The Value Village was a mega-thrift-store in Atlanta operated by the Kidney Foundation. Nelson found many items he wanted to purchase that day. His shopping advisor was Tom Zarrilli - Atlanta's King of Schlock. Video by Nelson Sullivan
the gum, the rainbow scarf, the carefree tone of his voice. People say he wasn’t of his time because I don’t think he cared about time. He just lived every second to the fullest as we all should. RIP.
Well said friend, and I completely agree. This man just lived life to the fullest, it's sad to say, but today the world is just so much more bleak, I wasn't born in this time period, however, these videos really serve as a time machine, and it's just blatantly obvious just how much simpler times were, for everyone. Nowadays, it's just so much more bleak, violent, and so much crime, with the constant fear of worse in the future, I wish the world was still so simple, humans were still so pure just a short time ago. RIP
@@TimeWisely I was born in 79 and would not trade my upbringing in the 80s and 90s for anything. People were optimistic about the future, unfathomable now...
This is so bizzare. I’m a teenager, and I grew up going to this exact thrift store with my grandma all the time. Randomly pops into my recommended, not only does it make me nostalgic but it’s insane to see what everything in Atlanta looked like 30 years ago.
I am doing the same. It takes me back to my younger days, and I want to jump into the video and go find my friends and family who are gone now and just hug them all so hard.
As someone who wanted to experience life in the 80’s, I love this. Seeing all the old style cars on the road and seeing stuff from the 80’s at Value Village. I instead grew up in the early 2000’s.
But... Growing up in the early 2000s was amazing. Almost every country in the world hadn't censored the internet yet! You could go from a bland programmer to millionaire over night with the creation of the right kind of website. The internet is the last wildwest before humans achieve space exploration..
I'm a straight married man & I just cant get enough of him...I just want these videos to never stop..Its like U just want to be his friend & climb into the video & go back in time & tell him lets go to the Drs ..your gonna have a major heart attack & they can save your life. .Unfortunately he was gone a few months after this video..Makes me Soooo SAD..😭..Still resting in PEACE Nelson..Amen..🙏
Four months later he dies of a heart attack. Too sad. He'll always be the first Vlogger. And damn the 80's look gold. Seriously wish he was still here.
SourK365 Yeah. I just searched it in google. Till today I honestly thought this guy was the one posting all the videos from his camcorder. But no it is someone related to him by a guy named Dick. Basically these videos are a donation after Nelson's death to NYC's University's Fales Library & Special Collections.
I love how Nelson always introduces animals to the camera by saying their names. I love his tenderness towards animals. I love the times he made drinks and food from his mother’s recipes. Like everyone has said so many times, I wish he was still around today. I hope somehow he knows that thousands of people watch these videos decades later and love them.
That is a definite sign that he was someone very special. And it is absolutely amazing that is forever immortalized on video like this. Clearly a rare type of human!
This whole experience is just so ASMR For me. His voice, his gum chewing, the sound of his shoes his, his calm demeanor, being told the prices as he shopped, All so soothing.
I find this surreal because as someone who never experienced this era it’s strange to think how- despite the changes in society- the lifestyles of everyone in the 80’s, even 30 years ago, it is eerily similar
As someone who lived during those times the changes between then and now are by and large technological (the internet, social media). For people of a certain age it really wasn't that long ago.
@Konga 5000 It sounds like YOU are the one who doesn't go out anymore. They go thrift shopping in this video - plenty of people still do that today even though they have iPhones.
I am so heart broken. I never got the chance to meet him. But he left this legacy. So greatfull. I am 65 and still feel greatfull. RIP my brother. Thank you for all of this. You Mr. Nelson were way ahead of your time. Gone to soon ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Jennifer Day Jennifer! (It’s Krystal) Hey girl! 👋🏽 I love watching these videos, too. This man was definitely a trailblazer. I wish he was still around.
Nelson Sullivan. And yes he seems to have had some real arm strength. The one I found listed was the Kycera KD-200, and before that (In the mid-80's) an even bulkier machine. (BTW, check out all his videos of 80's nightlife)
It’s hard to believe Nelson would be 70 now? That’s just insane!!! Well Nelson lived the way he wanted to and I’m sure he would have no regrets because he had an amazing amount of friends and fun.
I don’t know about “randomly”. If you’re logged in they usually have the algorithms suggest videos based on your history in RU-vid and Google searches.
What if he looked straight into the camera and said "don't forget to like, subscribe, and share. And turn on those notifications". This legit feels like a modern vlog, that's trying to feel vintage. What an interesting, and weird dynamic.
