Lonely Wrist: All Things Watches & Horology
Lonely Wrist is a podcast that goes inside the movement, bringing you inside the world of watches through candid conversations with the people who drive it forward.
Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry insiders including Executives, master watchmakers, designers, collectors, content creators, and historians offering rare insights into the passion, precision, and business behind every timepiece.
From legacy brands to innovative microbrands, from movement architecture to marketing strategy, we explore the many layers of horology through the voices of those shaping its past, present, and future.
Whether you're a seasoned collector or just beginning your journey into watches, Lonely Wrist offers a unique perspective on the artistry, culture, and the industry of watches, one episode, and one insider, at a time.
Tune in bi-weekly and hear the stories ticking behind every Lonely Wrist.
Lonely Wrist: All Things Watches & Horology
Skyler Santana: What Your Favorite Watch Creators Won't Tell You
Two passionate watch content creators pull back the curtain on what really happens behind the scenes in the watch industry, revealing truths that most enthusiasts never hear about.
Blake and Skyler Santana engage in a refreshingly candid conversation about the ethical tightrope walk of working with watch brands while maintaining authenticity. "I'm not worried about growth as much as being authentic," Blake explains, challenging the common misconception that watch YouTubers are rolling in sponsorship money. In reality, as he reveals, his entire project generates less than $10,000 annually – hardly enough to sustain a luxury watch habit.
The conversation takes fascinating turns as they discuss their approaches to brand relationships, with both creators drawing clear ethical boundaries. "Will I take money from a brand for a positive review? No, I won't," Blake firmly states, explaining how he separates his media services from his honest opinions. Skylar shares stories of brands attempting to control content, and how standing your ground is essential for maintaining credibility with audiences.
Perhaps most powerfully, both creators advocate passionately for inclusivity in the watch community. They share heartwarming stories about newcomers hesitant to attend watch meetups because they only own modest timepieces, and how critical it is to welcome the "watch curious" regardless of collection size or budget. "We are more excited about growing the pie rather than slicing it in more slices," Skylar explains, capturing their shared mission to make watch enthusiasm accessible to everyone.
Whether you're a seasoned collector or simply curious about watches, this conversation offers invaluable perspective on how authentic content creation can build bridges between enthusiasts, brands, and newcomers in an often misunderstood hobby. Subscribe to join these engaging conversations that go far beyond the typical watch review.
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Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Lonely Wrist Podcast. I am your host, as always, blake Ray. We have yet another amazing guest, this guest whose entire YouTube presence is focused on building the watch community. Not only that, but spotlighting and focused on affordable and obtainable watches. His transparency and passion is at the forefront of every YouTube video he puts out. By now you might know that I am sitting down with Skylar Santana, or you may have seen him on YouTube. Welcome to the show, brother.
Skyler Santana:Thank you so much, blake. I really appreciate you having me. That was a fantastic intro and I'm just dude. This is what it's all about. Doing stuff like this is what makes collecting all worth it, so it's a pleasure to be on man, and I'm excited to talk some watches with you.
Blake Rea:Yeah, me too. I was really excited. The way that we met is I was really excited when I mean I don't check my Instagram like DMs. I may check my DMs, but I don't check. Like I guess Instagram has decided to not send me all the DMs, um, but you had DMed me and said like hey, join the the watch YouTube. Um, like watch YouTube content creators, like what's up, chad, and like everybody, pretty much everybody's in there Like, and the second I saw it. I joined and I was like man, this is cool. And then I started poking around. I saw who was in it and I was like oh, okay, cool, like this is a, an all-star roster that you put together.
Skyler Santana:And, yeah, I consider myself lucky. I just, you know, shot my shot and I got some pretty nice names in there. Because, look, we all know the content creators know what we're going through, right, we all know the struggle, we all know the pains. And I figured that if we could bounce things off of each other, if we can have that dialogue behind the scenes just to better each other and help each other out, I figured that that'd be a nice thing to do. So, yeah, I had to send you, I had to be a little thirsty and send you a message and say, hey, what's going on with me getting on this, uh, this channel of yours? Because I really love your work and I love what you do and I think that you are going to be a rocket ship, sir, like you are really going to explode for the stuff that you're doing.
Skyler Santana:Well done.
Blake Rea:Yeah, I've been trying to be like the anti-growth content creator because, you know, I've found and I've talked to a lot of people about this, you know, like I could join a PR company and you know they could kind of send me into the stratosphere Hopefully it doesn't sound arrogant, but, no, like I really want my audience to find me and then to connect with me, uh, because then they're going to be more engaged, you know. So I'm, I'm, I'm definitely in the space of, of, of a micro influencer, whatever you want to call me, uh, and I like being in that space because I communicate directly to my crowd. Um, I have, you know, I was expecting, as as my channel grew, for my access to grow, uh, but my access I've been lucky enough to get access to all the brands that I dreamed about working with. So my size hasn't hindered my ability to. I mean, if anything, the only thing that's hindered is my frequency to put out content. So maybe, as I grow, I'll be able to do more with less, or vice versa, I'll be able to do more with less, or vice versa. I'll be able to to, to invest into my content. But, but, yeah, I'm, I'm glad to be in the space.
Blake Rea:I've been in the watch community for a really long time. Um, you know, I I don't want my passion to change as I become, you know, a creator and you know somebody who gets to kind of peel back the curtains, uh, but I really want for the watch industry to be more transparent. You know, I want there to be a level playing field. I want to be able to intro people into the community, to be welcoming, like you know, because you can go down some rabbit holes and I don't want them to. I mean, if I'm lucky enough to be able to sit down for people to enjoy my content, then then yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm fortunate, and this was just really just started off as just us having these conversations, you know, and just putting them online, and not necessarily even as as as a podcast with that intent, but, uh, just to have these discussions and to share them publicly, um, and so I could even just go back and listen to them or share them, you know, with with friends, you know, more so than the overall community.
Blake Rea:So it spiraled really really crazy. Um, at this point, and and now I mean it's weird to sit back because we just started, like two years ago, so maybe a year, like two years, and a little bit of change. And and now I mean focusing just on the podcast. You know the YouTube is secondary, the website, it's a lot. It's a lot for one man at this point.
Skyler Santana:So I totally understand that and I think you already handed out a very good gem. And when I say that I mean you know, when you want to do watch content on YouTube, you want to be authentic and you want to get away from trying to be trendy. You want to get away from trying to just grow your channel just for the sake of it. I think that what I always like to say is I think every watch enthusiast should consider coming on and doing content. It may not be for you, but if it intrigues you, even the slightest, you should at least consider it and try it, because I think we all have a different perspective that we can give, and as long as that perspective and what you're trying to do is very authentic. And, of course, you always want to add value to what you're doing and what you're saying, because that matters. Right, if you are going to give content, you have to give value with it. But I think you giving that gem early on to say that you're not really worried about the growth as much as you are worried about being authentic and giving raw content and being true to yourself where the people that are going to connect to. That is what's going to matter the most at the end of the day and that's going to be the most enjoyable for you. It's sustainable, right? I think. If you're not being yourself, it's very difficult to continue that, or at least you're fighting against the grain and therefore the trials and tribulations that are to come are going to be very difficult moving forward. So that's the thing that I've noticed with being on YouTube. I think I'm a little bit over a year now.
Skyler Santana:I started by just jumping in. I had no business releasing my first videos, but you know, I've just been that type of guy dude Like you're either a person that goes for swimming lessons or your father throws you into the pool and you learn how to swim. I'm the second version and I was unafraid of, you know, putting my stuff out there very early on, being very raw, being very new, being very green and then learning through the process and just showing that. And I wanted to be able to influence those people who are considering coming on YouTube and talking about watches. Like dude, if you think that you are not prepared for YouTube as a watch enthusiast to talk watches, just watch one of my first videos. Actually, my second video is my first video, but watch any of those and if you want to think unpolished, those are very unpolished and where I am today I'm very proud of and I think that I align with your goals of being authentic and I think that's important for us.
