I like how he is open and honest

His latest video on bike fit he starts out stating he is not a bike fitter

At 1:13 he says if you have bigger needs than just a small change you should go see a bike fitter

Dude must have an iron gut because he eats 5 different things while on the bike...I can only do gels...but he's also a mostly vegan. So that's probably where his attack against the cheese byproduct came from.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Research on what aspect-that whey protein is apparently catabolic? Or the benefits of MCT oil? I've been around long enough to know that you can find a study to prove anything you want...

As an example-did you know broccoli is toxic?

https://www.thinkingnutrition.com.au/broccoli-bad-for-you/


Also, seriously coconut oil is pure poison...

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/aug/22/coconut-oil-is-pure-poison-says-harvard-professor


You just need to approach nutrition with common sense, balance and moderation

But in regards to Taren yeah don't get me wrong I like the guy and he is constantly improving. Cant wait to see his stuff from Kona!

The first thing he should have said was: If you need an actual fitting, get a bike fit! That's what everyone here seems to say...I did it, and guess what...I made improvements to my position after my first fitting wasn't done on a retul bike and I walked away without metrics (although that guy had fixed a bunch of issues I had had).

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Am I the only one that thinks doing 4h35m 70.3s isn't average??? ***GULP***

I've downloaded the nutrition planner from his site a couple of months ago. Tought it could be a useful check for my nutrition planning for the recent half triathlon at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam. But since I couldn't open/download the file I've send Taren multiple mails to ask if he could have a look at it. Unfortunately all unanswered.

Besides that I keep watching some of his videos because there's something that I appreciate about him, but there's also lot of videos in which he tells things that I don't believe are true, of based on any evidence. And yes, he is getting sponsored by some brands and showing that a little too much for me.

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Blog | Instagram | Strava

I had a shot of whisky every time he mentioned Tower 26....my liver transplant is booked for next week...

So many haters out there.
Give the guy a break, his story in itself is inspiring, in terms of his weight loss and transformation and development as an athlete.
I don't consider him an average age grouper, I would be bloody happy with a 70.3 in 4:3X.
You don't have to like everything he puts out there and it is youtube you know, you can just elect not to watch.
For me, he fills a great niche in the triathlon community that not many others are doing at the moment. GTN does not seem to have the traction that GCN has achieved, and most major channels are going to have to rely on some form of brand endorsement to make a living.
I am surprised there are some comments that he has been difficult to contact, when I have commented on a youtube video and asked a question he is normally super quick in replying.

I've had some quick replies on other questions, so that's why I'm finding it weird not getting a reply on questions regarding the free tools he offers.

And yes, his story is inspiring and great results that I can only dream of (for now)

I'm kinda in the middle of loving/hating Taren.

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Blog | Instagram | Strava

Who’s ‘hating’? My god does every opinion these days need to be rainbows and lollipops?

He puts content on YouTube for public consumption. Just like people comment on what parts of a TV show or movie they like people will also talk the same way about his YouTube content.

No need to put in the hard work any more to be fast, you just need to follow / purchase as Taren does....

"How to guarantee you bike fast in a triathlon: get the most recognizable bike in tri..... the @ventumracingslap a super wild @bicyclemakeover decal on the bike and the huge @altocycling disc wheel canvas, wear the loudest tri shoes possible from @rideshimano get a matching kit from @scodyaus then get a badass position care of @matsteinmetzand some @51speedshop parts."

via Instagram

I post triathlon related videos to YouTube as well. I'm not a super huge fan of his channel but I'm impressed that he's putting out content daily. I think it's really good for our sport. My gut feeling is that our sport is dwindling in participation numbers and if we want more prize money, races and race coverage we should probably be fully supporting people like Taren who are promoting our sport to new athletes. And I think he's getting better. So Taren, if you're reading this, thanks for all that you do and best of luck to your channel in the future.

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YouTube

For what it's worth, they've only existed just over a year and have something like 135k subs. That's ~4x what Taren has, more than Ethan Newberry, and ~40k more than the official Ironman triathlon. They're doing pretty well.

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

GTN is just over a year old. I've been a subscriber before they had 1k subscribers...when it comes to channel growth they're pretty effing steady. So when it comes to traction, I'd say that's pretty good traction. To the point where I'd say Taren's Triathlon news is a direct copy of the GTN Show.

To give an idea I suppose, you can compare Social Blade profiles:

https://socialblade.com/youtube/user/globaltrinetwork

https://socialblade.com/...KDrz2GvLxD29W9tow66g


Both have a B-, but one's growth rate is much crazier than the others.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

How does social blade calc the estimated earnings? I’ve never seen their analytics before... pretty cool.

I take back what I said about GTN and traction, I had not kept an eye on their analytics. I know they had an initial surge but their growth looked remarkably stable and sustained, their overall subscriptions are far higher than what I thought they would be now. And the nice thing, unlike "other" channels (some smelly fruit comes to mind here) they all look like real proper subscribers and views.

