Back In It To Win It

A Rededication To Making More Montages

Before I discovered Substack, I started on YouTube.

Back then, the COLLIDE PRESS channel was mostly a place to promote art, designs, and merch created by me and the original COLLIDE PRESS crew.

Over time, something unexpected happened: I found myself drawn to making montages, mostly featuring vintage photographs of men.

All kinds of men. All kinds of photographs.

To me, they weren’t (and aren’t) just slideshows set to music. They were (and are) meditations on manhood and masculinity. On beauty, strength, vulnerability, friendship, identity, history, and all the messy things that come with being human.

Every montage is a way of preserving forgotten images while silently asking bigger questions about who we are and how we see one another.

Unfortunately, YouTube is a tricky place to post the kind of work I like to make.

The platform has never seemed to mind “The Male Gaze” when it’s directed at women. But “The Male Gayze” directed at men? That’s a whole other can of worms. And snakes.

Not long after my channel was monetized, I collected a trio of warnings and strikes for allegedly posting “sexually gratifying” content. The punishment left me unable to upload for more than a month. Because apparently vintage photographs of men on the internet is a threat to civilization.

And when YouTube isn’t policing bodies, it’s finding new and exciting ways to create headaches over licensed music and public domain recordings.

The fuckery finally convinced me it was time to pivot.

That pivot led me to Substack.

Looking back, it was one of the best creative decisions I’ve ever made. This community has been more welcoming, more thoughtful, and more supportive than I ever expected. So many of you made the journey with me, and I’m grateful every single day that you did.

Since then, I’ve grown as both a creative and a human being.

My life isn’t consumed by algorithms, upload schedules, and analytics anymore. I’ve built friendships. I’ve rediscovered hobbies. I’ve gotten out of the house. I’ve spent more time making art, writing, exploring, and simply living.

Honestly, I’m happier than I’ve been in a very long time. Healthier is in progress too.

But after doing a little self-inventory recently, I realized something.

The montages that built this community deserve more of my attention again.

So here’s my public promise: I’m rededicating myself to making more montages.

• For Substack.

• For YouTube.

• For you.

• For me.

Now, before anyone panics, no, I’m not returning to the near-daily upload schedule that nearly turned my brain into mush. That pace simply isn’t sustainable, and I have no interest in burning myself out all over again.

The goal isn’t more for the sake of more.
The goal is to make better work, more consistently.

Because I still love these forgotten photographs. I still love the stories they quietly carry. And I still believe that, paired with the right music, they can say something meaningful about what it means to be a man.

If you’ve been here since the YouTube days, thank you for sticking around.

If you found me through Substack, welcome aboard.

And if you enjoy my work, I would be honored if you’d share it, subscribe if you aren’t already, or consider supporting it however/if you’re able.

• Every share helps.

• Every subscriber matters.

• Every patron makes my creative life a little more possible.

I count my lucky stars that a bunch of vintage photographs, some music, a stubborn creative streak, and several algorithms or recommendations brought all of us together.

When I first started, I thought I was just making slideshow videos. Little did I know, I was building the foundation for a community. This community.

Thank you for being a friend, subscriber, and/or patron!
Clint 🌈✌️

P.S. I spent the weekend doing a little virtual housecleaning on both my Substack and YouTube channel. I tidied things up, pruned a few videos, and made it a little easier to explore. Feel free to have a look around at your leisure….

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Please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Patron.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

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BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY

• 07-13 = Danitra Vance (1954-1994) = American comedian and actor 🌈

• 07-13 = Danny Lockin (1943-1977) = American actor and dancer 🌈

• 07-13 = Joan E. Biren (1944- ) = American photographer and filmmaker 🌈

• 07-13 = Mary Emma Woolley (1863-1947) = American educator 🌈

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MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY

HARRISON FORD

“It's a privilege to be able to be involved with people as talented as the people I've had the luck to work with, and it's just been a great experience for me, and I'm glad that so many of the films I've had the luck to do were films that could be enjoyed by families together.”
Harrison Ford