Blake Rea:It is. I mean, people see right through it. You know, I think the lines have been blurred, no matter what industry you're in, between genuine, passionate content creator, influencer or brand shill whatever you want to call it out there. You know, like, I'm a fan of my brands. You know, I've been a fan of my brand since day one, um, and so it's really hard to be um, like, I guess, like, really neutral. You know, it's one of the things that all of us, I think, as content creators, struggle because when you're working with brands like the way that they treat you, whether you're're easier to work with or you're harder to work with, um, that makes me want to, I guess you know, like, like, be a fan even more. Like there's brands that I love to work with, um, that are easier to work with, and I love them just for that reason.
Blake Rea:Is it going to influence what I say when I say it? Probably not, because there there is a lot of the content that I produce is just my opinion and um. I've tried to take a different approach because brands have sent me scripts and they said hey, look, here's what we want you to say, here's what, here's the talking points that we want you to talk about and I'm just like look, I'm not your, I'm not that type of creator, like that's not, I'm the, I'm the wrong guy, you know, for your type of content and there's people out there, right, but you know I don't, I don't sell watches.
Blake Rea:I can't, I can't monetize the backend of this Like everybody else can, every other YouTube creator, can you know, you and I, like, we don't sell watches. Um, so, with that being said, um, I'm I'm even conflicted about how I monetize my relationships in the watching industry, because if I take money from a brand, like, how is that going to affect my perception of the brand? Or how am I gonna? How am I gonna treat them differently? Like there's brands.
Blake Rea:If you look back in my in my career, my history of talking about watches on the internet, some of the earliest brands I talk about I, I, I was fortunate enough now to now work with them. You know, like, I love Panerai. I think everybody in the world hates Panerai for some reason. So I have, I love Hublot. I think everybody who I know hates Hublot makes fun of me for for owning Hublot. Um, so, with that being said, like, this is a weird, a weird place to navigate. I don't ever plan to sell watches. I don't ever plan, you know, like, if, if I can build an audience based on attention and continue to be myself and transparent, that there there is sustainability, there. I can't, I can't go on and put on a mask and be. You know who the internet wants me to be like. That just isn't going to work for me and uh, and so as I continue to grow, you know I I mean, I reply to every single youtube comment, you know, I hope in the future.
Blake Rea:I can continue doing that, you know, um, but but no, I just don't see the long-term benefit in talking about watches and then selling watches, because it's kind of, like I've referenced in the past, like Mad Men the show, where in the whole first season they're talking about smoking research and how they can market smoking and cigarettes in the tobacco industry. And then when they go in and do all these like clinical trials, they're like, oh well, it gives you lung cancer and you know, like this and that, and you know it's mortality, it gives you a higher mortality rate, um, in a weird way. But then they're like, oh well, smoking's cool. They're like, oh, let's just focus on the cool angle. That's what they settle on. That's the way I think about the watch industry. Like these, these watches, I mean, can put people down rabbit holes. They can put people in financial harm.
Blake Rea:Uh, people get so passionate about the watch community, the watch products, the industry, um, you know we have to be responsible as creators, you know, as, as people who are, are educating customers or friends or whatever, our audience, whatever you want to call them, I call them friends, audience, whatever, um, but other brands, customers, uh, that we just have to be careful, you know, um, yeah, and, and I'm I'm not one to go out there and just shit on a brand. So that's the reason why you never hear me say anything bad, because I I grew up in a family like my father taught me if I don't have anything good to say, just don't say it. So if I have, if I have something negative to say, I'm just not going to do the content, I'm just going to kill the content. Yeah, you know, that's it. So you know that's the reason why. And is there things that I'd like to change about what? Yeah, I talk about those.
Blake Rea:You know, it's like like, like zenith is a fan that I a fan that I, I'm a fan that I love, or, and you know, I brought up how shitty their bracelet was on the podcast with them and how they you know how that. You know when are they reading it? Get some changes. Or, doxa is another super fan, um, another super fan of doxa. But I brought up their, their sub 200 t with all the diamonds, like what the hell was that about you?
Blake Rea:know like and I got some clarity on that and a lot of people came back and sent me some DMs like thank you for helping us understand what the hell this was about. But no, and there also is something that I believe in and you can go read about it, but there is a code of ethics for journalism that you have to. I, I, I live by that. I literally have a notepad up when, um when, I'm putting together content about, like you know, the transparency. You know, I think transparency is very important. So, and now you start to see brands that are blurring the lines, whether it's know, in-house movements or rebranded movements. Or you know, you have watch retailers that are like media outlets that are owned by conglomerates like LVMH or Swatch Group. Or you know like it's hard. It's a hard industry to be in.
Skyler Santana:No, I definitely agree with you. And if I could touch on the point you were making about taking sponsorships from brands directly when you're doing a review video, right For me, I've contemplated this and you know, of course, this is a hobby of ours Most of us, it's a side hustle or it's a hobby. You know we have a day job. Is the point right? So, in order to be sustainable or in order to grow as a content creator and being able to put in more into your channel and just be able to expand your reach, right? There is that part where it's like okay, if I take money from this brand and I do a review for this watch, am I being authentic? And for me, I've contemplated this a lot and my remedy to that would be I don't take money directly from that brand. If a watch brand wants me to do a review of their watch, I would rather take a sponsorship to, let's say, a watch box company that I really believe in. Like if Wolf said hey, we love you as a content creator, would you be willing to throw this into your content and it has nothing to do with that watch? Would you be willing to throw this into your content and it has nothing to do with that watch. I think that that's more responsible and also, of course, being authentic to the fact that I really do still believe in that product is a thing, but I think that the misdirection of taking money from something that has nothing to do with that actual brand that you're talking about on set video is probably my best thing to do to offset that kind of compromisal, because, at the end of the day, even if you're super authentic, there's going to be people that are going to feel that it's impossible if you took money to do this review, and I respect that and I do understand that to a level. So that's my way of kind of offsetting that for sure. And I think that the mission of being authentic and true to your content and delivering what is your real feels, even when you're faced with the owner, like you did, right, I think that that's important. I think that we shouldn't shy away from that. Any content creator right.
Skyler Santana:If you're in fear of seeing how you think a watch should truly improve or if there's something that's questionable like you mentioned, the diamonds in a particular watch I think that we should be unafraid to bring that up with the actual brand face-to-face, and that should be the actual, true feedback that they're looking for in getting that kind of collaboration. For us doing the review of the watch. That's the whole entire point, right? It's not just about saying how your watch is the most perfect watch in the world. It's about how I think you can improve and how. This part is a little questionable to enthusiasts. So you should value that feedback and listen. If I do a collaboration with a brand and that means to them that that's the termination of our collaboration, if you will, then so be it. There's so many brands that are out there, so if you're going to blacklist me for being authentic and being real, then no problem.
Skyler Santana:There's plenty of other fish in the sea, if you will totally.
Blake Rea:yeah, I've, I've, I've struggled with the, I guess, the morality behind it and, in a way that I have approached it and this is just me and I've never publicly said this, it was the first ever, but I figured what I love it better way to say it was somebody who understands and we can have this discussion, because I can't have this discussion with brands, you know. I mean, I can have this discussion with other creators, um, like, will I accept watches as as gifts? Will I keep? Yes, I will, right, I mean 100, but what they?
Blake Rea:As long as I throw that stipulation out there that I'm going to say what I want to say, you're never going to get a chance to approve my content ahead of time. You're going to see it when everybody else sees it, yes. And the other side is will I take money from a brand? Yes, I will. Will I take money from a brand for a positive review? No, I won't.
Blake Rea:The way, the way that I do it is, I say look like I'm going to be doing photo, I'm doing video. If you're going to pay me, you're paying me for my photo and my video. You're not paying for my positive endorsement. I'll send you the photos, I'll send you the videos. You can use those for you know, your, your, whatever you want marketing. You know product shots, whatever, whatever you can use those Right? So you're paying for my media, you're not paying for my endorsement, you know, and that's one way that that for me still feels okay. I guess you know, and, if anything, all these brands are taking our money anyways, like, if anything, I'm, I'm, I'm taking the money from them and giving it back to us. You know, like is the way I see it, like I am, my not is not for sale. You know, uh, yes, you know, my opinion is not for sale. Um, I, I, I do have, like everybody, as a content creator, like I have brands and I'm more biased towards that I that I love more than others, you know.
