S28: Scott & Blair

[Whimsy]

Meet father and daughter Scott Fowler and Blair Fowler. Blair is a YouTuber, who started posting beauty and fashion videos at the age of 14, and has since expanded her channel to include all-things lifestyle, which has helped to attract more than 1.7 million subscribers.

 

Here is your Scott & Blair topic.

 

[Chyna]

Gotta love those Amazing Editors:

 

Blair: "My dad is kinda amazing..."

[Cut to dad trying to find the cave drums behind a locked steel door.]

 

Also, Blair's extreme uptalk combined with vocal fry is awful to listen to.

[ByaNose]

Blair has major vocal fry. I've seen her videos and its excruciatingto listen to. That said, I'm not in her demographic and she seems to have her followers so I doubt she cares what I think. LOL!!

I'm a little confused on what happen to her father. Did he think he had to head out of the cave to get his work approved? How did he lose the pieces? When they show them in the cave the approvers seem to be standing right there. I'm a little confused why he was exited the cave in the first place.

[Chyna]

As I understand it, after they dug up their pieces they were supposed to "follow the drums" to the spot where they were to assemble the mask. He didn't hear the drums, so he went out in search of them (as did that model, I think). So I suppose that might be somewhat understandable.

 

But as for losing the pieces, it seemed that he'd left a trail of them everywhere he walked, so perhaps he wasn't holding the bag at the top? 

[ByaNose]

As I understand it, after they dug up their pieces they were supposed to "follow the drums" to the spot where they were to assemble the mask. He didn't hear the drums, so he went out in search of them (as did that model, I think). So I suppose that might be somewhat understandable.

 

But as for losing the pieces, it seemed that he'd left a trail of them everywhere he walked, so perhaps he wasn't holding the bag at the top?

Thanks Chyna. I had forgotten the part where he didn't actually hear the drums. I also forgot there was someone else there, too. There is so much going on and all the teams so I get a little confused on the first episode. Hopefully, Scott & Blair can recover after the speed bump.

[Jersey Guy 87]

But as for losing the pieces, it seemed that he'd left a trail of them everywhere he walked, so perhaps he wasn't holding the bag at the top? 

 

Breadcrumbs to find his way back.  He was planning ahead.

[viajero]

Blair's recap of the first episode is up.  It takes her 7 minutes to get to the actual episode, but she does then go into great almost minute by minute detail about what happened, with a lot of behind the scenes tidbits.  Among other things, she does explain why the teams looked surprised to find that they were actually starting the race from their own homes.  Also, the part towards the end about her father looking for dropped puzzle pieces in people`s houses is pretty funny. 

 

 

Edited to add that she's also posted a video where Cole tries to do her makeup, with not surprisingly somewhat horrific results.  I guess its too be expected that the racers have started collaborating on each others social media activities.

Edited February 21, 2016 by viajero

[Christina]

Thanks for pointing out she didn't start talking about the race until minute 7. It allowed me to jump ahead. Her voice drives me nuts. I'm trying to figure out what is wrong with it. She doesn't have an accent, and it doesn't quite sound like she is a smoker, but almost like my voice does when I'm in a multiple sclerosis flare. It gets scratchy and sounds like I'm crying. I don't want to make fun of her for something she can't control, but she can control her constant shrieking of "Daddy" and about a fish flopping. Uggg

 

I think I dislike this team more now than I did before. She found it funny that her dad walked into a home while searching for the drums. Someone, I'm guessing from production, had to tell him that they shouldn't be there. Hilarious.  A family minding their own business and someone walks in on them with a camera crew. They seem dumber than they looked on the show, and I thought they didn't seem too smart then. I know that the race seems to take away your ability to think rationally sometimes. Everyone who races says so, but these two just seem ridiculous. 

[auntlada]

Her voice sounds thin and high-pitched to me. It bugs me. I'm trying not to let it because it's her voice. It's not like it's something she's doing intentionally. I suppose she could change it to some extent, but it would take a lot of work and really isn't worth it for just me.

 

I do think taking a hair dryer and curling iron on the race is stupid. I probably even wouldn't take makeup.

