Robin Wilde
Keeping
'et
Real
10
Queensland's gaming scene isn't the world's biggest or most famous - but in Keep 'et Classy, it has a gem of
waffle, friendship and stomach churning food challenges. Aaron Costello and Gabriel Morton join us for a
meander through the weird world of the internet.
T
he night before I interview Gabe and
Aaron, the two friends
behind Keep 'et Classy,
I watch them both attempt to eat a spoonful
of cinnamon. So far, so
2012, but then they've
always said Queensland is stuck in the past.
"Now I'm scared of
doughnuts" says Aaron
Costello, the channel's
founder, when I ask
him about the experience. "That was like
a week ago and the
place still smells of cinnamon."
That doesn't sound so
bad, but when you've
had your shot at the
challenge,
perhaps
perceptions change.
"Anything to do with
food triggers primal
learning
methods"
adds Gabriel Morton,
the former bouncer and
trainee teacher who
achieved minor internet stardom through his
Let's Drown Out series
with Yahtzee Croshaw.
"It bypasses every
other form of learning
that we have. Food
aversion, anything that
makes you sick, goes
like *beep*, straight to
the animal bit."
It's these insights
born out of an intrinsic curiosity that make
Gabe's waffling so
compelling and maddening,
depending
on the audience. But
it's hard to deny he's
found a crowd - almost
10,000 Twitter followers is good going.
The two as a pair are
quite new to YouTube
- Keep 'et Classy only
launched last year,
though the channel can
already boast 4,000
subscribers. But Gabriel's first appearance
was in 2011, with veteran game critic Yahtzee
Croshaw.
"The thing with Yahtz
started because we're
quite similar, and we
used to hang out the
front of the bar [The
Mana Bar] and talk for
ages. And Yahtz just
wanted to do something podcasty and
can't find anybody
who would want to sit
near him for an hour,
so I was the fortunate
soul who got stuck with
that job - and the rest is
history."
On Aaron's part, he's
newer to the game.
"We started really because I always
wanted to do something like this.
"I was suffering from
deep-seated depression and introversion.
"People had told us
when we play games
together we say stupid
shit and it's funny."
The name Keep 'et
Classy might seem
strange, both for its
unique spelling and the
channel's general lack
of polish, but it's quite
apt.
"In Street Fighter 3
there's a British boxer
called Dudley" explains Gabriel. Aaron's
background is in fighting game tournament
organising, so the connection makes sense.
"It's also ironic because we swear a lot"
he adds.
But is it the fighting
games which bring the
audiences in? Certainly
Street Fighter is a regular fixture on the duo's
frequent streams.
"It's just very real,
that's what couch gaming is" says Aaron.
"All these things used
to exist back in the
day, but back then they
were social events"
chimes in Gabriel. "A
friend of mine back in