SEATTLE — Seeing someone repairing a watch doesn't sound like must-see TV, but what started as a hobby has turned Seattle's Marshall Sutcliffe into a YouTube star.
"I wanted it to be a space where you could like, hang out with me. And you could put aside whatever else you have going on in your life or the world. And you can just get into my little world on my bench. And you and I are going to go through a journey together where we restore a watch."
For the past two years, Marshall has taken his hobby of repairing old watches online with his YouTube channel, Wristwatch Revival.
"I thought I'll get some people that are like for the nerdy people that want to just kind of go deep with me and get into this. That's the kind of audience that I'd be looking for. But as it turns out, it has a wider audience and I am thrilled about it."
He gets most of the watches he repairs off of eBay or given to him to fix by friends and family. All of them can be a challenge to restore, especially given the tiny world he works in.
"The sheer size of the components of these watches is mind-boggling. I mean, I use a loop for some of my work, and sometimes that's not enough. You have to get on the microscope. Literally. I bought a scientific microscope so that I can look at what I'm actually doing on these things."
But with all his tools and talent, it's his accompanying commentary that viewers can't seem to get enough of.
"I've had some people say you're like the Bob Ross of watches. And I'll tell you, that is such a big compliment to me,” Mitchell said. “Because if you watch Bob Ross's stuff, it's never about the painting, you just wanted to hang out with him because he was cool. And his voice was funny and stuff like that."
In a world where everything is digital and disposable, Marshall Sutcliffe has found success restoring pieces from our past.
"If people keep watching, I'm gonna keep making them."
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