YouTube creatorAlec Steele documents blacksmithing, workshop projects and ambitious metal builds. His sponsor reads often appear while a project is underway, creating a natural pause in the work: Perplexity is introduced during workshop planning, PCBWay is tied to custom die components used in the forge, and Squarespace becomes a live website-building conversation while a hammer heats.
▶ Watch integrationAlec Steele × Perplexity
Re-Restoring The Steam Hammer! Part 8
BRANDS IN THE VIDEOS
Squarespace leads the sponsor relationships shown here, with 137 sponsored videos. NordVPN follows with 60.
17 of 43 brands (40%) appear in more than one sponsored video in Sponsorbook’s history of Alec Steele.
The brands, creative choices and product connections worth paying attention to.
In the steam-hammer restoration, Steele describes the difficulty of moving a new forklift into limited workshop space before transitioning to Perplexity. The read uses the research task of planning a ramp and checking practical options as a concrete example of asking questions and refining an answer. This gives the AI search tool a role in problem-solving that is already happening in the video.
For a pitch, identify a genuine decision in the project where research or comparison can support the next step. A blacksmithing build gives the creator plenty of real-world constraints; the sponsor story works when it helps clarify one of them rather than interrupting the craft with generic claims.
PCBWay’s integration in the drill comparison follows Steele’s mention of custom dies made for the workshop. He explains that he needs keys to lock the inserts and dies together, connecting the sponsor to a component already present in the shop. That is more persuasive for a fabrication service than a detached catalogue description because the viewer can see the custom part’s function.
A technical supplier brief could identify the part, material or production stage the creator can show, then leave space for the build to demonstrate why it matters. The transition also preserves the episode’s hands-on testing, which remains the main draw.
In “A Cooper Walks Into A Forge…,” Steele and a guest discuss making a website while a hammer heats. The conversation moves into the images needed, the steps to assemble the site and a discount route. Instead of stopping for a conventional voiceover, the sponsor read is staged as a dialogue that belongs to the workshop setting.
Together, these reads offer three creative modes for maker brands: research support, a custom component used in the build, or a service presented through a collaborative workshop scene. A pitch should choose the mode that makes the product easiest to understand on camera.
Watch how the product becomes part of the video.
Sponsor at 8:36A workshop logistics problem about storing a forklift leads into a research example for Perplexity. The tool is framed as part of thinking through a real project constraint, giving an AI search sponsor a practical rather than abstract use case.
Sponsor at 5:18
PCBWay1 Apr 2026Steele returns to custom dies PCBWay made for his shop and explains the keys he needs to secure their inserts. The part has a visible function in the workshop, making the sponsor directly relevant to the fabrication work.
Sponsor at 14:04
Squarespace11 Jan 2026While a hammer heats, Steele and his guest talk through building a website and the pictures needed to populate it. The dialogue format lets the service explanation become part of the forge scene rather than a separate narration.
Explore sponsorship histories, discover who works with whom, and build a shortlist in Sponsorbook.
