Oleg Simonov

Stas Asafyev and his Porsche Cayman S car (981)

Autoblogging on youtube is now a very common activity among young people who understand cars. But it is not enough to understand cars, their repair, the subtleties of buying and selling: you need to know everything thoroughly, be able to explain it competently and interestingly, mount a high-quality video.

Stas Asafyev is one of such skilled auto bloggers: he not only regularly posts good reviews on automotive topics, but also officially works in this segment. The blogger is the head of the AVTOPRAGMAT company, where they will pick up a car with mileage, checking it thoroughly and helping to save money when buying.

Surname, first name, patronymic: Astafyev, Stanislav Alexandrovich;

Place of birth: Veliky Novgorod, Russian Federation;

Date of birth: 1991, May 10;

Zodiac sign: Taurus; according to the Eastern horoscope - White Goat (element of the year metal); patron planet Venus;

Education: higher education; graduate of NovSU (Faculty of Construction, Architecture and Art);

Occupation: youtube blogger, autoblogger; head of the AUTOPRAGMAT company;

Marital status, children: not married, no children.

https://www.instagram.com/asafevstas/

He was born in Veliky Novgorod (not to be confused with Nizhny Novgorod – these are different cities!), studied at the city gymnasium No. 4 at the socio-economic department, after school he entered the Novgorod State University. university – that's what is known about the childhood and youth of the future autoblogger and owner of a successful company now. Grandfather is a front-line soldier who went through the whole war from the first to the last day, beloved mother: these two close people from Stas' family are often guests on his social media accounts. In the first year of university, the guy got his license – this was the beginning of his serious passion for cars.

"We read magazines, "pyaterochka" picked at the garage," Stas Asafyev told about the prerequisites for working with cars in an interview for avtocod. Autobloggers began to appear on the Internet, and all his friends took him with them to buy a car – he was already so well versed in this topic. The case helped him decide on his future business: he and a friend bought a used car, converted it, and sold it 2.5 times more expensive! "Why not do it seriously? You can help people make safe purchases, and make money on it," Stas thought. The channel where he started posting videos with reviews of his work was opened on YouTube in 2011.

The first three years the work was sluggish: "It was necessary to sell junk, and I am an honest man," according to Stas about those times. It started when he came to Moscow in 2014 and opened a company there - now it is a successful company AVTOPRAGMAT, of which the blogger is the head. Success came then to his channel with auto-reviews: "Several thousand subscribers came in, customers went to the selection, an office appeared, employees," from his story about the beginning of a successful career. Another fragment from his interview: "AUTOPRAGMAT" is plowing hard, and I'm sawing video - that's how things are going."

In 2018, Stas Asafyev's subscribers were happy to receive interesting news about their idol: the guy decided to participate in the "Stand Up" project, he wrote quite a lot of material for the performance. "There is something to criticize, but the "raisin" is undoubtedly felt!" – experienced old-timers of the "Stand Up" program commented on the blogger's speech. Stas explained his sudden desire to go on stage: "Suddenly I wanted to do something that is fundamentally different from the main work."

Documentaries on YouTube channel

Documentaries are the most popular category on the channel. Millions of viewers around the world will learn stories about the automotive industry of Japan, France, Germany, the USA ... And this is not to mention the vital 75 minutes of safety, which tells in detail about the consequences of unbuckled seat belts.

The circle of friends of Stas Asafyev in the networks is expanding every day – there are almost 10 thousand friends in his VK, and more than 13 thousand subscribers. 124-plus million views - on his main YouTube channel. True, the youtube service sometimes strongly begins to resist the monetization of the plots of a successful blogger – this was, for example, already with his video about Detroit. The same fate befell Stas's new video about Japan: suddenly, for unknown reasons, monetization was restricted on the first day, thus blocking the path of the video to the top lists in the segment "car reviews".

"The presence of historical scenes, videos about accidents,– is the official reason for the strict restriction on the part of YouTube. "The video had to be "covered up" in those places that fit the stated restrictions," Stas Asafyev said at the end of April about the plot "How cars that changed the world appeared from the ruins." The quality of the film was not affected, and there was hope that the video would be returned to general screenings, algorithms and recommendations. But even with the restrictions, the story about Japan has already gained almost a million views.

