Robot or Elf? Get to Know Preston Schlueter!

These days, we often find young men adapt to trends that are short-lived and wear all sorts of things that influencers promote. If you have consumed our content before, you know we are firm believers in classic men’s styles, rather than passing fads. Interestingly enough, we know a young man who believes in it, too!

Who’s that new guy?

We often see our comment section get loaded up with questions and comments about the young man featured in our content for the past year: Content Director, Preston Schlueter. We hear you, and want to get your questions answered. Check out our chat with Preston Schlueter, the newest and youngest face of Gentleman’s Gazette.

Q & A Transcript

Sven Raphael Schneider: So, Preston, tell me a little a little more about yourself. How old are you? Where are you from?

Preston Schlueter: Well, I am currently 24 years old, almost 25. And I am born and raised in Minnesota. I was born in Minneapolis and lived in Apple Valley for the first few years of my life and since about 2001, I’ve been in the West Metro kind of the Lake Minnetonka area of Minnesota, for any of those of you who happen to know the area well.

SRS: Come one, Preston! Not many people do! So anyhow, Preston, you are kind of a young man but at the same time, you have this kind of old soul.

PS: Right!

SRS: Tell us more about that.

PS: Well, I’ve always had a natural interest and inclination in history. I majored in History when I was in college. In particular, I was always fascinated by Popular culture in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, roughly. So, radio, records, movies, that kind of thing.

SRS: And I mean, you are actually one of those people who appears kind of like grandpa and I know you love to eat soup and stuff, stuff typically older people like to eat, I like soup as well but how did that come about?

PS: You know, I’m not sure. Some of these habits are just sort of idiosyncrasies of mine maybe but yeah, for whatever it’s worth, I do like soup a lot.

SRS: So, okay, how did you get into classic men’s stye? Minnesota is not known for that kind of stuff.

PS: Well, I think that ties into, as I was just talking about my interest in classic, well in early 20th century fashions and culture, I guess. Particularly with these old movies, I would notice where all of the actors, the male actors were wearing, you know, and thought I liked those styles, the cuts and everything and tried to incorporate kind of the general aesthetic of that into my wardrobe at first and then, you know, as I looked more for vintage pieces and stuff like that, tried to directly go for just sort of that classic golden age menswear look.

SRS: That’s kind of funny because to me. I hate old movies and I think they are totally boring. I only watch them to actually look at the clothes so for you, you watch the movie first and you were like “Oh, these are cool clothes”. Cool! So how did that interest lead you to the Gentleman’s Gazette! I know you have been a customer before you applied, you have been on our email list for years.

PS: Well, as I was trying to sort of deepen my scope of knowledge on that topic, you know, the films had peaked my interest, so to speak but I wanted to learn more. Those who know me well know that as soon as I get interested in something in general, I have to make my knowledge much deeper and much more specific, I have to really dig in. So, I was looking at different YouTube channels in the menswear space and of course, there are a lot of good ones out there but when Gentleman’s Gazette came on the scene, I think you started with making a video around 2014 or so, so I was in college at the time and I had been watching the channel basically since you started. I remember there were only 4 or 5 videos on the channel. So I have been a fan for a long time, a subscriber. Around a year and a half or so ago when you put up the call that you were hiring, I though well, I think I kind of know my stuff at this point, have stuff in my own background that I thought may be, you know, that I could be confident on camera and kind of speak my mind about this stuff, I thought I might as well apply.

SRS: Yeah, you were in the Debate Club once, right?

PS: I was in debate for a little while in High School, I was in speech as well. In College, I was in Improvisational Comedy troupe which was a lot of fun when you sort of get up there on stage and just act completely ridiculous for an hour or so and that just makes you much more comfortable in front of people.

SRS: Yeah. Sometimes, people are like “Oh you just read from a script” but in fact like, we have key pointers and stuff and as you go, it just sounds very polished after that.

PS: Right! I think that yeah, it just comes from sort of a training and a background in Public Speaking. I do work from a script only in so far as we have bullet points but just my natural speaking style, as you can tell here, is much more verbose and kind of academic. I guess it is just the way I am wired.

