelling like crazy.

At the students? Yeah. And did she come out there and talk to you? I mean, how did you, what were the next few hours, and then how did you, how do you recover from something like that? I don't know. She came out and talked to me, like, as soon as I went out there,

and then she went back in and yelled, and then she sent me to the counselor's office. I was in the counselor's office for, like, an hour. None of the kids got in, like, trouble. Well, as far as I know. But, I don't know. It was just very, I don't think, because at that point,

which is also, I guess, a crucial part of the story, I was a new student. This was eighth grade. And so prior to that, for the seven years, I'd been in another school district. And so I was a new kid. And I just had never been in that situation before to where people didn't know me

or weren't used to like how I acted or the things that I liked. And so it was just extremely overwhelming and I just had to cope with it. It was a very messy period of my life. Like my grades dropped and everything. I mean, yeah, for how long was the recovery? I mean, as an eighth grader?

I'd say I didn't recover until I was in high school. It was like a huge blow to my personality, to my just everything. Because I was just like, I was so carefree when I was younger. I didn't care about anything. I was just super nice. And I talked to everyone, and then once I moved and went through that, it was just like, whoa, not everyone's accepting. Not everyone's the same. And so it eventually came out that I was getting bullied, I guess,

when my parents went to a parent-teacher conference because I hadn't told them anything. Just because I was that kid and we moved and I don't want to make it seem like anything was wrong. I was just like, yeah, I'm having fun at school. But then they went to conferences and my teachers were like, he's having a rough time. And they talked to me about it.

But that was like near the end of the semester. So you were kind of keeping it to yourself. Yeah. So in high school, it was kind of an upswing of, okay, I'm moving on from this valley, this low point right high school i think was just it was a good time because it became a point where you can kind of figure out who's also interested in what you're interested in there are a lot more activities to join and there was just so many more people from like all the middle schools in the district and it was just so much more diverse and so it was nice to i felt like i was starting over like i met new people that didn't go to my middle school so it was nice to, I felt like I was starting over. Like I met new people

that didn't go to my middle school and it was just, it was a refreshing start. You said in a recent video, if you had to do high school over that, how did you put it? I said that I would come out of the closet immediately and just be open for business. That's my exact quote. But you're laughing at yourself. I mean, is that? It's the truth. I would.

I always think of like doing things over. And I know people say, oh, I wouldn't change a thing. But I would definitely change some things. Because I already have this life. I would like to see how it would be different. Moving on to college, you mentioned, it seems like college kind of was like a wild time. You go off to University of Missouri. Yes.

So you had to, I mean, you ended up doing pretty well in high school, it sounds like, in order to, and did you get scholarship there? I got like a $2,500 scholarship. Okay, so you got a partial scholarship to? Yeah, not the one I wanted. Mizzou. Yeah. And did you go to school with some people that you already knew some friends i actually went to school with my best friend from high school and then um there was just like a circle of people that you knew

from high school that were going yeah you had like the oh we'll keep in touch and we'll see each other that we did that and um it was just so cool like Like my parents, like I said, I had been super, super sheltered. And so I prior to like I hadn't been one of those kids that like partied in high school or drank or anything. I never had alcohol before. And we got there the first week and they had a frat party on like the first day after classes. And we went there and like I don't know how I was like standing up. This was literally the first time I ever drank alcohol, but I was a pro. And I just, I think in my head, I just accepted the role of like big brother. Cause it was me and then like three girls. And, um, we just got to a

point where they were completely wasted and it was just time to go. And I'm trying to get us to a cab and I was holding her like under her boobs because that's as much, I'm a skinny guy. I was just trying to get her there without dropping her on the floor. And she just peed. She just completely peed while I was holding her, as though I wasn't there. And I'm just like, okay, cool, you're welcome. And I was just so annoyed.

Well, it's actually warm to start, and then it becomes cool. Thanks for the reminder. That horrific flashback. But I did actually drop her at that point. Yeah, that was a good time. I sat her down against the wall. And that was the defining moment of college for you? Yeah, that's when I was like, okay, this is real.

