Skateboarding journalist Robert Brink has taken aim at YouTube skater Gifted Hater after the content creator recently said he has been feeling depressed lately.
Brink responded with a lengthy post that focused heavily on Gifted Hater’s drinking, his treatment of women, and the type of content he puts out online.
Brink argued that the way Gifted Hater lives and conducts himself could be contributing to the depression he has spoken about.
Brink opened his post by bringing up alcohol, writing, “Alcoholism and a haircut from his mom...” He then went after Gifted Hater’s audience and accused him of building an audience around content that attacks women.
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According to Brink, Gifted Hater spends a large amount of time criticizing women during his streams and has an audience that he believes takes those comments further by harassing the people being discussed.
Brink also accused Gifted Hater of causing serious problems within the skateboarding community.
He said that after 38 years around skateboarding, including three decades working in skate shops, media and behind the scenes with different skateboarding brands, he has never seen someone cause this type of damage to the community.
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Brink connected that criticism directly to Gifted Hater’s comments about depression. He questioned whether the way the YouTuber lives and behaves online could be contributing to how he has been feeling.
“Get offline and get help dude,” Brink wrote.
He went on to accuse Gifted Hater of dealing with alcoholism, contempt for other people, ego and what he described as delusion caused by internet fame. Brink said he believes the combination could eventually have serious consequences for the YouTube skater.
Another part of the post focused on Gifted Hater’s recent drinking. Brink claimed that Gifted Hater had said about two weeks earlier that he had stopped drinking, but was later seen drinking from a large bottle of vodka during a livestream.
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Brink questioned why people close to Gifted Hater, including Sci-Fi Fantasy head honcho Jerry Hsu and pro skater Ryan Lay, would continue to associate with him while he believes the YouTuber is hurting other people through his content.
He also accused Gifted Hater of racism and encouraging his audience to behave similarly. Brink specifically called out Ryan, mentioning his involvement with Slow Impact and Vent City while questioning his association with Gifted Hater.
Brink described this as part of what he sees as a long running issue within skateboarding, where personal friendships can lead people to overlook harmful behavior from those within their circle.
The post became even more serious when Brink said he has saved an archive of Gifted Hater’s content, including material that was later removed.
READ MORE: Gifted Hater Goes Too Far With Offensive Language, Using the N Word On Camera
Brink claimed the archive contains content that he considers extremely offensive and said clips are currently being collected from it. He also stressed that he believes the material is recent rather than something from years ago.
Towards the end of his post, Brink directed his comments back toward Gifted Hater and told him to seek professional help.
Brink wrote that he believes Gifted Hater is lost and urged him to get help before his situation becomes worse.
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The comments come after Gifted Hater publicly discussed his recent depression, giving Brink an opening to question whether the YouTuber’s drinking habits, online content and treatment of other people are connected to what he has been experiencing.
Brink’s post is ultimately a harsh personal criticism of Gifted Hater, with the skateboarding veteran arguing that the problems he sees in Gifted Hater’s behavior are not separate from his struggles with depression.
