Please stop by and give a word of encouragement for Vas

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
I despise social media, and in particular how "reviewers" or "influencers"(puke..) have taken over how products are reviewed. For the most part they get freebies, do a short term review, and don't say anything negative so they can continue to get free stuff. It's gross.. The lack of longer-term perspective, and also I-paid-for-it-with-my-own-hard-earned-money perspective is totally underappreciated IMO... With his Kraton videos though, I think there was a cumulative effect which convinced me to get one..


So in the case of ARCP, I did go to his reviews - and trust them, and ultimately just bought my Kraton 6S based to a large extent on the faith I had in it based on his reviews. It soudns like it kind of went to poop for him. Which is unfortunate. But oh well.. What's that pyramid thing called about life priorities? RC isn't very high - and it shouldn't be...

One last point - Horizon is an absolutely, completely and entirely despicable company. I was into LST2s years ago, and even back then there was talk about how corporate Horizon had gutted and was ruining Losi. I was around for YEARS when people were waiting for an E-LST2, and Losi was just out of the picture. Meanwhile TT figured out how to re-purpose the ancient ST-1 to make the MT4 G3... For the last several years I have been into flying more than cars, and I have had to observe how Horizon has just been getting worse and worse.. 10 years ago they had Parkzone - now they have massively overpriced planes, but have cut major corners on quality.. I had two planes crash to oblivion at 100+ mph with melted ESCs... :rolleyes: Anyway, I finally decided to get a Kraton (after being convinced about them years ago thanks largely to ARCP), and wen to two LHSs here in Germany. Both guys looked up availability - about a month ago - and said they had no clue when they'd be back. They both said Horizon was a disaster - no availability, no service, etc.. One guy even reckoned they'd probably fold up shop in Europe the way things look now..

Anyway, tough luck for VAS. But ultimately if he tied his fate to Horizon, as unfortunate as that is, well.... Sorry - it's an awful company.

Such a shame Thunder Tiger, Hobao, Associated and co aren't more on the scene... Everything is Traxxas and Horizon - which is nauseating...

5th scale is lost cause too - way overpriced for what it is...
Horizon in europe is bad but in america never relly had a problem with superior service than traxxas here but since covid idk going to warranty an esc soon lets see what happens but losi did not deserve what horizon seems to have done to them i hope horizon doesn't become traxxas 2.0 with their awfull behaviors
This just going to hurt arrma than anything else by not talking to him or explaining whats the route they have taken and + trowing an unprofessional reply in public just trows more oil into the fire
 
I buy a lot of stuff from Hobbyking, which is much maligned. But throughout the whole Corona thing, I made orders and got them as normal.

A company of Horizon's magnitude and status should be WAY above where they have been. And honestly, Horizon's downward awfulness trend I have observed began way before Corona...
 
They will be will pissed off now.. wonder if they would ever sue him for breaking a NDA.
 
Sad news indeed, sucks how it played out. Legally speaking when someone breaks an NDA (or suspected to have) that's when company lawyers get involved and in my experience (coming from a Microsoft environment) whenever legal is involved with something they tell everyone to keep their mouths shut and don't speak to or about anything on your own without their permission -- no opinions, responses, or even acknowledgements of any kind with/about those involved. I can see why this may have been why there was ghosting when he was trying to get a straight answer while whatever was happening in the background was happening but this is just me guessing so who knows what really went on with horizons/Arrmas end.

It sucks that a community built around a passion for RC and a spokesman who helped build that community gets dumped on by a corporation he helped build up over the years with his contributions. But that's big business for you.
 
fiddlestick THIS! This broke my heart. are you fiddlesticking kidding me horizon? I BOUGHT MY KRATON BECAUSE OF VAS!!!! YOU FIX THIS TODAY!!!!!
 
I watch you tube guys its where I get my inspirations from to keep going in this hobby for last10 of my 60 years. Vas is always one I made sure to watch 1st,,horizon hobby just a store,we have ways of not dealing with them. Arrma not the best ,there playing our wallets like a fiddle an you guys are blind to it.
 
