Redditor who posts 'I've got everything I need' alongside bare room with mattress and gaming PC ends up on CBS panel show: 'Come on, we've all dated that guy'
It's pretty obvious what you should expect from a subreddit called r/malelivingspace , and oh man does it deliver. Reddit's internet ubiquity is such that we sometimes forget at just what an awesome scale this site operates, and how that can transform a hobbyist or humorist niche into a huge connected community.
So to the topic of male living spaces we go and, as this is a subreddit with 1.9 million members, the posts are all over the place: there are the humblebrags , of course, alongside popular genres of picture like ludicrous gaming rooms (and weirdass plant builds ), and a healthy dose of self-aware humor from most participants.
One element of the sub is posts about rather grim-looking locations, or those that play up to the sad male loner stereotype, which the denizens of r/malelivingspace absolutely adore. This would be how the humble redditor PathToWater stumbled into his 15 minutes of fame, after making a a post nine days ago titled "I've got everything I need."
The accompanying photograph shows a room containing a desk, a chair, a gaming PC with a neon blue case, a keyboard and mouse, a side table (la-di-dah!), and a mattress on the floor. But this is PC Gamer: computer ENHANCE! Thanks to our peerless hardware team I can tell you that PathToWater is using a SteelSeries Apex keyboard, possibly the Apex 5, and a Logitech G203 mouse—extremely solid choices. You can also see custom/fancy motherboard cables in the PC too, indicating this is a man with their priorities straight. And just to complete the scene, the PC is running SkyFactory4, a Minecraft skyblock mod .
Truly, this is everything you need (except for the scrunched-up ball of toilet paper that can be seen under one part of the IKEA mattress, grotty sod). Which may be how this image and caption caught the attention of a late night CBS talk show, After Midnight, hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson alongside other guests. It's basically a mashup of comedy and quiz, and for one of the rounds Tomlinson introduces r/malelivingspace as "a place where single men post pictures of their feral male homes."
It cycles through a couple of submissions before alighting on the "I've got everything I need" post, which has the audience in stitches, before Tomlinson interjects "come on, we've all dated that guy."
On returning to r/malelivingspace, PathToWater's response was heartfelt: "They put my ass on fucking TV???"
This is of course the kind of drama and recognition that the inhabitants of r/malelivingspace have been waiting for, and it's time to lean-in to the stereotype. ControllerHead1 gets straight to the point: "What kind of neanderthal goes through life without a second monitor?!"
"You gotta get an 'as seen on tv' sticker for your door now," says Aurens . "Dude sounds like you've got a good sense of humor about this, with that spirit this is fucking hilarious," says MaximumTurtleSpeed . "The fact they didn't even blur your handle kills me."
"Frame this screenshot and put it on the wall," says Bevo. "Really tie the room together." PathToWater responds: "ballsy of you to assume I can afford a frame."
"This is not everything you need," says Mum_Chamber . "This is minimal male living space and you are really giving out a poor image for us all. Ideally you would need another monitor, some anime pictures on the wall, probably varying sizes of collectibles on that table, and a proper gaming chair. You would also need at least one spork and one knife, but I assume you have that near the sink."
It's all good clean fun like this, and especially amusing to see people gradually pick up on the picture's details: no bedframe, no sheets on the bed… you're asking for trouble son! Some wonder whether the new-found fame may result in a second pillow. Then there are those who can't or won't play along, and just berate PathToWater for their picture being the topic of a joke on CBS: but OP has the perfect response for that:
"I got made fun of on cable television," says PathToWater. "How will I ever recover."