Blake Rea:and I stand behind those brands, you know like it's a it's a great one that I get so much.
Skyler Santana:Bell and Ross is another one I get so much hate for loving, at least in the in the streaming world, cause I do some streaming with some people, you know, I do some streaming with trap and all those people like um, so, so, anyways, rant over you know let me just add something to that, because I want to add my experience, and I had this only happen to me once and I'm not going to mention the brand because that's not the important part Even to the effect where the brand told me that, hey, you should list all of the good things about the watch in the beginning of your video, in the first 30 seconds, and then you could do whatever you want after the fact. And I told them I'm like that ain't going to happen, that's not how I do my watch reviews. You're not going to be in control of how I deliver that content. So I said thank you for your opinion, but at the end of the day, this is my channel and I'm going to do the review how I need to. And they didn't give me necessarily a script, but they were trying to control how I delivered it and I just told them absolutely not. And I stand on business at that point and you know what. They continue to work with me and I think that that's just the integrity part. Dude, like, yeah, man, and you mentioned how you support brands that are not favorable. I have brands.
Skyler Santana:Now, the difference between you and I? I'm a really big web-based brand right Watch enthusiast brands. I don't call them micro brands because I feel like, dude, here's the thing, and I'm not the type of person where it's like oh, santana's caught up on Wordplay, I'm not. The thing is it's like I'm really hell-bent on calling them watch enthusiast brands instead of micro brands, because there's nothing micro about them. Granted, they only produce X amount of watches per year, but the amount of passion and the things that they do to contribute to the community, whether it be going to the shows which we've heard from Islander Mark, how much that costs and what the real return is for that, that's pure passion. At the end of the day, when you count dollars, it's just the amount of passion that they put into getting access to us and giving back to watch enthusiasts and connecting to us constantly.
Skyler Santana:Yeah, man, I've backed a lot of brands that people are not favorable for for maybe past histories or maybe using an NH35. So, dude, that problem that you're having happens in my world as well with these web-based brands. And listen, I stand my ground with them and I love who I love, and there's reason behind it. And if you don't mess with that cool, then I guess my channel is not for you. I'd love to have you, but if you really can't tolerate it, it is what it is. I got to stay true to myself. You know what I mean.
Blake Rea:That's how you piss the uh, the watch industry, the online watch industry, off. Give them an nh35 and sell nh35 movement at 800 or more.
Skyler Santana:Oh yeah, that's how you piss them off totally, it's the threshold's, not even 800, it's like 600 probably. Now, dude, it's the threshold for an nh35 if you're over 200 or 250. Because you got to remember, you have a lot of Chinese brands, right, the mass-produced brands. They get thrown into the mix even though they have nothing to do with web-based brands, right, they're completely separate. San Martin, san Martin's kind of blurring the lines a lot. But other than that, if you put an NH35 in your actual watch and I'll give you an example, this is my Venetianico Rendendore Aventurina. This has an NH35. This is $500 plus. Oh my God, people get so upset that I even purchased that watch. But it's like, I love the watch, I love the design, I love the brand. I met them in person. What other brand can you meet the owner and have a cup of coffee or go grab dinner with? I mean, I have to put value into that personally and that's the reason why I've been so caught up with these web-based brands why I've been so caught up with these web-based brands.
Blake Rea:Yeah, yeah, no, I, I, I love that. I love that you know there's accessibility. You know they're they, they listen, you know, I think that's the biggest thing that I've noticed, like in this project, lonely wrist is working with brands of all sizes. You know, I've worked with, you know, brands that have two watchmakers. You know, like isotope is one that immediately comes to mind, like I mean, not that they have two watchmakers, but they're a very small one-man show. You know, um and then and then, yeah, you've got bigger brands, like you know zenith is a brand.
Blake Rea:I was just, we were just talking about before recording and um, and yeah, you, you know you get to see the variance between them, but there would be no such thing as a, as a uh, an enthusiast brand if the big brands listened.
Skyler Santana:Fair enough.
Blake Rea:And I've said that before and and they gave you watches at accessible price points. You know there'd be no such thing. As you know, there'd be no such thing as as a san martin or you know whatever right insert brand here. Um, so I'm curious, for we haven't even done a wrist check. We're like 20 minutes in.
Skyler Santana:I don't know I was I was literally waiting for you to finish because I was going to tell you we've done the cardinal sin we have not done a wrist watch I?
Blake Rea:I'm not. I'm not known for doing wrist checks all the time, unless there's a really special guest, so we're going to do one today.
Skyler Santana:I'm very honored sir.
Blake Rea:Please share with me, sir, what is on your wrist.
Skyler Santana:So when I do a wristwatch tech, I like to take the watch off my wrist. You can put me up on screen and blow me up, because I'm going to put this very close to it.
Skyler Santana:This is an ISL 245 Miota 95, better known as the Islander, and I put my little spin on it. This bezel insert is actually a custom. Sorry, mark, I'm a degenerate watch modifier, but at the end of the day it has a white dial and I wanted to accentuate that throughout into the actual bezel insert itself. So I have that on wrist. Don't take me off screen yet, because I'm actually double wristing. Yes, sir, I'm part of the double wrist club. Now, on my second wrist perfect, on my second wrist I have the Brew Lumiment and I just picked this up in Jonathan's pop-up shop that he has in New York still currently going on. I'm a big fan of brew and, as you can see, an Islander plus a brew obviously means that I'm a big New york web-based brand supporter, and I think it's important for us to support those brands in the terms of having tariffs amongst us.
Skyler Santana:What do you have on risk, sir?
Blake Rea:uh, I was trying to get this watch ready for our, our show. As I'm sure you were watching me trying to struggle with the bracelet, I did. Um, I am wearing the new maurice lacroix 1976 nice super amazing.
Blake Rea:I still haven't even took the sticker off the back. Um, yeah, I know maurice lacroix is a cool brand. They're a brand that I have a lot of respect for. They're a brand that also do a lot of work with. We're doing a show.
Blake Rea:By the time this drops, it's going to be in the in the past. I'm gonna be talking about the future uh show. But, um, but no, next week I have, I have an event with them and I'm sitting down on the panel doing a moderation with the managing partner of maurice lacroix here in vegas. So super cool. Um, so I told them, you know, they're like hey, like, what do you need from us? And I'm like well, if I'm gonna be talking about maurice lacroix, I need a maurice lacroix, so it makes sense. So, here now and I I I'm not sure if I get to keep this yet.
Blake Rea:I hope so, because I probably fucked the bracelet all up. But no, no, I feel like this is a great one to bring because it's new, it's one of their dressier pieces, it's a timeless watch, it's got a beautiful server dial and, yeah, yeah, I mean it's got a nice little exhibition case back. They're not using anything too fancy, all the Salida stuff, which I don't mind at this price point. This is like a I think it's like a 13 1400 watch, um. But yeah, I wanted to get it ready for tonight because I'm doing a watch club meet up tonight and and, yeah, I wanted to show, I want to get people excited for the event Sure Next week.
Skyler Santana:So so yeah, dude. So so you said that see, here's the deal. I love this, I love that we're doing this, bro, because it's like you just said that that's a Salido movement. So it's nothing too crazy, right, but like, just so you know, in my perspective as a web-based brand collector, like a Salido movement is like super top tier. You understand what I'm saying. So it's like I love that you have such a different perspective, but we're still able to break bread, if you will, on this video that we're doing. And it's like, yeah, man, it's like you come from a totally different world and I can learn so much from you, right, and I think that it would work likewise in the other direction. But my point is this is you collect the way you collect, I collect the way I collect, but like we could still nerd out and we could have a lot of fun, we could do it.
Skyler Santana:I'll give you an example. This is my Venetianico Nereide Aureo, right, and this is a electroplated dial. This is a tungsten bezel that's actually polished, fantastic watch with a Selita 200 on it, right, sw 200. For me, dude, this is like a Rolex. I know I'm probably going to get you canceled by saying that, but at the end of the day, as a web-based brand collector dude, this is like the holy grail of holy grails for me, and having a Swiss-made movement in it is fantastic.
