 G'day, how are you going? Welcome to Bootlossophy, and if you're new here, my name is Tech. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands that I live and work on, the Wajik people of the Nungar Nation. Today, I'm not reviewing boots. I run a YouTube channel, yeah? Really, I do it for fun, but I hope that at least I entertain you, and maybe I inform you. So, I thought I'd show you a few other YouTube channels that I myself like to watch. So, as I said, I take these little boot reviews of mine out of pleasure, and really a kind of weird passion for heritage style boots. In doing so, I hope that I've been informing you and showing you what my little collection of boots are like to own and wear. I hope I'm also a little educational, because when I first started buying boots, I was really interested in how they were made, the types of leathers used, and as a management consultant working with businesses and indigenous not-for-profits in real life, I was really interested in the histories of these boot brands, and particularly the smaller brands and what drives them to make what they make and become what they are. I also hope I've entertained you a little bit, and we've had a laugh here and there. So, in recognition of how these YouTube channels not only have a place in this boot collecting hobby world, but also how they can help inform and educate and entertain people like you and me, I decided to make this out there video about the other YouTube channels that I watch. Now, there are hundreds that I watch for a variety of reasons, but I'm not going to go through them all. You'll have to own your own favorites, I'm sure, and if I do go through everything I watch, this video would be longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy plus the Hobbit put together. Oh, by the way, the title of this video is Don't Watch My Channel. Don't be ridiculous. You know I'm joking, right? Keep watching and while you're at it, click on the like button and make sure that you subscribe. Let me first start with the heavies. We'll get across to my computer in a minute. These are the long-established channels that I latched on to when I first got interested in boots. I'm just going to talk about my top three. The top channel that I watch and in fact probably the first boot channel I watched and followed is of course Stridewise. Not only is Nick another Australian, although he's probably more accurately American now, nevertheless he hails from my shores or from Queensland in particular. We call them banana benders because Queensland is the banana-growing state of Australia. Sorry Nick. I'll put links to all the channels I mentioned in the description box below so that you can go watch them. So, Stridewise is a well-established channel and I caught up with all of Nick's work during early lockdown in 2020 and then having caught up with what he produced over the couple of years up to then, I fervently awaited every week's release. Stridewise primarily is a boot review channel and the majority of his videos are deep dives into boot brands and boot models that run across a wide range of tastes and prices. What I really like about Nick's offerings is his choice of boots that would interest and therefore inform people who are just starting an interest. Thursday, for example, he's received criticism that maybe he spends too much time on these supposedly lower boot brands. But really, if he didn't with his particular twist of looking at the design, the materials, the details of how they wear, who would begin his look to? I probably don't need to tell you to check him out. You know him, but he's definitely up there for me. The next channel is my buddy Dale from Aero Surfer LV. Dale actually made my numbers jump when he gave me a mention in his review of the Grant Stone Brass Boot and then invited me onto his channel for a real boot talk episode. So I do have a debt of gratitude for my friend. I think Dale's channel is even older than Stridewise, starting with his early purchases of Aldens and J Crew and then gathering strength with his enormous collection of Truman boots. Aero Surfer LV's channel is always punchy, lots of b-rolls of the boots from every angle and with his taste a really, really wide selection of boots with a real passion for Truman. His collection is way bigger than mine and he started to receive boots from people, loaning them to him to review. I get that. I'm starting to have to stop plundering my pension fund and so I started trawling through eBay for pre-loved boots rather than spending full price. If you want to drool over boots and from time to time some very informative discussion of how different sizes and lasts compared between brands, Aero Surfer LV is the place to go. Then a little way outside the normal boot review channel. Again, I probably don't have to introduce to you Trenton and Heath, two brothers from the American South with accents that make my wife weak at the knees. I say outside the normal, outside the normal boot reviews because Trenton and Heath are cobblers and will show you what the boots look like as they tear them down to build them up again. For anyone who is fascinated, not only by what something is like, but how it got made that way, this is the best channel to watch. From watching Trenton and Heath, and then following up with a lot of Google and research, I learned about welts, cork, another fillers, shanks, leather heel stacks, counters and outsoles. I learned about clicking, sanding, edging, stitching, and from time to time restoration of dirty and dry leather and conditioning and polishing. It was from Trenton and Heath I learned not to go crazy with hard wax polish on your heritage boots, something I'd been doing for over 40 years. Now here are a collection of channels I really love that I would call unappreciated. To me, they give a lot of real findings about the boots they review from proper wear and use and abuse. As a group, they haven't got a huge subscription base, but I really don't know why. Let me start with a channel called Boots, Jeans and the Odd Watch. You got it. Jordan reviews boots, jeans, the Odd Watch, and even odd t-shirts. The channel changed its name recently. Until this year, it used to be called Nifty Thrifty and in fact, Jordan's Instagram account is still called that. Nifty with two E's underscore Thrifty with two E's. Jordan is Canadian, so us Commonwealth Dominion people have to stick together. In Boots, Jordan will review his collection, which interestingly includes Canadian brands like Canada West, which I never heard of before, as well as Red Wings, Thursdays, Parkhurst, and others. He also has an interest in sneakers, jeans, and watches as the channel name suggests. What I really enjoy is his sense of humour and knowledge as he reviews these articles and his videos