Since yesterday afternoon, the Internet has been alight with Paul Gale. Every viral video round up you can find features the YouTube impresario’s newest joint: “Why Starbucks Spells Your Name Wrong,†and, TBH, all the hype kind of made me want to ignore it. Not because it’s not good, but because I like the idea that this column is largely a mouthpiece for comedy underdogs and Gale – still a bootstrapper in the broad, Hollywood sense – is no stranger to million+ view videos or subscriber counts in the tens of thousands. Then I remembered the Paul Gale of (fairly recent) days gone by, the Paul Gale fresh out of Brandeis and eager to help on any comedy set that would have him (including some of mine). He never stopped asking questions. He never stopped working. He never stopped wanting to get better. His video is the latest fruit of that tenacity and an inspiration to anyone brave enough to make plans and follow them.
This column is still for the strivers, and Gale is no exception. He’s just one step closer to becoming king of the underdogs.
Luke is a writer for CollegeHumor and a watcher of many web videos. Send him yours @LKellyClyne.