What Happened to BaremetalHW? - The Mystery of his Disappearance - A Plow Bender Investigation

In 2018 I stumbled across a YouTube channel called ‪@baremetalHW‬ which featured a variety of 1:64 scale diecast content, primarily focusing on Hot Wheels Redline restorations. After watching a few videos, I was hooked and subscribed to this channel which was one of several diecast channels I followed at the time. The channel's creator, Zac has always had a way of producing content which I feel was very entertaining and informative, and also helped fellow diecast collectors/customizers who were also in the hobby.

From 2012 through 2018 Zac's channel had done well, but towards the end of 2019 there was a change in the YouTube algorithm, which can mostly be contributed to the enforcement of COPPA. Starting in 2020, YouTube would make it mandatory that creators had to mark if their content was child directed, however if said content contained anything that kids may find appealing, then it had to be marked as made for kids. While Zac's channel was not child directed and instead aimed at general audiences, COPPA was still a concern he had. Unfortunately the changes put in place by YouTube in 2020 were having an effect on Zac's channel, as his type of content was no longer being promoted, thus his view count started to fall. This continued clear on into 2021, until his last video was uploaded on July 19th of that year.

Since then, we haven't seen nor heard from Zac in almost 3 years now. His Instagram and Patreon pages are just as vacant as his YouTube channel, and no one seems to know where he has gone. I myself have also tried reaching out to Zac over the years and also mailed a few things his way, but the only thing I have to report is that packages I sent were confirmed as delivered to his mailbox. Other than that, I've got nothing.

While I don't have a definitive answer as to why Zac has dropped off the grid, there are a few possibilities. Sadly, what I feel is most likely the reason is due to changes in the YouTube algorithm because of COPPA, which has resulted in Zac's type of content no longer being recommended anymore, thus effecting his view count and also revenue. Another possibility could be he's just taking a long hiatus from the channel, as he did so before back in April of 2013 to the end of 2015. Everyday life may have gotten in the way of things and is taking priority at this time.

I'm asking anyone who watches this video who is also a fan of BaremetalHW, to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on what I've presented in this video, and also what you feel may have happened to him. If you want to show your support for Zac as well, be sure to comment and discuss how much you enjoy his content. While we don't know when or if he'll ever return to the channel, I feel it's still worth talking about.

BaremetalHW's Channel:    / @baremetalhw  
BaremetalHW's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baremetalhw...
BaremetalHW's Patreon:   / baremetalhw  
BaremetalHW's TikTok:   / baremetalhw  

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Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/202305150...

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Jim Zim's Channel:    / @jimzim  

J House Vlogs' Channel:    / @jhousevlogs  

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