I'm here, and it's about to be a mess. And it became a mess from there? In what way? It just, you know, I just felt so free. Like nothing against my parents, but I just, it was awesome to like be in a place where you go to class, you do your homework when you want. You turn it in, you have like freedom, you can go eat what you want, go back to your room when you want. Is that when you started making videos on YouTube? I started like a month before I left for university.

Oh, okay. I was working my ass off, and I just... What was your job? I was working at Fazoli's, which was like a fast food Italian restaurant. Fast food Italian, oh yeah. Garlic sticks. Yes.

You guys know about Fazoli's? Oh, yeah. I got me some Fazoli's. Nobody knows about Fazoli's. It's so good. So good. I was doing that and then I was a waiter at TGI Fridays. And I also did room service there because we were

attached to a Crown Plaza. So I just made hella tips and I was saving it off for school. Is that where you have flair? The pins? Is that TGI Fridays or is that Ruby Tuesdays? No, it's Fridays. You have the pins, right? What kind of pins? The gold pins? Like on yourGI Fridays? That's Ruby Tuesdays. No, it's Fridays. No, you have the pins, right? What kind of pins?

The gold pins? Like on your suspenders. Like buttons. I don't have any suspenders. No, we're thinking the wrong thing. We have red shirts with checkered. There's a place where they call it flair. And however many buttons the waiter has attached to their suspenders

is how much flair they have. That's not TGI Fridays, I guess. I thought it was. I know we did have a reward system. It wasn't called flair. It's a similar restaurant. It might be now. And I'm sure that people listening know what I'm talking about, but I can't remember.

Anyway, you didn't have suspenders on. No, I didn't. But it was awesome. And that's the, so the Jonas Brothers vlog, you were vlogging from the perspective of an employee at Applebee's. No. It was TGI Fridays. Oh. Yeah. I worked at of an employee at applebee's no it was tgi fridays oh yeah i went to friday it's not applebee's but you ate at applebee's applebee's is where they're kind of there maybe it is i did i was cheating oh yeah i was with our enemy but um which is which is better which is better Which has better food? Fridays, no doubt. Okay. Although Applebee's appetizers are just amazing.

But their entree is Fridays, without question. Okay. Everybody's got a right to their own opinion. I'm just kidding. So when you posted that first rant video, when you were cheating on your job at Applebee's, it was because you had been watching Shane Dawson. You're like, okay, if I'm angry about this,

this can be the way for me to get it out. Or were there other motives too? Like, I also want to be a YouTuber and I'm going to try it right now. No, it was literally just, I was, well, the whole like motive, I guess, was after I saw Shane, I like found vloggers through him. I found this guy, Quadir.

I found Chris Crocker. Like I like found vloggers through him I found this guy Quadir I found Chris Crocker like I just found a whole bunch of people and like I was fascinated by the aspect of connecting with people one of the first things I started doing was doing reality show recaps

just to see other people who had similar interests and like conversate with them like I was always in the comments just talking and seeing who had similar thoughts. So that was like my main motivation. And then when this happened, um, I did it literally just to like, get it out, just to like have a story to tell. Um, I didn't know anything about being a YouTuber. I didn't know what being a YouTuber was. But did you know that you were funny? Because, you know, there's a lot of vloggers out there. There's a lot of people who just share the details of their life.

And I know there's a lot of people who are really interested in that. That's not the kind of content that I consume. But with you, once you get going, it's like a stand-up comedian as far as I'm concerned. Right. You know what I'm saying? It's like you've got comedic timing, the way you phrase things it's really funny and uh is that the kind of thing that you're like i know why people are going to like this or did your friends know like oh yeah kingsley he's funny people in school told me i was funny it was never a situation where i thought i was funny

and i didn't like start uploading because i thought I was funny I uploaded just to be able to talk to people um they told me I was funny and that felt good but I never like even to this day like I don't I don't I don't watch myself clearly I don't think anyone does but you edit yourself yeah I edit it and then I watch it that one time to make sure there's no errors and I upload it and I'm done like I hate hearing myself talk I'm going to make sure there's no errors, and then I upload it, and I'm done. Like, I hate hearing myself talk. I'm actually, like, in awe that some people have done it for five years. Power to them. But, I mean, when you edit it, I mean, when I watch it, it's at least every third cut is going to be on a joke. I mean, it's going to be on, what's he going to say next?

