Well folks, it’s time for another interview here at Gaming Reinvented! With today’s interviewee of choice being someone you’re probably very familiar with in the Zelda YouTube space.

Yup, today’s interview is with The Bread Pirate. Known for fact videos and analyses, Bread’s work is some of the most interesting in the entire community, with a fun blend of professionalism and humour that makes it stand out even in this crowded community. It’s unlike anything else we’ve seen here, and goes against almost every ‘rule’ people tend to associate with success on YouTube.

Yet despite this, it’s very successful nonetheless. Indeed, with nearly 200K subscribers and millions of views per video, The Bread Pirate is one of the biggest names in the entire Zelda YouTube sphere, with a level of popularity almost unheard of in the field.

So, we’re gonna learn how it all came to be. How the Bread Pirate got into the Legend of Zelda franchise, how he started making videos on YouTube, and how he eventually become one of the fandom’s biggest stars.

Let’s go!

The Interview

Let’s start with some background info, shall we? Who is the Bread Pirate?

Ahoy! My name is… oh wait, nevermind. You already answered that.

I am a Zelda Trivia-Hunter. That means I enjoy finding new discoveries and sharing them with people.

And uh, where did that name come from? Why steal bread?

In 2016, I was recording a Terraria Letsplay with some friends. I was a huge fan of The Princess Bride, so I wanted to name my avatar The Dread Pirate (after one of the characters from the movie). But I mistakenly spelt the name with a B instead of a D, thus creating The Bread Pirate. I thought it was hilarious and I decided at that moment that it would be my username.

How did you get into gaming? What was your first gaming?

I started with the Plug-And-Play games! I owned…

• Blues Clues
• Spongebob (The Pineapple Controller, not the Spongebob Face one)
• The Batman (This one was my favorite! I consider it my first REAL video game. Very good soundtrack too.)

I also played SkiFree on my family’s old Windows 98 computer.

What titles are you playing at the moment?

Red Dead Redemption 2 & Age of Empires II. (Also lots of Dungeon and Dragons, but that’s not a video game.)

What was your introduction to the Legend of Zelda series?

Once upon a time, I was visiting my edgy cousin and he was playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The game looked SUPER COOL. So I asked him if I could play it.

He said no.

I asked again.

He said no.

So I begged him a third time…

And he said no.

All hope seemed lost until HIS MOTHER arrived. She forced him to share the controller and he angrily complied. So my cousin made a new Save File, and he let me play in Ordon Village for 40 minutes.

BEST. GAME. EVER.

To this day, I have never enjoyed a game more. Those 40 minutes in Ordon will never be recaptured.

Do you prefer 2D games or 3D games overall?

3D. I like the detailed environments and exploration more.

Do you have a favourite game across the whole franchise?

Link’s Crossbow Training. Enough said.

What do you think the series should do next? I know BotW and TotK have had a mixed reception lately…

Breath of the Wild is the PERFECT formula for overworld exploration. Now, they just need to fix dungeons.

I believe the best way to fix dungeons is by making them vast and interconnected, just like we see in the Zelda TV series, or like a Metroidvania. And I believe they will do it. Tears of the Kingdom already demonstrated a willingness to experiment with it in the Depths.

Onto YouTube now? What made you decide to start a channel?

I was 10. I was stupid. And I thought it would be easy to get famous.

It was not easy. It took 9 years to get my first 100 subscribers. And I loved every minute of it.

Did any other creators inspire you there?

MatPat, Chuggaaconroy, EggBusters (now called AnyAustin), and Zeltik. Also a small channel called Learn the Lore which is a hidden gem and inspired my voice.

Why a Zelda related channel?

I like the secrets and mysteries to discover! And it is a family friendly franchise, which I vibe with.

One thing that’s interesting here is that you never end up being predictable with the kinds of videos you make. What made you decide to keep things varied?

I just have a squirrel brain. Tee hee.

I get bored doing the same thing every time and enjoy learning new techniques. Especially parodies! I love making videos that mimic the style of other creators.

Still, fact videos are clearly your main bread and butter here. Why did you decide to make them?

Funny pun. I like that. XD

I am a history nerd, so trivia gets me excited! My first fact videos were actually history videos about Zelda, not gameplay facts.

And how do you find things to cover? You always seem to have some of the craziest trivia items…

I slowly wander Hyrule and experiment around with items and objects that most people ignore. Or, I scroll Reddit and Twitter looking for interesting things people have found!

That is why it is important to give credit. It is impossible for a single person to find everything interesting in a game like Zelda.

Do you ever struggle to find things to talk about?

Never. I have too many ideas… just not a lot of energy to finish them.

What’s your favourite video so far?

