Artist Profile: Eddy Burback on YouTube and Embracing Idiosyncrasy

There are 18 Rainforest Cafes across the country. Eddy Burback has been to all of them. There are also 22 Margaritaville locations across the United States and Canada. Eddy Burback has been to — you’ve guessed it — all of them.

Eddy Burback is a YouTuber and comedian known for videos where he undertakes unique sidequests and explores niche subjects. Many of Burback’s most popular videos involve extreme challenges. Beyond visiting multiple locations of famous chain restaurants, he has also braved the gaudy Las Vegas Sphere’s quasi-dystopian venue and watched “Morbius” on replay for days on end. Burback’s penchant for out-there content has been extremely successful — his channel boasts nearly two million subscribers, with an amassed view count of over 130 million views.

Burback didn’t find YouTube fame instantly, though. In an interview with The Harvard Crimson, he spoke about how his journey toward a creative career began with a young love of filmmaking.

“My dad had a camcorder that my sister would have my brother and I reenact ‘Lizzie McGuire’ episodes on, and so that got the bug started early,’” Burback said.

“More recently, it was specifically with my video where I went to see ‘Morbius’ five times in a row. I had tried a new format where I was going to do something and I realized that I could way easier tell a story with it. And that's become my new obsession,” Burback said.

Besides unique challenges, Burback’s videos cover topics ranging from the dangers that ghost kitchens pose to small businesses to attempts at perfecting Wii Sports Bowling. Burback finds inspiration for this diverse array by focusing on his interests instead of worrying about specific trends.

“I usually just try to wait for this kind of healthy mix of something that has piqued my interest that I think I'm capable of attacking artistically and then also what I want to say,” Burback said.

In his video exploring the Las Vegas Sphere, for instance, Burback blended a mix of comedy and introspection.

“The big push for me to start making [the Sphere video] was this sinking pit in my stomach about the nature of advertising and the Internet and spectacle and entertainment,” Burback said. “And so usually that is the driving force — having those thoughts and then figuring what kind of vehicle I can use to express myself in that way to the audience.”

Besides his main channel, Burback also co-runs the eponymous channel “Burback” with his twin brother, Tony. Eddy found that working with his brother immediately sparked creativity.

“We've been very close our entire lives, and Tony has always been the funniest person that I know,” Burback said. “But I did not expect it to be so creatively rewarding in a different avenue. It feels like something that, no matter what kind of different new routes I take with my own stuff, I can also really test stuff out and try stuff on a completely different path with him.”

The Burback channel primarily covers games from the brothers’ childhood, like Wii Sports or Nintendogs. Younger fans get a glimpse into the games that were popular during the brothers’ ’90s childhood, but Burback also found that he learned a lot about the gaming world’s past — and future — while researching for his videos.

“​​When we especially looked back into the Game Awards, I was shocked by how much the kind of grossness of celebrity culture and award show culture and exploitation had made their way into it,” Burback said.

“I think that gaming is changing so rapidly and it’s seen now as such a medium for art,” Burback said. “And that I think like trying to make stuff that appreciates that and can have everyone celebrate that is a lot better than maybe just saying something's bad so you can get a bunch of clicks.”

While the Burback brothers share some of their collective life experiences on the “Burback” channel, Eddy remains wary of sharing too much of his life on his YouTube platform. Instead, he connects with fans through his videos.

“I had one moment that shocked me, where somebody had mentioned a childhood story of mine from when I was four, and I didn't remember sharing it,” Burback said. “And that kind of feeling that I had given away a piece of my private life that I didn't even remember that I gave away really pushed me into kind of the other end of the spectrum.”

However, Burback doesn’t blame his viewers for this parasocial connection.

“I've been a fan of a ton of channels before and it's that thing where if you're driving to work every morning and you listen to the same podcast, it feels like you're on a phone call with a couple of other people,” Burback said. “And it's just a natural human reaction to start to feel like you really know them.”

Burback hopes to restrain some of this type of reaction by simply allowing his videos to speak for themselves.

Burback’s work captures the joy of creativity while tackling a range of topics. Burback urged other young creatives to be unafraid of pursuing their visions and to not let comparison take away from their joy.

“Nobody good in any type of industry or art is immediately a prodigy without any influence at all,” Burback said. “And you have to kind of start by imitating what you like while also trying to put your own personal twist on it.”

Burback also advises creatives to avoid comparing themselves to others, especially in the age of social media.

“I think it is important to tell yourself, ‘Wait. I don't know anything about their lives. I don't know anything about how they got there. I should really just focus on myself and try and grow,’” Burback said.

Burback’s focus on his idiosyncrasies makes his channel wholly unique. His videos are playful and not easily pinned down, including stories that are as diverse as Burback’s multifaceted interests. Through his channel, Burback simply says what is on his mind — and, most importantly, he shares these ideas with the many people out there who are willing to listen.

—Staff writer Hannah E. Gadway can be reached at hannah.gadway@thecrimson.com.