{"id":293,"date":"2023-03-03T01:24:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T01:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jchannell.com\/?p=293"},"modified":"2023-03-03T01:53:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T01:53:36","slug":"bethel-park-natives-home-videos-have-become-youtube-sensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jchannell.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/03\/bethel-park-natives-home-videos-have-become-youtube-sensation\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethel Park native\u2019s home videos have become YouTube sensation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Paul Petroskey \u2013 also known as \u201cWeird Paul\u201d \u2013 had been waiting for something like YouTube for decades.<\/p>

Petroskey considers himself the \u201cOriginal Vlogger.\u201d The 47-year-old Bethel Park native had hours of video tapes that he recorded in the \u201880s and \u201890s that included homemade music videos starring his family, a review of McDonald\u2019s breakfast items, homemade award shows and whatever else the teenager found interesting.<\/p>

\u201cAs soon as YouTube came about, I said, \u2018This would be great. We didn\u2019t have this when I was making these back in the \u201880s,\u2019\u201d Petroskey says.<\/p>

\u201cI wanted to put it on YouTube because I knew it would be something interesting for people, because not everyone was alive then and the people that were, not all of them had video cameras.\u201d<\/p>

However, he had no idea how to use the new technology.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m always kind of technologically impaired,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cI\u2019m creative, but I\u2019m not really good at figuring out the side of how all the wires work so much.\u201d<\/p>

Once Petroskey overcame that technical hurdle and began sharing his home video archive, he found that people were interested in what he was doing in present day.<\/p>

Since he didn\u2019t own a digital camera, he stuck to his lo-fi roots and started making new videos on VHS tape and shared them online using the same method he had figured out for his vintage videos.<\/p>

His channel now reaches more than 16,000 subscribers from across the world with videos created in Petroskey\u2019s Brookline home and was even spun-off into a local TV show, \u201cThe Weird Paul Variety Show,\u201d that ran on WEPA until the channel ceased operations last year.<\/p>

\u201cI do things differently than most people,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cA lot of people watch it and immediately they get sucked in, because it either makes them think of a time when they used to watch VHS or, if they weren\u2019t alive then, it\u2019s just interesting because it doesn\u2019t look like everything else.\u201d<\/p>

People who have been \u201csucked in\u201d by Petroskey\u2019s videos include two Emmy award-winning documentarians who have produced a feature-length documentary about his life and a Pittsburgh-based advertising company seeking to help his brand.<\/p>

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“I do things differently than most people … A lot of people watch it and immediately they get sucked in, because it either makes them think of a time when they used to watch VHS or, if they weren\u2019t alive then, it\u2019s just interesting because it doesn\u2019t look like everything else.”<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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A musical past<\/h2>

YouTube isn\u2019t the first time Petroskey was in the limelight.<\/p>

As a teenager, he began making music under the name Weird Paul. Mixing the do-it-yourself aesthetic of punk rock with his own brand of humor led to colorful song titles such as \u201cDreaded Glaucoma Test,\u201d \u201c(I Stole a) Bunsen Burner\u201d and \u201cScott Baio Was Seen at the (Legendary) Pink Dot Convenience Store Buying 12 Cans of Tuna and a Carton of Cigarettes.\u201d<\/p>

His homegrown music resulted in a record deal with Homestead Records \u2013 the home of indie rock stalwarts such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and Big Black \u2013 in 1991. While the resulting album, \u201cLo-Fidelity, Hi-Anxiety,\u201d didn\u2019t burn up the charts, it did result in Petroskey gaining fans.<\/p>

\u201cI used to get fan mail all the time,\u201d Petroskey recalls. \u201cBy 1993, I was getting a letter every week from somebody.\u201d<\/p>

Petroskey continues to make music and has released 42 albums to date. He says people finding his YouTube videos \u2013 especially his music videos \u2013 are now getting interested in his discography.<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s working out well for me in a promotional kind of way, because I\u2019ve always been a musician,\u201d Petroskey says.<\/p>

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Analog history<\/h2>

When Petroskey\u2019s father, Ward, bought a video camera on Sept. 7, 1984, the new technology became a major part of Petroskey\u2019s life.<\/p>

In one YouTube clip, he reads a high school essay calling it the day that changed his life forever. The video includes clips of the very first moments of video the family recorded on that day \u2013 including his father angrily trying to get Paul to leave the camera alone.<\/p>

\u201cHis idea was that it was just to film important family events \u2013 which is probably the way that most families were \u2013 and that I should never touch it,\u201d Petroskey recalls, adding, \u201cand I think that now, after all this time, he still believes that I never should have touched it.\u201d<\/p>

There are several vintage videos in Petroskey\u2019s collection that show him getting a rise out of his parents \u2013 sometimes even bringing his siblings into the mix to help \u201cdrive them nuts.\u201d However, he says they have always been \u201cextremely supportive\u201d of his artistic endeavors.<\/p>

\u201cThey\u2019re rooting for me. They\u2019re in my corner,\u201d Petroskey says.<\/p>

