Getting Fresh with Fresh Baon
Based out of Canada, Fresh Baon has been on the rise within the K-Pop YouTube community. Known for their hilarious reactions, fanboy moments, and pun-filled content, they are a group of amazing guys that you should definitely get into. Fresh Baon is no stranger to The Kraze, and this is not the first time that they have been featured here. We caught up with Justin, Cedrick, and Raph of Fresh Baon a year after our initial interview, during KCON LA 2018, to find out what they are currently up to!
Q: For our readers who are getting the chance to know you for the first time, can you please give a little introduction about yourself?
Justin: We are Fresh Baon, [and] we are what you would call reactors, but we also dabble in creating music, skits, and such forms of content that will make you laugh and entertain you. So we’re basically YouTubers.
Q: Fresh Baon has been on YouTube for three years now and is close to reaching 100,000 subscribers. How does it feel to see the growth of your channel and getting the opportunity to interact with fans at events like KCON?
Cedrick: When [we film] we don’t see any fans, so to us it’s just like a daily grind. But then when we go to events like this and we get to see fans who are like “Oh I know Fresh Baon!” it makes us realize there are actual people who watch us, [and] it makes us really happy to see that.
Raph: It’s been unreal. The journey to 100k has been crazy. Three years ago we made a video of us reaching 1,000 subscribers and we were all really happy about that. We’re just very grateful every step of the way. Our job here is just to make our viewers happy, and getting to enjoy what you do.
Q: This is the second time that Fresh Baon is here at KCON LA, which artists are you looking forward to seeing?
C: It’s kind of a given, [but] TWICE. We were originally planning not to go, but then after the announcement we just ended up all deciding to go spontaneously.
Q: Fresh Baon is known to be some of the biggest TWICE fanboys on YouTube, how do you all feel seeing them live in person?
R: It felt like a dream. Seeing them up close, even in the Star Stage, was very different and so exciting. Once you get to see them live they’re flawless, shining, and beautiful. We [had] GA tickets and at the end when they were walking around the crowd, they actually took my phone to do a video. My bias Momo took my phone and we were just like “this is really happening!” We were so glad we came.
Q: Although this is not your first KCON, what are your thoughts on how big KCON has become over the years? Did you ever think that K-Pop would ever get this big?
J: I think it’s fantastic to know there are a lot of fans and that K-Pop is growing. There are a lot of other YouTubers and social media personalities [present], it’s very terrific. We hope KCON can have something in Canada. They asked where to go next, and we think Canada is next in line.
R: There’s a lot of K-Pop stars that came from Canada.
Q: Did you ever think that K-Pop would ever be this big?
C: When we first came here we were like “whoa, it’s huge.” Coming here the second year, we noticed it’s even more packed, and it just keeps growing bigger and bigger. The community is growing stronger, and we have this fanbase of people getting to be able to connect with each other, and I think that’s just such a beautiful thing.
Q: I’ve previously asked this, but if you could collaborate with any K-Pop/Hallyu content creator, who would it be and why?
J: The person I want to work with that still hasn’t changed is Jay Park. He is still my idol. I look up to him not just [as] a musician, but a sense of him as a businessman. He’s very respectable.
R: For me, I want to work with DPR Live. His content is very artistic and I just want to get inspiration from him and make something as good as he’s made so far. He’s a very inspiring artist to me.
C: I want to work with Heechul from Super Junior. I really want to work on a reality TV show, because all the clips of him on Knowing Brothers have been really popular and watching those really got me into the show, so now i just admire him as an entertainer, and he’s doing K-Pop still. I just admire the amount of work he does.
Q: If you could be the main lead in a K-Pop music video, which group would you like to collaborate with and what kind of music video would it be?
J: For me, TWICE, and I want to be like the boy-next-door type. Like Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” video. That’s the type of stuff I want to do.
R: It’d be so nice for our favorite group members to have a crush on us in the video. That’s the dream.
Q: There has been a surplus of comebacks and debuts in the first half of year, which comebacks or debuts have been your favorite thus far?
J: I would say it’s BLACKPINK’s “Duu-Du Duu-Du.” I love TWICE but I think I hold BLACKPINK in a special place in my heart because I’ve been a fan of them waiting for six years. They’re terrific, and I think it might even be the best song of the year. Just laying it out there.
C: I always look forward to MAMAMOO’s comebacks. My type of music that I like, MAMAMOO always hits the spot for vocals, rap and musicality, so I always look for that. “Egotistic” and “Starry Night” were so good this year, and they’re visuals just keep getting better. They’re trying to [nail] that mature look, which we don’t have a lot of in this scene right now.
R: One of the comebacks I enjoyed recently was IU and ZICO’s “Soulmate.” I’ve been listening to that a lot since it came out. The type of songs that I like are duets and ballads. ZICO’s rapping combined with IU’s harmonic voice is a perfect combination, and I really like that.
Q: As YouTubers, what are the strengths and challenges of being on YouTube, and how do you overcome those challenges?
J: Thanks for the question. Strength would be you’re doing what you love, especially with your friends there by your side. [Challenges are] having to commit such a big responsibility of posting and being active and consistent.
C: I think a big benefit of starting it is growing as a person and as a speaker. I used to not be really good at presentations, but because of YouTube [I have] improved with being more confident. It definitely improved our communication skills as a group and helped us grow as individuals.
Q: What motivates you to upload constantly? Because sometimes that is an issue.
J: It’s crazy because I feel like we wanna do what we wanna do, but we also have the mindset of thinking of our fans a lot. We really want to make sure the fans are having a great time outside of our stuff when they meet us and when they see us on video. We want to share positivity and happiness and experience life in such a positive way where they can make an impact on other people as well.
Q: For those who are interested in starting YouTube, what advice can you give to those who haven’t quite gotten the courage to really start?
R: If you have a plan to start [and keep putting it off,] you have to stop making excuses and just do it. Like Nike, just do it. A lot of people do make excuses when it comes to starting videos. Once you start just be consistent, do what you love, and you’re going to become successful one day, guaranteed.
C: When you start off it might not work out right away, so just dive right into it and don’t have expectations [that are too high]. Yes you can make plans, but find that you need to switch it up. Doing that will get you so much higher than just doing something that everyone is doing all the time.
Q: Last question, are there any updates, information, or future plans that you would like to tell readers to look forward to in the coming future?
J: More parody videos, skits, and maybe music too. There’s a lot, even collaborations. We filmed two already this weekend.
On behalf of The Kraze we thank Fresh Baon for taking the time to do this interview with us! Keep up to date with Fresh Baon and follow them on social media!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FreshBaon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/freshbaon
Instagram: http://instagram.com/freshbaon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshBaon