‘Primitive Technology’ YouTube Guy Gets 31 Million Views: What’s The Name Of Shirtless, Silent Australian Man In The Videos?
People are going ga-ga over a YouTube channel called “Primitive Technology,” which is seriously gaining millions of views with each new video that appears on the popular channel. The words primitive and technology may seem like an oxymoron when placed next to one another, but upon watching the viral YouTube videos, one understands that primitive technology is exactly what they are watching as the shirtless and silent YouTube star builds huts and makes charcoal from scratch.
The “Making Charcoal” video uploaded to the Primitive Technology website on February 19, which has swelled to nearly 1.5 million YouTube views in two days, makes folks see what hard work goes into creating charcoal. The manner in which the primitive charcoal creator goes through the process of making the batches of charcoal by creating a mound makes viewers truly thankful for being able to go to the store and buy a bag of charcoal.
The Primitive Technology guy is wordless as he records himself in shifting light in the woods that shows the passage of time in the process. Without speaking, the Primitive Technology YouTube star explains, via words written beneath his YouTube videos and on his website, that charcoal can be used as fuel which can burn hotter than wood.
On the “About” page of the Primitive Technology website, the writer describes how primitive technology involves creating things out in the woods — away from the comforts and ease of modern-day equipment and tools. The “Primitive Technology” rules include the ability to use fire sticks, stones, dirt, water and rocks — or primitive materials such as those. The trick is to determine what can be created without modern technology, the way primitive folks accomplished the same tasks years ago.
One look at a YouTube video like “Cord drill and Pump drill,” which was uploaded to YouTube on January 22 — and has gained 2,708,827 views in the meantime — and folks will see why they should be thankful that cordless drills are in abundant supply at Home Depot and Lowe’s.
As reported by Popular Mechanics, the Primitive Technology guy has skills that people want at the end of the world. A Google search for “Primitive Technology” proves that people want to know the man’s name, with Google suggestions like “Primitive Technology YouTube guy name” and the like popping up.
The about page on the “Primitive Technology” YouTube channel shows just how popular the channel has become, even if it doesn’t give the name of the shirtless wonder behind the YouTube channel. With 788,764 subscribers and 31,338,578 views, as of this writing, for all of the YouTube videos on the Primitive Technology channel — that’s quite an impressive feat for the nameless man who joined YouTube on May 1, 2015.
The “Primitive Technology” YouTube guy explains his motivation in a question-and-answer session.
Making primitive huts and tools from scratch using only natural materials in the wild. I also have this blog.
FAQ
Q.Where is this? A. This is in Far North Queensland Australia.
Q. Do you live in the wild? A. I don’t live in the wild but just go into the bush to make these projects. Also I camp out here occasionally.
Q. How did you learn all this? A. Researching books and internet plus trial and error. I’m not indigenous and have no army training.
Q. What about dangerous animals in Australia? A. The only really dangerous ones in my area are snakes. Care must be taken when walking about and lifting things from the ground.
Q. For the mud huts what stops the rain washing the mud walls away? A. The roof.
Q. Why don’t you talk in the videos? A. When I watch how to videos I fast forward past the talking part to see the action part. So I leave it out of my videos in favor of pure demonstration.
[Mark Gardiner/U.S. Forest Service via AP]