Petroskey\u2019s musical past also intersects with his vintage \u201880s home videos, where he\u2019d recruit his family to make their own homemade versions of popular music videos of the day.<\/p>

Dozens of these videos are now finding an audience on YouTube \u2013 albeit on a separate channel because of copyright claims. Petroskey\u2019s family has also enjoyed looking back at the videos and he says their favorite is a remake of Twisted Sister\u2019s iconic \u201cWe\u2019re Not Gonna Take It\u201d music video.<\/p>

\u201cWe just tried to make it exactly the same. It\u2019s hysterical. It couldn\u2019t have come out any better \u2013 and by better, I mean, there\u2019s a lot of mistakes in it,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cBut that just makes it better. It\u2019s perfect. It\u2019s one of the greatest pieces of art I\u2019ve ever created.\u201d<\/p>

Apart from the vintage videos he created for entertainment purposes, Petroskey\u2019s obsession with the family camera also resulted in footage the South Hills area in the \u201980s, including a drive down Banksville Road and \u2013 Petroskey\u2019s personal favorite \u2013 a trip to the long-defunct Hills Department Store.<\/p>

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m there again when I\u2019m watching it,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone else that has that footage.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A nostalgic point-of-view<\/strong><\/h2>

Even with Petroskey\u2019s newly produced videos, the theme of nostalgia runs through many of them.<\/p>

Most of his new videos showcase various forgotten items from his own personal collections \u2013 which include toy musical instruments, \u201980s plastic candy containers, newspaper ads, photographs of birthday cakes, vintage wristwatches and more \u2013 and items he finds at local thrift stores.<\/p>

Petroskey says the thrift store haul videos are the most popular videos and usually receive 2,000 views within the first week they are available. He believes the popularity is because viewers are excited to see forgotten items and are also surprised at how little he spends when buying these items.<\/p>

\u201cThey get a good feeling from watching it and the memory is there,\u201d Petroskey says.\u00a0<\/p>

However, don\u2019t ask Petroskey about what thrift stores he frequents. After telling someone where he was finding a particular item he was collecting and all of those items vanishing from the store, he keeps his sources a secret.<\/p>

\u201cI hate to have to keep it from people,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cIt\u2019s not that I want to keep it from people, but at least for right now, I can\u2019t tell people, And people do ask me often.\u201d<\/p>

The enthusiasm for Petroskey\u2019s off-beat collections has also led to viewers sending donations of various items and he shows gratitude by making videos showcasing the items.<\/p>

In fact, Petroskey\u2019s viewers have sent so many packages in recent months that he\u2019s been creating these \u201cmail day\u201d videos almost exclusively just to clear up space in his home.<\/p>

\u201cThe pile was about 4 feet tall and 7 feet long. I couldn\u2019t keep it in the room anymore because you just couldn\u2019t walk around,\u201d Petroskey says.<\/p>

Petroskey\u2019s enthusiasm for archiving and sharing items from the past even came through during our interview, when he pulled up a 1984 copy of The Advertiser, a former competitor to South Hills Living\u2019s sister publication The Almanac. Petroskey was particularly entertained by the front-page headline, \u201cHummus or Tofu: Try it and you\u2019ll like it,\u201d stating, \u201cit was like nobody in Pittsburgh was willing to eat hummus or tofu in 1984.\u201d<\/p>

As he continued to flip through the pages, Petroskey found advertisements for long-shuttered department stores and began pointing out various items and their costs. It was like watching a Weird Paul in real-life.<\/p>

\u201cYou can still get a black and white TV for $58 because back then, everybody wanted color at that point. Blank audio cassettes, $1.98 each. Jeez, I pick them up for a dime now, guys!\u201d<\/p>

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\u201cI mean, most people have to work or do something to get the bills paid \u2026 but my dream of course is to not be working a day job,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cEvery year, it feels like it\u2019s getting closer \u2026 maybe this might be the year.\u201d<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u2018Working in the stone age\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>

While Petroskey\u2019s choice to use the antiquated VHS format for his videos may seem strange in the day of high-definition video, he says it became a necessity because he\u2019s \u201calways very poor\u201d and working with outdated equipment.<\/p>

Petroskey is using a laptop from 2005 to edit his videos and says the machine is \u201carchaic\u201d and even stumbles when editing his low-resolution VHS clips.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m working in the stone age here as far as this is concerned,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cBasically, I\u2019m working with a stone axe. When I press play (while editing), the picture is static the entire time. Only the audio plays,\u201d Petroskey explains. \u201cOf course, I don\u2019t want to have to work like that, it\u2019s frustrating, but I don\u2019t have any money.\u201d<\/p>

Petroskey\u2019s day job is at Spencer\u2019s Gifts in the Ross Park Mall, but he is hoping that some day he\u2019ll be able to make his YouTube channel a fulltime job.<\/p>

\u201cI mean, most people have to work or do something to get the bills paid \u2026 but my dream of course is to not be working a day job,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cEvery year, it feels like it\u2019s getting closer \u2026 maybe this might be the year.\u201d<\/p>

However, even if he did have money for new high-definition cameras, Petroskey says he still would not move away from the grainy VHS look of his videos.<\/p>