SRS: I mean some people might say nerdy and we just tease Preston about it because we always have like the “Word of the day” and he always gets it 98% of the time and so it is just a fun fact about Preston! So, I remember when you put out an application, there were a bunch of videos and it took us a while to get back to you because we had to watch all of them. What I saw in your video was this kind an apparel arts illustration in the back and was like “Oh, he has seen our channel, he gets the aesthetic” so that was a pro right? But, what happened when you heard that we wanted to hear from you?

PS: Well, it is kind of a funny story, actually. I had applied and as you said, there was a little bit of a window between when I applied and when you got back to me. Actually, during that window, I had applied for and taken another job and it was after my first day on the job at this other place that I got home and I checked my email and I saw that you replied and said that you were interested in talking more to me and I just had a feeling for a couple of days beforehand that this was going to happen so when I saw the email, I just shouted across my whole house “I knew it!”

SRS: Yeah, it was kind of funny because we were looking for part-time people but we realized “yeah, Preston’s a good fit, let’s bring him on full time and we are grateful. Even when you told me about your hobbies I was like “‘Oh wow that fits right in.” So what is it that you do when you don’t work?

PS: I think the biggest hobby outside of working here is I am also a singer, a Jazz vocalist. As it says on my Bio on the website as well. You know, as I said, very interested in early 20th century culture and music is a big part of that too.

SRS: Yeah, before we hired him, I checked out his content and got a vintage-looking microphone, he’s wearing a white dinner jacket, yeah, right on! Preston is the man for us.

PS: Yeah, so I have a great love for particularly the male singers of that era, I think Bing Crosby is probably my favorite singer but you know, there are others too, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Tony Bennett whom I just saw in concert recently in action so that was great. But you know, I love the sort of great American songbook and the jazz standards of that time and because I have been singing for a long time, I had been in choir ever since the sixth grade and I did some solo singing shortly after that, I’ve been singing for a long time and I’ve directly worked in that style and that is what I love doing.

SRS: Cool. So if people want to see you sing, where do they go?

PS: Right! Well, actually as we are having this conversation now, just a few weeks away, I have a concert coming up and we are going to be filming some footage from that concert, it will be made available on the channel in some fashion. So you will see that as a video in the future so stay tuned!

SRS: You mentioned a few, kind of, icons in terms of singing. What about style? Who do you look up to?

PS: I would say, head and shoulders above all of them is Fred Astaire who was actually a singer in his own right too, not a lot of people remember that but we remembered him mostly as a dancer although he did sing as well. But in all of his movies and even in his private life, you know, away from camera, he was always well regarded by his peers and by the general public as just a really well-dressed man. I think, in particular, I have always admired how he was able to combine lots of different colors and patterns and textures in one outfit but in a way that did not look clashing or gaudy, it always looked very put together and harmonious and tasteful.

SRS: Okay, if there was like one thing that, you know, you do because of him, what would that be?

PS: Well, one specific tip that I picked up from him actually is that he would frequently wear old neckties or handkerchiefs as belts because he would dance so strenuously  when he was filming movies that he would lose weight quickly so he couldn’t keep a consistent belt size so he would just use an old tie instead. And as a matter of fact, I am wearing an old tie as a belt today so that it does not take up a lot of bulk under my sweater here.

SRS: If you will notice, Preston is extremely thin. He eats, you would not believe it, probably 4 to 5,000 calories a day so he just goes right through it but it’s hard for you to find a belt that is smaller too so the tie kind of really works for you. Some of the things that come up a million times in video comments is “Hey, Preston. Why are you so crooked on camera?”

PS: Well, actually, this kind of dovetails into the point you just made about me being able to eat a lot and not really gain weight. I have a condition called Cerebral Palsy which primarily affects a few different muscles in my legs like my hamstrings, for example, and a few other muscles around my body. But in a nutshell, basically what this condition means is that I have got certain muscles that are always very gradually tightening and constricting in my body so I am always getting tighter and stiffer.

SRS: It’s like being at the gym 24/7 for your legs?

PS: Yeah, kind of. Because those muscles are always tightening, that means they are always working and therefore, I am always burning calories but another consequence of that, as I have said, is that these muscles are tightening and stiffening up. So over the years, that has kind of affected, you know, my gait and how I walk and how I stand. I’ve had a couple of different surgical operations over the years to sort of mitigate the effects of this condition but there are still a few little things that I still have to do day to day. I still have to do therapeutic stretches every once in a while to make sure that I am not getting too tight but also it just sort of affects how I stand on camera so that is why you will often see me leaning a little bit to one side and on top of that, I also have one leg, my right leg, that is about a centimeter and a half shorter than my left leg so I do keep a lift in the right shoe to try to even out that discrepancy a little bit but between the difference in leg length and the cerebral palsy, that is kind of why you will often see me leaning to one side on camera.