Detective Vic. It was a film project for college I did during Covid with my brother and sister. (It is on my side channel)

But my favorite Zelda video is my Relics of the Past series I recorded with my brother.

Any you think could have been better?

I made a video about Wii Sports Resort recently. I think the subject is subpar and presented poorly. But the editing is good.

Usually, if a video performs poorly on my channel, it is because I picked a poor topic or got lazy with the thumbnail.

One big movement I remember you starting was the Hoodless Zelda one for Echoes of Wisdom. What inspired this whole ordeal?

Dude, that movement was so fun!

In all the advertisements for Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda was shown with her hood pulled down. But then in the game, she is never able to do that. So I started a movement to ask Nintendo/Grezzo to add the feature into the game.

And uh, what happened to that? It kinda seemed to fizzle out in the end…

Yeah. I’m embarrassed by the way it ended.

I wanted to wait to see what Nintendo’s response would be, but it never came.

And I waited, and waited, and waited, and after a year I finally decided to call the movement dead.

But, we were aware going into the movement that this could happen. So nothing was lost.

Recently you seem to have retired from YouTube as a whole, with few uploads in the last half a year or so. Will you make any more videos in future? You did mention that you’d want to make them as a hobby on occasion…

Yes! I love making videos. So I will make more in the future. But right now I am taking a break so that I can focus on real-life things like my career, other hobbies, friends, and playing video games again.

I also want to rethink the way I make videos. Instead of treating it as a business, I want to return to the joy of editing.

Which brings us to another question. Have you considered making more non-Zelda videos?

Absolutely! And I might in the near future. Stuff like Minecraft, Age of Empires II, or Dungeons and Dragons would be fun. But no promises.

What about focusing on your other channels for a bit? Those seem to be a lot more varied…

It is true! I have another channel called Burton Brewster where I make skits. But I reserve that channel for videos I share with my family and friends.

Still, you do seem to be a big force in the Zelda creator community as a whole, having helped a lot of people become successful on sites like YouTube. What made you decide to get more involved in that?

When I first became a YouTuber, I thought that all YouTubers were friends and helped each other out. But I soon discovered that they don’t really do that. So I tried changing that by making friends with as many Zelda channels as I could find!

That is how I became friends with so many people in the Zelda community.

Are there any other channels you want to collaborate with in future?

No. I am “collaborated-out.” Ha ha. But I want to make more videos with my brother! We share the same sense of humor and love Zelda.

Maybe someday I will go back to making collaborations with other Zelda YouTubers. I just need a break to rediscover myself.

How about creators you feel need a bit more attention?

There is this small creator named Zeltik who I think deserves a bit more attention.

Is YouTube your full-time job anymore? How do you make a living now you’ve retired from it?

I still make a little money from YouTube, but it’s not enough to live off. Instead, I am getting a new job this spring, but I can’t divulge any details about it yet.

Finally, what advice would you give would-be creators wanting to start a YouTube channel?

1. Pick a topic you have fun talking about!
2. Mimic the successful things your favourite creators do with your own spin.
3. And each time you upload a video, look for one thing you can improve the next time.

That is all there is to it! You can figure out the rest.

And until I see you next time, have fun storming the castle!

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Thanks for the advice there! Yeah, it’s pretty much what we’d expect for a successful YouTube channel really. You’ve gotta pick a topic you’re interested in and enjoy talking about, take inspiration where needed without literally ripping anyone off, and put the work into getting just that bit better every time you upload. It’s not a quick process, and it certainly won’t make you an overnight star unless you’re ridiculously lucky…

But it’ll give you a much more sustainable channel nonetheless. One you actually enjoy being a part of, and one which has the potential to stick around for more than a few weeks.

Regardless, thanks for the interview! It was really interesting learning all about your channel and history with the Zelda series, and we’re excited to see whatever types of videos you’ll work on next.

Still, what do you think? Was there anything we didn’t ask Bread that we should have? What are your memories with the Bread Pirate channel and their videos?

Tell us your thoughts on social media, or on our Discord server today!

The Bread Pirate on Social Media

YouTube Channels

• Burton Brewster (his first channel)
• Major Burton Brewster (his slightly less dead second channel)
• Enclave News Network (Fallout videos)
• Burton Brewster (semi-active skits channel)
• The Bread Archive (playthroughs)

Other

• The Bread Pirate’s Ship (Discord Server)
• The Bread Pirate on Twitter
• Burton Brewster on Instagram
• The Bread Pirate Wiki Page
• The Bread Pirate FAQ
• The Bread Pirate on Reddit
• The Bread Pirate Interview on the Cave Boys Podcast
• The Bread Pirate’s Terraria Profile
• The Bread Pirate’s Zelda Dungeon Profile