It's Horizon playing our wallets. Several years ago a Kraton was a good hundred Euros(if not 150...) less than what it is today...

All Horizon...
 
NDA’s are leaked all the time... I bet they might had the blessing of the company somehow ... Get people talking (like we are about this topic) about their products or latest greatest thing... Blurred images to create the buzz. As far as sue Vas... I would think they wouldn’t gain much of anything from those actions and might even hurt their image. It could turn off potential future reviewers from participating in future releases. The honest videos Vas made were to honest for Arrma to handle... So they ghosted him out of a job. Like others said... This has been brewing for awhile now it seems.
 
This had nothing to do with the NDA. It was the video he released that basically told people not to buy the K8S. Get a free truck before anyone else (for free no less) and then put out a review saying it's a piece of sh!t. He should have expected nothing less than what has happened. The leaked photo grief came from Talbot and his cronies that hate his guts. I truly believe the leaked photo had NOTHING to do with HH severing ties with him. I remember watching that video of his and thinking that this guy just committed Arrma suicide. Did he send it to HH first and say, "Just so you know this is what I'm releasing to my 60,000 subscribers. What do you think?" Hell no he didn't. So why should they tell him he's been sacked over it. Do the math. It's not hard.

His live stream video was painful to watch. Clearly he needs some sort of help. I genuinely felt bad for him. He says he makes next to nothing from his YouTube channel. So why get to the point he is at? There's something more going on there and I hope he seeks some help.
 
lol the Quote system here is kind of strange.

Vas was being paid by HH/Arrma in free trucks. Not only were they free, but he got them early. I'd have a huge passion too if that were the case with me ?

Have you seen his Kraton 8S "review?" If not, watch it. If you have, how can you not see that as a relationship severing event. It was not one of his typical product reviews. I'll leave it at that.

I'm going to go watch his latest video. I doubt it will change my mind as I already have many of the facts. I was a big fan of his channel for a long time.

I did not know Vas was given most of the cars he reviews... I know the K8S was handed out to youtubers as most videos start out that way when it was being launched. But watching his videos either I missed the part where he said the cars where given to him by HH/Arrma or he never said it... Makes it so much more worse or different for me.

I mean was the product given to him to review as a review unit? Taking out the circumstance of breaking the NDA, which is what they're nailing him on, sounds more like now Arrma has sour grapes.

No sir, don't like this one bit. Because it makes them out to look like a bunch of thin skinned asshates. He spoke the truth about the car and he couldn't in good conscience recommend said product.
If this is true, like Traxxas with their lame lawsuit over pushr.. I mean cantilever suspension, in the RC enthusiast community might blow back into their face.

Seriously the Phone youtubers had to go through this, tech, video game etc etc. If you don't want the honest opinion about your product don't offer it up to youtuber to review.

Makes me really rethink about Arrma.

The leaked photo involved a pre release photo of the Kraton 8S. It wasn’t a photo he took. It was provided to him and he shared it with two others, people he thought he could trust, breaching his NDA, and costing him his relationship with Arrma. Vas hasn’t mentioned anyone by name. I know that Kevin and Claire were rumored to be involved at the time, but don’t take that as gospel. I don’t know if Kevin was involved at all.

That sucks.

I guess for me it is less about the business part of it and more to do with the bullying he’s receiving. The sea between himself and HH is non of my business. But when someone is threatened by internet bullies, I try to throw my support behind the guy being targeted. My goal was to let Vas know I had his back and enjoyed his content. Seems like the right thing to do.
His live stream video was painful to watch. Clearly he needs some sort of help. I genuinely felt bad for him. He says he makes next to nothing from his YouTube channel. So why get to the point he is at? There's something more going on there and I hope he seeks some help.

This. His mental health is in the toilet. I don't get or know the backlash he's receiving. I don't get it and who are these people that's attacking him in the DMs? Over a photo of a RC car no less? Pretty sad if so.
 
