Hasan Piker
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I guess. Well, one, I was always political. I was always interested in politics growing up in Turkey. So that's a big part of that. But then I started working on my uncle's and my uncle's startup called The Young Turks, 26 person media company at the time as a YouTube channel. and had a bunch of other smaller YouTube channels underneath that umbrella.
I interned with him and then I wanted to live in L.A. and I had no job prospects. I lied to my family saying that I was going to take the LSAT and go to college and maybe even go to UCLA Law, you know, and that was a lie. I was not interested in that at all. I just wanted to come to L.A. because I wanted to leave New Jersey, which is, I think, fairly reasonable.
I interned with him and then I wanted to live in L.A. and I had no job prospects. I lied to my family saying that I was going to take the LSAT and go to college and maybe even go to UCLA Law, you know, and that was a lie. I was not interested in that at all. I just wanted to come to L.A. because I wanted to leave New Jersey, which is, I think, fairly reasonable.
um so i came out here i i worked for the young turks for years and in that process they initially started off on the sales side they didn't have any sort of like internal sales division so i basically built that i built the the client list i did the cold calling i did all of our advertisement operations at the time at the young turks um but the
um so i came out here i i worked for the young turks for years and in that process they initially started off on the sales side they didn't have any sort of like internal sales division so i basically built that i built the the client list i did the cold calling i did all of our advertisement operations at the time at the young turks um but the
But the whole time I was like, I want to do on camera stuff. So I would just like slot myself in wherever I could. And it's a startup. So that was there was an allowance there for me to be able to do so. And yeah, I started doing like the culture stuff, the media stuff on whenever like a guest host wasn't there. I would just fill in last second. And I was so bad. I was so bad on camera.
But the whole time I was like, I want to do on camera stuff. So I would just like slot myself in wherever I could. And it's a startup. So that was there was an allowance there for me to be able to do so. And yeah, I started doing like the culture stuff, the media stuff on whenever like a guest host wasn't there. I would just fill in last second. And I was so bad. I was so bad on camera.
It was crazy. But I knew that I would just have to constantly train myself and constantly keep going until I would inevitably get better. And now I can't shut up. So I guess to a certain degree it worked out. But I was doing that at the Young Turks and at the Young Turks in that process I figured out like I need to have something for myself. And I also need to I'm a gamer.
It was crazy. But I knew that I would just have to constantly train myself and constantly keep going until I would inevitably get better. And now I can't shut up. So I guess to a certain degree it worked out. But I was doing that at the Young Turks and at the Young Turks in that process I figured out like I need to have something for myself. And I also need to I'm a gamer.
I the market at the time for gaming and commentary was heavily dominated by the right wing, which is not dissimilar to what it looks like right now. But I wanted to show that it wasn't just like woke SJWs like the left was much larger than this. It was a it was a diverse umbrella of people who are progressive minded but can also have fun.
I the market at the time for gaming and commentary was heavily dominated by the right wing, which is not dissimilar to what it looks like right now. But I wanted to show that it wasn't just like woke SJWs like the left was much larger than this. It was a it was a diverse umbrella of people who are progressive minded but can also have fun.
Because I think that the right had so successfully undermined the optics of the left in general by constantly presenting them as woke rad libs who never enjoy themselves, who don't want to have any fun, who are very censorious and yada, yada, yada.
Because I think that the right had so successfully undermined the optics of the left in general by constantly presenting them as woke rad libs who never enjoy themselves, who don't want to have any fun, who are very censorious and yada, yada, yada.
to be fair like that's how the right is as well and that's how they've always been and there was some truth to that in general but i think that it was so uh successful as a as a mechanism of pushback is so successful as propaganda that a lot of young men responded to that and I wanted to tackle that. I wanted to penetrate that.
to be fair like that's how the right is as well and that's how they've always been and there was some truth to that in general but i think that it was so uh successful as a as a mechanism of pushback is so successful as propaganda that a lot of young men responded to that and I wanted to tackle that. I wanted to penetrate that.
And I wanted to show people like, no, you can have progressive politics and like still have fun. This is ridiculous. And all these guys that are actually pointing the finger at blame at the left and saying that they're annoying and woke scolds are actually just neck bearded losers themselves. And they also are hysterical quite frequently. And that's how I got on Twitch.
And I wanted to show people like, no, you can have progressive politics and like still have fun. This is ridiculous. And all these guys that are actually pointing the finger at blame at the left and saying that they're annoying and woke scolds are actually just neck bearded losers themselves. And they also are hysterical quite frequently. And that's how I got on Twitch.
Um, I think they kind of gave up on me, so that was fine. I, I think I'll just say it like this. Every phone conversation that I had with my dad when I was working at the Young Turks and until I would say 2021. every foreign conversation was, when are you going to get a PhD? Like, what are you doing? When are you going to get higher education? You have to get higher education.
Um, I think they kind of gave up on me, so that was fine. I, I think I'll just say it like this. Every phone conversation that I had with my dad when I was working at the Young Turks and until I would say 2021. every foreign conversation was, when are you going to get a PhD? Like, what are you doing? When are you going to get higher education? You have to get higher education.
My mother's a professor. My father's a professor as well. He's not a scientist. He is, because I don't think, you know, being an economist is a real science. They're both have PhDs. But yeah, that's, That's basically what it is.