In his YouTube videos, Weston Kay dissects shoes to understand (and explain to the audience) how they are made. Ever since the Utah-based craftsman and content creator started literally cutting them in two, he has helped users understand the intrinsic value of the products. Orienting oneself is not easy, but Kay has come to one conclusion: the best shoes are leather ones. Kay is not just a youtuber by profession: in 2014 he founded Rose Anvil, a leather goods brand specialising in professional-grade camera harnesses.
Discovering the inside
In a long interview with GQ, the American youtuber recounted the beginnings of his journey. Strongly influenced by the utilitarian style of work uniforms, he realised the importance of a pair of leather boots after spending time with firefighters and construction crews. He then founded his own brand of camera harnesses and when the pandemic interrupted his plans, he opened his YouTube channel. Here he posts videos in which he dissects shoes to reveal how they are made. Over the years, he has become one of the leading shoe reviewers online.
Why cutting in two
Weston Kay, we said, offers his users the chance to know what material the shoes they wear are made of, with the experience of a person who knows leather. The youtuber warns that sometimes brands not only fail to deliver on their promises, but also confuse the customer’s ideas about product quality. In what way? By gluing false stitches to the soles, for example. “Cutting shoes in two allows you to understand what brands want the consumer not to know”, Kay continues. Visually understanding the quality of a product remains a daunting mission even for an expert, he acknowledges. “In general, though”, he advises the audience, “the more leather there is in a shoe, the better. More leather also means a higher cost for production”.
Educating for quality
Incidentally, much of the quality/price short-circuit, for Kay, is the child of marketing. “Big brands and big companies are taking advantage of customers by investing thousands of dollars in advertising to create a certain image that does not reflect the actual value”, Kay concludes. “Usually it is people who want to know what is inside a specific pair of shoes, and for me that is a good sign because it means that they no longer trust only the brand name”.
Images from Rose Anvil YouTube channel
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