Thanks everyone, I'm particularly amused by all the comments in Russian and Indonesian. Спасибо and terima kasih :)

Proud of you Russ. You truly deserve all the respect the community gives you.

The rapid growth of your channel is not a coincidence. It's very clear that you are among the few on KZfaq who are so passionate and put in this much care and thought into their videos.

Russ: My accent and voice are weird Me: *watches every video because your tone relaxes my brain for 20-40 minutes*

Congratulations Russ. Well deserved. It was nice learning more about you. The reviews are what bring the initial views but it’s your character and integrity that keeps everyone coming back. Cheers

Congratulations Russ 🎉 Well deserved 🙂 You're the best!

I didn't expect to watch a 45+ minute behind the veil kind of video, but you are such a great guy that it was enjoyable to hear more about you and everything that lead to where you are now. Always look forward to more of your videos.

Interesting how the world turns. Many years ago I found your blog about health and food, (at the time I started Paleo) and loved how you wrote your recipes from a storytelling pov. When you started RGC at first I didn't realise you and The Domestic Man were the same guy, and that only made the bond stronger, because we share those two topics. You deserve all the success you get in your journey (I still look for recipes on TDM) and obviously RGC became one of the best YT channel for retro gaming and devices. Congratulations, Russ, and if you start some project in the future, about any subject, let us know, because it will probably be a great thing to follow!

Wow. Much respect brother. I spent a few years as a 31b in the Army also. I would’ve never guessed that you were ever even close to the age to be able to retire after 20 plus.

Thank you for doing this. Your channel is great and its nice getting to know your personal side.

Watching this channel grow has been a pleasure. It was this channel that really helped in some tough times. Especially when we were all stuck in the house. You really are like the Bob Russ of the gaming handheld world. I hope you continue to grow and thrive.

Well done Russ, so proud of you. Your channel got me into portable gaming, and back into gaming at all in a big way. Onwards and upwards!

Your JOY of this work and community is clear and ridiculously appreciated. Your positivity is infectious and am now realizing why I gravitate towards your videos over all other retro channels. 😊

Thank you Russ. Your methodology is basically a roadmap for anyone passionate about a subject that they want to share or teach to others. Maybe you didn't set out with that in mind, with you're a great educator and role model. Bravo on your accomplishments and look forward to following along.

Its not surprising you taught in the past, you have a great way of being engaging and relaxing at the same time. You are also very clear and direct. You deserve a lot more success in the platform. I hope the Steam Deck 2 allows your channel to blow up.

It was because of Russ I started my emulation journey again, started with my phone, then AYN Odin, now ROG Ally and it has been an incremental growth of knowledge from Russ and Reddit users guiding me. I was always scared of windows emulation and only had Android experience through my phone, with Russ I felt that confidence to know I could dive in and learn more. I got to a point where I got obsessed and now I am decently comfortable to teach others. I helped my coworker get PS2 emulation on their pixel phone and they were astonished.

Wow. A podcast length video! I'm here for this! Congratulations brother, you deserve it! One of the nicest guys in handhelds. 1m around the corner my friend!

Thanks for keeping it real man. Plain talk, honesty, and integrity are hard to find. Thank you for not relying on antics and brown nosing to get your audience. Thank you for keeping it family friendly and being as thorough as you can. Because of your videos, I was able to set up several devices and learned to compress files to fit more games onto my devices (especially, PS2.) My Odin 2 is a one and done, and my Steam Deck is about to be the same. Anyway, Thank you for all your hard work.

From one retired squid (OSCS) to another, I gotta say thank you Russ, you made the "barrier to entry" with this hobby much more tenable to someone like me that grew up playing the old-school systems and wanted to revisit - because of you and your efforts, I knew that I could manage to make it work and that you and your guides would make the process as smooth and understandable as possible. So thanks again brother, all 400K+ of us appreciate what you do!

