# It's OFFICIAL. I'm a SHILL! **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2023-10-31 **Duration:** 6m 11s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcF7HWpZzCE --- ## Analysis Carrie Hardy announces her first sponsorship partnership with G Fuel energy drink, clarifying the distinction between legitimate sponsorships and 'shilling.' She establishes transparent criteria for partnerships: they must not affect content freedom, be products she personally uses, and be relevant to pinball. Hardy emphasizes her independence by noting she has turned down multiple previous sponsorship offers and will maintain her ability to critique games and manufacturers regardless of sponsorship status. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Carrie Hardy has never been paid for content creation aside from YouTube AdSense revenue — _Direct statement: 'aside from the AdSense on YouTube, I have never been paid for anything that I have done on my channel'_ - [HIGH] Hardy has been contacted by multiple manufacturers/sponsors wanting partnerships, which she has turned down — _Direct statement: 'I have been contacted by several different types of like service providers or product manufacturers wanting to sponsor or partner up with me' and 'I have either turned them down or just ignored them entirely'_ - [HIGH] The G Fuel partnership is Hardy's first sponsorship agreement — _Framing of announcement as first partnership after discussing long history of declining offers_ - [HIGH] Hardy will receive a portion of the 20% discount when viewers use promo code 'hardypinball' — _Direct statement: 'a portion of that 20% goes to me'_ ### Notable Quotes > "The main factor in order for the word shill to be used correctly is that the individual doing the shilling needs to benefit from the sales of said product." > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~0:20 > _Establishes the technical definition of 'shill' that frames the entire video's argument_ > "I could get certain distributors or pinball-related sponsors, but I choose not to because I feel that would hinder my ability to do what I love, and that is do and say what I want." > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~1:30 > _Explains her previous reasoning for avoiding sponsorships and valuing editorial independence_ > "I can say that Venom Pro is a barren overpriced game G Fuel doesn't care. I can say that Jersey Jack needs to make a game with a license that people actually want. G Fuel doesn't care." > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~4:20 > _Demonstrates commitment to maintaining critical perspective despite sponsorship; provides specific examples of manufacturers she will still critique_ > "This is why I knew that if I was to partnership up with someone for my channel, there would be at least two rules that would have to be met. Number one, the product cannot affect my content creation. And number two it has to be something that I actually use myself." > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~2:00 > _Outlines sponsorship criteria that demonstrate editorial safeguards_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Carrie Hardy | person | Pinball content creator on YouTube; announced G Fuel sponsorship partnership | | G Fuel | company | Energy drink/caffeine product company; entered sponsorship partnership with Carrie Hardy | | Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; mentioned in context of games Hardy will continue to critique | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Hardy explicitly stated she will continue to critique their licensing choices | | American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; Hardy mentioned criticisms about their GTF game testing and treatment of content creators | | Venom Pro | game | Stern Pinball game; Hardy used as example of game she will continue to critique (calling it 'barren overpriced') | | Raid Shadow Legends | company | Mobile game company; used as humorous example of sponsorship Hardy would NOT accept | ### Topics - **Primary:** Sponsorship and editorial independence, Definition and misuse of term 'shill' in pinball community, Content creator monetization and transparency - **Secondary:** Pinball game criticism and manufacturer evaluation, YouTube content strategy and audience trust ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.75) — Hardy expresses enthusiasm about the G Fuel partnership while maintaining a thoughtful, defensive posture regarding accusations of 'shilling.' She displays pride in her independence and transparency principles. Some critical remarks about specific games (Venom Pro, GTF) are framed matter-of-factly rather than negatively about Hardy herself. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Content creators implementing transparency measures (promo codes, disclosure of product origin, explicit benefit structure) to maintain audience trust while monetizing (confidence: high) — Hardy's detailed explanation of how sponsorship works, what benefits she receives, and explicit examples of how she will maintain critical independence - **[sentiment_shift]** Hardy addresses repeated accusations of 'shilling' from community members, indicating this is a known concern/tension point in the pinball YouTube creator space (confidence: high) — Opening statement: 'The main factor in order for the word shill to be used correctly is that the individual doing the shilling needs to benefit from the sales of said product' suggests recurring community criticism - **[community_signal]** Content creator Carrie Hardy entering first sponsorship partnership after previously declining multiple offers from manufacturers and service providers (confidence: high) — Direct statement about turning down multiple sponsorship offers, now announcing G Fuel partnership as first exception --- ## Transcript The lighting on this looks weird. It almost looks like green screen, but it's not. What's going on back here is that my dachshund has had puppies, and so my room is now evidently the incubation center, if you will, or whatever, but we've got the heat lamp going on, keeping everybody warm. Mother and pups are doing fine. Anyways, one of the most common words that gets thrown around in this hobby for sure is shill. I mean, God forbid if I talk good about a product or a game because then I'm a shill for it, right? Wrong. The main factor in order for the word shill to be used correctly is that the individual doing the Win Schilling needs to benefit from the sales of said product. Now aside from the AdSense on YouTube, I have never been paid for anything that I have done on my channel. The products that get sent to me, I clarify that they have been sent to me in the video. I merely show you that said product and what it can do. And if you actually want said product, I provide you the links in the video description for you to obtain on your own accord. I even go the extra mile to see if I'm able to get you a promo code to save you a little bit of money on said product if the product sells more due to my efforts it affects me in no shape or form Now over my time on YouTube I have been contacted by several different types of like service providers or product manufacturers wanting to sponsor or partner up with me to promote whatever they have to offer. And I have either turned them down or just ignored them entirely. And for a couple of reasons. Now, I could get certain distributors or pinball-related sponsors, but I choose not to because I feel that would hinder my ability to do what I love, and that is do and say what I want. And I feel that you, the audience, would also feel that my positive remarks about a certain game or product is due to the fact of the sponsorship or partnership of said product. And my negative comments, I would be concerned that I would be hurting said business that sponsors my channel. This is why I knew that if I was to partnership up with someone for my channel, there would be at least two rules that would have to be met. Number one, the product cannot affect my content creation. And number two it has to be something that I actually use myself myself And number three I felt it definitely needed to be somewhat relative within my hobby of my channel Like for instance I don think it needs to be heredity hereditary or ancestry.com, stuff like that. I don't see that. So I was contacted by this company, and they offered a partnership. And after a week or two of emails back and forth, as well as me actually trying their product we finally met an agreement and i signed the paperwork now i believe this partnership will help my channel as well as the whole pinball hobby over time i mean it's it's very well known and i'm pretty excited to announce this guys so without further ado today's video is sponsored by raid shadow legends one of the biggest mobile role-playing games of 2023 and it's totally free. Kidding. I'm kidding. No. I am not joining forces with Raid Shadow Legends. No. That is not my forte. I thought that would be a little funny. But my real sponsorship is with... is. So how is this going to affect my channel moving forward? There will be Jeep Yule hashtags in certain video descriptions I will be wearing the Jeep Yule apparel in certain videos If there is any type of promo slash commercial or ad they will be short and hopefully entertaining But how do I benefit from this partnership, you ask? Basically, you will visit the G Fuel website, add a bunch of things to your cart that you want, and use the promo code hardypinball at the checkout to knock off 20% off your total. And a portion of that 20% goes to me. And that's it. You get your caffeine fix and you support the channel at the same time. So there you go. If you want to call me a shill going forward, go ahead. All I ask is that you do that after you use promo code hardypinball at your G Fuel checkout. I'm gonna have some fun with this one I can say that Venom Pro is a barren overpriced game G Fuel doesn't care I can say that Jersey Jack needs to make a game with a license that people actually want G Fuel doesn't care I can say that American Pinball should have spent more time testing the integrity of GTF instead of focusing on screwing over content creators G Fuel doesn't care. I asked. But if G Fuel products aren't your thing but you would still like to support the channel, there's always Patreon. Feel free to join my awesome LE team as we chit chat about everything pinball. Stay tuned guys, more content is on the way. Peace! _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0208d508-19e8-4ae1-b877-a6c8356f1e76*