Interviewing Ryan Kinel of Geeks + Gamers

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I recently sat down to chat with Geeks + Gamers very own Ryan Kinel.

Blabbering Collector: Why did you join the Navy? What was your rank, and what did you do?

Ryan: I joined the Navy in August of 2010. I joined for a few reasons. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after high school. I went to college for one semester, with no major. I realized i was wasting my parents money on college. My grandfather was also in the Navy during WWII and was on a carrier in the Pacific. It wasn’t until I found the nuclear program in the Navy that I realized this was something I wanted to do. It’s something that was structured and, with great training, could lead to an excellent job down the line.

I became a nuclear electronics technician. So, essentially, I was in charge of all the instrumentation and control equipment that monitors and controls the reactor on aircraft carriers. When I officially left the Navy in September of last year (2021), I left as an “Enlisted Rank 7 Chief Petty Officer,” but my official rank was “Chief Electronics Technician, Nuclear Grade.”

BC: How did you get into Geeks + Gamers and YouTube?

R: I’m a multi-tasker, so I would be watching YouTube whilst watching sports, and also playing a video game. I’m also a huge Star Wars fan, and when The Force Awakens came out, I hated it. I hated everything about Disney Star Wars, especially when they got rid of the Expanded Universe. It really pissed me off when everyone loved The Force Awakens. I stumbled across a couple of YouTube channels who were critical of the Force Awakens and watched their reactions to The Last Jedi. I was really intrigued once I saw the reactions because people were finally seeing what I was seeing about Disney Star Wars. I found channels like G+G and Nerdrotic.

In June of 2019, during San Diego Comic Con, Jeremy and Gary (from Nerdrotic) did a small meetup of a couple of people. I went. I was talking with them about Star Wars and comic books. Then they did a followup meetup two days later, and Gary actually walked up to me and said, “Have you ever thought about making a YouTube channel?” I was like, “No, not really. I like to talk, but I never thought about it.” Gary said, “I think you’d be really good at it; you’re knowledgeable, and you have a presence.” Then, ten minutes later, without any knowledge that Gary had spoken to me about YouTube, Jeremy walks up to me and asks me the same question: “Have you ever thought about being on YouTube?” He basically repeated the same things Gary said to me, and then said, “If you ever decide to join YouTube, let me know; I want to work with you.”

I thought about if for a couple of days, and then decided, “Let’s do it!” And that is the story on how Gary and Jeremy are my internet dads. Once I got out of the Navy, I was allowed to say whatever I wanted. I wanted to make sure that my opinions didn’t represent what the Navy thinks. I was very private about being in the Navy.

BC: What are your YouTube goals?

R: My goals are always fluctuating. I’m really never happy with something.

BC: I see that.

R: Yeah, I’m not happy with things in general, but I’m not satisfied with things personally because every milestone I hit is just the next stop. I don’t dwell on it. I never legitimately thought I would hit 100,00 subscribers in just over two years of doing YouTube. It’s always changing for me. The past week has been my best week on YouTube, views-wise, ever! Every month I evaluate what I did and what I need to do to improve. It’s tough for me to encapsulate a YouTube goal.

Overall, I want to help G+G grow, and myself along with it. G+G is the end goal. It’s why we are all here. What Jeremy has created and what people are drawn to… we have so many things going on! I think Sports Wars can be really big in the future. I think G+G can be huge!

I guess my goal is to help G+G enough that it can be a lot of people’s full-time job, instead of just mine. And by achieving those goals, it will be good for me personally. We can become a really powerful thing in the alternative media sphere.

BC: Do you like the Jonas Brothers?

R: *chuckles* No; I don’t know if I can name a Jonas Brothers song, honestly. I will say, I watched Camp Rock that starred the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, when she identified as a woman.

BC: Favorite thing about being on YouTube?