Skyler Santana:So, yeah, man, the perspective is what I'm after, and having these kinds of relationships and this dialogue is fantastic because I think it improves our perspective and it's just nice to nerd out with somebody like you that just comes and brings different things to the tables and for you to have the kind of brand reach that you have. It's inspiring, dude. I'm looking to have that kind of connection with the web-based brands and I'm doing so, and I think we should talk about that, because I think that there's a serious conversation to be had about watch reviewers and the relationships with the brands itself. And I'm talking in perspective to the web-based brands, and I'll let you know this now. I'm going to say this on your channel here it's not all sunshine and rainbows, man. There's a lot of mistrust between content creators and actual web-based brands.
Skyler Santana:And I'm not going to mention who I'm talking about. I've heard, but dude, there's been blackmail. That's happened right. There's been situations where a big watch reviewer not going to mention who- I wish you were.
Skyler Santana:I just can't do that, dude, I'm not that kind of guy, but I want to give the reality of what's happening behind the scenes, cause I think that's important we talked about in the beginning of the show. But, dude, like the guy got the watch right and then he basically blackmailed the company to say that, okay, I have this review and I have that review. This is a very good review and this is a very bad review. Either I keep the watch and you send me some money, or the bad review is going to come to light. So that was apparent to me, and that subject didn't just happen with one company.
Skyler Santana:I had multiple brands that really wanted to get to know who I was as a person, far before them even letting me borrow a watch, and that's when I realized I'm like, holy crap.
Skyler Santana:I'm like the grass is not greener on the other side and there's so much more to being a content creator than I imagined.
Skyler Santana:And for me, the only silver lining to that is that I'm very straight. Listen, my daytime job is business and one thing that I've learned from my mentor in business is that you have one face, and so if I carry myself to be trustworthy and reliable and respectful and everything else of the like, that's going to carry over to many other brands, and it already has. So, yeah, there's a lot of stuff happening with the web-based brands, just as much as there are with the luxury brands that you speak of, and I think that's important for people to know that when they're watching their favorite content creator because I think you said it best earlier where it's like we're very smart, the community is very smart, and they can weed out the people who are BS, but, just like for those who are not as privy to that, I think that they should realize that there's that kind of thing happening in the back burner, if you will. So that's my thing on it.
Blake Rea:Yeah, I think too. I mean a lot of the misconception too is that at least I've noticed that, like a lot of the people, like dude, you must be rich, like you must be getting so much money from these watch brands to say, like I've never, I've never made a statement for money. A lot of the watches that I own I have purchased with my own money. There is some exceptions, right. Right, sometimes I will get a discount, you know, sometimes I will get a free watch not all the time I'd say I get, I get more discounts than I do free watches and a lot of times I just get loners. And yes, and loners are a great way for me to test if I really, and a lot of times I go after the brands that I really, that I'm really passionate about for loners and say, hey, look, like you know, like are, like I want to do content on this. Like how do you guys do this? Like, do you guys like, do I have to pay? Like, do you guys give discounts for creators if I do content about it? Like what you know, like, um, this project lonely, like I cannot provide for my family with this project. Like, like I, I don't make enough money, like, this entire project makes less than ten thousand dollars a year. Sure, you know, like, that is full on the record. I've never said that like I'm. Like I'm paying for the website fees. Like I'm paying for the podcast, uh, masterings, I'm paying for the software we're using. Like, am I putting food on my table from this? No, I'm not. You know, um, will I at some point? Probably, you know, but again, you know, I, I'm, I'm, I, eventually I'll get there. You know, and that's the reason why you see a lot of content creators who just so happen to monetize the other side. They're selling t-shirts, they're selling straps, they're selling swag. They're selling t-shirts, they're selling straps, they're selling swag, they're selling watches. You know there's more money to be made there than there is here as a content creator. So you know, I, I am in it, I'm in cyber security. You know that's how I fund this and my watch habits and everything. And, as I'm sure you know, like, you know it, and cyber security is a pretty profitable industry. You know it's a high paying career and you know, um, a lot of the watches that I own, I I've, I've purchased, you know, yeah and uh. And so you know, again, saying the same thing over.
Blake Rea:You know, like, um, there is more discussion to be had, because I respect all watch brands and you know big or small, you know expensive or cheap. You know, and you know something that really kind of I guess in a weird way, like we started a watch club here in vegas and the whole concept was, you know, there's a lot, we have a lot of big money guys in our club, but we also have guys that have like one or two watches, like one seiko. You know, like one guy can one guy got a, got a g-shock from his his I think it was his son like his son had saved up their lunch money or something and got him like a hundred, a hundred dollar, like g-shock or something. And you know so the money that he was given to his son for food at school, like put it aside, crazy, but that's super cool. But this, this guy, and this is the bigger problem in the watch industry and he didn't feel worthy enough to come to our watch club meetups because there was guys with rolex, there was guys with paddock, there was guys with, I mean, gold daytonas, you know, in our watch club, um, and so he like, literally like was having these private backroom conversations with me, like, like, is it cool if I show up? Like, like, am I? Am I allowed to be here? Like, like, what are you even talking about? Man? Like, we share the same passion, you know, for watches and you know, like, just because this person makes more money than that person, doesn't mean that that person is more passionate about watches than this person. And it's even sad to even have to come out and say that that like, yes, you're welcome, you have one watch. It's a hundred dollar watch. Like, you can come to every event. Like, there is no. Like, if we're doing an event with grand sake we didn't have a grand sake of last year.
Blake Rea:We did some events where you least not Dude, you can come to all these events. I educate these brands before we do events with them. Hey, we have a really enthusiast-driven community. Don't expect people to start shelling out money for coming to your events. Your job is to educate and to grow the passion for my club, and that's your job. It's not to get the passion for the for for my, my, my club, you know, and that's your job. It's not to to get a credit card at the end, you know, and I've been very I've been very defensive of our group as well. You know, like, where I don't want people monetizing off the group, you know.
Blake Rea:So a lot of the events that I do, I say, look, this is a non-transactional event. You can't sell watches at this event. If you want to do an event with us and our and our crew, like you can't sell watches, like we'll watch, is we'll watch this be sold later. Probably, you know, probably you know we have, uh, we did it with doxa last year's. A great example, you know, and that was how I started my relationship with doxa, maybe about a year ago, um, and in any ways I told them I was like, look, like we have never seen your watches.
Blake Rea:You know, we pulled the group. Like everybody wants to see doxa, like I'm even getting text messages right now from other brands who have people that are coming to vegas, that are that work with other brands, and say, hey, like will you bring your doxas to the marisa koala event? So it's weird, it's weird like that, um, but anyways, uh, so you know, I, I literally bought. Well, we had one person in our group that had a doxa and it's a vintage doxa, and then, you know we did an event with them. It was like maybe 14 or 15 people that showed up.
Blake Rea:And now in our group there's like seven or eight of us now that have doxas, because I started bringing my doxas to the club meetups. You know they started bringing their doxas to club and then it just people just like started to see them frequently. And then you know they started bringing their doctors to club and then it just people just like started to see them frequently and then you know people started to see like how much we enjoyed them. And then you know, during the watch club meetups like I'm handing my watches around, you're handing your watches around people get exposure with these different brands. Um, so that's the value. Right, like it's, it's a long, it's a long-term play If you invest in education and invest in passion and be passionate about the brand and the product and provide for the community. That is the barrier. If a brand is not going to do that, if they're not going to support the community, I'm not going to support them.
Skyler Santana:Dude, you could not have said that more beautifully Like that is exactly the web-based brands, especially. That's what their niche is, right, that's how they connect to the actual watch enthusiast. And I'll tell you what. I have a brew. I have the brew metric. Of course I had to grab this. And then I showed you guys the other brew that I have on risk and I'll tell you what, man, I had to grab this. And then I showed you guys the other brew that I have on wrist and I'll tell you what, man.