This was the most honest and painful video I have ever seen on youtube. I really feel for Vas, He hasn't been treated right and he is suffering. Both Arrma and Horizon Hobby need to check themselves.. Vas didn't leak the picture, and another thing.. We all know that any leaked image of an model that is about to be released only serves to increase excitement and anticipation among fans of the brand and product, not harm it in any way. Whoever it was that did leak the picture helped Arrma with attention getting publicity, not hurt it. Arrma and Horizon know this. Regardless of that if they want to cut ties with Vas then at they should at least have the decency to tell him why to his face, not just ignore him. They come off looking childish and vindictive.
I'll also say I was surprised at how much this has affected Vas, he literally looked like he was alternatively in a rage/ holding back tears from one moment to the next. I hope he can get over this and get back to being his old self
 
I understand both sides.

Break a NDA, you done. Cut and dry.

I also applaud VAS as he was doing reviews on products and gave is honest true opinion. Calling a product what he felt it was, I call that integrity. For me this could have been handled much better with communication on both sides.
 
Play stupid games, win stupid prices.

Could Arrma/HH have handled it better? Absolutely. But he knows already anyway. After getting sent free RCs for years, demanding a "virtual handshake" for all the "work" he has done for them (he's a reviewer, not an employee, remember?) is just idiocy.

Lets be real. As kids already we learn that actions have consequences. The vast majority of these consequences are of the "i don't like this" kind. He did send that picture around, doesn't matter if he took it, or if one of the guys who received it from him leaked it to the rest of us - he's still the source. He still broke an NDA. And, in fact, he should be happy that the only thing that happened was that he doesn't get free stuff anymore - breaking an agreed upon NDA can have some dire consequences in the real world. Starting from termination of employment (basically what Vas is experiencing), to monetary penalties, and/or a lawsuit for potential damages.

Now, here's one thing to note. Vas can't take any criticism. Not even of the constructive kind. Note how he's talking about "being framed" in this video, right after admitting that he did send the picture to other people.

I don't like Vas, but that doesn't condone bullying or toxic behaviour. That's never okay. That said: for the HH/Arrma clustertruck, he has no one to blame but himself. I don't even get why people argue "he didn't leak that picture" - that's nonsense. A whistleblower rarely publishes the stuff he finds himself - he sends it to a paper (like Spiegel or Guardian) to publish. That doesn't make those newspapers the leak, it's still the guy who started it.

And even if none of his friends published that picture to us, he still leaked it to his friends. And he made that clear in this video too, so there's zero argument. We're not talking breaking a promise to a 4 year old here, we're talking the violation of an NDA with a multi-million dollar company. He doesn't get to decide at which point it's considered a leak (hint: it's a single person).

I get that people like him, all the power to you. But turning this into an echochamber, trying to resolve him from all responsibility, and evul arrma etc doesn't help, especially not Vas. Taking responsibility/consequences is a life "skill" every single person here should have. This is in its entirety on Vas, and as long as he doesn't grasp that Arrma/HH doesn't owe him anything, he'll always be a second rate reviewer in my book. Just try to figure out at which version he even starts to mention the Kraton bending problem, and you know why.

The K8S might be the first (and only) "brutally honest" review he's ever done.
 
Guys as has been mentioned numerous times breaking the NDA had diddly squat to do it, otherwise JayTee wouldn't have gotten anymore Arrma rc cars after accidentally leaking his unboxing of the Arrma Outcast 2019 model 2 months early. Even if it was an accident it is still breaking a NDA.
 
Last edited:
I mean they give the cars for a review honest review if he found the car bad and bended the chassi on the first bash well...
Vas hate or love doesn't matter he should not be arrased and bullied for sonething like this. And kevin talbot leaked the picture idk maybe he sended the pic to kev might be possible he leaked it because he takes stuff not seriously
Play stupid games, win stupid prices.

Could Arrma/HH have handled it better? Absolutely. But he knows already anyway. After getting sent free RCs for years, demanding a "virtual handshake" for all the "work" he has done for them (he's a reviewer, not an employee, remember?) is just idiocy.