SRS: But just to be clear, it is a form of disability but you do well and you adapted to it and you stand crooked but it could be a lot worse, you know? So I think it is not a problem. If people would know, they would not comment as harshly as they sometimes do.

PS: Yeah and you know, that is often why I do not really get too broken up about it or take offense to it because I realize that, you know, a lot of people are just not going to just be aware of this.

SRS: And sometimes when you walk, especially when we do the outfit rundown, people are like robot, android, or elf, or like Clark Kent or whatever, so does that have to do with it as well?

PS: I think that may have something to do with it, yeah! Uh, we certainly get lots and lots of interesting YouTube comments comparing me to certain things or saying that I look like certain characters or certain people but more than anything, you know, I just choose to kind of let it roll off my back,I find it amusing and you know, part of being here at the Gentleman’s Gazette is always trying to behave as a gentleman would so I am not looking to pick fights with anybody, certainly.

SRS: Yeah, try him! Your hairstyle is very much in line with that 1920s-30s look, what hair product do you use?

PS: Most often, I use a product called Groom & Clean. It has been around, I believe since about the mid to late 1950s. I do not know exactly how much the formulation has changed since it was originally put on the market but one reason I prefer it to other maybe better known products like Brylcreem, for example, is that it really does not contain oil or fat or wax or grease, the only oil that it has is mineral oil and then it’s also got a compound called Lanolin which is naturally secreted by sheep to keep their wool dry when it rains.

SRS: Yes! Wool fat, some people are allergic to it, so if that’s the case for you, don’t use it.

PS: Right, good point. But, yes, I like it for the reason that it is very easily water soluble so it washes out in the shower, you know, just in a standard shower routine.

SRS: Another characteristic feature of your wardrobe are your glasses. What brand are they?

PS: This is from a brand called Seraphin. I have had this pair for about two years now. It was a bit different, a bit of a departure from my previous pair which were a little bit bigger, darker, bolder kind of a more sort of a black frame, almost ind of a 1960s look but when I saw these, I thought they were understated and elegant and the color of them, while sort of atypical, I thought went well with my hair color and my skintone so they seemed like a natural choice for me.

SRS: Alright, so with all those questions answered, let’s jump in on some comments and of course, if you have anymore questions for Preston, put it in the section below and maybe we will make another video. “Why he looks like a guy from the 50s? He looks like my grandfather”

PS: Yeah, I think that”s appropriate. People tell me that I have kind of a grandpa style but you know, I can deal with it.

SRS: Okay, “he looks like a cat person model from the 80s”

PS: That is a lot of information all in one comment; Cat, model, 80s, that’s very specific!

SRS: “This dude looks like an alien”

PS: Yeah, I hear that one a lot as I am sure you’ll be hearing.

SRS: “Who is this alien? He looks like something out of Men In Black.” What does it make you feel like, Preston?

PS: I think I might want to have my memory wiped like the Men in Black movie after reading too many of these comments!

SRS: Touché! “That guy looks like an alien trying to look like a human,” “He looks like an alien,” yeah, I get it! I think we get it now. “Who else thinks that Preston could work at Pearce & Pearce? After returning some videotapes, of course.”

PS: Ah, okay! So that comes from a movie, I think from the early 2000s, I think called the American Psycho with Christian Bale. They all kind of work at this sort of this yuppie company where they all dress the same and look the same and acted the same.

SRS: Alright. “Preston looks like he can get reservations at Dorsia,” was it Dorsia?

PS: I can’t remember but yeah, same movie, American Psycho.

SRS: (Laughs) “Preston looks like Marcus Halberstram from the movie “American Psycho. Keep up the good work guys”

PS: (Laughs)

SRS: That being said. What color does your business cards have?

PS: Mine are in a shade called “bone.”

SRS: “He could be some friend of Patrick Bateman! Very interesting video, looking forward to seeing Preston more often. Well done! Preston reminds me of some rouge android hell bent on global domination.”