Skyler Santana:It's a fantastic watch, don't get me wrong. It is a fantastic watch, but I didn't buy the watches first, I bought the brand and it wasn't just Jonathan, it was his team, it was his vibe, it was everything that he did putting on those pop-up shops in New York, doing what he does at Wind Up New York, as I'm sure you know, is insanity. I've totally shifted gears to where I now almost buy a brand by how they connect to the community and how, dude, even if you look at Christopher Ward, like sometimes when they do their shows, like you said, they don't even sell watches at the show. For the most part, they're just there to connect with you, to grow their community to build that kind of relationship and rapport where they understand that the long game matters more than anything else, because you could just have a one-off but if you don't have a fam or nay, I say a family member to the brand, then it's really like a losing game. I feel like you're eventually going to burn out and you're going to become irrelative to watch buying overall. That's the by-product of connecting to the watch enthusiast. That's the by-product of creating your own community.
Skyler Santana:Another example that's great of that is Zellos. Right, zellos is a fantastic brand, dude. He's amazing. He's built his own Dude. He's almost like the Rolex of web-based brands because he does these limited sellouts and some people get a little upset about that, but at the end of the day, he's formed his own Facebook groups where people buy and trade and the value of the watches remain the same. So when I say he's like Rolex, it's the essence of remaining that value within each watch but also having that following and having that community of watch enthusiasts built by just having that connection with them.
Skyler Santana:And again, going back to Brew, I give Brew a lot of highlight because of how Jonathan has composed himself. His team is an extension of himself, dude, if you've ever met Jonathan Farah in person, like if you meet him, you have to be careful because just meeting him alone may force you to buy one of his watches. And how I've navigated web-based brands moving forward is I look at them as sports teams, right, I have my favorite teams, I have, you know, all these other things that I'm rooting for for them as a whole. And just having those kind of connections and going to watch shows like Wind Up or the Philly Watch Show that's going to happen for the second time this year for web-based brands. That's what super excites me and I love that you brought up the point, even on the other side of the fence, of having the more luxurious brands, if you will.
Skyler Santana:I love no, dude, I love that you're actually pushing for that connection first, like, dude, earn my money, earn my money and you know, make that connection and make us feel like a family where we have just an accelerant to that enthusiasm. Right, and that's what it's, dude. It's just about connection. Like, even doing this, it's about I was super excited just because I'm going to connect to another watch, enthusiast at the end of the day, like we're just going to nerd out and that's the stuff that we have to force, I think, brands to do to earn the money that we spend and see that's, that's it too.
Blake Rea:Like I thought about this is like this is like a, like a social experiment too. Like when I say like, when I, when I'm, it's weird because I'm an event planner too, you know it's. It's very weird. You know that I'm doing these events and putting these events on for, for our community. I'm in a very fortunate place to do that, um, but it's weird because I look at it as a social experiment, like or like what are you what? What? What's the benefit of you doing an event here with me in vegas, right? Like, are you trying to sell watches? I mean, we all are like, they all are like there's nothing wrong with you trying to sell watches, but that's the payoff, that's the reward for supporting the community, you know.
Blake Rea:Like so so what's more important to you support the community or selling watches? Right, because if it's selling watches like, you're not going to do an event with me.
Skyler Santana:If it's supporting the community, you will no, dude, I love that, I love that. And I didn't know, I didn't know how plugged into the matrix you really were, like I don't know how you.
Skyler Santana:I'm in the matrix, dude, I'm fucking yeah, you are dude, you're really plugged in and I appreciate that, because let me talk a little bit about how, if you don't mind, I got onto YouTube, so it first started off with me. So, just to give you a bigger picture of it, I never really was into social media. Of course, I started watch collecting in 2000. I like to call myself like a COVID spawn, if you will. When I really got into watch collecting, like it was 2020, right when I really started to get into it, right.
Skyler Santana:So then came the social media, because I think there's a thirst for wanting to connect to other people who are as nerdy into watch collecting as you are and unfortunately, for the most part, from what I hear, your closest friends, your relatives, chances are you have zero people that are as nerdy about watches as you are, which then forces you to find community, which is fine and it's encouraged. That led me to Watch Crunch in 2023 of May, I believe, right. So a couple months, I want to say five months before wind up, and that's going to play a part. So, after getting onto Watch Crunch and getting onto that community where, by the way, fantastic people on Watch Crunch and here's the deal when I say that I don't even mean Watch Crunch as a platform. I am gracious that they've offered up a service where we can all connect, but when I say Watch Crunch, dude, I mean the people that are on there, right?
Skyler Santana:So I connected to the community of Watch Crunch, I started adding value on that social media platform and it just wasn't enough. It was just another rabbit hole to start and go deeper into and I was doing different forms and I was hosting different events within that platform. Let's say a photography challenge where, basically, I pick a theme for a week and based on that theme let's say, if it's like your favorite meal, everybody would take a wrist shot of their watch with their favorite meal and then a winner would be chosen and a badge would be awarded Just something for us to have fun with the collection that we already have.
Blake Rea:Fair enough Super cool.
Skyler Santana:Yeah, yeah, dude, and I had so much fun with that and that's going to play a role. We'll get back to that as well, moving forward. That sparked the juices for my creativity, yes, and I felt like I just wanted to try something different, go out there and do something more, which led me to YouTube. Now, as I I don't know if I mentioned this, but when I started YouTube, I just jumped in. Yeah, I mentioned that, I just jumped in the water and.
Skyler Santana:I had no business making my first videos, but it evolved and I think that I don't know if I can call myself an actual YouTuber now, but I'm pretty proud of my work nonetheless. Yes, and so it just evolved from there, from Watch Crunch in 2023 of May, then going to wind up was like oh my God. I knew that there were people out there that was as enthusiastic as I was about watches, but going to wind up in 2023 was like mind blowing. It was super crowded. There were so many people. And that's when I fell in love with web-based brands, watch enthusiast brands because I actually was able to connect with the brand owners. I was actually able to hear their story, why they did what they did for their watches and how they came to be. And I'll be honest with you since then, I fell deeply in love, even more so with collecting watches, and I pretty much narrowed it down to okay, I want to be an independent brand supporter buyer, I want to know everybody's story.
Skyler Santana:Eventually, over time and I've gone to shows ever since then yes, and that's what led me eventually to get to YouTube and talk about the watches and talk about their individual passions as well on there, and from there. It's just been a crazy journey and I want to tie into how I promoted things on watch crunch and I was holding things. I since then I had to peel back, dude, there's only so many hours in the day and I've pretty much passed that on to someone else to host. But just to hear the things that you're involved with, like, I know what goes into that and kudos to you, bro, and I have totally a tremendous amount of respect for what you do and I know what actually goes into that and, um, I hope you fight the good fight and you continue with things like this and doing interviews, because this is super interesting and super authentic and I love it, dude. I love it altogether.
Blake Rea:Yeah, something that I've said to you about the outlet is, you know, we we've had I mean, we're friends now right at this point, um, best friends, but but we've had, we've had limited content, limited contact, you know, and, um, and yeah, I mean this, this outlet the lonely wrist or whatever is not my, it's not really my outlet is the way that I even look at it, like I'm a keeper, you know I'm, I'm the gatekeeper, right, I guess in a weird way, but anybody who's got a unique perspective on watches, whether you're a collector or you're the CEO of a watch brand, like that's the goal. The outlet, you know like it's to bridge the gap between an enthusiast and an industry insider. You know like, and if I can, if I can bridge that gap, then that's the goal, right, you know. So, like I'm not really, you know there's, there's people that have approached me to come on the podcast and I'm just like, yeah, I mean you have a perspective, but like, what are your, what are your values? I think, if anything, I'll turn people down for not for for coming on the podcast more about their values than it is their perspective. So you know, I we're, first of all, I consider that perspective and then, second, I consider their values. I don't know if that's the order that I do it in, but because there's going to be people come on here with a different motive.