Lets be real. As kids already we learn that actions have consequences. The vast majority of these consequences are of the "i don't like this" kind. He did send that picture around, doesn't matter if he took it, or if one of the guys who received it from him leaked it to the rest of us - he's still the source. He still broke an NDA. And, in fact, he should be happy that the only thing that happened was that he doesn't get free stuff anymore - breaking an agreed upon NDA can have some dire consequences in the real world. Starting from termination of employment (basically what Vas is experiencing), to monetary penalties, and/or a lawsuit for potential damages.

Now, here's one thing to note. Vas can't take any criticism. Not even of the constructive kind. Note how he's talking about "being framed" in this video, right after admitting that he did send the picture to other people.

I don't like Vas, but that doesn't condone bullying or toxic behaviour. That's never okay. That said: for the HH/Arrma clustertruck, he has no one to blame but himself. I don't even get why people argue "he didn't leak that picture" - that's nonsense. A whistleblower rarely publishes the stuff he finds himself - he sends it to a paper (like Spiegel or Guardian) to publish. That doesn't make those newspapers the leak, it's still the guy who started it.

And even if none of his friends published that picture to us, he still leaked it to his friends. And he made that clear in this video too, so there's zero argument. We're not talking breaking a promise to a 4 year old here, we're talking the violation of an NDA with a multi-million dollar company. He doesn't get to decide at which point it's considered a leak (hint: it's a single person).

I get that people like him, all the power to you. But turning this into an echochamber, trying to resolve him from all responsibility, and evul arrma etc doesn't help, especially not Vas. Taking responsibility/consequences is a life "skill" every single person here should have. This is in its entirety on Vas, and as long as he doesn't grasp that Arrma/HH doesn't owe him anything, he'll always be a second rate reviewer in my book. Just try to figure out at which version he even starts to mention the Kraton bending problem, and you know why.

The K8S might be the first (and only) "brutally honest" review he's ever done.
The fact that he helped arrma in sales and make the brand look like it looks today is still a worth replying and saying what they were going to do. I understand its point but the opposite can be said that he is "nothing" for horizonhobby and arrma. I personally did not like at all what jason said on the livestream that felt like if he has shot vas in the head could have said it professionally but he said it harsh. It leaves me a bad taste in my mouth he could have easy said it better and still say the same thing but he instead said it the qorst possible way he could have done it
 
Last edited:
Great job Vas on all your videos! I thoroughly enjoyed them all you did great reviews and unboxings!!! Tekno here I come!
 
The leaked photo involved a pre release photo of the Kraton 8S. It wasn’t a photo he took. It was provided to him and he shared it with two others, people he thought he could trust, breaching his NDA, and costing him his relationship with Arrma. Vas hasn’t mentioned anyone by name. I know that Kevin and Claire were rumored to be involved at the time, but don’t take that as gospel. I don’t know if Kevin was involved at all.

I guess for me it is less about the business part of it and more to do with the bullying he’s receiving. The sea between himself and HH is non of my business. But when someone is threatened by internet bullies, I try to throw my support behind the guy being targeted. My goal was to let Vas know I had his back and enjoyed his content. Seems like the right thing to do.

Now it’s pretty clear this was a self inflicted wound (braking the NDA) and he has said he understands if that is their reason why. But HH or Arrma could have been up front and just told him that. It’s unprofessional to leave him swinging in the breeze. Worse yet you toss out a casual message in a live chat to make it public that you’re fired is pretty classless. Now there may be more to the story than we know, so I’m not judging anyone here. I will still continue to buy and support Arrma myself. That could change with more info, but at this time, I’m ok with what has gone down, with exception of the idiots throwing out threats.

✌?
Well said, it seems that all he's really asking of Arrma/HH is a response directly to him about what happened. Doesn't seem to difficult to do for the guy he interviewed a few months back.
 
Moving forward I’d like to see Vas continue doing his channel with Arrma products and others with products he actually bought. Along with other reviewers too. Take away the corporate handcuffs and the need to be gentle and nice... Just a honest brass balls review straight out of the box.. No holds bar . The good with the bad and ugly period. That’s what people want to see and hear.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top