I’ve been thinking about some of the biggest YouTube channels that used to be really popular but don’t post videos anymore. There are so many creators who were huge back in the day but just disappeared or quit making content. Some of them had millions of subscribers and were making tons of videos regularly, then suddenly they just stopped. I’m curious about which well-known YouTube channels you remember that used to be super active but haven’t uploaded anything in a long time. Maybe they moved on to other things or just got tired of making videos. What are some examples of these legendary channels that went inactive?
So many beauty and lifestyle creators just disappeared without saying anything. Michelle Phan was huge - she basically invented beauty content on YouTube with her makeup tutorials, but stopped posting around 2015-2016. Meredith Foster had millions of subscribers doing lifestyle vlogs and then went completely silent. Gaming got hit hard too when Machinima collapsed and dragged tons of creators down with it. I think most of these channels either couldn’t keep up with algorithm changes or found better money elsewhere. YouTube shifted from creativity to chasing trends, which probably burned out creators who just wanted to make stuff they actually liked.
nigahiga was huge back then but Ryan barely posts anymore. He used to be one of the biggest channels with those skits and how-to videos - now it’s basically dead. Same with Fred - that annoying high-pitched voice was everywhere until Lucas just dropped it completely.
YouTube’s early days had some legendary creators who just disappeared. Tobuscus was huge around 2012-2013 but vanished after some personal drama. KevJumba was another favorite who stopped posting regularly in 2013 - that one really caught me off guard since he had such a unique vibe. These guys shaped the platform, but I think the constant pressure to create content plus YouTube’s changes drove them away. Really shows how complicated the relationship between creators and platforms can get.
dude what about ssohpkc? seananners was massive too back in the gaming days but completely went quiet. iJustine still posts but nowhere near her old level. it’s kinda sad seeing these og creators just fade away tbh
TheKingOfHate comes to mind first - Phil used to crush it with gaming content but then his uploads got all over the place. Ray William Johnson’s Equals Three was another huge one, pulling crazy view counts every week until he just killed the format. What gets me most is creators like Jenna Marbles who walked away at their peak - she had 20+ million subs and was still hitting millions of views when she quit in 2020. The platform changed so much that even successful creators couldn’t keep up or just burned out.
Smosh is a good example - Anthony Padilla left in 2017 and completely changed their whole dynamic. Shane Dawson basically vanished after his controversies, even though his documentary series used to pull millions of views consistently. Epic Meal Time was huge in the early 2010s but they’ve pretty much stopped uploading. It’s crazy how creators either burn out or find better opportunities outside YouTube instead of dealing with the constant content grind.