Blake Rea:Sure, and I've noticed in a weird way, this started off just being watch talk and now it's more like a creative. We talk a lot about the creative process. If you go back and listen to some of the episodes, like, we've got watch designers that are coming on talk about their entire creative process. Uh, we've got people that are talking about the entrepreneurial struggles, like starting the brand up. Or we even you know industry, uh, insiders who are working these big conglomerates that are just like. You know, like, like. I guess one that comes to mind is Ulysses Nardone who, uh, like, essentially was a part of the Kearing group and then they left the Kearing group and now they're independent. You know, um and so like what it was like to transition from from having leadership ownership from Kearing group to now being independent, having to do your own financing, and you and that entire financing department was all done at Kearing and now they're like, we're trying to figure this out. You know which is a cool brand, you know, I mean UN's amazing, but to even hear that type of a story from an executive in the brand. You know, that's the type of stuff that people really, I feel like they deserve to hear. You know, like all these brands, they have their own personalities. You know, um, they're like your. You know your bipolar cousin or whatever. You know, um, so, so so you, you love her. You love her, but you know, like, cause she's your family, but, you know, not necessarily the best person to to take around your friends all the time know, um, right, so, so yeah, and then, you know, I started to think about like, and there's a couple things I think I think, really deep thoughts about the watch industry.
Blake Rea:You know, one of them is like is how can I, how can I, like, create a level playing field for people who don't understand this? You know, like, like, how can I, how can I spread this enthusiasm, like for people that don't, that that have never been? Like, like, how can I, how can I spread this enthusiasm, like for people that don't, that that have never been to a windup, or that have never been on watch crunch, or that that that have never been to a watch club meetup, like? How can, how can we show them how passionate us as watch collectors are. That's something I think about almost every single day. Um, and then and then.
Blake Rea:Second is, like you know, I, I get, I get proud, like when I am wearing a specific watch. You know, because it maybe it's an account, a watch that I purchased during an accomplishment, or, you know, maybe I saved up, like my, like, my first, my first real big boy watch was a speedmaster reduced, an omega speedmaster reduced, and I saved up for so long to get that. And then when it came in, I was looking at pictures of the speedy professional like, okay, like, and it came in. I was looking at pictures of the speedy professional like, okay, like, and it came in. I I didn't even know the difference between a speedmaster, professional, speedmaster reduced.
Blake Rea:And then when it came out, I was like why does this look so awkward? Like why, why is this so awkward? Like, this doesn't look anything like the picture that, like, I set to, like my back, like my background on my computer was a speedy, and then for for a long time until I got one, and then, you know, I changed it. But then, when the speedy reducing, I was like what the why is this so weird looking and then I was like, oh, it's the sub dials, like why is it? Why the sub dials? So, oh, okay, it's like you know, this isn't this is a 39 speed, this isn't the speedy professional, yada, yada, yada, you know.
Blake Rea:And I was like, oh, that makes my sense, so it's cheaper, um, but you know, there's watches that I'm particularly proud of, that I own, that I know that I struggled to be able to afford, or um. So, you know, something that I kind of want to amplify or magnify is the passion still exists. And even these bigger brands, you know, you't hear, you don't hear about it as much on the bigger brands as you do from the independents, you know, or the web enthusiast brands, you like to call them Um. You hear those stories, that's, that's, that's what they're hitching their hat on. Like we're passionate, we make unique watches, like we hope you, we hope you enjoy them, you know, um, but that passion still lives at those bigger brands, you know, and so I don't think people understand that.
Skyler Santana:I think yeah, you make a very good point, dude it's like I feel that it's harder to connect to a bigger brand because you're not talking to the owner, right. They're not in the forefront, they're not putting as much effort and listen. I'm not talking about them in a bad way, because I've always said on my channel that the bigger brands pave the roads right, and you mentioned that there wouldn't be an existence for web-based brands had not the bigger brands listened to the community, right. So all of that ties together. But I think that, to touch on how you think that you should make people enthusiastic about watch collecting in general, I think you're already doing that.
Skyler Santana:I think bringing them to whether it be a private show or whether it be a bigger watch show right For me. If I wanted to bring somebody and I wanted to make them enthusiastic about watches and pique their curiosity if they had any I would bring them to a watch show, whether it be a more intimate one, like the Philly show is on their second year. They don't have nearly as many web-based brands at the show as New York wind up, which is like 180 brands last year. However, if I brought somebody to that show and I know this to be true because I just brought my wife and my sister-in-law to the brew pop-up shop. I went live there, nice, and just to see them thank you, just to see me in my element while I was there. Right, they were behind the camera, they were watching me talk, they were watching me do my thing and they're not necessarily watch enthusiasts, but it sparked some kind of interest and respect or you know that kind of fire to say wow, like he just was so involved and he had so much to say. And I've been successful in converting my wife from going to I never want to have a watch on my wrist to having her own collection at this point, and she actually has some web based brands within it. So it's infectious, and I think that the best way to do that is, whatever your element is right, I think that you should bring them along to that ride and for me, I'm at my most high when I'm at a watch show. So if you come along and you don't know anything about watches and maybe you have no interest in watches, but if you come with me to wind up or the Philly show, it's going to rub off on you and I think that that's the best way that you can introduce somebody to watch collecting. And I share the same sentiment as you do, blake, where if somebody even has and I've said this on my channel, so you know it's true, if somebody even has and I've said this on my channel, so you know it's true If somebody has an Apple Watch, you're allowed to the table and talk watches for sure.
Skyler Santana:I don't care what watch you have on, you can have the most gaudy watch. You can have an Apple Watch. We may poke a little fun in you, we may try to convince you to get out of that watch. But, dude, you have a seat at the table and if you're a watch enthusiast, that doesn't mean having 100 watches. It means you're enthusiastic about watches. Perhaps you have knowledge about watches and you can be part of the conversation, and you should be part of the conversation. No matter how you enjoy to collect, whether it's a $100 watch, whether it's an Apple watch, whether it's a fashion watch, I don't personally care. Whether it's an Apple watch, whether it's a fashion watch, I don't personally care. I care more about you having the curiosity and wanting to have that nerdy conversation with me at the end of the day.
Blake Rea:I, that's it.
Blake Rea:I mean, that's like really like all that needs to be said about watch collecting, the passion, um, and that, that that type of mentality is the mentality that I found that is going to bring more people into the hobby, you know, and lower the barrier of entry, because right now people think that money is the barrier of entry and it's not.
Blake Rea:It's like it's the exact opposite. You know, even we've had people that have reached out to the Vegas Watch Society Instagram and said, hey, I've seen some of the events that you're doing. I don't even have a watch. Can I come to the event? Yeah, you don't have to have a watch collection to come to a watch collector's event. If anything, I would encourage people who don't have watch collections to come, because this is going to help you kind of shape your your, you know, help you make your fingerprint, you know, for your collection in the future, you know, you're gonna exposure to brands that you've never heard of people, you know, maybe ones you can't even afford, maybe give you something to inspire, to like, yes, like that's even cooler than having all those watches.
Skyler Santana:Dude, I don't want to cut you off, but I got to say for anybody watching this if you don't even own a watch and you think that you don't have the right to be at any watch event, you're thinking the wrong way. You know how excited myself and Blake would be to have somebody who hasn't purchased their first watch. Dude, I want to dump all this knowledge and all this enthusiasm onto you, like, oh, you don't have your first watch yet. Oh, man, you got to check out this. You got to check out that Now, responsibly and I'm sure you're the same way, blake you would want the person to make their own decision at the end of the day, but you would at least give them the knowledge to push them towards the right direction to make that decision. And I would be more excited about somebody who doesn't have a big collection or no collection to join us in a watch event than anything else.
Skyler Santana:So if you're watching this on this channel and you're watching this kind of conversation, please, please, please, do not feel that A if you don't have a watch collection, you're not part of the conversation or part of the group. We want you so bad because if we walk the streets of New York right now, nine out of 10 people don't have a watch. Okay, or I should say eight out of 10 people don't have a watch. Right, and then the other two. One person does have a watch and the other person has an Apple watch.
Skyler Santana:So here's the deal. We get so caught up in this world where we think that it's a lot bigger than what it is, but truly it's a lot smaller compared to everybody else who's not into it. I say all that to say this we are more excited about growing the pie rather than slicing it in more slices, if you will. So for sure, if you are new to watch collecting and you want to join a meetup, please, please, please, do so. And if you join, gentlemen like Blake or myself, we are more than happy to educate you and bring you into that conversation we are more than happy to educate you and bring you into that conversation.