And then the cut. You know, I mean, at this point, you're very much, it's down to be on a joke. I mean, it's going to be on, what's he going to say next? And then the cut. You know, it's, I mean, you're, at this point, you're very much, it's down to a science. You're, you know where you're going to, where you're going to, you're going to get your questions. You're going to get your content or your inspiration from. And then you're going to format it to, I'm just going to, I assume it's not scripted. It's more like this. Maybe it's just an outline in your head. It's like my skits are scripted, but the rants and the vlogs, I just, I talk.

I may have a post-it note to remind me of topics if I do more than one, but usually I just do one a video, and so I just let it go. Like stream of consciousness. Yeah. And then when you edit it, you're kind of going out on joke or out on I mean for me it's I'm waiting for you to say it in the way that only you can say it and then you're out

and then it's another one and then it's another one so how much are you cutting out? I would say I cut out I think on average I record like 8 to 10 minutes and then my videos are like four minutes long.

So what, 60%? Is that the math? So I cut out that much. That's a lot of natural funny if you can just bang it out in eight minutes. Yeah, because I feel like I've learned my audience at this point. And I know what kind of phrases they like. I know what kind of commentary they like I know what kind of commentary they want to hear

and I just never want to like ramble for too long and um that's what I delete a lot is if I like am um like piling on on a certain topic

and I'm like oh you said this already that doesn't need to be said twice so if it takes you 10 minutes to make the video and you edit it down to 4 minutes what do you do

with your free time? me? well I have a podcast um and I asked the video and you edit it down to four minutes, what do you do with your free time? Me? Wow. I have a podcast. And I asked that question like a fan who, when they hear that somebody's a YouTuber, they assume

that, what do you mean? You work for ten minutes a week. I know that's not the case. It's a mess. But, you know, you do have a lot of things going on. So, I mean, fast forwarding from college, you moved to, well, tell us how you got out here. Then we can kind of talk about what you do now that you're out here. How did I get out here?

Actually, it was a very, like, random. I had no plans. Like, I've always wanted to move to LA not because of YouTube like even before that just for a different experience than the Midwest I wanted to go somewhere that was like more diverse and open and had a lot more people and opportunities and um I had been dating this guy well okay like my video I started school in August of 2009. And then my video that was on Tosh went viral April 2010.

So the end of my freshman year was kind of, like, weird. I was working at Subway. I'd worked, like, four jobs. You're a sandwich artist? Yes, I was a sandwich artist. I was working at Subway. I worked at a sandwich artist i was working at subway i worked at a movie theater i worked toys r us for seasonal um and that's what i was still like you did toys r us over christmas yeah i worked there from wow that's a rough time black friday oh really it was

a disaster okay tell us about that i felt like i wanted to quit but i couldn't it was just ridiculous i had went home for Thanksgiving break and then I had to, cause my school was only like 90 minutes from where I grew up. And, um, I, we got there at like five in the morning and I was just like, oh, that doesn't look too busy yet. Cause the doors opened at six or something. And as soon as like they opened, I was just completely, I didn't know what was going on. Mothers were like constantly asking questions. Kids were running around. And I was there from open to close.

It's my first day. I know. It was horrific. It was traumatizing. So Tosh kind of, he rescued you from that. Yeah, it's so weird. Did he make fun of you in the show? He.

Because he can be really harsh. He was not as harsh as I've seen him be. His bad, like the worst thing he said, because one of the things I said was like, I hate being on chat roulette and all I see is penis. And he like riffed like, oh, I'm sure he's not so upset about seeing penis or something like that.

That was all he said. So it was funny. I laughed. And then from that viral video you were you're like i gotta do more of this like what was the game plan actually i was like kind of in shock like i didn't after i did that video i did like three more and then i stopped for a bit um it was just weird like after it happened after spring break like i went back to work,

and people were coming in and just knowing who I was. They were asking me to say lines from the video and stuff, and I'm just like, whoa, this is freaking awkward. Would you say the lines? No. I was working. I was like, no, no, no. I wasn't rude or anything.