PS: Oh, global domination. Well, maybe only for love and respect but not for fear and force. 

SRS: “This guy gives this humanoid android vibe. You feel like his face is gonna open and shape a canon and just obliterate our ****

PS: (Laughs)

SRS: “Dos this guy reminds you android from dragon ball?”

PS: Hmmm Dragon Ball, okay, I am not a huge fan of that anime so I do not know if they are talking about a specific android or what but who knows?

SRS: “Man you look like a humanoid android in a marvel movie.”

PS: Hmm, alright! Now I am a big fan or Marvel movies so I don’t know maybe, if they are talking about the Vision, I would take that as a compliment.

SRS: “Preston is very similar to my vision of a dashing, sleek android being operated by a benevolent, good-mannered artificial intelligence, that I would probably welcome as a global overlord.”

PS: To that one, I’ll just say thanks?

SRS: “I like this new Android model.” “Android yes, robotic yes, cant stop watching yes, interesting absolutely, weirdly amazing and I do not know why, wow just wow, great job, I think I am hypnotized, hooked I am”

PS: Alright! A very positive comment. Thank you for that one.

SRS: “This guy be like “My name is Connor. I am an android sent by cyberlife.”

PS: Hmmm, interesting. So I think from what I have seen and I am sure you have more comments like this here, I think there is a video game out there something called Detroit Become Human and they say that I look like one of the characters in this game. I don’t know.

SRS: “No offense but this guy looks like Avalach from Witcher 3”

PS: I think that’s another video game too. I am not as much of a gamer as I used to be, I’ve always been kind of a Nintendo guy, personally.

SRS: Which one?

PS: Well, any of them. I love any Mario platform.

SRS: So NES?

PS: Yeah, I go back that far. Of course, not really playing on the original systems. More on emulators but yeah.

SRS: Got it! “Riddler and Penguin together, Batman’s villains.

PS: I am also a huge Batman fan. I’ve been a fan of, well, I said I was a fan of Marvel comics but even earlier, I actually grew up with the DC stuff and in particular, Batman animated series, one of my favorite shows of all time so I will take that as a compliment too.

SRS: This one says “Preston looks like a Bond villain” “Preston dresses too much like a boring old man. Cardigans.”

PS: Guilty as charged.

SRS: Preston looks like Bubbles.

PS: Ah okay, that’s from a television series, I think out of Canada called Trailer Park boys. The character Bubbles wears these giant glasses, so yeah.

SRS: “How did you get a suit on C-3PO?”

PS: Ah, Star Wars, okay. That’s the big gold droid, I suppose.

SRS: “This guy looks like a cat you mothers watching with video must be pretty dumb if you need a video to show you how to sew on a button”

PS: Wow, alright! So this guy managed not only to try to insult me but everyone who watched our video on how to sew on a button which I guess includes himself?

SRS: Yeah! “My man looks like Clark Kent when wearing the overcoat.”

PS: Hmmm, alright! So yeah, I’ll take Clark Kent as a compliment too. Again, big DC comics fan.

SRS: Yeah and here’s like “You’re like a mix of Clark Kent and Captain America with a cyborg touch. LOL”

PS: Ahh so they threw all of it in there. Okay, good.

SRS: “It’s like Clark Kent accidentally got cast into the Lord Of The Rings.”

PS: Ah so now we are getting some elf vibes in here too. Good!

SRS: “Mild mannered journalist helps masses with glasses”, “Thank you dark elf from skyrim”

PS: Ah okay, yeah. More video game references, I guess.

SRS: “Why does he make me think of Connor from Detroit: Become Human???”

PS: Yeah, again, I am not sure. I have not played the game so if you can tell me specifically why I am so much like this guy, go ahead in the comments below!

SRS: “Detroit become gentleman”, “This guy looks like Connor from Detroit become human”. Alright, people! “Is it just me or he looks like Dibny from the flash?”

PS: Ah okay, so this is probably from a recent TV series. I have not watched it yet but I have been meaning to. I will get there at some point.

SRS: “This kid looks like a wood elf from Oblivion with those weird eyes.

PS: So I think this must stem from the fact that the lenses on my glasses do make my eyes appear a bit bigger and I guess the way our lights here in the studio catch them, they do kind of brighten up a little bit.

