F*ck You, Pay Me

What's the best way to get paid as a freelancer? How do you assess the viability of a new member of your workshop team? In this live stream excerpt Adam Savage answers these questions from Tested members @leemarsh3569 and @C2Lawson, whom we thank for their support. Join this channel to support Tested and get access to perks, like asking Adam questions during live streams:

Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman

Thanks for watching!

[tested]

Join this channel to support Tested and get access to perks, like asking Adam questions during live streams:

[ewingfox]

I got fired from a painting job as a teenager where I was required to remove lead paint from a large wooden ship. I wasn't given a respirator, and when I asked for one, I was given one with used carts that had expired 5 years earlier and the mask was leaking. I went back to my shop foreman and asked for new ones and he said only his long-term guys got new ones; the 'new guys' weren't worth it - we had no PPE to use. I told him I'd get back to work as soon as he gave me the PPE required by law for the work - he decided I wasn't worth a pair of carts for a respirator that would seal, and I spent the next 20 years in the trades hiring guys away from his crews - some of the best workers and often VERY eager to work for a foreman (me) who wasn't going to treat them like garbage.

[jerbear]

Adam PLEASE keep this discussion going. The way you just discussed work place safety and fair negotiations is exactly how we need this talked about. You are uniquely positioned to make sure our young workers are safe and treated well. Thanks so much for this.

[FRGPRC]

Thought Adam was on his villain arc when I saw that title

[LawtonDigital]

I served four years on tanks. Tanks are loud. Machine guns are loud. The canons are loud. Everything was freakin' loud. I wore my hearing protection religiously. I turn 60 this year, and my hearing is great.

[FormerlyKnownAsAndrew]

"I'm about to curse" - Adam Savage

[HaibaneRakka]

When I think of modern day heroism, I think of people like Adam Savage. Pushing wisdom, a love for learning, being your genuine self, and being candid about the business aspects of living in our society. I really appreciate people like that

[ryandowney]

Never work for anyone who wants to pay you in "exposure" or "experience".

[charlesjohnson]

I came back to a restaurant as an assistant manager after having left. One of my new duties was to go down to the restaurant if someone on the opening staff didn't show up. I got down there one morning when the maintenance guy didn't show and had to clean the deep fryers. We had none of the proper PPE to do the job. The GM says we don't replace it because no one uses it. I then explained the difference in the amounts a lawsuit would award if someone got injured and we didn't have the PPE available vs. the employee didn't use it, including him as GM being personally liable and not protected by the corporate entity of the restaurant because he would be personally negligent for not doing his job and supplying it.

[Cabbagedood]

I'll always remember learning automotive body shop work and all the old guys mentioning how destroyed their hands were, not being able to move a finger or two, no feeling in some part and very rough dry, and damaged skin. Then those same people mocking me for wearing gloves any time I could while working. The weird stigmas on wearing PPE is wild sometimes.

[bridgetl.]

One of the best pieces of advice about grudges came from Bob Proctor: “Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” Although sometimes very difficult, forgiving others and forgiving yourself is very freeing and you acquire a very valuable thing: a peaceful and happy mind.

[franklubbock]

I wake up and see two Adam videos. One I can’t watch unless I’m a paying member and the other says fuck you pay me.

[richt-]

Great video. I have five rules I follow when freelancing:

1. As much clarity on the scope and terms of engagement up front, as is commercially viable - dont do two days of due diligence for a one day engagement. You're working two days for free that way.
2. A clear contract that documents this and creates a binding agreement
3. If it's the first time I've worked with them, talk to other people who have - my key question, is there anything I should watch out for - it's a polite way to give them latitude to share the negatives in a way they feel comfortable with
4. If it's a long term engagement, stop work if you stop getting paid, immediately. Be nice about this, but firm and unwavering
5. No second chances.

[Intabih]

10:50 Hell yeah, "Learn what you can and cannot control and learn to be okay with that." Totally learning those lessons now.

[ClintonAllenAnderson]

"It doesn't have to be suffering"


Reminds me of something I heard, I think from an adventure racer


"Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional."

[josephfuller]

Regarding working with people who aren't good at their "job", but are wonderful to work with and make the team function those people are absolutely essential. I'm a supervisor at a distribution center, and we have one employee that doesn't do a lot on paper but will make an entire team faster just by volunteering for unpleasant tasks.

[jerbear]

I had a young woman in my call center that could barely talk on the phone but she was a human sun beam. She just made everything and everyone near her better. We kept her for years. I tracked days she was off and she was good for an additional 20% from the rest of my team. Good value. Miss the heck out of her as a person honestly. If you find a person like that treasure them for their over all value not just personal performance

[MitchQuadrupleTree]

Adam, my respect for you was already high, but hearing you talk about how you made sure the tattoo artist for your tattoo was fairly compensated for selling stick on tattoos of his work makes me respect you even more!

[tomiossi]

I so appreciate how articulate you are without arrogance. But mostly, when you pause for thought, you don’t infill with um. You are so easy to listen to.❤

[cameronkeffer]

One of the best things a professor ever told me back in art school, and that I also tell to prospective new creatives, is that if you’re in love with the product this field will chew you up and spit you out in very short order. You have to instead love the process. This is because 90% of what you’ll be doing day to day is going to be boring & tedious rather than something you’re likely to get excited about. If you love the process of creation, it goes a long way towards making the drudgery bearable & makes the few times you get to work on something legitimately cool even better. However, if it’s the product you love, and there is nothing wrong with that, you’re likely going to wind up at best like the kid in the story who just didn’t want to finish the project and was told his alternative was to go home. To these people I tend to suggest keeping art & creative pursuits as a hobby. Not because they aren’t talented, I’ve met plenty much more talented than I am, but because the last thing I want to see is the joy sucked out of it for them.