Russ, you're transparency and care for your audience is so refreshing in a world where every KZfaqr is trying to sell you something on behalf of a company. Your success is well-deserved, and I hope you continue to find joy and pride in the work you do!

That was so inspiring to hear about your background and story. Thank you for the time you spent here and I can't wait to work on my own videos!

That’s a breath of fresh air to hear that you don’t script your videos. I think we all love videos that are styled that way. You do a great job at delivering such a calm and natural video every single time.

Thank you for your content sir! Your videos have been a source for comfort, information, and fun to me!

Thanks for all that you do Russ! I'm glad that the channel seems to be working for you and I hope the conditions stay good enough for you to continue making them. The retro games and cool devices brought my attention to your channel (almost a couple years ago now) but your attention to detail, your honesty, integrity, your genuine 'nice guy' vibe and the quality of the work you do are what kept me around. Thanks for being you and I wish you the best.

Very happy with how far you’ve come and all the help you’ve provided. I’ve learned a ton from this channel, and the RG351P was the one I dove in with. Now I’m fighting off the urge to pick up everything I see you work on lol keep enjoying what you do and in the wise words of Bill, stay rad every body

Hi Russ, your channel is extremely enjoyable. I appreciate the seriousness you take in testing products and the fact that we can trust you. I would never have fully understood retro handhelds without your explanations and tutorials. Thank you!

Congrat's on the growth on the channel Russ! I came across your channel a complete noob looking for help on how to turn my old Vita into an emulation device two years ago and have been addicted to your videos ever since (I'm slowly dragging friends and family in to the hobby now too!). Never stop what you are doing. You're channel is literally the default stop when it comes to emulation and devices because of your easy to understand instructions and reviews. Much ❤ from Sydney Australia!!

Honestly Russ your written guides are my go to when first setting up a new handheld (your videos are too of course). You bring everything together in an easy to understand step-by-step package. Keep on growing as will be here for it!

I just want to say thank you, Russ. You’ve both entertained and informed me. Your RGB30 guide was a big help with my first retro handheld. Keep up the great work!

Coolest channel ever! Keep on going. Maybe we can hit 1,000,000!

As always, thanks Russ!!! Several years back I bought my first RG353p after watching several of your videos and I have been hooked ever since. Beyond the hours spent on these devices, where I will be forever thankful is that your content helped me through some pretty tough times. At that time, my father had just passed away from a very painful bout of cancer and because my wife had to leave to care of her own mother, I was often home alone. After mastering the rg353p, I started using your videos and guides to help me hack and upgrade my existing handhelds which allowed me to focus on much less depressing things. Following your growth and progression has been a pure joy, but I will always be thankful for your assistance through those times, so again, thanks for everything you do! Something that is always great about your content, we are always learning something new about you and your life. That is awesome to learn that your father's family was from Minnesota. I have been living here since '96 and can't seem to leave :)

Congratulations on reaching 400K subscribers! Well-deserved. :) I appreciate the way your channel explains complex topics, making them easily understandable, especially for newcomers to the scene. Creating KZfaq content about handhelds as a profession likely involves more time in device tinkering and information preparation than actual playing just for entertainment reasons. Many enthusiasts, will have the same experience, even if they don't make it for a living. Often, their device recommendations on reddit etc. come from a personal perspective, a perspective of a person that will get one or several few devices every few months or even weeks. Focusing on the latest hot device without considering the perspective of a person who just want's to buy one device for playing with it a long time. Your videos, however, stand out by regarding that perspective, making them invaluable for newcomers trying to find the right device for their use case. Furthermore, I admire that your guides are both comprehensive on one hand and, at the same time, engaging and easy to comprehend on the other. I can't praise that enough. As a web developer, I'm working on a website with a similar information-sharing approach. It aims to provide detailed yet beginner-friendly content, featuring a handheld database that surpasses the usability of the Google Docs spreadsheet. The site will also include a curated list of worthwhile Romhacks and a database of homebrew games for old consoles, addressing the lack of a comprehensive resource for these games. In addition, I plan to create in-depth guides for these topics. I also have so many bookmarks and information snippets that I copied in note documents, because many great things this amazing community did and still does often is scattered and hard to come by as well as hard to understand for people completely new to all of this. I try to change that with my site. Balancing this project with my limited spare time, especially after becoming a father this summer, requires patience. Building a foundation for my website that meets the quality standards I uphold in my professional work takes time. Your videos and your general approach serve as a significant inspiration for my project, and make me truly enthusiastic about its development and give me great motivation to keep on working on it.