Almost with absolute certainty, we can say that Stas Asafyev is not married, he has no children. Sociable, emotional, he immediately rushes to inform subscribers about every important event in his life, and of course, he would notify fans if he got married, or an heir would be born to him. But such a cool guy is clearly not alone, he probably has a girlfriend!

-The blogger does not drink, except a little bit in honor of an important event. In October 2019, when the number of views on his YouTube channel reached one hundred million, he wrote in VK: "Maybe I'll have a glass of wine in honor of this. Or maybe I won't drink it– it's a big dose for me, and I'm going to work tomorrow."

-At the same time, he asked fans to congratulate their colleagues who participate in the filming - Pavel Avdeev and Oleg Bashin. "I'm always in the frame, and the channel keeps on those who don't get into the frame!" the blogger wrote about friends.

-Stas took his mother to her anniversary in Paris, he has been abroad many times himself – he loves to travel. "I love surfing in Bali," the blogger said: "I've been there five times, and Bali is different every time!"

Konstantin Zarutsky is the real name of a popular autoblogger published online under the nickname AcademeG. His videos about remaking old cars are watched by millions of subscribers. He calls his work auto-criticism.

It seems that the blogger sees only flaws and shortcomings in popular car brands, but "this does not mean that cars are bad... They're just what they seem."

Zarutsky was born in Leningrad on December 21, 1982. By nationality he is Russian.

Konstantin Zarutsky as a child

Konstantin is the only child in the family. His mother and father were simple workers, so their income was small. The boy dressed in simple clothes and did not count on financial assistance from his parents. His father and grandfather instilled a passion for technology and cars in him as a child.

After receiving secondary education, the young man could not decide for a long time what to do next: Zarutsky has three unfinished higher educational institutions behind him. In his youth, he also managed to try himself in various professions, from a loader to a builder. The guy didn't want to go to the army, and in an interview the blogger admitted that he stole a personal file from the military enlistment office to avoid conscription.

Zarutsky opened the first YouTube channel in 2010, but he introduced the current theme only in 2013. The debut issue - a video review of the Opel Frontera car - quickly gained a significant number of views. Inexperienced motorists who are going to buy a car received useful advice from him, and experienced experts in car mechanics noted the literacy of Konstantin's reasoning and his talent as a presenter. He had to mount the first issues on his own, but then he invited a specialist to join his team.

Zarutsky decided that with the help of a new project he would show people how to make a better car. His works demonstrate how to correct shortcomings and bring the degree of comfort of cars to the level of popular luxury brands. In the Network, this genre was called auto-pumping.

AcademeG and its project: ZIL 600 forces

AcademeG also puts out test drives of cars of different prices, starting with KAMAZ and ending with Renault Duster. The description on the YouTube channel reads: "On this channel you will not see fawning over manufacturers and politically correct speeches, also I do not worship cars, because of this I look down on them and see all their flaws and shortcomings."

Zarutsky's popularity came in 2015, when he launched a new project Pontorezka. This is a kind of video diary about how a Range Rover of minimal configuration is transformed into a chic car. AcademeG's projects "Okaziya" are also known, where he makes a dream car from "Oki", and "Cheap", where test drives of inexpensive cars are published.

The blogger has a second channel in which he leaves autotematics for construction. There Konstantin puts out videos about how his house is being built. He also has a cheerful Instagram account, where a man posts photos from filming and traveling, and an ironic Twitter page.

Fans appreciate the blogger's videos for their fascinating presentation, clear speech, and abundance of useful and entertaining information. Zarutsky often puts out his videos in two versions for the convenience of users — long and short. Sometimes he shoots releases with invited guests, for example, actor Alexander Stekolnikov often flashes in his commercials.

Konstantin Zarutsky on the set of the next series for his channel

Part of the work consists of live broadcasts from the repair site or a test drive. A favorite appeal to subscribers is "porcupines", and the blogger calls himself a Lizard. What he puts into these nicknames and why he chose them, Konstantin does not explain.