Edited February 22, 2016 by auntlada

[Kromm]

I've decided to be contrary (to most people I guess) and like Blair. I mean the annoying things about her are FUNNY, and I think in the last half of the episode she showed herself up as less of a glamour girl and more of a super-spaz (not just the glasses, but her antics on the beach, pulling the net, when they were cooking, the way she does actually seem to worship her Daddy at times, even while somewhat taking advantage of him). It's kind of high comedy to me--at least at this point.

[peachmangosteen]

I am 100% with you, Kromm. I think she's hilarious. And she seems like a perfectly nice person. 

 

That being said, the "Daddy!"s are a bit much.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Finally got around to watching her Leg 1 recap and now I'm looking forward to her Leg 2 recap whenever it goes up. Not going to lie, I really would love one of those "I'll make better mistakes tomorrow" t-shirts she references. Also to hear about their taxi adventures getting dropped off behind the momument, and why they fell so far behind going to the pitstop was illuminating of their experience.

 

One of the "value added" extras about this season are things like her recap. Because of the multiple online platforms these teams have access to and have maintained (before, during and after the race obviously) we are getting recaps like this, live-tweeting of the episodes (where you can even ask questions to the individual racers about specific race details), some teams are also keeping live blogs/journals as the episodes unfold.....it very much feels like we are getting an all-access pass kind of season. All of the behind the scenes, "inside-baseball" information is largely coming at us in real time. And it's probably a little more unfiltered than just the extra videos that TAR chooses to post on youtube and CBS.com on the normal-er seasons...

 

 

Edited cause she uploaded this leg recap earlier today....and holy cow, they didn't just survive an untie a giant knot or sit on an ice chair for fifteen minutes speed bump. 45 to 60 minutes of pulling a massive fishing net (even with help) could not have been easy or fun.

Edited February 26, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[ByaNose]

And, Blair's voice continues to annoy me. Actually, all the girls and some of the guys are shrieking way tooooooo much. It's beyond annoying. Also, I think Scott is doing more of the work than Blair. This might be a problem when Blair has to do a detour and/or road block.

[Ducky]

aw too bad her videos (and likely none of the other players') are not captioned.  Not even a youtube auto caption option (which is beyond horrible anyway).

 

Oh well... 3-4 minutes I won't have to waste..

[Christina]

On this third leg, Blair tweeted that they went to the wrong place to look for the bags and were about an hour behind the other teams, they thought. Then, Scott's trip around the plaza looking for the bags was a total of about 10 miles in that heat. No wonder he looked so red in the talking head at the end. I thought to myself he got sunburn. 

[ForeverAlone]

I just can't with these two. Blair's voice cuts through my skull like a knife when she is shrieking (which is most of the time), and she can't stop screaming Daddy. I'm not sure which couple I find more annoying- Blair and Daddy or The Clevver Media girls. All three of those women shriek like banshees through pretty much the entire legs.

[Bryce Lynch]

I am 100% with you, Kromm. I think she's hilarious. And she seems like a perfectly nice person.

That being said, the "Daddy!"s are a bit much.

If not for the pitch and volume of her voice, I would probably enjoy her inept quirkiness as well. But when she starts to screech it is difficult to tolerate.

[possibilities]

I enjoy the minute by minute review, with tidbits about why things happened how they did, or what was edited out. I think she seems perfectly thoughtful and like a basically nice person. Also, I never saw that kind of braid before, so that was cool. I like her walking us through their decision-making process and what they were feeling at various times.

 

Maybe if you ask her, she'd add captions or post a transcript? I know it's hard to ask because sometimes people can be dicks about access, but other times, I've found people willing once they realize someone needs it. I get frustrated that it's something we need to keep telling people, but then genuinely it seems like some people, once they're informed, do get on it and appreciate knowing there's a need.

[danm]

Well, oddly enough I kind of like this team (except for "the voice", but yeah).  I'm a dad and I have a daughter and if we were fortunate enough to be on this show together, there would be a LOT of "DADDY!" screams until I did something stupid enough to get us eliminated. 

 

One thing she forgot to mention during the "what's in my bag" video is that her Dad was going to carry it all for her.  (If it was me and mine, there would be NONE of that). I hope they last until the end, and then she can post a video of "what's left in my bag after I threw away most of that crap that I didn't really need and some of the stuff that I really did need".

 

Funny thing is, I have a backpack very similar to that (different color and maybe different size) and was wondering if it was going to be large enough to pack more than I will need -- now that question has been answered for me!

