is an American YouTube videomaker, who makes videos about nothing in particular. His focuses vary from his endeavors as an independent and short film director, journalism on minute parts of history, practical advice and shout-outs, to occasional personal speaking.Starting in 2023, he began work on the Superzeroes, a low-budget superhero film universe using forgotten comic book heroes from the public domain. He's already produced a novel based on The Spider Queen, a 1940s precursor to Spider-Man, and a short cartoon pilot based on The Sensational Cat-Man. He's also successfully funded a Cat-Man movie, as well as a film based on Atlas: Man of Might.
Works with their own pages:
- lonelygirl15 (Outbreak spinoff)
- Today Is Spaceship Day
His videos provide examples of:
- A Lesson in Defeat: The entire point of his videos on Sprouting Orchids, his own attempt at a low-budget sci-fi film. He admits that the film isn't good, then goes into detail about why it didn't work and the lessons he learned from its failure.
- American Accents: While where he's from (Springfield, Missouri) isn't part of the canonical US Southeast, most people in the area have the accent and Austin is no exception.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Back during his days in the lonelygirl15 fandom, he once remarked that he could make a better show if he had the same set-up. Then, as if the fickle finger of fate said "Let's See YOU Do Better!", he ended up getting to make his own official spin-off and discovered that running a web series is a lot harder than it looks.
- Caustic Critic: His brief period of notability in the lonelygirl15 days started as one of these under the name "Mason".
- Cheaters Never Prosper: His video about the 2000 Paralympic Games scandal actually plays with this: if you get caught, you'll Never Live It Down; but even if you don't, then the victory will be hollow.
- Colbert Bump: Invoked with his 5 Cool Channels With Under 1,000 Subs series.
- Fake–Real Turn: The Superzeroes project started as a joke that Austin came up while in quarantine. It proved unexpectedly popular with his audience, so he decided to make it for real.
- Fix Fic:
- He proposes one for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. After he summarizes how the fixed play would go, he would list a few of the key changes. First, the Time Turner is only briefly mentioned in the rewrite, so there would be no Timey-Wimey Ball. Second, the original trio would have something to do as they would have an adultery subplot. Third, there are real stakes. Fourth, the villain is original: Delphi is actually an old witch. Finally, the rewrite has a balance of something old and something new.
- He claims that his involvement with the lonelygirl15 franchise, LG15: Outbreak, was his attempt to do this, one that went disastrously wrong, likely killed the entire franchise, and showed him how hard it is to actually be a Show Runner.
- He proposes one
- Middle Name Basis: Never goes by Gregory.
- Misplaced-Names Poster: Discussed in Why Don't Movie Poster Names EVER Line Up?! where he explains that it's caused by actors wanting their names to be as close to the top left as possible.
- Overly Long Gag: On his video about soap operas, he makes a long list of things he could do while Guiding Light is marathoning. He notes by the time he does all that, the series would still be playing when he comes back.
- Unusual Euphemism: Enforced in his Cursed Child rewrite. He takes an otherwise meaningless bit about toffee from the original, and expands that "toffee" is a code term Harry and Hermione use around the office so no one finds out they're having an affair.