I'm with this. Taren's a good guy, I was subbed when he was at 3k and seeing the genesis of the channel, I'd just say a couple things
-He likes to be a human guinea pig. And it can come off as a bit of a magic bullet pitch, but he tries to caveat things a bit without sitting there giving you a full disclosure on camera
-He's building the Youtube avenue without as much help. I like GTN, but they benefit heavily from the GCN partnership. They got 40k subs when GCN announced, I think that GCN gets a bump from Youtube as well. And the way the channels present themselves is different, so comparing is kinda moot. Plus, having two channels of content for a whole sport really isn't that much
-He's trying to make this a business. Which means that he's lost some of the grassroots feel, but at the end of the day for him to put out content he's got to be able to afford expenses. And YouTube ad money on a niche YouTube channel is hard, so I'm willing to see some of the sponsored content because without it, his channel goes away.

TL;DR he's good for the sport. Maybe he doesn't cater to everyone's needs and he's got his quirks, but for triathlon to grow (survive) as a sport, they have to get more people in the door and that's what he can do.

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Chasing PB Podcast Latest interview with Eli Hemming on Targeting a US MTR spot in Tokyo

I think he should keep his videos to update news. He is becoming a better triathlete so some of his advice to beginners now is OK. However, his videos up to 2 months ago were junk when it came to triathlon advice. Total newbie. As far as the quality of the editing I think he does very well. I wish he just follow pros and do videos about them. Also, his product reviews are awful. He is like a kid in Disneyland.

Yeah, I like Taren, but the above stuff has started to annoy me to the extent that he almost never disclose what, if any, economics or free/discounted gear are flowing to him. #sponsored

It's unclear to me whether he just wants to vouch for shit he likes -- I am fairly certain Shimano does not sponsor him in any sense -- or whether he is getting steeply discounted kit (did he pay >$3,000 for those Alto hoops, on a YouTube ad budget?)

In general, I agree that his assessments of products have a long way to go, regardless of the relationship. I mean, Ventum? Really?

As a newbie I watched a lot of his videos initially but he comes across not just like a kid at Disneyland but like a kid I general. Fairly fragile ego and it seems like he's been able to leverage his spouse and this "business" to get a ton of free toys and a ton of time to train and go to camps and the like. I don't think he has kids and if she's on board more power to him but for me this comes through here and there in a way that isn't pleasing to me. Just my 2cents

@kileyay, Yeah, I agree completely. I really like how DCRainmaker makes it super clear that he's not taking money from a company and that his reviews are 100% his own. I did ask Taren about his trip to California to visit Tower 26 and it turns out that he paid for all of it himself. He mentioned that he tries to make it very clear when things are sponsored and I actually believe him.

As for my channel, I'm not really getting a lot of sponsorship offers coming my way. I do consulting work for Nike, so people will probably see me wearing swooshy stuff within videos. Seems like affiliate marketing is reasonable as long as it's just passing along links with an honest review. Hopefully Taren can find a way to make money so that he can continue to make triathlon related videos and doesn't have to switch over to making videos about cats.

Ventum . . . well, I'm not sure about that one ;)

Personally, I liked Taren when he was a working man doing the youtube hustle. Youtubing full time is a mistake. Obviously he still has his business, because there's no way he's making enough to sustain this...but enough to fly Mel halfway across the world to film himself if we're talking: Ads, Sponsored videos, and "coaching plans". And good for him...but the moment he's like I'm going to youtube full time without over 100k in youtube subs turned me off. And then a lot of stuff is just clown shoes. Is Kim making that much cheddar to truly tolerate this? Or did he just crush it on commissions when he sold insurance and mutual funds to give him that runway?

Point is...Working Man struggle trying to get better at Triathlon, is so much more identifiable to his audience than where he's going now and it's probably hurting his growth. And to be honest, with how often his videos are in the playlist on the right when I'm watching GTN I'm sure GTN has helped drive his growth.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

You are just not getting the best advice in the market. You cannot get excited about every product that just came out. Half of them are expensive and not necessarily good. Look at the Cerveló P5X or even the ventum( two big expensive pieces of junk). You are better off getting FREE advice from well established coaches via their podcasts, interviews, blogs, etc. Also, you can always get great product reviews perform by reputable swimmers, bikers, runners or even triathletes on YouTube or their websites.

The P5x is the fastest bike there is. Not to mention it’s one of the most adjustable bikes on the market. I’ll give you fast, but calling it a piece of junk and not good, you’ve gotta be kidding me...

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Matt

Specifically regarding sponsorship disclosure

-Ventum - made a video disclosing it was free and said it during his bike build series... I'm also skeptical of the bike
-BicycleMakeover - made a video talking about them making him a free custom decal during the bike build
-Alto - when he got the wheels he explained they sold him the wheels at cost and they weren't entirely free
-Shimano - disclosed when he got that groupset in a video he got it for free
-Scody - he's talked about them sponsoring and selling his kit
-51 speedshop - he made a video saying they got sent to him for free

Every one of them has a video where he discloses this... Just an FYI. I agree the product reviews aren't hard core but he's also pointed people to DC Rainmaker for those. Kinda like Casey Neistat refers you to real tech youtubers for reviews but still gives his opinion

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Chasing PB Podcast Latest interview with Eli Hemming on Targeting a US MTR spot in Tokyo