Blake Rea:Yeah, I think, if anything that is like the nail on the head, like I I'm I'm more interested in people that are watch curious than they are passionate or in the industry, or a collector you know, an experienced collector, because there's collectors that are in my club that I'm like dude, like you are transcending collecting at this point. Like you are a hoarder and and and the amount of watches that you have, like like millions of dollars in watches, you know like it's crazy, you know, um, but I think I'm particularly more interested to meet those watch curious people. Uh, because I want to learn from them like, like, why they're not into collecting yet, or like, like what you know, like, like, give me the, the elementary version of, like what you look at when you see a watch you know, like, like, break it down to me. Like your perspective, like I want, I want, those are the perspectives that I want. You know, those are the, those are the super valuable perspectives.
Blake Rea:Like, like, how come you don't own a watch? Like, like, what's kept you from purchasing a watch? Like you know, I, I get it, but you know, some people think that $500 is a lot of money for a watch and five hundred dollars is a lot of money, no matter what you're buying. Let me make that clear. But as a new collector, like what are you comfortable spending on your first watch? Like those are types of questions that brands need to know the answers for, because brands can make products that target those customers, you know, and it helps lower the bar, it helps make it more friendly, it helps makes it makes it more approachable. Like those are the conversations that I want to be a part of. You know so, like yeah, if you're watch curious, like yeah, I mean, I'm here, skyler's here, like we're, we're here. That like we support you too.
Blake Rea:This content is for you too, it's for us, it's for you, it's for everybody. Like yeah, uh, and I don't understand why anybody would think otherwise. You know, but yeah, it's, it's one of those weird hobbies. There's also a lot of negativity that you brought up. You know, like there's a lot of negativity in the, in the industry. Um, I had just done um, an episode with um, with a female influencer I don't want to say who, cause I don't want to call her out, um, but she's amazing. I mean you can look at the last episode yeah.
Skyler Santana:Yeah, I saw that. Okay, go ahead.
Blake Rea:So I guess now we narrow, we narrowed it down. Sorry, um, but no, no like. So she had posted, you know, like, some of the the content um like on her instagram and then I just started to see some of the hate comments, troll, troll in, yeah, and I was like. I was like what the fuck is wrong with people, dude? Yeah, like you're not. You're not talking about, like, her passion for watches, you're talking about her looks, dude oh, it's disgusting it's gross, it's gross if you're gonna take it to that level.
Skyler Santana:Listen, it comes with a territory blake. I think you know that. I think that if you're going to decide to put yourself out there, um and and in social media whether it be what we're doing now or instagram, whatever it comes with the territory you're gonna have people who are just toxic, who are vile, who are not happy with their own lives. Whatever the case may be, they're going to take the time out of their day to try to ruin your day. And the point is this you have to grow thick skin and realize that those people are not even worth your time and just ignore it, and the mission as a whole is more important than being derailed by people who are just going to be hateful and vile or snobby, because that happens a lot in this industry, as you know, there's a lot of snobs where they feel that, well, if you don't own this kind of watch and if it didn't cost this amount of money, it's not a real watch and that's ridiculous. That's absolutely absurd and it comes with the territory, and people like you and I, I think, are are. It's even more so important for us to spread the message that we're spreading, to combat that, to make the people who are, you know, ready to cross that line Cause, dude that that can kill somebody's entire vibe.
Skyler Santana:Like, imagine you just purchased your first watch, you saved up for it. Whether you did or you didn't, you spent your hard earned money on it and then somebody was like, yeah, that watch is not a real watch, that's garbage. Like, why would, why would you do that right? And uh, that does happen. Yeah, it's, it's disgusting. You are the lowest of low forms of a human being.
Skyler Santana:But unfortunately that does happen. Hopefully that person finds a channel like yours or finds a channel like mine where we're very welcoming and we we very vocally say that that's not the right attitude to have. But it is what it is. At the end of the day, it comes with the territory. It's never going to go away. That's always going to be part of it. And you know that's more important for us to do what we're doing here today and have that conversation where they're like okay, here are two watch enthusiasts that are seeing the same thing and are promoting me coming to a watch event without a watch. So you know, let me do that and hopefully it reaches. You know the right people and hopefully it reaches enough people to to have an effect in that kind of way.
Blake Rea:You know it will, it will, it will over time, and, and that's where I've tried to focus on, at least in my platform. You know, I mean again, like I wouldn't have a platform if it wasn't for people like you, you know, like, so, um, so, yeah, yeah, I mean just in that, that whole perspective of of you know, people who consume the stuff that I put out of you know, people who consume the stuff that I put out, and, and so I I think of it as like again, I even said this earlier like a gatekeeper, like my platform is our platform. You know, it's the community platform, whatever you want to call it, whatever you want to call it, um, yeah, I have the keys, you know, and I can log in and post stuff where other people can't do. But, uh, but no, I mean, there definitely needs to be, you know, I guess, some moderation in the watch community. There needs to be like a clear like there's no roadmap to collecting anything. You know, like I wish I wish there was, like, hey, look, here's how you get to watches.
Blake Rea:You know, like I've been trying to get my wife into watches. Good example, you know, you talked about bringing your wife, you know, to the brew, the brew event. Um, I've been buying my wife like, just these watches, just that I think she would like, without even her, you know, um having input on them, because I feel like if she had input on them, like, she would just tell me not to buy them, you know. But I'm like, oh, this would be cool with that outfit, or like this, you know, I think this, this is the type of watch that I can imagine you wearing, like I bought her, like, and I've been buying her some vintage stuff too, like, so, like I bought this, like vintage, like it's like a 30 millimeter, like rugged diver's tool watch. And my wife is like she's really into like yoga, like she's really sporty, like she's really fit, she's really active and uh and so. So I'm like, oh, this would be like the perfect watch. Like you know, you can wear this, you know, in the yoga class. Or you know, you could wear this on a bike ride and have to worry about it getting thrashed or whatever.
Blake Rea:Um, and so you I mean you have my own challenges about getting people into the watch hobby, you know, um, but for anybody who's, who's curious it, you know there's space, you know, there there's an opportunity for you, there's a? There's a watch out there for you, there's a watch brand out there, there's a watch owner out there for you. Like there's, you know somebody out there who, who may see life the way that you see it, and and when I learn about those, those, those hot those, those brand owners or those people who work at you know, the brand insiders like it just makes me fall in love even more with watches and the brand and the community and and everything else and, um, this is a weird one to even talk about. But, um, you know, when I started up the watch club here in vegas, like we had somebody who I just added. When I first started, like I started the whatsapp group I was. I was just like, let me add some people who I know inside the industry.
Blake Rea:Um, I'm not gonna say who this person is, but apparently I found out through, you know, because he wrote in the chat and somebody was like, oh, is that this guy? And I'm like, yeah, that's this guy. He's like I just want to let you know he scammed a shit ton of people about overwatches. Like he owes hundreds of people money. He's stolen money from you know, watch collectors and this and that. Um, and so I was like no, that can't be true. Like I, I I refuse to believe that. You know, because I, I know this guy when he first started. You know, in in the watch community like he started. I'm not going to say what he did, but he was selling watches. You know, okay, in in the watch community Like he started. I'm not going to say what he did, but he was selling watches. You know, um, it is not the guy that everybody thinks of, it's not the you know, the YouTube timepiece gentleman guy. Like it's not, not, not that guy.
Skyler Santana:Um, he was, he was. That's the first person I thought of.
Blake Rea:I know it's it's weird to say it's weird to say it's weird to say that, but, um, but nevertheless, I uh, he's not in jail, but but he, he, he started like a watch enthusiast program. I guess that's the most I could say. Um, so, so, anyways, like he's like, oh, one of the guys in my watch club like reached out. He's like, why is he in our group? Like he scammed me for money. He scams to my friends for money, like, and I'm like, let me reach out to him. Like I'm gonna reach out to this guy because, first of all, like I've known this guy for quite a while, like you know, like he's been a mutual acquaintance for quite a while.