are, unlike mine, relatively short, so when you get tired of my gone with the wind length videos, give his a go. The next channel I think should have like 10 times as many subs as it actually does is Dave from The Vintage Future. This man is a knowledge fountain. While The Vintage Future will use boots, which is how it came to my attention, I stayed because Dave really knows boots and leather and fit. His taste in engineer boots, for example, is not quite mine. I come to watch his videos about boots, but I stayed to learn about last sizing and leathers. He has put up some great videos on mistakes a boot collector makes, how to break in boots, and how to use a brand new device. Go watch him, you will be rewarded. Then there's happiness carpenter, again deserving of far more subs than he has. John Bristow is a carpenter in real life, while also a mad boot collector. So he has an understanding of work boots and boots generally that can surprise you. Happiness carpenter gives a well-informed and educated view of mainly work boots, an educated view beyond the it's a work boot, wear it tough variety. John's taste in boots overlaps mine, but he also goes into styles that aren't in my sphere. Engineers work boots in some very varied brands like Creosote, as well as makers from China, Mexico and Indonesia. The thing I love about John is his warm, open heart. You know in the main, we fellows who collect boots are generous and giving. When I first got into boots, I joined various boot enthusiast groups on Facebook. Just watching what went on, I saw a lot of beginners, actually people like myself, ask beginner questions. This has creased, is it normal? Or I have a cut in the welt, what should I do? That kind of thing. Many people would answer and provide opinion or even just calm them down with some real information, but there was always a cohort that called these newbies hipsters and pansies or worse and told them to suck it up. That was a favorite phrase. You know that wonderful phrase that shows their true wit and mastery of the English language? Hey dude, it's a boot. Just wear it. John is the opposite. He cares. He is generous. He helps. The last unappreciated channel is Trinity Handmaid. Jimmy went silent for a while, even though he kept his hand in on his Instagram accounts as nerden with boots. I think he got really busy or had some personal stuff to attend to. I'm not going to pry. He's now returned to posting on YouTube with some regularity and I really recommend his channel. Again, he is well informed and well educated about leather, being a leather worker himself. He will review boots from the point of view of how they're made, what they like to wear in real life and how they patina and give off his real love of the boot. Jimmy is a real expert on white's boots. He got me interested in my MP boots that you know I've talked about very often. But his collection is wider than that, including Weiberg, Underhood, Nix and many others. He may not post all that often but when he does, there's a spate of videos come all at once. Go watch him and subscribe. That's Trinity Handmaid. Now let's talk about a couple of newbies, a couple of channels that popped up on my radar in the last couple of months. The first is Rocky Mountain Style, Mountain Spell MTN. Rocky Mountain Style started I think not more than six or seven months ago but he has been prolific. This isn't all a boot channel and he reviews gear, shoes, shirts and coats as well as boots. I admit I watch his boot reviews and not so much his other gear but this is a fresh new channel, well researched, well made and getting prolific. It deserves success. The second newbie channel is Stray Reviews. Stray Reviews started posting several years ago but has really started to put them up in the last few months. It uses a good straightforward format of reviewing items under the good, the bad and then a summary and so you know where you are with these things. The channel also reviews gear rather than just boots but they're all pretty interesting stuff. The channel is well presented, well filmed, better than mine and it's an easy watch. Go check out Stray Reviews as well. And finally I want to run through four channels that I class as just for fun. I do not mean that in a condescending way, not at all. Only that these aren't your normal run-of-the-mill boot review channels and casting your net wide for a bit of fun outside straight boring boot reviews is always good. The first one I want to talk about is a channel called The Nose Bros. This is mainly a boot review channel with the odd cologne thrown in but it's the way in which the boots are reviewed is what makes it fun. There is a sense of humour built in. You will learn and you will laugh. The titles of his videos will give you a clue. First impression of boots built to give you a false idea about archaeology. That's an Aldernindi review by the way. Grant Stone boots are so nice I left my basement to review them. Helm boots, mind control and hair transplants. See what I mean? You have to be intrigued. Then there's Elizabeth Grant. Elle is mainly a reviewer of watches but she buys men's boots, several of them. If you want really great reviews of Thursday captains, Wolverine 1000 mile boots, Grant Stone mock toes, Grant Stone diesel boots, get over to her channel. There aren't that many men's boot reviews but whatever they are they are excellent. They are balanced, humorous, information packed reviews and while you're there stay for her humour, her videography skills and her knowledge about watches. Finally let me recommend a channel called James Crane. James has been around for several years, eight or nine years I think but he had a little hiatus a while back and then he came back about six months ago with regular uploads again. James does not review boots, he reviews bags. Let me say he reviews bags. If you like your leather satchels and briefcases and postman bags, James Crane is the channel to watch. He's knowledgeable, he'll compare brands and makes and he's just so informed about how bags get put together. Definitely a non-boot channel that you should sub to. So there you go. You know a few YouTube channels I watch regularly and again and again. Sometimes my research for particular brands of boots and maybe how they're made makes me go into these channels over and over again. Balance reviews, no acts to grind, fair, honest and above all fun but hey don't spend too long over there. Come on back and the best way to do that is to click on like below and sure as heck click on subscribe. Subscribing will throw out the digital breadcrumbs so that you can follow the trail and come back to watch my future uploads coming up. More boot reviews, brand deep dives, comparisons and a few best-of type stuff. Until then you take care and I'll see you soon.