I just laugh it off. I was glad when school ended that year because I just I didn't know what the hell was going on but you started you took a little break but then you you kind of doubled down on it I did because it was summer and like no offense to Missouri but I just I was so bored I had absolutely nothing to do and making videos like it was fun. And it's not like there wasn't, like, that video went viral, but I still didn't have, like, a lot of subscribers, or, like, I was getting more.

But at that point, it wasn't something I looked at or even knew. Like, I still didn't understand what YouTube was. Not really making money, much money. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was just all weird. I was still doing it for fun so then when did it switch to oh i can i can make enough money here to decide to move to la or you want to know the honest truth of course i didn't like start taking youtube seriously like as a business until like

last year oh yeah like even beyond me moving out here. I moved out here because of it. Okay, well, then tell me how you decided to move out if it wasn't a financial decision. It was a love decision. Well, not really love. More like drama. I went to a Britney Spears concert in Michigan. There she is again. I know. Just every point of my life.

And the guy I was with, we've been dating for, like, two months. And then he was, like, he was texting this other guy, just like inappropriate things, I won't go into detail. But essentially I like broke up with him and made him fly back to Missouri. And then my friend Stephanie went to the concert with me instead. And my friend Caitlin, who I went to school with at Mizzou, was moving out to L.A. two weeks from then.

And she'd been looking for a roommate. And, like, I was about to start my junior year, and it was just, like, a point in life where I, like, I didn't care about school. Like, I wanted to finish school one day, but at that point I just felt like I was, like, getting into debt. Like, I wasn't motivated. I wasn't learning anything new. I had the thing with the guy, and so I was just in, like, this weird,

awkward place of just, like, I need a change. And, like, literally when I left Michigan, I called my mom in the car because I had, like, an eight-hour drive, and I told her, like, I want to move to LA. Like, Caitlin needs a roommate. She's my friend. I have enough money saved, which I did. Like, I didn't have like a lot, but I had enough. And that was from all the jobs that you worked plus a little YouTube money? Yeah, a little bit of AdSense. Okay, so you had already activated your ads and all that.

Yes. And so, I don't know, it was just the end of summer. I was like in kind of a low place, and I saw an opportunity to go somewhere different and new where I had opportunities where I had at this point in time like I didn't know when again I would have the money to do it I didn't know when I'd have a roommate when I'd have a ride like I just felt like it was one of those opportunities like if I didn't take it then I would have never ever been here um and so i did that and then here i am and when was that how long ago was that this was august september 2011 okay i moved out here september 13th of 2011

September 13th of 2011. Okay. And what was it like? I mean, when you got out here, had you ever been to L.A. before? I had not. I didn't even visit. It was completely just dreams and like an ideal, I guess, scenario I had in my head

of what it was that I just thought that I could ever move here without ever having had visited. And I was like, I was overwhelmed at first. We lived in Redondo Beach, which for people that don't live here, it's kind of more suburban, not as busy. My roommate was doing like beach volleyball. So we moved there more so for her. And it was just like awesome. Like professionally professionally? yeah she actually went which was another thing she left me like three or four months

since I was living here to go play in Croatia for like five months I was like you bitch I was so mad but it was great the first few months it was nice just being in a new environment

it was nice to go to West hollywood and see like an abundance of gay people like just in the streets and like no one judging them or it was just a completely different city and life that i had ever experienced before and what did you begin to do in terms of YouTube? How did moving out here, did it pick up or change things for that? It did. I was way more motivated just because I feel like I wasn't in school.

I had a lot of time. I was trying to get a job at Blockbuster. I remember when I moved out here. But months after, they all closed. Yeah, that was... So it was just like, I guess I missed that. You were about to have every, I don't know what the word is, but you've been a waiter. Yeah.