This channel got me into retro handhelds and taught me so much about how to make those systems my own through custom firmware. Your reviews and guides are simply the best available on KZfaq. Thanks so much for all your hard work and congratulations on such a well-deserved milestone!

I completely missed the Q&A. Well done on this achievement. You’ve done an incredible job of remaining consistent even when you were still at the military.

Thank you for the great video and as always, very informative. You only have to search the internet about any retro handheld and your name or a link to one of your detailed, well informed videos shows up. This truly shows your worth to the retro gaming community and the high regard you find yourself in. Long may you continue producing your guides which are most peoples first and only port of call. Congratulations on the 400k subs and get planning for the 500k milestone. It won't be long now. I'd also like to thank your family for sharing your time with us. We are all appreciative.

I recently subbed to your channel. Just these last holidays actually. I didn't know there was a big and growing market for emulation handheld devices... I just saw some online and looked up on KZfaq. Great channel! Very descriptive and helpful. It's amazing that you amassed 400K sub (and 31K more since last month) in just 3-4 years! I wanna be a KZfaqr too, this video gave me a bit of insight. You're very genuine and consistent, these are qualities that I found attract people.

Without a doubt, this is hands down my go-to KZfaq channel when it comes to retro gaming and handhelds. Russ content is top-notch, and I always find myself coming back for the insightful reviews and nostalgic vibes exuding from whatever is playing on that CRT TV in the background

Russ, knowing you and the success you created as a Sailor, and the amazing work you did with your cookbooks, it was no surprise to me that this channel would be just another thing you did incredibly well. You truly deserve all the good that comes your way, and I am looking forward to the continued growth, and seeing whatever other new project you turn out. Congrats on this milestone, and best wishes for all the rest to come!

The thing that really gravitates me toward your channel is your authenticity in presenting your subjects. When i compare your channel to a couple others in the same vein, i can tell that you only push a video to completion if something has clicked with you well enough to warrant it. I really appreciate that.

Proud of you and your channel! I’ve been here from the start and initially complimented how well organized you are and your format was perfect for me. Now learning that you’re a professional in language makes perfect sense! Keep up the great work, you’ll reach 500k without a doubt.

Well done Russ , cant believe how much this channel has grown since the early days , remember the first video i watched on this channel was for help when i got my RG350M years back and was hooked . Good to see it's just got better and Batter .

Congratulations on 400,000 subscribers. I am always grateful and enjoy watching. I hope it will be a good channel for a long time to come. From an old gamer from the Korean Navy (full service)..

Props Russ! Love the level of detail and the written guides are sooo nice. I’ll watch your videos a few times if I’m doing a mod or project but those written guides are so nice to do MODS at your own pace. Sometimes it’s annoying to have to watch a video to do little things or make sure you don’t miss a step.

Thanks so much for everything. I have been watching your videos since the beginning and you do such a great job. I’m at dentist at Naval Station Great Lakes and a bunch of us here watch and enjoy your videos. As others have said “In Russ We Trust”. Thanks again for the great fun, assistance, and nostalgia helping us all live our second childhoods and share our passions with our children. Take care!

Russ you're a great youtuber! Great reviews, tutorials, and personality to boot.

This is like James Bond getting into handhelds.

Congrats on the 400K Russ! I'm always looking forward to your videos, and it was nice learning more about you in this one. Lots of respect for your hard work and clean editing style, keep it up!