 

Looking forward to suffering through her episode recap videos, and perhaps I will learn enough to start carrying a handful of makeup paintbrushes as part of my minimalist kit.

[methodwriter85]

I know Blair from her YouTube videos (I thought her ex Sawyer Hartman was kind of cute), and it's been interesting to see her on heeE. It's annoying that she shrieks Daddy so much, but my backstory for them is that he was too involved with work so he compensated for that by giving his daughters unlimited access to his credit card. I'm also assuming that the success of their YouTube channel probably allowed her to move out pretty early, which she alluded to.

 

Still, I love that she reinforces that "girls named Blair are princesses" stereotype. LOL.

Edited March 22, 2016 by methodwriter85

[RCharter]

I know Blair from her YouTube videos (I thought her ex Sawyer Hartman was kind of cute), and it's been interesting to see her on heeE. It's annoying that she shrieks Daddy so much, but my backstory for them is that he was too involved with work so he compensated for that by giving his daughters unlimited access to his credit card. I'm also assuming that the success of their YouTube channel probably allowed her to move out pretty early, which she alluded to.

 

Still, I love that she reinforces that "girls named Blair are princesses" stereotype. LOL.

Meh...poor little rich girl has been done before by far more interesting personalities.

 

I suspect its daddy's credit card that funded her move to LA and probably still finances her dream.  Nothing wrong with that, but I think its far more likely.

[methodwriter85]

Meh...poor little rich girl has been done before by far more interesting personalities.

 

I suspect its daddy's credit card that funded her move to LA and probably still finances her dream.  Nothing wrong with that, but I think its far more likely.

 

You would be surprised at how much a YouTube star can make. Especially a beauty vlogger who does product placement. This is a pretty dead-on explanation of what they're like:

 

 

I don't think she's pulling in Jena Marbles money, but as someone with over a million subscribers who gets at least tens of thousands of views on every video she makes, she's got to be at least able to support herself comfortably. I doubt she's a millionaire, but I don't think she needs Daddy's credit card now. Anyway:

 

Edited March 26, 2016 by methodwriter85

[RCharter]

You would be surprised at how much a YouTube star can make. Especially a beauty vlogger who does product placement. This is a pretty dead-on explanation of what they're like:

 

 

I don't think she's pulling in Jena Marbles money, but as someone with over a million subscribers who gets at least tens of thousands of views on every video she makes, she's got to be at least able to support herself comfortably. I doubt she's a millionaire, but I don't think she needs Daddy's credit card now. Anyway:

 

 

I think YouTube stars may overstate their income.  I know of one very popular blogger, has gotten NBC promotion deals and is doing a tour due to the popularity of his channel.  But he has had some very public money problems that make me think it may not be the huge paycheck people make it out to be, even for more popular bloggers.

 

I'd be interested to understand the nature of the product placement deals, but I can't imagine those being very lucrative unless you're talking about being a spokesperson for a product.  There are a few beauty bloggers that review wigs, and their payment for product promotion is pretty much the free wig.  Its not an insignificant amount as a good wig can run you anywhere from $400-$1000, but its also probably not going to set their world on fire.

 

I think Tyler, likely the most popular of the contestants, probably has gotten a lot of his income when he went more mainstream and was picked up by traditional media.  Unless the girls in the first video have any proof of a beauty vlogger making millions off of YouTube alone, I find it hard to believe.  I can believe that some of those vloggers have gotten such a following that they have become actual spokespeople for a product or a line of products, which is probably what gives them a more substantial income.

 

However, it is a very entertaining video!

You would be surprised at how much a YouTube star can make. Especially a beauty vlogger who does product placement. This is a pretty dead-on explanation of what they're like:

 

 

I don't think she's pulling in Jena Marbles money, but as someone with over a million subscribers who gets at least tens of thousands of views on every video she makes, she's got to be at least able to support herself comfortably. I doubt she's a millionaire, but I don't think she needs Daddy's credit card now. Anyway:

 

 

I think YouTube stars may overstate their income.  I know of one very popular blogger, has gotten NBC promotion deals and is doing a tour due to the popularity of his channel.  But he has had some very public money problems that make me think it may not be the huge paycheck people make it out to be, even for more popular bloggers.