R: Being my own boss. Having the flexibility to take care of stuff in my personal life is great, and knowing that when I wake up, and the more that I personally do will make me succeed. The harder I work, the more I will be successful. That’s not always the case in other positions.  For example, in the military you could get paid the same amount as someone who stocks a vending machine but has the same rank as you! Something about that just doesn’t ring right with me. I understood it, but being able to control my destiny and be my own boss is the best part.

BC: Least favorite thing about being on YouTube?

R: Having to deal with YouTube bullshit, in terms of being labeled with “hate speech” or “misinformation,” and its obviously so severely slanted to one political party. Google owns YouTube, so with one mistake, one “delete,” maybe you’re not your own boss. Your entire YouTube channel can be gone with a snap.

BC: What is your favorite topic to discuss?

R: The thing that got me here in the first place was Star Wars, and to put things in perspective, I own every adult, many youth, many children, and tons of comics on the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Disney threw all of that out after they bought it. A lot of people expected Disney to use those stories, characters, and planets, because George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Bob Iger all had referenced it.

I was really passionate, and I loved the books and got more enjoyment out of them than the films, because there was a continuation of Luke, Leia, and Han, and their children, and so on. I just don’t talk about it as much anymore, because Star Wars is so dead. But I’ll talk about anything, I have an opinion on pretty much anything.

BC: What Star Wars EU book would you recommend a newbie start with?

R: If you never read a single one, I recommend the Timothy Zahn Thrawn trilogy from the 1990s. It’s a really solid story that gives people the answers that they wanted.

BC: How do you separate your personal life from your work life?

R: I try to keep it as separate as possible. I just don’t talk about it. Sometimes that’s hard because things happen and you want to let people know.

BC: Explain why you drink your milk separately from a bowl of cereal. It doesn’t make sense.

R: It makes perfect sense. I despise soggy cereal. I like to know the consistency of what I’m eating. I don’t want to eat it fast – fuck that. I take a bite or two of cereal, and then I take a drink of milk, because then, I have the crunch the entire time; I’m getting the full crunch effect. I don’t have soggy cereal, and it stays consistent the entire time! It’s not that difficult to understand. If you try it, you will realize that you’re the one doing it wrong this entire time.

BC: What’s your favorite item in your collection behind you, and do you plan on expanding your collection?

R: I’ll expand when I like something. I’m not looking for anything right now, and I can’t just buy a bunch of statues for financial reasons. I do have a Sith holocron, that when you push it, the book of Sith comes out, and it lights up, and it’s really fucking cool. I think they are really fucking expensive now, actually, because it’s retired.

I do have a figure of myself that Andy Masterson made. It’s a custom Star Wars figure of me. That’s worth mentioning!

BC: I feel like if you look into the Mirror of Erised you would only see yourself.

R: That’s exactly what this doll is.

BC: If you could bring any character on an adventure with you, who would you bring?

R: What the fuck, that’s a really hard question.

*Ponders.*

*Five years later*

It’s gotta be Jaina Solo. She’s a bad ass, she can handle herself, and she can protect me. Also, she’s hot; that’s a big bonus.

BC: Anything you want to say to your viewers?

R: Every day when I wake up and see how many subs I have, and how many people have watched a video in the first hour, it’s never not mind-blowing. The only reason I’m here is because of everyone that watches. It means a lot to me, from every comment and sharing it out on social media.

We were you a year or two ago. We were just watching YouTube videos. It’s extremely humbling, and I feel blessed that this is something that I am able to do. It’s all because of the viewers.

BC: Have you ever experienced sexism?

R: Ummm. I don’t think so, because I don’t view the world that way. I’ve never witnessed actual sexism towards me because I’ve never been in that spot. If I had, it wouldn’t have left any impact on me.

BC: If I made you a sandwich right now, what would you want on it?

R: I would want it on wheat bread… turkey, bacon, mayo, spicy brown mustard, tomato, lettuce, banana peppers, with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Speed Round, short answers only!

BC: Favorite film?

R: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

BC: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

R: Two logs.

BC: Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?

R: …fuck.

BC: I’m judging you right now.

R: Lord of the Rings.

BC: Fuck, Ryan!