Congratulations on your subscriber, I'll be one of them. I like your videos and your reviews because you can see your enthusiasm and joy for what you do and because you explain everything in a way that is easy to understand. What also great is that I can read your step-by-step instructions. Thanks for that and I find your size comparisons with the butter funny. All the best for the future.

Thank you for your service from one veteran to another.

Heeeeey, girlfriend. I loved this video. by the way, if you ever write an autobiography, you should call it Russ: All The Same.

Congrats! Thank for you for the detailed reviews and guides. They are all very helpful and entertaining!

Congratz on 400k, well deserved! I really liked the episode, getting to know you better and listening to your creative process. Keep up the good work but don't forget to chill with your family and going offline every now and then

Congratulations Russ! Your videos are pleasant, informative, and centred around practical use for us, the viewers. Glad to see the channel skyrocket, it's richly deserved!

Thank you for continuing to focus on the written guides too! Really hard to pause, rewind and pause on some videos out there. Written guides are so much clearer! Appreciate it and congrats on all the success!

Looking forward to at least 4 more years! Love the insights in your videos. I've always loved portable tech so it's fun watching device reviews even when I know I won't be picking one up.

I really enjoyed this video; it is very chill and getting to know more about you is truly endearing. I'm not super into retro gaming because I don't have the time to play that much, but I subscribed to this channel months ago because of the general tone and attention to quality and I'm very glad I did. Thanks for the work you do, congratulations on the 400K and hope the channel does allow for you to support yourself + family withouth burning yourself up. Cheers from sunny Spain!

I have always loved retro games but very recently entered the retro game handhelds and stumbled across your videos, and they have helped me so much. I truly appreciate what you do. The videos you made make my life a ton easier and helped everything not get overwhelming and confusing. From a new loyal fan, I just want to say thank you!

Congrats on 400k, you deserve many more. You put a lot into your videos and reviews and it really shows. I respect you even more after this, you seem like a solid guy

Congrats on the milestone. Your tutorial videos have helped me out more than once. Keep them coming.

Found your channel a few weeks ago and have been loving the content you produce! Keep up the great work!

You're amazing Russ, and a big positive force on your community, and retro/handheld gaming at large. You definitely had a huge hand in making my entry into retro gaming more enjoyable, and helped me find devices/frontends/settings that work for me while spreading that joy to my family and friends too. Keep on doing what you do, and I can't wait to see what's in store next! For 500k, I think a top 3 Steam games by playtime, and your top 3 retro games per system would be awesome. I'd even make a Russ Playlist!

@0:15 - I found you when I was looking for a small handheld and you had maybe 12000 subs at the time. Congratulations your videos have been really helpful and I dont even need a handheld anymore. My great grandfather, grandfather father and I were all in the Navy. Thanks Shipmate.

i really like your channel. I'm in my mid 30's and the whole retro handheld scene it reminds me a lot of the golden age of pc hardware improvement, back in the early 2000's, when i didn't had any money and i struggled to get an honest review of some interesting piece of hardware i was planning to get. And the vibe you give is pretty much that of the tech tips guy before it became what it is now. I watched your channel a couple months ago when i got the RG35xx and last week i jumped based on your videos on both a Miyoo and the powkiddy rgb30 based on your opinions, so thanks a lot and keep up the great videos!

This channel has quickly become my all time favorite. Thank you so much for your dedication & commitment to not only your passion, but to your community. Much love, man.

Really appreciate you giving insight into your process and your journey, it was a fun one. The writer's urge for storytelling definitely shows through in the videos, and it makes the channel very much it's own thing, which winds up being awesome.

Been watching your channel for a long time now Russ, also got into emulation during lockdown days. That being said, just wanted to say that I hope you never change. Your positivity and wholesome demeanor shine through all your videos and it’s one reason why I stick around for it. I truly believe that one of the reasons why so many people love your channel is that it’s like “comfort food” of youtube. It exists in its own vacuum outside all the drama of the internet and outside the depressing nature of real world events. It’s escapism in the best way. Keep it up my friend, can’t wait to see where this hobby goes and how your channel grows with it!