 

I'd be interested to understand the nature of the product placement deals, but I can't imagine those being very lucrative unless you're talking about being a spokesperson for a product.  There are a few beauty bloggers that review wigs, and their payment for product promotion is pretty much the free wig.  Its not an insignificant amount as a good wig can run you anywhere from $400-$1000, but its also probably not going to set their world on fire.

 

I think Tyler, likely the most popular of the contestants, probably has gotten a lot of his income when he went more mainstream and was picked up by traditional media.  Unless the girls in the first video have any proof of a beauty vlogger making millions off of YouTube alone, I find it hard to believe.  I can believe that some of those vloggers have gotten such a following that they have become actual spokespeople for a product or a line of products, which is probably what gives them a more substantial income.

 

However, it is a very entertaining video!

[valen]

She was just named the new product ambassador for John Frieda. If she wasn't pulling in a good salary before, she will be now.

[scrb]

She's pretty useless, making daddy do all the work.

Scott didn't want to do the dance challenge.

Even if they lasted, she'd have to do all the road blocks at the end and he may be better suited for some of those.

That Brody guy may find she's a little too high maintenance as well as bossy, if her making all the decisions in the race is indicative.

If Scott didn't have to take the bag back, they still might have won it.

[RCharter]

She was just named the new product ambassador for John Frieda. If she wasn't pulling in a good salary before, she will be now.

really?  Are there any numbers on how much a product ambassador from YouTube makes for a company like John Frieda?  I'm curious.

 

I did a little checking, and there don't seem to be very solid numbers, one article seemed to think the highest amount was about $1500/month, and another article mentioned that brands enjoy using YouTubers because they will accept so little money for a deal in comparison to celebrity counterparts.

 

But if there is better data, or more precise data, I'd like to see it if you have it.

Edited April 9, 2016 by RCharter

[ForeverAlone]

I know Scott is an extremely proud dad, but I still raised my eyebrows at him saying that Blair at 15 had accomplished more than he had at 50. He is a doctor and a lawyer, and his then teenage daughter was more accomplished than him for making YouTube makeup tutorials? Oooooooookay. 

Edited April 9, 2016 by ForeverAlone

[RCharter]

I know Scott is an extremely proud dad, but I still raised my eyebrows at him saying that Blair at 15 had accomplished more than he had at 50. He is a doctor and a lawyer, and his then teenage daughter was more accomplished than him for making YouTube makeup tutorials? Oooooooookay. 

I like Scott, but he has to know he is really, really, really reaching when he says these things.  But, I can't fault him for saying it, men should uplift their daughters....but still...come on now.

[fishcakes]

I think he's just being a good dad and trying to be, or at least appear to outsiders to be, supportive of her choices. He may feel like she made a mistake pursuing a social media career instead of going to college, but it doesn't help her for him to say that publicly, especially as publicly as on TAR, plus it would make him look kind of assy to call her out like that instead of dealing with it privately, which they probably already have or maybe still are doing.

[truthaboutluv]

Honestly, what I'm curious about and have been all season is what happened to her sister? I don't follow any of these social media people but I randomly received a book for free on my Kindle a year or so back, that she and her sister wrote (it was awful by the way, in case you were wondering). I did a quick search to find out who they were and got some information about them having a very popular beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel. So I was already surprised when the teams were introduced and I saw Blair was running with her dad because I recognized her name immediately. Still, I figured "okay maybe Elle (that's her sister's name) didn't want to do so she got her dad to race with her". 

 

But what really surprised me was how all throughout the season when they would reference Blair's going off and starting her lifestyle stuff, etc. it almost sounded like it was always just her. For example, Scott saying how she went off on her own at 18 and no mention that it was her and her sister. Just seems very odd to me. I've done a quick google search so I know I didn't just imagine the whole thing and Elle very much does exist. But it's almost like there was a concerted effort to never mention her or the fact that she and Blair started together the whole vlogging/beauty/lifestyle thing together. I wonder if something happened between them and they both just now do their own thing. 

Edited April 10, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[ByaNose]

I thought she had wanted to the race with her sister but the show said they enough 2 woman teams. They needed the father-daughter role so that's how "Daddy" got picked. She's a pretty girl but that voice and constant Daddy drove.me.up.a.wall. I'm very glad they are gone. Not to mentioned it seemed like he did everything. Although, I'm sure she did a detour and/or roadblock it just seemed like he did everything.