R: I have to say that. The reason I say that is because there’s a lot of Wizarding World material I don’t like. I despise Cursed Child, and I don’t like the Fantastic Beasts.

BC: So when the new Amazon LOTR show comes out, you’ll come back to us?

R: Maybe! You can’t count that. I love Harry Potter though; make that known.

BC: Rodney Dangerfield or Robin Williams?

R: Robin Williams.

BC: Pineapple on pizza?

R: Fuck no.

BC: Amy Schumer or Jack Murphy?

R: *sniggers*. I don’t know what that means. Amy Schumer.

BC: Lightsaber color?

R: Silver. It’s an E.U. thing.

BC: Favorite cheese?

R: Pepper Jack.

BC: What’s your go-to alcohol?

R: Jack Daniels.

BC:Best Robin Hood film?

R: Prince of Thieves

BC: Favorite Harry Potter/Wizarding World character?

R: Uhhhh, that’s a tough one. God damn. Fuck. Draco Malfoy got a raw deal. Pick Draco.

BC: Favorite sport?

R: Football. That’s impossible for me to pick.

BC: Favorite composer?

R: John Williams

BC: Princess Leia or Padmé Amidala?

R: Padme. I’d clap Padme’s cheeks in a heartbeat.

BC: Do you like hamsters?

R: No.

Krista Novva had a couple of questions as well:

K: “How much cat food do you consume a day, being that you’re a hairless cat and all?”

R: Zero. I don’t consume any cat food because I am not a hairless cat, despite the publications of the alt-right website known as Geeks+Gamers.com.

K: “How many controllers did you break playing Mario Kart?”

R: Three.

K: “How many times did restaurants get your order wrong this week?”

R: Once.

K: “I know that you eat floor pizza because cats usually eat on the floor. Are there any other foods that you eat from the floor?”

R: I am very messy, in terms of having a lot of shit everywhere… I’ve got mail, a water bottle, receipts for taxes… I just have stuff everywhere on all the flat surfaces! So when I’m eating something, it needs to go somewhere, so I’ll just set it on the floor!

There have been times when I did a late night stream and left a pizza on the floor until morning. But it’s in the box on the floor, or on a plate. It’s not like it’s just sitting on the floor!

Select questions from the Twitterati:

BC: If there were a zombie apocalypse, who do you see yourself being on the team? Like, the first guy eaten, the annoying guy who betrays everyone and gets eaten, or would your Navy skills come into play and you’d be the resourceful one, sniping zombies and making fancy rope knots?

R: My Navy skills would come into play. I would be resourceful in terms of survival and shooting people… whatever I need to do. But at some point, I would likely betray everyone.

BC: Ah, you shit!

R: But I wouldn’t die. I would probably get them killed, and I’d be better off for it.

BC: How did being in the Navy impact your decisions and life today, and what was the main reason (if you can say) why you left, besides you know, Brandon?

R: I never intended on being in the military full-time. My intention was doing six years, which was the normal signup for people in nuclear. They offered me a big bonus to stay, and then another big bonus to do shore duty. I was there for eleven years. I didn’t want to go back to sea; I didn’t want to potentially be screwed over. I didn’t want to be a government worker anymore. There are both great and bad people in the military, but at the end of the day, there is a lot of stuff out of your control, like getting a haircut or shaving. I didn’t enjoy living like that. I could also make far better money outside the military than staying in.

BC: What would you rather watch: the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Captain Marvel, or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier?

R: Star Wars sequel trilogy, that way I can laugh at them.

BC: What are your thoughts on the Lucasfilm civil war?

R: Yeah. My thoughts have been exactly the same since the beginning: there is no “civil war!” Some people were pushing that rumor to cling to hope that Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau would save Star Wars. But there is only one team, it is very clear, and that is Team Lucasfilm. There is no retconning of the sequels. As long as its Disney, and everyone there is still in control, Star Wars is dead.

Thank you Ryan for taking the time for the interview! You can check him out on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube!