LOUIS ROSSMANN: FEAR THE MAN WHO NEVER BACKS DOWN By Bharat Madhok

A repair technician became the world-famous YouTuber and the face of the Right to Repair (R2R) movement. Louis Rossmann, 36, is seen by millions ranting into the mic about the unethical practices of consumer electronics companies while lounging on a sofa in his workshop.

Louis made a repository of educational tutorials, run in hundreds, on repairing various Apple devices, including MacBooks and iPhones. His brash demeanour, bold unapologetic takes on every new device launch has made him very famous for he knows what he is talking about.

Thanks to his self-taught technical expertise for over a decade, he has the wherewithal to meticulously explain how these big tech companies are “screwing over” the consumers. In these videos, his anger and disgust are palpable, and he does it with penchant. He has a magnetic presence on the screen, and he perfectly resonates with his followers and tech-nerds.

These videos tie in with the larger theme on the Louis Rossmann’s YouTube channel that advocates R2R, a movement he has championed and made it into a global phenomenon. A curious Indian student like me who is interested in tech is following him for good seven years.

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Louis's ability to look at the larger picture, that includes deeper understanding of how corporate manipulate customers into behaving a certain way, the rights of the customer, and how technology is used to their disadvantage, and communicating it effectively to people at large, not just in the US, but across the globe, have been some key factors in his success in advancing the R2R movement.

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He is advocating that the R2R should be made a legal right to freely modify and repair products such as automobiles, electronics, and farm equipment. And he is garnering a lot of support.

Ironically, Louis never intended to be an activist, let alone become the face of the movement. He realised very early on that the recurring issues with Apple devices were caused by design flaws, not so much due to user error. Apple, he reasoned, was bullying customers by charging obscene prices even for simple repairs. He felt compelled to call it out.

This is when he became a R2R activist from being a mere technician. As he proudly declares, he has never been to college. Before he started being a repair technician, he interned at a recording studio. He had ample of life experience by then, and life can be the greatest teacher, this internship gave him much needed studio experience.

While he was struggling financially as an intern, he’d fixed a damaged MacBooks and made some money by reselling it at a profit of $250. He got the necessary encouragement to become a repair technician, and his life, blessed with insatiable energy, found a direction.

During the early days as a repair technician, he couldn’t afford to rent his own studio so he worked out an arrangement where he would work out of his client’s premises. This early display of ingenuity, talent fuelled by this never-say-die spirit and unwillingness to give up, made him do wonders.

But R2R initiative is much more than merely being a repair technician. It is about an ideology, the right of the common people, and has political connotations. It stands against consumerism as practiced in tech-driven modern world.

With planned obsolescence, and the growing corporate control over how people use the goods and services produced by them. Louis calls it an infringement of the rights of the consumers by the corporate, as is against it. His slogan being, “You bought it, you should own it,” with double emphasizes on the world ‘own’ or the right of ownership—and it should include the right to modify and repair a product without interference of the maker of the product.

His message was well received all over the world as his followers, and have become a celebrated activist-influencer. Recently, Louis became the president of the Freedom from Unethical Limitations on Users (FULU) Foundation, an organization that endeavours to restore and protect ownership rights in the digital age.

FULU is against the upward trend where tech companies are shifting to subscription-based models for goods and services that were, not long ago, available on one-time purchase. We all know about Netflix but now installed features like heated chair installed in a car can only be used after paying a subscription. Not just this, disabling or revoking of the access to digitally “owned” products after its sale, is another contentious issue extensively dealt with by him.

While Louis is well-intentioned and passionate about the cause, he is also seen as unfiltered and brash—traits that don’t always sit well with not just the tech-companies, but also some of his followers and viewers.

He’s well aware of it. In his video titled Do Not Make Louis Rossmann Famous, he explains that he doesn’t want the R2R ‘shouldn’t centre around one individual’ that’s him, enjoying a “cult-like” status.

The reason is simple, when one person becomes the face of a movement, that person’s flaws are construed as the flaws of the movement itself. He doesn’t want that to happen, instead he wants the movements should be guided by a certain philosophy, morals, ethics, and ideas.

In the case of R2R, it is anti-consumerism, safeguard of property rights, rights of the customers, small businesses, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

I feel that this self-awareness, and his ability to look at the larger picture, that includes deeper understanding of how corporate manipulate customers into behaving a certain way, the rights of the customer, and how technology is used to their disadvantage, and communicating it effectively to people at large, not just in the US, but across the globe, have been some key factors in his success in advancing the R2R movement.

Louis embodies the fundamental shift in activism over the past few decades. Louis’s average viewership of 200,000 highly attentive viewers per video is a testament to the power of social media and one man's determination to drive change. He has demonstrated the ability of the digital platforms to usher grassroots movements is commendable.

This form of activism is in stark contrast to traditional ways, which was historically organized through churches, unions or local community groups. And the dissemination of information was done by way of printing of flyers, and use of the mainstream media—channels with far more limited reach that his followership on YouTube.

Not just technology companies, Louis is against unethical practices by corporate sector. That’s why he is a critique of New York City’s unfriendly practices toward small businesses. A long-running meme that evolved from one his videos is “It’s not lying — it’s commercial real estate.” Many of the issues he has highlights in his videos are in sync with the campaign of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate of New York.

I, an Indian student, was, like millions of his viewers, was only interested in his technology advice, his engaging and magnetic personality was a bonus.

I think Louis’s story is, in many ways, truly inspiring. He isn’t some genius or beyond human figure, could be a guy next door. A talented man with a modest upbringing, who found a problem he could help fix, had the gumption to fundamentally disagree with powerful tech-companies and talk openly about their shifting attitudes. He is determined to pursue the issue to a logical conclusion. A slogan he frequently employs on his channel: fight the good fight.