Boogie Tonight

I don't talk enough about Youtubers that I still like, so I thought I would take the time to do that while I'm not busy at the moment.  Don't know how much I'll have to say, but I guess we'll find out!

Today I'll tell you about a fellow I stumbled onto by accident a while back.  It was of a morbidly obese guy with a lisp, ranting and screaming about some video game, probably World of Warcraft.  While part of me wanted to facepalm, another part of me thought that this was pretty funny to see him raging so animatedly like that.  So, I clicked to see what other videos this "Francis" fellow had, since he seemed to have a lot, and I thought watching him scream and throw things might be mildly entertaining enough to watch a bit more of.

Turns out, this guy is not actually named Francis.  He goes by the name Boogie (Boogie2988 to be exact), has no lisp after all, and his real voice more suited to doing radio.  Francis is a character he plays sometimes, along with other characters like a redneck named Jessy.  Boogie himself is not much like either of these characters.  He's actually turned out to be one of the most insightful people I subscribe to on Youtube.

Boogie's Youtube description pretty much sums him up:  "I'm fat, I make internet videos. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're serious. Deal with it."  He's very comfortable in front of the camera, so he tackles a large array of topics, from video games and trading cards, to bullying, to politics on occasion, all the way to mental illness, depression, and suicide.  He's shared details of his past with his viewers of his less-than-stellar upbringing, dealing with his mother's mental condition, and his own struggle with obesity, which led to rough points in his life.  But instead of using this as a crutch for excuses or sympathy, he uses it to encourage, motivate, and educate people.

The guy just doesn't need any sympathy, and he admits it.  He's engaged, he's losing weight, has a career through Youtube doing what he enjoys, and has an ever-growing following of viewers who support him in his endeavors.  He seems pretty genuinely thankful of his subscribers, and often interacts with them directly in live shows.  Though his growing fame still has its unfortunate side, both due to his weight being an easy target for trolls, along with all the people who stumble onto Francis videos and think he's for real.  But he deals with these people fairly well, and sometimes uses it as a talking point.

I've never dealt with being overweight at any point in my life, so I can't relate to him directly in that sense.  But, oppositely, I have had health issues which resulted in me combating being underweight in the past.  I think a lot of people have dealt with health issues, either for themselves or a loved one, and/or have known people who have struggled with obesity, and/or known people who have had mental health issues.  So I think a lot of people can find things to relate to with Boogie's ramblings on various topics.  The insight he's shared on certain issues has even enlightened me a bit at times.  And it indicates to me that he actually thinks about these kinds of things, where as many people simply dismiss them in favor of happier thoughts.

Now, I won't go as far as to say I watch every single one of his videos.  I'm not really a big fan of the Jessy character most of the time despite my southern upbringing, and some of the trading card or video game videos I'll skip just because I don't necessarily play whatever he's talking about.  But I would say that I still watch the majority of his normal videos, as well as his live streams, and always click on any of the Francis skits, all of which enough so that I can recommend people check him out if they're ever looking for somebody a little different from the average Youtube vlogger.  Just look for boogie2988.