You worked at Toys R Us. You wanted to get the video store credit so you could have all those types of jobs. That was my dream job forever. I always dreamed of working in a video store i loved that but um you missed your wrong time you know i know it was sad but i just was yeah i was going like really hard on youtube i had like i made this little backdrop i thought i was so cool i had like this collage of like celebrities behind me when i talk about pop culture and it was just like it was great I felt like re-energized and then I signed with an agency like that first summer and um I worked with like Scooter Braun like I just when I moved out here I just was completely just like

oh my god like this is awesome this is what I wanted Scooter he, he's a, who does he manage? He manages Justin Bieber, The Wanted, Ariana Grande. Well, I mean, and since coming out here, I mean, over these past three or so years, I mean, the momentum has only continued to grow for you. You've been one of those voices on YouTube that kind of gets this initial wave of momentum and then maintains it,

which is not an easy thing to do. And now you announced at the end of 2013 that, oh, and you know, in the 2014, I'm done with YouTube. So what's up with that? I have to like add an asterisk to that. I'm done blog 2014, I'm done with YouTube. So what's up with that? I have to like add an asterisk to that. I'm done vlogging. I'm done vlogging.

Oh, okay. Yeah. You're not leaving YouTube? No. I'm still doing like skits and more premium, end quote, programming, but I just won't be vlogging anymore. Okay. What's the rationale?

And is there a risk associated with that? There's definitely a risk. The rationale first, like I just, it's gotten to a point for me where it's just hard to like continuously discuss things by myself. Like I can't just be in a room conversating to the camera. Um, there's only so many different things I could say, so many comments I can make. And, uh, when I got the opportunity to do my podcast, that's why I kind of jumped on it because I loved the idea of having a co-host and having guests and like this team of people that you're like working off of. And that's something that I've desired because like I said, it's just gotten hard for me to talk constantly by myself. And I started doing skits.

Well, I did them on and off when I was in college, but I got into it at the beginning of last year, and everyone responded well to it. So I was just like, this is what I'd enjoy doing. Because I went to school for journalism, and we had to take all these writing courses, and I did creative writing. I've always enjoyed writing.

Even in elementary school, I wrote these books that are still at my house. I wrote these murder mysteries. I have seven of them. And they're each 60 pages. But I've just always liked being creative. And so when I saw the opportunity to switch over from just me talking to writing sk skits and like writing content and I talk to people like Joey Graceffa who did like storytellers and I just see all these like other aspects of things that like inspire me and make me like excited to do a video or to create content

that's what I want to do I don't want to be in a situation where I'm just like oh I'm talking just because this is what you guys like because I feel like there's a point where they can realize you're not really into it anymore yeah and you don't

I don't want that to happen but you gave them over a year notice I did that's quite a quite an advanced notice I wanted them to know like I didn't want to be like

dramatic about it like I didn't want to have it be December and be like well that was my last vlog and everyone's like whoa whoa whoa what but I'm sure even even though you gave the year notice I'm sure you got a lot of upset fans I mean that's just want to have it be December and be like, well, that was my last vlog. And everyone's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what?

But I'm sure even though you gave the year notice, I'm sure you got a lot of upset fans. I mean, that's just what happens, right? Yeah. It might be a brilliant marketing scheme. I mean, how many last albums has Jay-Z had? You know? This is it. And this is it. And this is it. Well, did you have any of those dramatic messages? People said, you don't understand.

I mean, your vlogs are what get me up. I still get tweets every day, at least one. How does that make you feel? It makes me feel good that they have enjoyed it so much, but then it also makes me scared to do something new because I'm worried about how they're going to respond to it it but i feel like every time i've tried something new on my channel there's been the thing that i like about youtube is that people can be honest and like you can tell if your audience likes what you're putting up or if they don't and um at this point i'm just at a point where it's like okay they're either gonna like it or they're not

i'll keep what they like and then what they don't, I'll scrap. And so it's just all anxious. I'm anxious. Are you developing more of a detailed plan of what next year will look like already? Yes. Because when you talk about skits, you mean scripted content where you're playing multiple characters. It's still kind of a vlog format, right?

What you've been doing doing what you've done yeah but this will be more like web series ish okay um i've written a bunch like i've written like two seasons of one thing and like we're still planning everything else right now so it's like murder Nah. I wish, but maybe one day. But we have like five things we're like fleshing out. And like over the next few months, I'll be like filming stuff and editing it and like just having everything ready to go by January. Hmm. Yeah.