What a fun video. I enjoyed hearing about your process. I just got a MM+ and your videos have been super helpful and entertaining. Keep it up!!

Thanks for your work CM! I’m an E3/HM in the navy and I’ve been watching your videos for close to a year now 🎉 your videos have been great for guidance when I was debating on spending money or not

I have to of say Thank you Russ! KZfaq recommended me your channel months ago and you really helped me figure out what I wanted. I love my Miyoo Mini Plus and I wouldn’t have gotten it if I hadn’t found this amazing channel!

Love your content and love your enthusiasm and passion, I had the biggest smile on my face just listening to you talk about your video-making process, glad you found the place for you and things are going well. Keep up the good work!

Congratulations. I really appreciate your videos and I can see the creativity of a chief, the empathy of a teacher, the work ethics of the navy, and the integrity of a friend. Bravo!

I didnt realize until now how much I wanted a video of you talking casually about your life and interests! This was honestly great and you should do more candid videos like this from time to time.

congratulations. I am watching your review from Korea, on the other side of the world. Your reviews are very professional, your pronunciation is very accurate and you don't use difficult words so even my English isn't good enough so it's easy to understand (and you don't use yard pound hahaha) I'm honored to be one of your 400K subscribers . We will be with you for 1000K and beyond. cheers🥂

Man i really lovee this channel. My favorite retro channel by far. As someone who was in the Army reserves here in california for 5 years i have a lot of respect for you reaching E9 in a very relatively short amount of time and being in for the full 20 years. congrats on that. I found out pretty early on that the military wasnt really for me and i didnt want to go active. Thanks a bunch for all of the effort you put in to these videos and educating them all. i've recommended your channel to friends because i continue to learn so much from you

I love your content man! All your written guides are awesome. Thank you for all your hard work

Great video! Your genuine reviews and guides have been an amazing resource for me to rediscover the games that are special to me and I'm forever grateful for the effort you put into this space. BTW, if I had one request for a future video it's one where you show your process for troubleshooting games that don't work/latency/audio skipping/slow gameplay/etc. I've gotten pretty good at figuring this out from a lot of trial and error, but I think it would be helpful to others just starting out.

Your channel is solid, really helped with set up of my Anbernic devices and looking forward to a possible set up video for the new RG-ARC

Really interesting Q&A. Thanks for doing this and sharing background and history of your life adventure!

Funny enough your style of videos and your green measuring mat sold me. I don't own any of these handhelds so I would find my self trying to gauge the handheld size based off your mat xD I greatly appreciate the effort you put into your reviews and just made my first purchase of the powkitty RGB30 yellow. I want the same ideal handheld like you but I'm extremely excited to play it and thank you because I know I'm going to love it. Congratulations on your milestone and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

You’re awesome Russ! Your videos are always a treat. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to refer to your videos for help. Plus your videos are just a nice way to wind down after a long day and learn about some cool little handheld that plays my childhood games. You put in a lot of work and it shows. Keep it up!!

Really appreciated this, and its funny that the intro sound triggers a sort of nostalgia. Got an rp3+ with my wife last year after lots of videos, and now you're the first place we look when finding something for our daughters to soon enjoy on the retro side as well.

You should be proud of your history!! Thanks for letting us know!

Glad you do what you do. Love this channel. Congrats on 400k!

That was awesome :) Nice to hear a little bit more about you. I was very suprised of your military experience and rank - always wondered what you were doing for a living. I followed the retrogaming rabbit hole thanks to you so I guess it is a good time to say that I really appreciate your vidoes and your content. I always watching your reviews even if I am not really interested in the product - I just like your approach and how you are doing your vidoes. Keep the good work, congrats on your achievement and regards from Poland :)

It's great to know all of this, interesting stuff. Thanks for all the great content, my man. I wish you continued success, it's very much deserved

You inspire me so much! It's been amazing following your journey for the past few years.

