Russ Crandall


Russ Crandall is an American YouTuber and former food blogger. He became known for the gluten-free and paleo diet blog The Domestic Man, which he ran from 2010 to 2023, and since 2020 for the handheld console YouTube channel Retro Game Corps.
Crandall joined the United States Navy in 2000 as a Russian and Indonesian translator. In 2005, he suffered a stroke and was later diagnosed with Takayasu's arteritis, which led him to adopt a paleo diet and create The Domestic Man in 2010. Crandall published cookbooks such as The Ancestral Table and Paleo Takeout, the latter becoming a The [New York Times Best Seller list|New York Times best seller]. In 2020, he launched Retro Game Corps, a YouTube channel focused on handheld consoles. In 2023, he retired from the Navy and closed The Domestic Man to pursue a full-time YouTube career.

Biography

Russ Crandall was born on February 24, 1980, in Seattle, Washington, United States. He joined the United States Navy in 2000 as a cryptologic technician (interpretive), working as a Navy translator fluent in Russian and Indonesian. In 2015, he was promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer in that role. He retired in 2023.

The Domestic Man

In 2005, Crandall suffered an stroke and needed to go through physical therapy to relearn how to walk or write. The next year, he was diagnosed with Takayasu's arteritis, an autoimmune disease which inflammates and narrows the arteries. He underwent open heart surgery in an attempt to fix his symptoms, which was unsuccessful. In 2010, Crandall came across the book The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, which alleges the paleo diet could help with autoimmune disease. Crandall began adhering to the diet; according to him, his symptoms began to subside in weeks. That same year, he created the blog The Domestic Man, focusing on the paleo and gluten-free diets and posting weekly recipes.
In 2013, The Domestic Man was nominated for Best Special Diets Blog at the Saveur Best Food Blog Awards. That same year, the Huffington Post and Mashable listed The Domestic Man among the best food accounts to follow on social media. In 2014, Crandall published his first cookbook, The Ancestral Table, containing over a hundred recipes from around the world. He also released the e-book The Safe Starch Cookbook, which he updated until 2017. In 2015, Crandall released Paleo Takeout and toured in support of it. In August, it entered the The [New York Times Best Seller list|New York Times best sellers list] for the "Food and Fitness" category. Saveur listed Crandall among the best food Instagrams of 2016. He released his final cookbook, The Heritage Cookbook, in 2019. The Domestic Man was closed in 2023.

Retro Game Corps

In 2020, Crandall created the YouTube channel Retro Game Corps focused on handheld game consoles, especially those for retro gaming and emulation. He began the channel as a hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic — a time where handheld consoles grew in popularity. In 2023, he retired from the Navy and closed The Domestic Man to pursue a full-time YouTube career. In September 2024, Nintendo issued two copyright strikes against the channel; one for demonstrating the Mig Flash cartridge, and another for showing Wii U emulation on an Android device.

Personal life

Crandall married his wife in 2007. They had a son in 2009 and another in 2015.

Books

  • The Ancestral Table: Traditional Recipes for a Paleo Lifestyle
  • The Safe Starch Cookbook
  • Paleo Takeout: Restaurant Favorites Without the Junk
  • ''The Heritage Cookbook: 300+ Recipes to Help You Connect with Your Ancestry''