17. Van Neistat (Filmmaker) The Spirited Man’s Crash Course on Life

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Van’s channel has been my favorite thing on YouTube ever since its launch, which my friends can attest to as I’ve forced all of them to watch his content. Bert Kreisher is quoted as saying there’s no one like Van in the world, and compared his level of genius to the likes of Dave Chapelle. It’s hard to put Van Neistat in a box. He is what happens when poetry, philosophy, filmmaking, and craftsmanship intersect. Given the choice between a fully pimped out MacBook pro and a typewriter, he chooses the typewriter every time. He’s a “repair it” instead of “replace it” sorta guy, and his hand made approach to life leaks into everything he does. He and his brother, Casey, wrote, directed, and starred in the HBO show, The Neistat Brothers. They started vlogging before vlogging was a thing. After their tv show, Casey and Van took separate paths. Casey went on to pioneer vlogging as we know it today YouTube, and Van continued to build his filmmaking career working on projects with the illustrious contemporary artist Tom Sachs. He also directed a feature film, and has worked on many other notable projects. One year ago, Van pulled back the curtain on his otherwise mostly private life, and launched his own YouTube channel, The Spirited Man. Casey introduced Van as his favorite YouTuber as Van does not watch YouTube, making his work one of a kind and original. Van has since gained millions of views, and coined a filmmaking style he calls the industrial essay film. His videos feel custom, explore a wide variety of profound life lessons, and have a way of unlocking the spiritedness most of us lose when we grow up.