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(sad music)
- Over the years you know having acne,
I'd become comfortable with this.
I've had it since 15. I'm 22 now.
But this one specific time it finally got to me.
I don't think I've ever told anyone this.
This was the first time that I'd
ever cried because of my acne.
This one is pretty big; it's pretty bad,
and as you can see, it comes off my face quite a bit.
And I used to get these cysts, but bigger,
like I'm telling you two times as big as this.
And this specific time, it came up on my nose.
As soon as I got to school, the first thing
that they say is, "Oh, look at Rudolph!"
It was my turn to give a speech that day.
I could hear them talking about my giant zit.
You know, "Oh watch out dude.
"It's gonna explode. It might get on you."
The last thing that like killed me;
it just freaking killed me man.
I went up to one of my good friends at lunch.
She just runs up and pokes my nose,
right on top of the cyst, like flicks it,
and I got in my car, I sat down,
and I just started crying man.
Silly as it sounds, it's so relieving
to finally just like be (sniffs and sighs).
And now here I am sitting
crying in front of a bunch of people
who aren't used to seeing me vulnerable and crying.
(audience clapping)
- Well he's now clear-faced.
Please welcome Brian to the show.
(audience clapping) - Thank you.
- I have to give you credit.
I hadn't seen that, but you were so authentic in that.
- It's so real to me.
You know I don't think people understand how
traumatic it can be.
A lot of people seem to downplay acne because it's just
something everybody kind of is supposed to have,
and if you make it a big thing, it's like,
oh, it's okay, it's not that big of a deal,
just get over it.
But it can be your entire life
from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.
So I wanted to make videos and a channel that people come to
to become comforted just by being able to see someone else
whose gone through it and really understands. You know?
- You know and great example of not all acne is the same.
It's different for men.
It's different for women.
We know it can be hormonally-based.
And in your case, you went though
all the traditional treatments. Right?
- Yes. I tried everything and I went
through the topicals, the antibiotics.
And so finally, I tried Accutane.
It cleared it up for a long time,
and then the acne started coming back.
Started getting cysts again.
Started getting 'em on my forehead really big.
So I just tried taking dairy out,
and it started to help my acne, started clearing it up.
And then I thought, if I can make one little dietary change,
why not try some other things?
So I started what I call mega-dosing vegetables.
I was taking 12 to 16 vegetables a day,
and it started like really clearing it up.
So I just kept trying new things--
- And so you did this on your own?
Because we know we've had dermatologists on
who have talked about the importance of diet
and its effect on the skin so clearly for you
it was dietary, especially dairy,
affecting the production of sebum
in your sebaceous glands, and.
- It's interesting, I was just doing an interview
the other day and they were looking for health
and beauty tips to look better and I kept talking about how
trust me the food you eat, the food you put in your body
has more of a reflection in your skin than anything else.
And no one seemed to get that.
You're a shining example of how important,
yeah taking care of your skin externally is,
but internally, I mean what's really cool to me
is looking at how bad your acne is
and the quality of your skin is phenomenal.
- Yeah, over just taking more water in
and having more vegetables, the scars have started
to fade very naturally and it's awesome.
And for me, it's crazy 'cause I used to wake up
and I'd look in the mirror every day,
and I would just wait to see
to collect which ones were the new ones on my face.
Okay, let's go out.
- You're waking up and expecting to see a new zit.
- [Brian] Absolutely, a new cyst.
- You know what's crazy is that this may end up
being one of those blessings in disguise
because 20, 30 years from now,
as crazy as all this veggie intake to,
you're probably gonna age so well (laughs).
- Right. - Yeah.
- Are you currently on any prescription medications at all?
- [Brian] Not at all.
- None. And I think you brought up a very important point.
Like a lot of times people don't get it
because I actually used Accutane
and so I understand what you're saying.
I used it on more than one occasion.
And it's a big deal.
When you take Accutane, you sign contracts--
- For a woman. - For a woman.
Like, it's a big deal and people don't realize
that about one in five people with acne
will actually consider suicide at some point.
So I wanna thank you for being brave,
and I wanna thank you for making these videos
because people underestimate what a big deal it is
when you have the type of acne that requires Accutane.
- And you can openly have a dialogue with your doctor.
if you're working with a doctor dealing with acne,
and I've had open dialogue.
Okay these treatments and water may be some things I can do.
Elimination and your diet,
tried everything, increase veggie intake.
Do that hand in hand.
Brian, thank you for highlighting this
and keep up all the great work.
(audience clapping) - Thank you guys.
- We'll be right back.