One Star Reviews

VICE's Taji Ameen heads to New Jersey to get inked by a tattoo artist who has a one-star review average online.

Taji tries a one star MMA class.

After months of neglect, it’s time for Taji to make a visit to the barber. Luckily for him, One Star Reviews is covering the cost by visiting one of Yelp’s worst-rated barbers in New York. Alex Barber is a father/son run barber shop whose reviews vary from threatening behaviour, to not working well with kids, to hidden costs. Will Taji leave with a look that works for him?

We found one of Yelp’s worst rated plastic surgeons to work on Taji’s face. Some reviews mention Dr. Mirza works out of gym bags, others say he works under different aliases at various locations. Either way, the reviews warned us to be very skeptical. But this show is all about giving fair chances and offering redemption, so we rolled the dice as usual. Taji’s procedure involved Botox of the forehead, fillers between the eyes, and around the mouth. Can Taji keep his youthful glow?

It’s been a long, long winter, and Taji is ready for the summer. To get a head start on his summer bod, he took to Yelp in search of the lowest rated tanning salon he could find, in order to transform his skin to the perfect shade of orange. So naturally, he went off to New Jersey to experience the services of a salon that’s tanned iconic celebrities including the cast members of “The Jersey Shore” and “The Real Housewives.” Unfortunately, Sizzle Tans has received a heap of one star reviews from people claiming to have experienced bad customer service — and subpar tanning results. At the risk of getting burned, Taji went to get a spray tan from one of Yelp’s worst-rated tanning salons to see if the reviews are accurate, or if they could redeem themselves.

As season one of One Star Reviews comes to a close, Taji has had time to shift his focus from the negative reviews of local businesses to the negative reviews of the show. Unfortunately, even with the high level defensive knowledge Taji learned from Master Gerry, the negative reviews of the show have caused him significant stress. To help battle his trauma he took to Yelp to find one of the worst-rated therapists in New York. Dr. Reiner got to the heart of Taji’s issues, teaching Taji how to accept negative criticism. Negativity is a fact of life — so give us your best one-star comments below. Taji is immune now, it won’t even phase him.

Taji goes to a one star yelp reviewed dating coach.

It’s a little-known fact that Taji has always dreamed of learning to dance the tango. But as we all know, it takes two to tango, so Taji took to Yelp in search of a private lesson with the worst-reviewed dance instructor he could find. It turns out that Tango Jon does not take kindly to being challenged on his negative reviews. Will Taji be able to get through to Jon, or will he continue to dance alone?

Taji took to Yelp to find the most poorly reviewed piercing shop. But it doesn’t stop there: Taji found a place that truly takes the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none” to the fullest extent. Not only is it a piercing shop, but it’s also a tattoo parlor and... a bar. Some might say consuming alcohol before a piercing is a dangerous combination, but for Taji, it’s the perfect cocktail. This place was shut down by the local health department, so Taji is going in with an open mind and hoping he doesn’t leave with an open wound. The only question that remains is: belly button or nipple piercing? Let’s flip a coin.

Taji takes his friend Coolr the Don (who has very specific food allergies) to the worst-rated buffet he can find on Yelp.

Taji goes to a one star reviews fishing establishment.

Taji gets a colonic from a one star reviewed colonic clinic.

Many times one star reviews go beyond people just dissatisfied with service and all the way into the realm of products. Welcome to One Star Product Reviews. After being cooped up indoors for so long and with all that New York has to offer aside from just land, VICE's Taji Ameen ventured out to sea on one of Amazon’s lowest rated inflatable boat to put it to the true test.

On the latest installment of One Star Reviews, VICE’s Taji Ameen attends one of the internet’s lowest rated strip clubs. The club was more than we had bargained for. The infamous owner Brad brings Taji on an unfiltered journey through the ins and outs of running a strip club, his obsession with politics, and does not at all fall short of confronting the many extreme controversies associated with his club.