In celebration of their four-year anniversary, the Try Guys have released their movie, "Behind the Try: A Try Guys Documentary," for free on YouTube.
The movie was first released on Amazon Prime Video in 2020 for $14.99. Despite my eagerness, I could not justify spending the money to watch the film and never anticipated it would be released for free.
Imagine my excitement when I learned of its release on YouTube.
I watched the film when I awoke on the first day it was available. I thought the movie would be similar to concert movies like that of Taylor Swift or Beyoncé. I didn't attend the Try Guys Legends of the Internet tour and had only heard good reviews about it, so I would've been content with a concert-style movie.
However, the movie was much more refined. It wasn't a replication of their YouTube videos but a profound telling of how the company came to be and the severity of their seemingly silly careers.
Zach Kornfeld, Ned Fulmer, Eugene Lee Yang, and Keith Habersberger have been a part of my life since they started making videos on BuzzFeed. However, I did not connect to them or even realize how much they mean to me until they formed their production company, 2nd Try LLC.
Zach helped me come to terms with my chronic pain. Ned has the family dynamic I have always dreamed of and helped me define love encouraging me to find it for myself. Eugene helped me explore my existence as a person and what it means to be me in a world created and ran by white people. Keith's fascination with food helped heal my relationship with food and was the catalyst for my food journey. I have never met or spoken to them in any capacity, but these four guys have shaped my life in ways no one could have anticipated. The movie proves they never thought they could make the impact they have with only a YouTube channel.
The term YouTuber is associated with vloggers and pranksters. Overall, the term has gained a bad reputation. The Try Guys wanted to create content that meant something and had value, along with videos just for laughs. YouTube provides the platform to do such a thing, but the bad connotations associated with it could potentially prevent the guys from pursuing other aspects of their individual careers. This is the internal struggle that is at the core of the documentary. Is their company helping them or hindering them?
Despite the potential crumble of their company, the movie shows how dedicated and hard-working every person involved was in the tour's conception, development, and execution. The tour could have been their last hoorah, and they were determined to give the best performance possible for us, the fans.
Ultimately, I want to thank the Try Guys for all the beautiful positive messages and videos they have put into the world. I thank them for remaining a unit because, from what I can tell, they empower each other and others. I thank them for creating an accepting and inclusive space. I thank them for how they've impacted my life and many others without knowing.
Ned, Zach, Eugene, and Keith deserve endless thank you's for enduring the hardships of being business owners, YouTubers, creatives, and industry trailblazers. They endure it all for us, and for that, I thank them.
As Zach states in the promotional video, "This movie began as a look at how four different creatives combined to make the Try Guys, but ultimately became a celebration of you, the audience, and how you impacted our lives."