About Us
Save time. Save money. Skip the bullshit.
R8 is an independent publication launched in December 2025 by Octopuss Media.
R8 delivers brutally honest, research-backed product recommendations across multiple categories, saving discerning buyers time, regret and money through zero bullshit and the undeniable truth.
We started R8 as a direct result of the frustration of not being able to find quality products or to have bought products only to realise much later that the "Review" was actually an infomercial.
We are a small global team of reviewers & testers who are fed up with the onslaught of crappy advice, choices & options made worse by ai slop.
We are fans of the Wirecutter from before it's NYT days and are trying to build out something similar for other countries and products and services not covered.
Our Mascot is the Honey Badger. It is relentless, unapologetic and bat shit crazy!
If you were to describe a honey badger’s "personality," these are the core qualities:
1. Absolute Fearlessness (Audacity)
The honey badger is famously listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Most Fearless Animal."
- The Quality: It lacks the "flight" instinct that most animals have when facing a larger predator.
- In Action: Instead of running away from a lion or a hyena, a honey badger will often charge directly at it, growling and baring its teeth. This sheer audacity often confuses larger predators into retreating.
2. High Intelligence & Resourcefulness
Unlike many other small carnivores that rely purely on instinct, honey badgers are exceptional problem-solvers.
- The Quality: They are among the few non-primates known to use tools.
- In Action: They have been observed moving logs to reach food, using sticks to spring traps, and piling stones to climb over walls.
3. Radical Independence
Honey badgers are almost entirely solitary.
- The Quality: They are self-reliant to an extreme, roaming vast territories (up to 500 square kilometers) entirely on their own.
- In Action: Aside from mating or a mother raising a cub, they do not hunt in packs or live in social groups. They rely strictly on their own strength and wits to survive.
4. Tenacity (The "Never-Quit" Attitude)
A honey badger does not know how to give up.
- The Quality: They are persistent to the point of exhaustion. If they want to get into a beehive or a burrow, they will dig or bite for hours until they succeed.
- In Action: If attacked, they do not "play dead." They fight back with a relentless fury that lasts until the attacker leaves or they are physically unable to move.
5. Extreme Adaptability
They are generalists who can thrive almost anywhere.
- The Quality: They are "opportunistic," meaning they don't have a fixed routine or diet.
- In Action: They live in deserts, rainforests, and mountains alike. They can climb trees to steal bird eggs, swim to catch frogs, or dig deep underground for rodents.
6. Stoicism (High Pain Tolerance)
Because of their thick skin and unique biology, they have a "thick-skinned" personality to match.
- The Quality: They appear largely indifferent to pain or discomfort.
- In Action: They will walk directly into a swarm of thousands of stinging bees or endure multiple snake bites without flinching, focusing entirely on their goal (the food).
If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows R8 to continue to exist. Thank you!
Access all areas
By signing up, you'll get access to the full archive of everything that's been published before and everything that's still to come. Your very own private library.
Fresh content, delivered
Stay up to date with new content sent straight to your inbox! No more worrying about whether you missed something because of a pesky algorithm or news feed.
Meet people like you
Join a community of other subscribers who share the same interests.
We independently review everything we recommend. We may get paid to link out to retailer sites, and when you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Start your own thing?
Enjoying the experience? Get started for free and set up your very own subscription business using Ghost, the same platform that powers this website.