Last week I spoke about Film Brain, who happens to be English. That got me thinking. A lot of the Web Entertainers I watch are from the UK. So consider that the theme for next few Web Wednesday posts. Today's subject is Welshy. He is, as I'm sure you already guessed, Welsh. He is also one of the few reviewers who specializes in positive reviews. But don't let mislead you he is just as sharp and snarky as you'd expect. Let's take a closer look.
Mat Williams, or as I will refer to him Welshy, started his journey to Internet 'fame' in an interesting way. He was truly a fan. He came upon the Angry Video Game Nerd and Nostalgia Critic through YouTube and was hooked. After YouTube removed the videos, probably for copyright issues, Welshy created his own YouTube channel, titled NostalgiaAVGNfan. Welshy set out to help Doug (That Guy With The Glasses/Nostalgia Critic) Walker get the exposure he thought the man deserved. Eventually Mike Michaud (former administrator of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com and current CEO of Channel Awesome) contacted Welshy. This lead to Welshy making trailers for Doug's videos and a tribute to the then departing That Dude In the Suede. After these first videos Mike Michaud asked Welshy to make trailers for some of the other talent at TGWTG.com. Things grew from there.
In 2009 Welshy joined ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com. He began by working on the TGWTG Wiki site and then moved to videos of his own. His first video "Casino Royale in 5 Seconds" landed him on the Best of Blogs. Along with these first videos Welshy wrote a number of articles, one of which was awarded the Awesome Blog of the Week by Sean Fausz.
After partnering with SadPanda in 2010 Welshy began his first video series. The twin series titles "Why I Like" and "My Problem With" led to him being picked up by ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com as a talent. Before this his videos had not been featured on the site.
Since being picked up Welshy has started his first 'proper' review show. Welshy Reviews was actually my first real introduction to him. I had seen him pop up in a few other reviews but never took the time to see what he was about. That changed when he started his Scream Retrospective. I was attracted by the idea of someone on the Internet talking about things they like in a reverent tone. It's not something that happens very often and Welshy is damn good at it. He has also done a few negative reviews that show he has the chops to pull of snark as well as anyone else.
Welshy is one of the more likeable personalities on TGWTG.com. He is earnest without coming off as condescending, He is humorous but not a Clown. His personality is unique and his presentation polished. He may not have the same amount comedic prowess or output as a few other presenters but his charm makes up for that. It takes a certain type of person to go from fan to presenter. I know that a lot of the people I have written about have been 'fans' but there is a difference between a casual 'fan' and a real fan. Welshy was a real fan. Now he is a real presenter with fans. I count myself among them.
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