As for his own car, the video blogger drives a Land Rover SVR. The man bought it on credit, which was helped by subscribers from Tinkoff Bank. Later it became the cause of an unpleasant situation.

In 2017, Zarutsky's name was mentioned in the video of the blog "Nemagia". Before that, Oleg Tinkov in the media accused Russian YouTube bloggers of unscrupulousness and venality, which angered the Internet audience. The hosts of "Nemagia" Alexey Pskovitin and Mikhail Pechersky released a satirical video about the banker, going through his reputation and the facts of his biography in a tough way.

They accused Zarutsky of buying a car not on credit, but received in return for loyal reports and advertising support - "sold out". The result was the initiation of a criminal case against the scandalous presenters under the article "Slander", which was initiated by Tinkov, and the video was blocked by the decision of the Kemerovo court.

In 2015, AcademeG decided to make a car rally from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg in a car bought for 90 thousand rubles. On the Day of the Airborne Forces, he ended up in Cheboksary, where he was attacked by a drunken company. Five men in vests attacked the car, smashed the glass and side mirror. The blogger immediately left the city, canceling all the events in which he was going to participate before.

In 2018, Zarutsky presented to his audience a new invention — an improved Soviet ZIL-130 truck. The creation of the Soviet automobile industry was equipped with a 4.4-liter BMW X5M turbo engine with 500 hp, an automatic transmission, a new suspension and steering wheel. The modified vehicle was able to accelerate to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.

AcademeG Mercedes AMG GTs

To demonstrate the full power and speed of the truck, the autoblogger staged a race with sports cars. As a result, the ZIL-130 came second. But the defeat is not bitter at all — the car was only half a body behind the leader.

Zarutsky plans to sell his invention to the same car enthusiast. The reason is the inability to maintain a large number of machines. He has 11 cars at his disposal, including both personal and project ones.

The academician has a contradictory relationship with another autoblogger Davidich. Men have repeatedly criticized each other's activities. Konstantin openly says that he does not watch the video of a colleague on the shop floor, because he drives a car disgustingly.

The Academician does not like to talk about his personal life. It is known that he has a girlfriend Maria. The couple has been dating for a long time, so fans sometimes refer to her as a common-law wife. She helps her lover in shooting videos, working as an operator. Lovers prefer not to talk about plans for their future lives. It is not known whether they plan to get married, they also do not have children yet.

Zarutsky is distinguished by a lean physique: with a height of 182 cm, his weight is about 65 kg. The blogger does not say how much he gets for his work. However, journalists estimated that his earnings should be at least $ 3.5 thousand monthly, not counting sponsorship money. The figure is calculated based on open information — the total number of views on YouTube and the prices of the connected affiliate program.

Now the blogger lives in St. Petersburg, where he rents an apartment. He is engaged in the creation and development of all his projects. He has a small business - selling his own merch.

Konstantin Zarutsky now

In 2019, the blogger again surprised the audience and became a hero of the world media. This time he created an "ultratank— - a Bentley Continental on a caterpillar track. The idea to combine a luxury sports car and a tank came to him after he had been at the helm of the T-60. The work on the project took 7 months. Expenses amounted to 6 million rubles.

In February 2020, Zarutsky entered the Russian Book of Records with his ultratank. The pumped car was able to accelerate up to 125 km / h in the harsh conditions of Lake Baikal and cover a distance of 1 mile. Next year, the car critic plans to further improve his invention and set a new record.

AcademeG and his Bentley-Ultratank project that got into the Guinness Book of Records

2015 - "Pontorezka"

2015 — "Okaziya"

2016 — "Antigelik"

2017 — "Felling ZIL-130"

2018 — "Invalid"

2018 —"Bentley"

2019 — "ElektroVolga"

2020 - "Ultratank"

Konstantin Zarutsky has poor eyesight. Therefore, it is almost impossible to see it without glasses.

The future blogger started going to a driving school at the age of 17, so that on the day of his 18th birthday he could go to take the license exam. But it didn't work out: the guy made the third mistake in theory already on the third question.

Zarutsky does not test improved cars in the city, so as not to have problems with the police and not get into an accident. The tests take place on rented football fields on the territory of the Kirov Plant.