[valen]

really?  Are there any numbers on how much a product ambassador from YouTube makes for a company like John Frieda?  I'm curious.

 

I did a little checking, and there don't seem to be very solid numbers, one article seemed to think the highest amount was about $1500/month, and another article mentioned that brands enjoy using YouTubers because they will accept so little money for a deal in comparison to celebrity counterparts.

 

But if there is better data, or more precise data, I'd like to see it if you have it.

I didn't find specific information related to John Frieda, but this information from Wikipedia is interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_and_Blair_Fowler

 

She's written for Seventeen Magazine, been on Good Morning America, been nominated for several Teen Choice Awards in the web category, written books, released a make up line, and has a shoe and handbag line coming down the pipe with JustFab. She seems very successful. She's had some missteps for sure, which are also listed on Wikipedia, most notably the perfume line. I would think that how much an ambassador makes would depend on how well known they are, and at least in the online beauty community, Blair seems to be doing very well. She would likely garner a larger salary than most. 

Edited April 11, 2016 by valen

[biakbiak]

I wonder when and why she and her sister changed their names, neither seems to be a typical nickname for their given names.

[RCharter]

I didn't find specific information related to John Frieda, but this information from Wikipedia is interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_and_Blair_Fowler

 

She's written for Seventeen Magazine, been on Good Morning America, been nominated for several Teen Choice Awards in the web category, written books, released a make up line, and has a shoe and handbag line coming down the pipe with JustFab. She seems very successful. She's had some missteps for sure, which are also listed on Wikipedia, most notably the perfume line. I would think that how much an ambassador makes would depend on how well known they are, and at least in the online beauty community, Blair seems to be doing very well. She would likely garner a larger salary than most. 

There is a disclaimer at the top of the page saying the information in it may not be entirely reliable. She has had one short interview with GMA...which wasn't even about her being a YT personality, and wrote a short article on Makeup Tips for Seventeen.  Between she and her sister, they have been nominated for 3 teen choice award....not several.

 

The perfume line bombed, and the makeup line and novel are just listed as "released" so its hard to tell how much money they have made from it.  I would bet all three were "daddy funded" projects.  The shoe/handbag line with JustFab happened in 2012, and I can't find any information on the line being current, so it may not be an ongoing project for them since there is no current information from JustFab about their line.

 

As for the book, she didn't even write that, it was written by a ghost writer.....most likely....funded by daddy Scott.  

 

I think the amount an ambassador makes being a YouTuber is probably not as much as most YouTubers would like you to think.  There has been one very well known YouTuber that has endorsement deals and has had very public money problems.  It seems like the girls made the Wikipedia page, and yet there is no mention of sales or money from any of these projects, which makes me think they aren't quite pulling in the money or enjoying the success that people think they are.  And given that there are so many YT gurus to choose from, companies don't really have to pay a ton for endorsement deals.  There is only one Charalize Theron, but there are many, many, many, many, many Blairs.

[Supay]

Fellow past recappers Joey and Meghan (1.0) plus Kym and Alli must be envious:

 

[Moxie CrimeFighter]

Honestly, what I'm curious about and have been all season is what happened to her sister?

....

I wonder if something happened between them and they both just now do their own thing. 

Yes, Blair pretty much followed in her older sister Elle's footsteps with the Youtube thing. Elle wouldn't have been able to go on the race with her because she hurt her back somewhat seriously over a year ago and it still gives her problems. She did a free-fall off a haunted house ride and landed wrong and had to be on bed rest for three months. (To which Blair called her a "broke back princess" in one of her videos... Blair's either not very nice or not as funny as she thinks she is.) They're both pretty much irrelevant now in the Youtube world but they were around when it got popular and took good advantage of it.

 

I heard #Blodie is over already.

[Chyna]

On 4/11/2016 at 11:47 AM, biakbiak said:

I wonder when and why she and her sister changed their names, neither seems to be a typical nickname for their given names.

I suspect they changed them to try and sound more glam.

[ApprenticeFan]

Blair appeared in the TV film Jessica Darling's It List as the titular character's older sister:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCW3TIKqRSw