Before the switch came out in 2017 my go to source for gaming news was Spawn Wave (it still is now) and was there when the channel grew and grew. Now that I got myself into the rabbit hole that is retro gaming. You're the go to channel on that topic for me. Congrats on the channel growth and we'll be here to support it going further.

I only just recently discovered your channel, and really enjoy and appreciate your content. Your reviews and full setup guides have been invaluable in helping me break into these handhelds. Just wanted to say 'thanks' for all your hard work! 😁

Congratulations on all of your success Russ! Also, revisit that novel and go for it! Life is too short to live in the what ifs. You made this channel amazing and it was your review on the Miyoo Mini Plus that caused me to purchase it. I use it as a means to catalogue my collection and play my backlog during lunch breaks. I love how deep you describe features and custom firmware. It's easy to tell that you are giving a technical evaluation and an unbiased opinion on whatever you review. That's what sold me on the plus and that is also why I keep listening to your videos. Keep doing what you do and also expand those horizons, pass or fail. Regret nothing and leave no stone unturned.

I’m pretty new here and love it! Great work. Your passion shines through and it’s contagious.

Kudos, Russ! Your hard work bringing us great content is much appreciated. Hawaii is a beautiful state. I was lucky to spend a vacation there as a child and I'd love to visit again someday.

Congradulations! I was actually not really that interested in retro handhelds before finding your channel. Your content is so well done and so informative that you convinced me to get a MiyooMini Plus and i felt i had realistic expectations on what i was getting for the price. Also used your guide to install CFW on my 3ds! Thanks for all the reviews and guides and look forward to future content 😊

Thank you Russ for the valuable content you make, here on KZfaq and on your website.

Russ I'm very proud of you! I remember getting into the retro handhelds around 2019 and stumbled on to your channel when I was looking for reviews on new retro handhelds. When I saw your content I was blown AWAY, because I couldn't believe that you only had 30 subscribers. I then became your 31st and proud to be there since the beginning! I hope you remember when you did your first give away with the 3D printed handles for the RG350. I was one of the winners but didn't get to you on time to give you my mailing address. Either way man YOU'RE THE GOAT in this community no one comes close to your work ethic i these retro handheld videos. You not only do reviews. You do TUTORIALS! And leave nothing out! Just like i said three years ago, face reveal at 50 thousand subs (because I knew you will get there). I can see you hitting a million VERY SOON. Keep up the good work please!

I don't think I've fully watched any other KZfaqrs QnA video and this was 48 minutes! Im always excited whenever you post Russ, even if the device/product you're reviewing isn't for me. Your storytelling and way/method of getting your point across is amazing! The guides and reviews are also all very comprehensive and easy to understand. You always take a step beyond what's needed and it's why I'm always back here. Thanks for all you've done for us! Heres to another 4ish years and more :)

For me what made your video/review great was that you showed you know about how the buttons and cross feels especially for fighting games. Also the narrative nature and had that clean honest feel. If I remember correctly the first couple was done in the basement with only your hands visible with occasional guest who would paw their way into the video. Keep it up and love how your channel has grown

Also, I just read your story on your cook book blog and what a crazy few years you had in the late 2000’s. Glad you’re doing better! Oh and the beard fits you nicely haha.

Great Video! Congrats on the 400k .. you got me in to retro gaming and i havent looked back since ! Much love to you and Family!

So glad you're seeing success with this, your videos and written guides are such a boon to the community, it's well deserved! Hey, there's always still time to be a novelist if you have your heart set on it, with the right audience you never know!

Hi Russ. Great video! Awesome to learn some background info from you. Keep up the good work, I always find your videos really helpful. I'll be eagerly waiting for your retroid pocket 4 review. I'm hesitant to preorder it yet.