\u201cThe people have spoken. They like what I\u2019m doing and they don\u2019t want me to change,\u201d he says.<\/p>

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Weird Paul goes Hollywood<\/strong><\/h2>

While working on the Emmy-winning National Geographic show \u201cLife Below Zero,\u201d Los Angeles-based filmmakers Joseph Litzinger and Eric Michael Schrader were seeking interesting subjects online and stumbled across Weird Paul\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>

\u201cWe watched a couple videos and thought like \u2018This guy is an amazing actor. He\u2019s doing a great character,\u2019\u201d Litzinger says.<\/p>

After delving deeper into the videos, they discovered that Petroskey wasn\u2019t an actor and instead found \u201cone of the most authentic and genuine people we\u2019ve ever met or seen.\u201d<\/p>

Litzinger and Schrader quickly reached out to Petroskey about potentially making a documentary about him, leading to a crowd-funding campaign that raised nearly $19,000 for the production.<\/p>

After two years of production, \u201cWill Work For Views: The Lo-Fi Life of Weird Paul,\u201d is finished and being submitted to film festivals. The film premiered at the Harris Theater June 23rd. Litzinger was hoping for a Pittsburgh premiere, as his family is also from the area.<\/p>

Interestingly, this is the second time Petroskey has been the focus of a documentary. In 2006, director Stacey Goldschmidt produced \u201cWeird Paul: A Lo Fidelity Documentary.\u201d Litzinger says he has watched the previous documentary and applauded Goldschmidt\u2019s work, but emphasized that their film takes a different approach.<\/p>

\u201cIt was more targeted to the music and I think what we\u2019re doing is a study of the every day struggles of an artist and \u2026 what kind of a toll it takes on someone to be struggling to make it for 30-35 years,\u201d Litzinger says.<\/p>

The documentary filming even brought Petroskey to Los Angeles for the first time and the trip was capped off by a sold out live concert at a Hollywood music venue.<\/p>

\u201cPeople drove literally from 2 or 3 hours away,\u201d Litzinger says. \u201cEither they knew him because they were transplants from the Pittsburgh area or they discovered him on YouTube.\u201d<\/p>

Litzinger says he thinks the film will help Petroskey reach a wider audience. While he says Petroskey\u2019s fan-base is mostly niche, the themes of an artist\u2019s struggle will resonate with viewers who might not find his work otherwise.<\/p>

\u201cOne of the things we want to do as filmmakers is help Paul get his art seen by as many people as possible and get the word out about the impact he\u2019s had on people,\u201d Litzinger says.<\/p>

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The future for Weird Paul<\/strong><\/h2>

Along with the documentary, Petroskey has big plans for the future.<\/p>

He has recently started working with the Pittsburgh-based advertising agency Z Brand to try to finally get to the point where he can make a living from his artistic endeavors.<\/p>

Marco LaGamba, vice president of Z Brand, says he first discovered Petroskey from \u201cThe Weird Paul Variety Show\u201d on WEPA and was amazed to find that his wife and six children all loved watching the show.<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s funny how he reaches out to all people,\u201d LaGamba says. \u201cHe\u2019s a genuine guy and I want to help out.\u201d<\/p>

LaGamba cold-called Petroskey to offer his assistance, though he says that the majority of the work has already been done and just needs proper organization.<\/p>

\u201cWeird Paul is of the few brands that came along where everything is done and in place, it just needs to be deployed correctly,\u201d LaGamba says.<\/p>

Some of the plans Petroskey says are in the works for the future include recording a new album, touring, finding sponsors and pitching \u201cThe Weird Paul Variety Show,\u201d to streaming networks.<\/p>

\u201cThat was only on television,\u201d Petroskey says. \u201cIt was never on YouTube or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>

Petroskey has also been making appearances on WDVE \u2013 an achievement he had dreamed about as a teenager but thought was \u201cunattainable.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m amassing this huge list of all these incredible things I\u2019ve done,\u201d Petroskey saya. \u201cBut even with all that, you can\u2019t say I\u2019ve gotten anywhere.\u201d<\/p>

But mostly, Petroskey wants his parents to see his success \u2013 even if his dad might not have ever wanted him to touch the video camera.<\/p>

\u201cI want to show them that it wasn\u2019t all for nothing and that I was able to become successful. And I feel like I am going to be. I don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s going to take. It could happen quickly or it could take a very long time. But I\u2019m in it for the long run \u2026 though I am getting older.\u201d<\/p>

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Paul Petroskey \u2013 also known as \u201cWeird Paul\u201d \u2013 had been waiting for something like YouTube for decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,23,25],"tags":[36,33,34,30,29,35,31,32],"class_list":["post-293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-observer-reporter","category-portfolio","category-south-hills-living-magazine-portfolio","tag-documentary","tag-pittsburgh","tag-south-hills","tag-south-hills-living","tag-weird-paul","tag-will-work-for-views","tag-youtube","tag-youtuber"],"yoast_head":"\nBethel Park native\u2019s home videos have become YouTube sensation - J.M. 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