So it's just, it's really nerve wracking, but hopefully it's planned really well. What's it, I mean, can you tell us the name of the series? No, I can't. Can you tell can you tell us the name of the series no I can't can you tell us one word of the name of the series internet internet is one of the words it does is another one Kingsley

internet overload actually if you think about it I think you can get the rest of it but I'm not going to confirm or deny. How many words? Two. Okay, and one of them's internet. The internet.

The internet. Would you rather win the title the greatest gay YouTuber or the greatest black YouTuber? I think I'd probably say greatest black. Why? Just because it's more distinctive, and i feel like i stand out more as opposed to gay you know you have tyler and troy and like 50 000 other people it feels like so i would just like to own my blackness so there's more gay youtubers than black youtubers i feel like there so you want... I just want to like, honestly, both these titles are a mess.

I think that, I just feel like if I said Greatest Gay, that would be a lie because it's clearly Tyler Oakley. Tyler Oakley is the best that ever was. And so I just would feel wrong claiming that title when I know damn well that it isn't true. Oh, but you can take the title of best black YouTuber. Yes, I will. I will wrestle Daystorm in a pit of mud until I snatch the crown.

Well, you should probably charge pay-per-view or something for that. Now, to expand... He's got a bad knee, by the way. Well, I think he's better now. I think he's better now. He's probably still... He's done a lot of rehab by the way. Well, I think he's better now. I think he's better now. He's probably still...

He's done a lot of rehab. He's probably still weak in the knee. Every time I see his Instagram, he's run up a mountain or something like that. So I think he's doing fine. But this leads to another question, which is what Link was kind of exploring was this aspect of people categorize people. And on YouTube,

any form of entertainment, it's done that much more. But then when you're trying to kind of break through in a medium like YouTube, where it's not about who's promoting you, it's not about what network you've signed with. So much of the success of a YouTuber is just based on the YouTuber, right? It's just based on the content that they create and how they connect with an audience. And anytime you have a distinctive, it can be an edge in a lot of ways, right? So you've got a distinctive of being gay, you've got a distinctive of being black, and those put you in a minority when it when it comes to just the overall youtube but you probably weren't thinking any of these things when you got involved you were just like i'm gonna rant about this right when did it kind

of hit you that you were like oh i am sort of potentially the best black youtuber like when did you start thinking in those categories that people were probably already categorizing you in? I think the first time was when I discovered Tumblr there were like gifs do you guys say gifs or gifs? We say gifs around here Gifs

The gifs of myself I would see people like who's the funny black guy and I was like oh are they talking about me? And that was the first time I saw myself like labeled. And then when I was with a network and we were just looking at stats and I just saw like the lack of color on like the top 100, 200 list. And I was like, oh, wow, this is very interesting. Like race and sexuality is something I think about a lot.

So I guess it was kind of an eye-opener and I saw it as something that could work to my advantage if it needs to. But I just never, ever think about it. But when you, I mean, you kind of alluded to earlier in the conversation of there being a Kingsley character. I mean, our conversation has been this kind of, you know, it's been laid back. But it's not the on-camera persona.

So I'm glad you're giving us the real you, which kind of clarifies, is it just amped up? Is it a character? clarifies is it just amped up is it a character and is there a temptation to be because this these are your labels to be gayer to be blacker i definitely there there is um one of the things i talked about when i did my drama life is just what i went through in eighth grade how i kind kind of became subdued and more conscious of what I was saying and how I was acting. When I make my videos, I kind of keep in the back of my head that they're like, I didn't have YouTube growing up. And right now I feel like a lot of kids do. And some of them from like the things they write, I know they see people like me and

Tyler and whoever they're watching and they just feel inspired because of the way we are. And for me, my whole demeanor of not caring and being strong and outgoing, that's just something I want to project so that if a gay kid is watching me and they do behave that way, they can see that it's okay. So it's definitely intentional and on purpose. But at the same time, it's who i am but it's just such a huge magnification of that like how you said i'm not like that all the time but i think for the sake of entertainment and for making these people laugh

and just trying to make them happy i can do do that for like, you know, four minutes every other day. Or 10 minutes and then edit it down. Yeah. Edit 60% out. Well, we wish you the best, man. We've enjoyed getting to know you and thanks for coming in. Thank you guys for having me.