Blake Rea:Like when I worked at a watch brand, I sold him, I helped, you know, him acquire like hundreds of watches. You know, okay, um, because I, when I worked at an independent micro brand, um, uh, as a consultant, and I was like, oh, this, you know, this doesn't sound like him. So I reached out and he explains his story. He's like, yeah, like you know, we had a lot of issues with finding finances. We had a partner. The partner pulled out funding, yada, yada, we weren't able to buy watches. Um, you know, I sold my entire collection to, uh, to like to, to try and make as much people right as I could. Um, you know I, I literally went into my own pockets like almost a hundred thousand dollars just trying to to give people refunds. You know, and you know like he was talking about you know some dark things. You know he's like you know I, I, you know I didn't feel like I was like even could provide for my family, like I was contemplating, like you know, like you know, self-harm, things like that. And then, and after all that happened, the community, the watch community, just trampled him to death not, you know, like, like, not literally, but you know I know what
Blake Rea:you mean, yeah, you know he was getting like death threats and like and all this like his. You know like he was getting like his. His wife was getting messages from you know people that you know that he owed money and it's like I, I, you know it's this is a weird one to say, but like, what he did was wrong, right like he. You know what he did was wrong, but businesses do fail. You know, like businesses do fail. What he did was entirely wrong, but sending death threats is even is even worse.
Skyler Santana:Yeah, than what he did like threatening somebody's life over.
Blake Rea:You know, I I don't know how much money like his, he I don't want to say what entirely he did, but, um, it can't be that it was that much money I could. I could be wrong, I could be wrong, but that's where the line gets crossed, like like what's worse, like stealing somebody's money or threatening to kill their family.
Skyler Santana:Yeah, that's absurd, that's out of control.
Blake Rea:So family? Yeah, that's absurd that's out of control.
Blake Rea:so, uh, yeah, so, yeah, he, he was, and that's what I mean when I say he was trampled, like the community like, and he was, he was like when we were talking and I I removed him from the group because I was like, look, if I don't want to be a part of whatever you're doing, like I don't want any association with you, like I don't want any contact with you, like you know, I haven't seen this side of the industry. You know that, you've seen Um, but then again, I, you know I haven't done any harm on anybody, you know, and and you know, businesses fail. You know, businesses fail. Businesses come and go, you know, and not that that makes it okay of what he did, um, but like he never told that story, like he never told the back-end story that that he consulted his watch collection to try and process refunds, you know, and that he had taken a hundred thousand dollars out of his savings account to continue refunding people and it still wasn't enough.
Skyler Santana:I mean, listen, if he's on the right side of that fence, then he should definitely take the time to have an outlet to tell that story and say his piece. You know what I mean? That's kind of clarify, because the thing is this like when you're on social media and or if you just people know you in the watch community and your name gets tainted like my wife tells me this all the time. She's like stay professional, make sure that you carry your name in the right way, and I mentioned this early on right, like in business, you only have one face, and that's kind of the same thing when it comes to the watch community. Or if, especially when you're tying that into actually doing business, you will get crucified and people will take out their pitchforks if you have anything blemished with your name and therefore are involved with anything of the like, right. So I think that if he is on the right side of the fence at all with this situation and I don't know the situation personally, but he should definitely maybe go on your show and say his piece. And even if he was dead wrong, like people make mistakes, people do stupid things sometimes. You and I are both human beings and we've made mistakes that we regret or we're embarrassed about, and sometimes, when you just own up to that, it can mean a lot to people and people can. You're not going to get everybody, but you're going to get the people that understand that and and can understand how. Maybe you made a mistake and you try to right your wrongs and you just got caught up in that, and hopefully that will help.
Skyler Santana:On the lighter side of things, I'd like to offer you a suggestion. Sure so to convince my wife to start in her watch collecting. What I did initially was, instead of trying to find the watch that would fit for her per se, as far as me, purchasing a watch and getting one for her, I got into watch customization, and when I say that, I mean building watches from scratch, putting the movement to the case, to the dial, to the hands and everything else, and maybe you don't want to be as involved in that. However, you may be able to find a third party to do that. So if you are still struggling with getting your wife involved in watches and I have something to say about that after too the right answer may be to customize a watch fully tailored to her. My wife is a preschool teacher and the first watch that I customized for her was having an apple on the watch itself, right Like that teacher's apple on the dial.
Skyler Santana:Yeah, and our last name as the actual logo. So that was my first taste into getting her involved into watch collecting. Now the second part that I wanted to get to is beware that if you do get her into watch collecting, she may take some liking to the watches that are in your collection and proclaim them to be hers, moving forward, and that's been the reality for me as well. So I give you that a little bit of advice. I don't know where you are with getting your wife on board and having watches and collecting watches, but that's what worked for me and it was well worth it. And it, of course, opened up a whole different rabbit hole right Watch customization and watch building Another wormhole. I'm not even going to say another rabbit hole, it's a wormhole. Dude Like you, just go to another dimension and behind me I don't know if you can see I have all of my components here, of all the parts and stuff like that. That just became a whole other world and a whole other cost, if you will. So that's my take on it.
Blake Rea:Wow, no, that's amazing and I never considered that. I have some friends that do build watches and I have thought about getting one for me but not for her, and I would think like that I'd be a perfect kind of gateway into the industry or into the hobby. Uh, because of you know the, the types of, uh, the types of watches that I have access to, that you know, like, like, if you've never owned a watch, like you know you're not going to get to wear these watches. You know, like, like I have, I have a Cartier tank, like a gold cartier tank. You know that's like a grail for like a lot of people, or a reverso or whatever, right, you know, um, I have access to all these watches and she does too. So, like you would think that she would be more likely to to get in through that way, but, um, um, but yeah, yeah, I need to figure it out.
Skyler Santana:You will. You will just realize that that could be a double-edged sword. I'm warning you now. She has watches that were in my collection that are now in her collection, oh yeah.
Blake Rea:Yeah Well, I want to thank you for spending so much time with us. Um, we're definitely gonna have to do like a part two. Um, I want to thank you for spending so much time with us. Um, we're definitely gonna have to do like a part two, Um, and, and I definitely look forward to for to doing that. Um, and yeah, same to you like, keep up with the good fight, you know, um, I definitely look forward to to to watching what you're doing more closely now at this point, Um, because, again, I even say that to some of the brands that I work with, or some of the brands that I'm, I'm when I get an email like, oh, have you heard of it? No, I haven't, Like, and I'm sorry, you know, Uh, but unless, unless somebody is going to be waving the flag, you know I'm not going to see you, you know like. So, uh, if you see me in public, or you know, if you're a watch brand that's listening, that you know has never sent me a message like what are you waiting for?
Blake Rea:yeah I'm sure the same to skylar too.
Skyler Santana:So yeah, I'm glad you, I'm glad you said that I absolutely feel the same way I've. I've actually taken, I've gotten to the point where now, like I'm not reaching out to brands so much as I'm just focusing on what I have in, like I'm not reaching out to brands so much as I'm just focusing on what I have in my collection. I'm kind of waiting for brands to come to me. At this point I think that I've done enough on my content. Respectfully, you know, I don't want to be, I don't want to sound big headed, but I think if you go to my channel, you can kind of get my vibe at this point. And if you're a brand out there that's just looking for an authentic, you know, true reviewer and somebody who's not going to fluff things up and just wants to genuinely build a relationship, right, it works both ways. Like I want to do the reviews of watches, but more so I want to build relationships with the brands and really get to know them and understand their philosophy and their watches and therefore tell their story for them. That's what's most important for me. And, blake, if you would allow me to, first of all, thank you so much for having me on.
Skyler Santana:This was definitely loads of fun. I definitely will come on. I'm going to leave it to you. Since I was the one that was thirsty and reached out to you first, I'll leave it to you to reach out to me next time you have time. But dude, this was this was what it's all about Connecting to some like-minded watch enthusiasts. This was a lot of fun. I hope that people found value from this and I'd like to sign off the way I like to sign off on my channel, if it's okay with you, please, please. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you found value from the content that Blake and I have put forth in this video. I appreciate you guys for spending your most valuable asset, which is time, and Blake and I hopefully will see you in the next one.
Blake Rea:We will. We will Until next time.
Skyler Santana:Thank you, Blake.
