Raising Funds for How to Defeat Dudes

So ending out its first month "on the air", the first three episodes of my webshow, "How to Defeat Dudes" has gotten a little under 6,000 hits, 75 likes, and 70 subscribers on Youtube. This tells me that Ive created something that people seem to like and enjoy, and that I should continue. And now comes the hard part. Funding another 12.

As I mentioned the first time I wrote about this show idea, I wanted to set this show apart from everything else out there by just plain making it better. Not just in terms of the quality of the content and by giving it entertainment value, but also by adhering to quality production values as well. As such, while most of the other self-defense tutorials out there are shot in someone's martial art school, with someone's home camera and with no thoughts towards good lighting, sound or camera work, each episode of How to Defeat Dudes actually requires a team of people to do, and as such, a budget to pay them with.

While raising this shoestring budget on my own as an actor without a full-time job does represent a challenge (particularly in the economic landscape we are currently in) I certainly do not see that fact as a reason to back down. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, after all.

Given the fact that this is a free show for everyone, at the encouragement of friends, Ive decided to make the funding public as well, and utilize a fundraising website called IndieGoGo. Through the site you can contribute to the show's funding either anonymously or publicly, and if you choose, get certain perks (such as having your name listed in the credits of the show) in return for your contribution. The fundraiser will run for two months, so I will have until April 8th to raise all that I can. In the meantime, I am still going to keep production on the shows moving, and also start putting out video blogs that discuss the topics that I don't have time to get into during the shows 5 minutes-or-less time frame. (This will include topics such as finding a good martial arts school, how to think about self-defense, etc).

Thus far, in the first 24 hours, Ive raised $325 dollars this way. Not bad for starters, but Ive still certainly got a long way to go. Lets get it on! Yosh!!

For those who'd like to contribute to the effort OR haven't seen or heard of the show, and would like to see an episode or read what its about, feel free to click here. Any contribution, no matter how small, is totally welcome and every little bit helps.