Adam Savage

Well today, I’m going to idolize about my role model. No-one Chinese, as much as I like Donnie Yen’s fighting style. No sports athlete, Hunther Mayhen has dropped from the ranks. Not even a movie star, even though I do love Harrison Ford with a passion. You may have heard of him, you may not have. It’s Adam Savage.

In case you don’t know him, here’s a picture.

Adam Savage is a famous industrial designer. He’s most well known for his show called “Mythbusters” which he co-hosted with Jamie Hyneman. He previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic, which produced various props and costumes for movies. One of savage’s best known works is the Thermal Detonator from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

Remember this?

Because He's Holding A Thermal Detonator!!

Adam Savage Product.

The reason he is my idol among many is that he is one of the pioneers of a new culture only recently developed: the Maker community. Makers are people who do not simply buy the stuff they need or want, they make it themselves. They have only developed recently because they rely on new technology and machinery to create things. Those things can range from a light-up dragon puppet to a steam punk R2-D2. Savage was a pioneer of the Maker ideology, making him a hero in the Maker community, of which is quickly spreading across the world. Every year, they hold a faire in San Francisco showcasing a lot of Maker productions. Savage always goes to this faire to answer questions while at the top of the world’s largest mousetrap (Rube Golberg Machine). Unfortunately, I couldn’t go this year because of this small thing called a term paper.

                Adam Savage is a celebrity, but not like most celebrities. Your average celebrity is used to market a lot of things, as we have recently learned in class to appeal to a need to achieve, to become like the celebrity by buying the product. However, marketers are unable to market using Savage because it is impossible. By marketing to the Maker community you are marketing to people who learn to make things themselves. The entire ideology is centered around using what you have to achieve, not buying something to achieve. Because of this, it is impossible to market a need to achieve to Makers using celebrities because it goes against the ideology. This is why Savage and other famous makers are not seen in fancy 3d printer commercials or the latest laser cutter.

                So, to sum things up, I look up to Adam Savage because he is the one of the pioneers of an entire culture, and he has not been touched or altered by marketing campaigns, making him a unique kind of celebrity retaining his own morales.