Behind the Try Guys, there are stories too
Five years ago, I learned that the best gift that one could ever get is to be able to give. And one thing that I need to do to deserve the gift, is to try. It took me lots of watching the Try Guys being open to new experiences that allowed me to realize that saying “Hi” to a stranger or taking opportunities won’t be so bad at all.
I think people my age at one point, were obsessed with Buzzfeed content, the Try Guys included. They entertained us when the internet was full of stress-inducing stuff. How could four guys, who just seem like ordinary employees working in a company to produce videos, suddenly became viral, and developed a brotherhood? We did not know why or how it happened but fast forward to 2020, they are still raking up views, establishing their own company, snatching partnerships, became #1 New York Times Best-seller authors, who put up an amazing tour which I was lucky to be able to go in Singapore last September, and now released a documentary, “Behind the Try”. They’re all in their 30s when they started.
I had already followed them when Buzzfeed was still thriving and got to listen to the audiobook version of “The Hidden Power of Fucking Up”. The documentary offers not so surprising details or side about them; we knew that last year a pivotal moment for Eugene when he put together his coming out video and the fact that his relationship with his parents had a bit of avoiding talking about the issue and hoping that things change on their own. Zach had already opened up about his childhood and insecurity. And we knew that Keith and Ned had all bits of comedic bites and fatherly love in their beings. So what we are seeing isn’t so much about how much has been revealed about them, but more of witnessing the testament of their hard work in keeping themselves and their company together, just to continue to show everyone and themselves that we can still make a value out of our lives by trying.
What is interesting about the Try Guys is that they weren’t childhood friends, college, or bandmates, nor they had a similar life goal at first. They were walking different paths of life and somehow just got into the deep pool because they just somehow tried to do something together — it might start with a why not? They have shown pieces of their lives in every video ever since, which is one of the biggest reasons why we love them because there are some things that we do not like, we struggle with, or we are guilty of taking pleasure in too.
Apparently, there were a couple of things that we did not realize were happening as well. The stress in preparing a show and a tour — little things could frustrate you for weeks especially when the budget spiked. Of course, the last thing they wanted was a setback when it was about to be the biggest thing they’re not sure if they would ever get to do again or not. The tour scraped some part of their lives — we could not imagine how difficult it must be for Ned to be away from his newborn baby, Wes, and his wife. The rest of the guys to be away from their partners too. Some even had to balance between their personal projects just to be on the road, promoting their book, and meeting with the “views” — as they said that views represent the people who watch and receive their message. So of course there were things at stake. The documentary showed what was at stake right in the beginning and the things that they missed out on. Brotherhood isn’t all nice and flowers, something’s gotta shake because the road is rocky. I did not actually expect Eugene’s mom in the documentary at all — because I kind of did not want to get emotional watching it in the morning (while it was premiering), but guess what, it did make me cry. I also did not expect how sentimental Ned keeping up with Wes, or something did actually happen to one of their videos. This particular thing that happened, showed a glimpse of their dynamics as a quartet. Zach had been taking more parts behind the scenes — and when you have someone in a position like him, of course, friction is inevitable. Eugene providing a more objective suggestion to do a rollback and helping the other guys process their emotional blowback.
We have every right to be concerned about each other but always remember that they are grown-ups who probably can figure things out themselves thus we need to learn how to stay out of it. We can only hope for the best for work, relationship, their partners, families, and the company. We hope that they will continue to encourage others to be in the thumbnail — like how they encouraged Eugene to be in the center of attention.
I do not know if seeing most of what you had already expected in a documentary is a good thing or not — because usually, the public does not know what is happening, who these people are, or how are their relations with other people. With the Try Guys, at least we think that we know some of them because they have been very open with almost everything. They have poured so much into their book too.
“Behind the Try” is a landmark for all of us that reminds us of how they started and why they still try to do more — we have learned from them, we don’t just enjoy their content or admire them from afar. It is also a nice memento for those who got to see the tour — it had bits of some memorable moments, from Keith’s fried chicken galore, a forecast of Ned being an awkward dad who tries too hard, Eugene’s queer fiesta, and Zach’s heartfelt and uplifting monologue to leave all the bullshit and just have fun. And even after years, they still could open up and teach us about things. They are not short of life experiences or points of view.
They have been present in our bedroom, living room, classroom, commuting route, or by our side when we sit in a cafe. At the same time, showing the audience an example on how to embrace the 30s. And a reminder that there’s someone out there who has tried and will always tell us that it’s okay to try.