Stan Smith Thats right. Kill 80 kids and wear their skin for hats, but love dogs and that gets canceled out. Overemotional idiots making dumbass comments like this.
I love his videos! He never pretended to be something he wasn't on his videos...he wasn't about shock and awe like a lot of vloggers are today. He just showed what he did in his every day life....simple, but effective and interesting. I like that.
These videos remind me of how precious life is, and how VALUABLE time is. Our lives are short, love your friends and family, especially your pets as they are only here for small portions of our lives ☝🏽
I’m free watching this wonderful man. I’m surprised how joyful I feel . He reminds me that u can choose to feel satisfied with the simplest life❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Dicksens Cider69 I 100% agree with you I was born in 2003 but feel so out of place because like old music and shows and cartoons and I agree people are so fucking disrespectful
He is in the past.. but he presents and shares the world around him like someone who grew up with social media, in the present! Beautiful study on a person who seemed to know the importance of what he is doing.
Nelson is a genius cameraman, just remember that he is probably the only person in the world who is vloging in the 80s and with that technology he is holding and rotating the camera the best way he can, it’s like he is in a movie and the footage is following him perfectly
When I saw Nelson wearing that brown leather jacket in the thumbnail I just knew I this was going to be an awesome video! Loved it when they were in the car and did a right onto the main road and he switched the camera to the train- that’s slick cinematography.
"Hey".. "Where's Tom Zirelli?"..... - I would like to know that too!! Miss you Nelson!! ❤️ Thanks for being so kind to a young kid when we met in the 80's. You were truly one of God's best creatures!! 🤖🤓
Holy shit 40 bucks for a t-shirt in 86, thats literally like 100 bucks if not more. I actyally think the majority of clothes are cheaper today than they were in late 80s-early 2000s. (Adjusted for inflation of course, not dollar for dollar)
The quality of the video is so good for 1989. Must have been an expensive camera. Remember being very young and my sister shopping at value village in the early 90s.
This man seemed like an amazing person and I’m happy to have discovered these wonderful relics of the past. Tho I wouldn’t be born for another 8 years, I wish I could have met Nelson and all the interesting characteristics that made him so unique and wonderful.
I’ve been watching his videos quite a lot lately, and got very emotional today about how much Nelson would have loved the rainbow crosswalks in Midtown 🌈
"Well, you know what they say. One man's junk......." Hahaha Nelson is too hilarious! Every year or two I come back to these videos and still entertaining.
pinkmfntaco I know he said he got it from the thrift store ... I heard that I just meant how stylish he was even way before the LGBT community started using the rainbow. I wasn't implying he chose the scarf for that reason. Anyway he was a stylish and classy man nonetheless.
The rainbow as an LGBT symbol started a little earlier actually. The flag was introduced in 1978 during the San Francisco pride festival. The original one had eight stripes and slightly different colors, but it was revised in 1979 into the six-stripe version we know today. But I will say it was relatively unknown outside of SF and LA for about ten years until 1988 or 89, when an apartment building tenant in West Hollywood sued his landlord and won after they tried to get him to remove the rainbow flag from his window. It became a national story that year, and the LGBT community all over America quickly adopted the rainbow flag, and from there it spread to the rest of the world.
wow i really miss the 80s..even tho i was 10yrs old in 89'..those really were the days..i love coming across these old videos from back in the day..brings me back ; )...ty for this
February 10, 1989 was my mom's 29th birthday & I was just 6 years old. It's fascinating to watch this and Nelsons other videos and see NYC life from a time i was too young to remember. I lived and grew up in New York but obviously being just a kid I likely would not have crossed paths with Nelson. So glad he left these videos behind as its the closes thing to a time machine we can get. I normally can't watch vloggers..modern day vlogging just doesn't hold my interest and I feel more annoyance towards most of the popular vloggers on RU-vid. Nelson however really knew how to talk and keep his audience engaged. Its Its amazing because he had no idea that one day his daily snippets of life would be watched by thousands
Wow, this feels so weird. Seeing as I go to a Value Village nearby often...seeing the layout similar, the half off tag color scheme, hearing the songs that you can still hear in the store today...it's a nice glimpse into the past.
The story at 4:12 about Jimmy Bingham is really great. “He was a family friend”. What a fantastic and charismatic speaker. “So...we were both in the same sort of political situation in our family units”.
Love the Thrift Stores in Atlanta. My Daughter and I both do. I feel like i have known Nelson all my life, but was not fortunate enough to meet him. I loved that Coca Cola shirt! What a great video!
