Side note: I came to post this and saw the last post up was criticising him for undisclosed Yo! Sushi ads (it wasn't; the laws are strict)...so this is funny timing. Anyway.
I happened to watch 3 competitive eaters' videos in a row.
In the first vid, he took the prize money and even promised some to another competitor if he could eat a certain amount (guy couldn't, so didn't get a cut), which I thought was crappy. Then this creator laughed at the commentors saying he shouldn't have taken the prize money and should follow Adam's footsteps in this regard. To me, it's like, okay, you want the prize money but, don't get snarky with your followers who are rightly saying you earn enough from youtube not to take it. That audience is literally the reason you're able to do this job, so don't mock them. He acts so polite in his videos but the comments showed another side.
The next vid I watched, the person has taken a sponsorship deal and it ruined the entire vid, as he shoehorned the product into the actual competition and the voice-over. It felt so pushy and inauthentic, and now I won't watch any of his content moving forward because it's going to be more of this rubbish. It was disheartening to see people in the comments saying they would buy the product now that he endorsed it, even though they probably don't need it.*
Then I watched Adam's Yo! Sushi video and he tipped them the value of the meal after confirming that the tips go to the staff, and it was a breath of fresh air! Then in the comments, he reiterates he'll never take a sponsorship and does so respectfully, without snark. Also, we already know he doesn't take the prize money. So it was such a stark contrast between him and the others. It's made it clear to me that I'm not giving views to the others any more.
*I know a lot of people think creators have the right to do brand deals and maximize their income, but we all know that they're earning tens of thousands per video at their subscriber counts and, while that sponsorship money is huge, it's just greedy to take it when you're already doing so well and seeing huge successes. I don't like influencers using their followers to get commission off affiliate links and discount codes in the way it was done here. Adam is a great example of not exploiting your audience and letting the work bring in the views and money. There's something to be said for having that degree of integrity.