SRS: Maybe that’s it. Sometimes on video, things are just different right? For example, you see stuff on your suit on camera that you do not see in person so people are like “Oh, get a lint roller, get a brush” but yeah, you did that and it looked just fine but on camera, it did not.

PS: I definitely got that. A recent series we did on Black Tie, which you can find here, Believe me! We’ve brushed that thing for 15 minutes but it still showed up on camera.

SRS: “Was his mom an elf and his dad an IG filter?”

PS: I guess that’s a compliment if they’re saying I look like something on Instagram?

SRS: “You look like a wood elf from skyrim”, “I love this channel but you lowkey look like a high elf from skyrim”, “Why does he look like a high elf?” “Preston talks like CP30 from Star Wars” “I go a Kingsman vibe from Preston”

PS: Ahh yup, I’ve seen this one fairly often too. I guess I am okay with that. I saw the first Kingsman film, I liked it quite a bit, haven’t seen the second one though.

SRS: Yeah, it’s kind of funny because people don’t know anything about classic men’s style and think that’s kind of the epitome of men’s style?

PS: Not really.

SRS: There was like “Oxfords not Brogues” or something like that and they weren’t oxfords and brogues so you can really tell that they don’t know what they are talking about. Yeah, they wore suits but it does not mean that it’s really on point. So from a classic man’s point of view, Kingsman is bad.

PS: No, as long, the way I look at it is as long as it can get somebody interested in the hobby, that is never a bad thing.

SRS: Absolutely! “Hey McFly, your shoe’s untied.”

PS: Ah yep, okay. Now we must be getting Back to the Future comments. A lot of people tell me I look like George McFly so whether I look like the first version of George McFly or the later version, I am not sure. Guessing probably the first version but what are you going to do?

SRS: “Woah. It’s Niles Crane! Awesome!

PS: Ah okay, Niles Crane, yep! I am a big fan of the TV show Frasier as well so yeah, again, I am taking that one in stride. I do not see it as an insult.

SRS: “Preston looks like a typical Vice President at Pierce & Pierce”.

PS: Another American Psycho reference.

SRS: “Dude looks like a Fallout character” “Marty’s dad from Back to the Future” McFly, McFly, McFly, McFly.” “Looks like a German scientist” “Can we have this young man dress a little more age appropriate? I mean damn, he looks like a grandpa most videos. Great content but please wear some chukkas and not this old man loafer”

PS: Well, if you would like to see me get a few more styles, we got a video on that subject and we’ll be doing more on boots pretty soon.

SRS: It’s taking a while to build up a boot wardrobe but we are getting there. “I love that look, ensemble you wear. Looks like you’re ready for the (american, non-ascot) horse races/betting or a vintage reporter (minus the pad and pen) I want to mimic this look in my closet. thanks!”

PS: Alright! Sounds good to me!

SRS: “I love this video, Preston! The information is clear and well-organized. The cadence and pitch of his voice makes it that much better. Also, I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this, but Preston looks like the Taron Egerton (Eggsy from Kingsman)… and that’s a MAJOR positive for ladies who enjoy that look like me.” “Real life Niles Crane” “It astounds me that anyone watching a video about etiquette, manners, and gentlemanly behavior would publicly voice any sort of hate. Preston has done an excellent job from day one.” “He’s good, he just looks ridiculous in thumbnails” “He just looks ridiculous, period. They should change the name of this channel to Eugene’s Gazette. These two guys are Grade A poindexters. They have some good advice, but their styles are so tacky and whitewashed. They look like their grandmothers dress them.”

PS: Okay, fair enough, I guess.

SRS: “I am afraid of these new dude… he looks like a well-heeled psychopath” Let me add, this comment came in 9 months after Preston came in the channel. So obviously, we get this kind of comments and you know, they do not watch very much. “I enjoy listening to Jazz, how do I obtain some of your music or chanel perhaps. Great video.”

PS: Well, I guess the we will have some Jazz related content here on the Gentleman’s Gazette channel coming soon and with any luck, I might also get my own channel starting at some point with some of my music so we will see what happens.

SRS: We love Preston and you know everyone has something and that is okay and we are really glad you joined our team, man! High five!

PS: I am glad to be here too!

Do you have any more questions for or about Preston? Put them in the comments section below!