It was fun. Sign the table. I appreciate it. Ooh. And there you have it, our Ear Biscuit with King. So yeah. AKA Kingsley. Right, and I think we got King, not necessarily Kingsley. Yeah, not the character, the real person. Yeah, meaning that he was just very much

in an introspective mood. I think that was one of the interesting things is I think when you watch his videos, sometimes he gets really worked up and you might have to cut your headphone volume down a little bit, but I almost felt like I wanted to turn him up because he's a very mild-mannered guy in person.

I think a lot of people might be surprised by that, but I think we captured that. And that's what you get with an Ear Biscuit. You get the flip side at times. You get the real side. And that's what I'm continually excited about this show,

that we can do that. There's no pressure to perform. But it does raise a question, Link. Are you in character right now? Like right now? Right now. Are you being the real Link? Have you been in character our entire lives?

That's funny, right? I mean, I'm just wondering because we do a lot of entertaining together. We're always talking to each other but also talking to an audience. Well, yeah. I mean, when we're in the conversation with somebody, it's very, I think, you I think you listening can tell that we're just asking legitimate questions. But right now, there's an amped up kind of a little characterization.

I mean, on Good Mythical Morning, are we being ourselves or are we in character? We're in a character that is a heightened version of ourselves. And even right now, I'm not giving you the heightened link to character. But I'm not giving you link the... The link just woke up? The link that is just, there's no mic in front of my face, and there's not an audience listening. I'm talking to you, listener, and I'm talking to you, Rhett. Your name's Rhett, right?

Yeah. Because my voice, when I'm not in character... It's still this silky smooth... No, no. My voice is like this. It's... Kind of mopey? It's the natural me wants to speak like this,

very low and like a robot. The kind of voice that would talk you through something if an instruction manual were to like a really bad audio book please like a really technical audio book thank you for purchasing about like intro to circuits the heart no it would be like thank you for purchasing the happy jack's jungle gymed to provide years of fun for you and your family. There's like an audio track for the Happy Jacks Jungle Gym? If there was. Like what?

To put it together? Like an audio instruction assembly? Make sure you have the following tools. Rubber mallet. Screwdriver. That's pretty much all you need. Everything else is in the kit. That's how I want to speak.

Lay out everything from the kit and make sure you have it all. I know you're not actually going to do that, but the people in customer service require that I tell you to lay out everything in the kit. But this is a great idea, not just because it's how I really speak, but because if I had an audio instructional manual, I would know how long I was supposed to be taking to do things. When I look at the... Oh, like the total run time of the audio?

Is that what you mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, now you should have gotten the first rung on. Now you should have the first rung on. So you don't have to pause the audio instruction. It's real time. I'll wait. Well, it would be timed so that you were doing it at normal speed.

Because when I'm building something, I want to know how I'm doing compared to other men out there around the world. That's how I feel sometimes. If you are not done, your progress as it corresponds to the average man is below average. You are a below average man. So it's kind of a demotivational thing too. Huh. I think this may be our future. Audio assembly instructions,

downloadable only from our website, which of course is retinlink.com. That's right. Oh, we're turning this into a promotion. We should probably turn this back into a promotion for Kingsley. Thanks to Kingsley for being on the ear biscuits and giving us a real biscuit to sink our ears into. If you want to let Kingsley know how much you appreciate him being on ear biscuits.

And please do. You can tweet at him. That's at Kingsley. There's three Ys at the end, though. He's got that one. That's his Kingsley. Kingsley with two extra Ys. Three total Y Ys at the end, though. He's got that one. That's his Kingsley. So it's Kingsley with two extra Ys. Three total Ys, all at the end.

So let him know, hashtag EarBiscuits on that. Also give us feedback that way. And as we always say, leave a review on iTunes, leave a comment on SoundCloud. These things are valuable to us in many ways. Emotionally, mostly. Yeah, if they're positive. Okay, well, we'll be back next week with another Biosciut.

Count on it.